Sleeping beauty – benefits of getting enough shut-eye

  (You think you love your sleep? If you’re not Japanese – think again. The Japanese are HARDCORE SLEEPERS. Google images of “Japanese subway sleeping” for some pro-level public transport power-naps that most of us mere mortals can only aspire to.) I’ve been staying up til all hours recently for a number of reasons (Diablo, nail painting, thesis – in …

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How Can I Get Rid of Stretch Marks?

One of the things I hate the most about my body are my stretch marks. I have a lot around the sides of my bum from when I had my growth spurt in puberty. Every summer I’m paranoid about going to the beach in a bikini (yay swimming skirts!). So what can you do? Causes Although it’s not clear how …

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How does Latisse (bimatoprost) make eyelashes grow longer?

Who doesn’t want long, luscious eyelashes? For years all we could do was paint them and stick on falsies, then Latisse landed on the market, promising to make your natural lashes gorgeous and doe-y. But how does it work? About lashes Lashes, like all hair, grows in a cycle, which involves 3 phases and takes 5-12 months. Anagen – This …

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Vitamin A – what does it do for your skin?

Vitamins are amazing for your body, but what do they do when you rub them on your skin? Earlier we looked at vitamin C and what it does – now let’s take a gander at vitamin A, one of the most amazing products for your skin!  Stephen Ausmus Vitamin A is found in vegetables (such as carrots), egg yolk, liver …

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Is mineral oil dangerous? Part 2

Angela Mabray I’m looking at whether mineral oil, an incredibly common moisturiser – possibly the most common moisturiser, check your moisturiser’s ingredients – is dangerous again. Read part 1 here! 3. Mineral oil is comedogenic and will make you break out – FALSE Mineral oil appears on a large range of “comedogenic ingredients” lists. Once upon a time (well, in …

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Big 3 – Toluene

Second in Lab Muffin’s Big 3 series is toluene. Part 1 – DBP Toluene – TOLL-lew-een – MSDSaka toluol, methylbenzene, phenylmethane Where is it found? Nail polish, permanent markers, paint. Why is it there? Toluene is a solvent – in other words, it dissolves up all the other bits in nail polish so you’re not putting chunky powder across your …

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How does the “vampire facelift” (aka PRP) work?

  The “vampire facelift” (aka Selphyl, platelet-rich plasma injections) is an increasingly popular wrinkle-reducing treatment that involves taking your blood, separating it with a centrifuge, then reinjecting it into your face. It’s not a “real” facelift (i.e. it doesn’t involve cutting you open). It sounds really weird and mucky, but it’s actually fascinating how it works! Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has …

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Interesting nail facts

First off, the best and worst thing about working in a chemistry “wet lab”: We wash our glassware with acetone. On a productive day, I can go through a litre of the stuff! This means:* I always have acetone on hand for nail art – yay!* My polish is almost always messed up by the second day. Onto 8 interesting …

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