I’ve been straightening and curling my hair wet/damp for years, despite all the popcorn-sounding fizzes and crackles – but some science I’ve recently read have made me do a complete 180. It turns out wet and dry hair respond to extreme heat very differently – and wet hair cops it far worse, and not just because it’s more fragile. First, …
These days we’re all aware that suntans give you both cancer and wrinkles, so fake tan is the colour du jour. This miracle-in-a-can stains the skin brown through an interesting chemical reaction. The outer layer of your skin, made up of dead skin cells, is permanently coloured. The tan wears away as the skin cells come off. Here’s how it …
Update (2018-12-05): Since Danny of Mentality Nail Polish has generously sent me a cease and desist for defamation as seen in the comments section, I’d like to interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to clarify (even though I think it’s pretty damn clear already) that the causes of the issues are science-based opinion and speculation. Welcome to every nail polish lover’s …
If you’re in the nail world, you’d have heard of IBX, the nail strengthening treatment that’s been saving nails everywhere. How does it work, you ask? Here’s the science! What is IBX? IBX is a nail strengthening treatment described as “a penetrative, curable monomer system”, developed by Famous Name, a company headed by the ex-CEO of CND and his wife. …
Tea tree oil is probably something you’ve seen at the beauty counter dozens of times, in skincare creams and ointments. But what is it used for? What’s tea tree oil? Tea tree oil comes from the leaves of the Melaleuca alternifolia shrub (common name tea tree, surprise surprise!). This tree is native to Eastern Australia. The oil is colourless to …
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: …
You’ve probably seen the concept of rebound oil production, or reactive seborrhea: “shampoos… strip the scalp of its natural oils and cause the scalp to overproduce oil to compensate” “our skin naturally regulates perfect oil production” “your skin will have to adjust to producing less oil” “the oil tells the skin it’s no longer drying out, which helps to control …
For years, we’ve been using just 2 solvents, ethyl acetate and acetone, to remove nail polish. But recently a whole host of new removers containing neither of those have made their way onto the market – what are they, and are they worth a shot? Are they really solvent-free? No. Anything that dissolves something else up is a solvent – …