The Science Vs podcast episode on Skin Care: Is Anti-Aging a Scam? in part inspired my recent post on whether retinol in cosmetic skincare products worked. I’ve had some questions about some of the other parts of the podcast, especially about vitamin C and whether it actually penetrates skin. As I’ve discussed before, vitamin C in L-ascorbic acid form is …
If there’s one skincare ingredient that works, it’s retinol. Pretty much everyone agrees – whatever skin concern you have, it’s one of your best bets. But is it all a scam? Let’s dive into the science behind retinol, and the bigger question of why skincare science looks so different from what academic scientists are used to. The video is here, …
The Style Theorists recently did a video where they tried to test sunscreen “scientifically”, including… in a tanning bed. A lot of people sent it to me, so I filmed a video reacting to it! You can watch it here. Some of the topics covered: People should wear more sunscreen Sunscreen absorbing into blood Coral reefs and science by press …
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 …
So you found the hair routine of your dreams and your hair is just magnificent… But then it just stops working. What’s going on? Here’s the science behind why your products just suddenly stop working, and what can you do about it. The video is here, keep scrolling for the text version. You might need to change shampoos First off, …
It’s sunscreen season, and as you’d expect, there are lots of sunscreen articles coming out, full of common myths. I’ve debunked a lot of myths about sunscreens before – sunscreens are toxic, you can make your own sunscreen – but this time I’m going to focus on incorrect advice from trusted media sources. These myths tend to be a bit …
More beauty brands are talking about sustainability, but there’s a lot of greenwashing. In the last installment we talked about the impact of producing natural ingredients and after they go into the environment, as well as organic versus conventional farming. In this part, Jen of The Eco Well and I are breaking down myths about synthetic ingredients made from petroleum …
Beauty brands are talking a lot more about sustainability and the environment, and it makes sense. Climate change is a huge problem, and most of us don’t want to make things worse. But beauty marketing is full of false promises and meaningless buzzwords. What’s actually better for the environment, and what’s just feelgood fluff? Well… a lot of it is …