I’ve decided to finish off the Big 3 (maybe even Big 4!) series I started on at the beginning of this blogging journey, and thought revisiting my original DBP post would be a good way to start – read on… If you’ve ever looked at the ingredients list on the back of any of your cosmetics, you’ll see a massive …
Q: Why does nail polish stain your nails yellow? A: As you might’ve guessed, it’s the coloured pigments in the nail polish! Generally, the pattern is that the staining is darker at the tip and fades towards the cuticle. It’s a bigger problem when the dyes are dissolved rather than suspended in the polish (e.g. with stearalkonium hectorite). If …
Alpha and beta hydroxy acids are chemical exfoliants which are in many of our cosmetic products… what’s the difference between them, and which one should you use for what? First off, “alpha hydroxy acid” and “beta hydroxy acid” are proper organic chemistry terms! “Hydroxy” means an OH group (also known as an alcohol group). “Acid” means a carboxylic acid: “Alpha” …
(Roger McLassus) We all know what a moisturiser does (it moisturises, duh!) – but what exactly goes in one, and how does it work? Skin dryness is, quite simply, when your skin loses too much water (the technical term is transepidermal water loss, or TEWL). Moisturisers are used to slow water evaporating, and restore the original soft texture and look …
(André Karwath/Aka) There are a lot of things that are supposed to be good for your skin. Today I’m looking at one that is in a lot of anti-ageing products, and has rave reviews on Makeupalley – vitamin C. Vitamin C (aka L-ascorbic acid) is essential in your diet – it has a lot of roles in the functioning …
One thing that a lot of cosmetic companies have recently been incorporating into their marketing talk is the concept of pH and pH balance. Yay science! But what does it all mean? Here’s a quick rundown on the science of pH, acids and bases, and what that means for your skincare products. What is pH? pH is a measure of …
10 facts about hair you mightn’t have known:1. Hair and nails are both mainly made of a type of protein called keratin, which contains a lot of an amino acid called cysteine. All this cysteine is one of the main reasons why keratin is so strong. There is also a lot of keratin in skin.2. Cysteine is also why you …
One of my interests is DIY skincare – I love cheap alternatives to expensive brands that work even better! My best friend is getting married next weekend and I’ve been trying to clear up my slightly neglected face with some SOS skincare, so I’ve revisited one of my favourites – oatmeal. Oatmeal is one of those rare traditional remedies your …