One of the biggest sources of myths in beauty is misunderstanding how scientific research works, and how to interpret scientific evidence. A huge problem I’ve seen is people relying on abstracts – the short summary of the paper – instead of reading the full text. Here’s why this isn’t a good idea. This article is based on part of this …
There’s a troubling pattern with a lot of “science-based” cosmetic products. Many of them make claims solely based on mechanistic reasoning, rather than any actual measured effects on humans. This is a big problem because mechanistic reasoning often doesn’t predict what happens on actual humans – and it’s especially the case with the ways these claims are often used for …
There are a lot of myths in beauty, and over the years, I’ve noticed that a lot of them come from misunderstanding how science and scientific evidence works. Here’s one big misconception: the idea that if a source is “peer reviewed”, it’s automatically higher quality than a source that isn’t. Unfortunately, it isn’t any sort of guarantee, especially for a …
Batiste is one of the most popular dry shampoos, but there are lots of posts on social media warning people not to use it. Is it actually bad for your hair? Here’s the lowdown. What are the claims? Here’s an example of one of these videos, which I debunked recently as part of a YouTube video on haircare myths: Video: …
You might’ve seen videos of people testing their heat protectant products by trying to light them on fire. As many of you may have suspected, this is a really ineffective test for whether a product protects your hair from heat. Where does this test come from? This test seems to be promoted by a lot of people selling Monat, an …
DMDM hydantoin is a preservative commonly found in shampoos. It started getting a lot of attention in 2021, thanks to a number of lawsuits surrounding hair loss – so let’s talk about the science behind it and whether it’s safe. (This post is partly based off a longer video about haircare misinformation on TikTok, which also covers sulfates, silicones, testing …
I’ve been reviewing beauty products for more than 10 years, so not a lot of things excite me – but some things did in 2023. The Olay Super Serum was one of them! The video version of this review is here, keep scrolling for the text version…. Olay Super Serum is the best new skincare product I’ve tried in a …
Something that made a big difference to me in 2023: I worked out how to find eyeliner pencils that were transfer-proof even on my oily skin! My eyelids are super oily, so eyeliners always smudge or start transferring after a few hours. Transfer-proof pencils aren’t really that new an innovation, but for the longest time I didn’t really know what …