Fact-check Feature: Is there actually formaldehyde in my nail polish / hair treatment?

Formaldehyde is listed as an ingredient in a number of beauty products (in particular, nail strengtheners and Brazilian Blowout-style hair treatments), and there’s been some controversy about whether or not it’s really in these products. In particular, cosmetic chemist Doug Schoon has stated that formaldehyde in water readily reacts to form another chemical, methylene glycol. Most of the top search …

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Does Inhibitif hair reducing serum work? Science and a review

If you’ve been keeping an eye on the beauty blogosphere, you’ve probably heard of Inhibitif already. Inhibitif is a hair reducing product and has been a hit, based on its reputation of achieving similar results to laser without the pain or cost. But what exactly is it doing? The main active ingredients in Inhibitif are Tremella fuciformis sporocarp extract, dihydromyricetin …

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How do laser and IPL hair removal work?

Like many other women my age, I’ve been removing my body hair weekly for about 10 years, and I’m getting sick enough of it to start considering painful (both physically and financially) options. The most popular one is laser hair removal, and its cousin IPL hair removal – you can always find an active voucher deal for these! Laser and …

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My hair’s favourite posh products

I’ve always been a user of drugstore hair products, but recently I’ve had the opportunity to sample a few salon brands. As I suspected, since my hair is pretty low maintenance, a lot of them didn’t perform that much better than drugstore products for me, but here are some that I think are worth the premium price: Muk Spa Argan …

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Frizzy hair science: a tale of attraction and repulsion

Hair is very important – it’s an easy body part to change, and can dramatically alter your appearance, but if you wake up with bad hair, your day is automatically terrible. Luckily, it’s also very interesting, scientifically speaking, since we throw a lot of chemicals at it every day. Today’s post will be on electrostatic forces though – tiny changes …

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Original & Mineral shampoo and conditioner review

I’m still on the quest to find my perfect shampoo, and in the last few weeks I’ve been road-testing these three from the Sydney-based Original & Mineral range. When I first saw these three products, I wasn’t expecting much – would everything-free be anywhere near strong enough to combat my super oily scalp? (For the record, by “everything-free” I specifically …

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Shampoo and Conditioner Road Test: Moroccanoil, Yuko, Dove and Aldi

I’ve always had trouble finding a good shampoo. I’ve had a nice run with conditioners, but good shampoos have always eluded me. No matter which shampoo I use, my scalp is always an itchy, oily mess by the end of the day. For two months I tried washing my hair every second day, on the advice of many people on …

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How does hair straightening (and perming) work?

Scientifically blonde. How does hair straightening work? There are a few different procedures for hair straightening, and different types of hair are better suited to different ones. They all work on similar principles though, and it’s actually the same as for perming. It’s not too complex, and you should believe me on this one because Elle Woods agrees. So there. …

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