One of the common reader requests I get is for “toxic” ingredient breakdowns, so today I’m looking at two ingredients that are commonly on “avoid” lists: propylene and butylene glycol. What are propylene and butylene glycol? Glycols in chemistry are ingredients that contain two OH (alcohol) groups. Propylene glycol contains 3 carbon atoms, while butylene glycol is a little larger …
Here’s a pet peeve of mine: SPF drops and boosters. Fellow skincare fanatic Hannah (@ms_hannah_e on Instagram) reminded me about them recently, right when I was in a ranty mood, so it fit right in. What Are SPF Sunscreen Drops? SPF Sunscreen Drops are products that you’re supposed to mix into other products to “turn them into sunscreens”. Some examples …
Are chemical or physical sunscreens better? I touched on this in my Sunscreen and Make-up video, but a lot of people have been asking me to talk more about it, so I’ve expanded on the topic in this post, which comes in video form as well! Click here for the video – scroll down for the blog post “summary” version …
You’ve probably heard that you need 1/4 teaspoon of sunscreen to cover your face. This quantity is calculated from an estimate of people’s face sizes, and the amount of sunscreen they use in SPF testing (2 mg per cm2). Since it’s based on the thickness of sunscreen, a larger face will need more sunscreen, while a smaller face will need …
I’ve been asked a lot for my opinion on a recent article on whether vitamin C serums are bad for your skin. In the article, Wendy explains why Oumere will never have a vitamin C serum in their line. She outlines that vitamin C can: Act as a pro-oxidant when it reacts with iron in the air (or iron and …
This is a guest post from Facing Acne. In the history of acne treatments, there has never been a medication that has caused more controversy than Accutane. There is also no treatment that has ever produced such startling results. For this reason, Accutane has both its passionate defenders and its equally passionate detractors. The choice of whether to try Accutane …
The news broke recently that nail polish can harm your health (again!). This time, it’s triphenyl phosphate, a chemical used in nail polish to increase flexibility – it’s also used as a fire retardant. It’s a potential endocrine disruptor (“it could make you fat!”), and was found to be increased around seven-fold – or so it was reported. In particular, …