Fact-check: The Lead in Lipstick is Safe

lead-lipstick-hoax

This “lead in lipstick” hoax has been going around Facebook again – it’s actually pretty ancient (goes back to the early 2000s) and refuses to die. Here’s one version: All the versions of this chain email are slightly different but all have the same themes… and all are BS. There’s a whole bunch of wrong in this scary-sounding PSA. Firstly: …

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Fact-check: Don’t Get Burnt by DIY Sunscreen

diy-sunscreen-bad

You may have seen DIY sunscreen recipes going around on blogs and Pinterest, promising safe sun protection with gentle, natural ingredients. Generally the ingredients will be zinc oxide, a popular physical sunscreen ingredient (often in the form of diaper rash cream), and some plant oils such as coconut oil. Now, I am partial to a bit of DIY skincare. I …

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The Science Behind Massage

If you’re like me, Christmas is 1/3 food, 1/3 fun and 1/3 hair-tearing stress. Gift-buying, feast-cooking and end-of-year deadlines – it gets pretty overwhelming come mid-December! If tea-drinking, baths and stress balls aren’t cutting it, it might be time to step up to a professional massage, which has lots of health benefits according to science! How to tell if you’re …

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French Sunscreen Comparison: Creamy Edition

french sunscreen la roche-posay uriage

Here’s the next installment in my sunscreen review series – this time we’re looking at La Roche-Posay Anthelios XL Comfort Creme SPF50+ and Uriage Bariésun Creme SPF30. Both of these French sunscreen are targeted at dry/normal skin, not oily/normal skin like mine, so it’s quite likely that they’ll behave differently on drier skin. Unlike the fluid sunscreens I’ll be reviewing …

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What is clinical strength antiperspirant deodorant?

My go-to antiperspirant deodorant, Nivea Stress Protect, has recently come out with a clinical strength version, and since it’s been a while since I blogged about underarm matters, I thought it was time to revisit the basics of sweat science… What’s the difference between deodorant and antiperspirant? Deodorant targets smell. It usually contains fragrance, and sometimes antibacterials too to kill …

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If You Smoke, Your Future’s Not Pretty

Now that we’re in the 21st century, we all know smoking is bad for your health and gives you cancer – in fact, it’s considered the single biggest preventable cause of death and disease. But because that doesn’t happen until we’re older, and we humans tend to ignore long-term risks (I know I certainly do!), so it’s easy to convince …

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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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Fact-check: The Dangers of Hydroquinone

This week’s Fact-check (it’s late, I know, sorry!) looks at another controversial skincare ingredient, hydroquinone. What is hydroquinone, what benefits does it have in skincare, why do people say it’s harmful, and is it actually bad? Let’s find out… What is hydroquinone? Hydroquinone (sometimes referred to as “HQ”) is a chemical with the structure shown below: It occurs naturally in …

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