You might have seen that Hawaii has banned certain sunscreens that have been linked to coral bleaching. In particular, it’s the organic “chemical” sunscreen ingredients oxybenzone and octinoxate that have been banned. It sounds like a great victory for the environment, right? But if you search a little past the headlines, you’ll find that there are actually a lot of …
Since my post on the science behind red light treatments, many people have asked me if light treatments make hyperpigmentation worse. This is a bit complicated to untangle, given the relative lack of data and the huge diversity of red light products. So this post is somewhat speculative – but I hope it’s helpful if you’ve been wondering! Note: I’m …
Red light is everywhere – you’ll see it used by celebrities, skincare influencers, and biohackers (not sure why male wellness influencers get their own special name). What does it do, and which products actually work? Let’s dig into the science behind red light therapy, or photobiomodulation. The video version of this post was part of a 3-way collaboration with Becky …
The most controversial topic in Dr Andrew Huberman’s skincare episode is probably sunscreen safety, which is hugely misunderstood even by scientists and medical doctors. Much of the confusion comes from differing sunscreen regulations around the world, and the fact that “not safe” has different meanings in everyday, regulatory and toxicological contexts. This is part 2 of my articles responding to …
A little while back, Dr Andrew Huberman, a Stanford neuroscientist with a massive podcast, released an episode called “How to Improve Skin Health & Appearance”. It had a bunch of slightly weird recommendations if you’re familiar with skincare science. He mentioned some of his sources, but didn’t have any experts talking. 1.5 months later, he released another skin episode, this …
There’s been a few viral posts about how harmful chemical sunscreens are. The latest one is a post about “Sunscreen Swaps” from @a.glimpse.of.amelia (an Australian “low-tox” consultant) and @jordiepieface (a nutritionist from New Zealand), claiming that “some conventional sunscreens can do more harm than good”. Unfortunately, most of the post is inaccurate, and it’s likely scaring people away from using …
There’s been a lot of stories about benzene contamination in personal care products over the last 4 years. This year, benzene was discovered in benzoyl peroxide, a staple acne treatment. How concerned should we be? Petition and original paper I’ve written about the background behind Valisure’s benzene analyses before, as well as questions about the accuracy of their data and …
There’s been increasing talk about how blue light from phones and computer screens could be a potential cause of skin damage. Is it worth worrying about, or is it just marketing? This topic is going to be a two-parter. In this installment we’re going to talk about visible light damage, and how you can protect your skin; in part 2, …