How Do Bubbling Oxygen Masks Work?

How Do Bubbling Oxygen Masks Work?

Oxygen masks are products which come out of the bottle as a gel, but start bubbling with oxygen gas after a few seconds on the skin. Brands like Bliss, Peter Thomas Roth, Dr Brandt, Oseque and Sephora have oxygen bubble masks. What do they do, and how did they get the gas into the bottle? Here’s the video, scroll down …

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How to Use Comedogenicity Ratings

rabbit-ear-test-comedogenicity

You’ve probably seen a comedogenicity chart like these ones (and the one further down the page) before, rating different ingredients on their ability to cause pimples. Supposedly you check the ingredients list of your product against the comedogenicity list. If it has highly comedogenic ingredients, it will cause pimples, if it doesn’t, then it won’t. It’s simple, systematic and foolproof, right? …

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Why you should protect your skin from UVA (and how)

You already know about SPF, UVB, sunburn and its relationship with skin cancer… but what about UVA protection? Newer research has really highlighted the important of UVA protection, so this post will tell you all about what UVA is, what it does and how to protect your skin against it (i.e. lots of nerdy sunscreen talk). The video version is …

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Why You Shouldn’t Use Lemon Juice on Your Skin

There are more DIY skincare recipes on the internet than you can shake a stick at, and most of them really, really like lemon juice. According to these DIY tips you should be slathering it all over your face and hair. Lemon juice smells nice, and it’s pretty cheap. But is it effective? And is it safe? Let’s talk about …

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Skincare Chemistry: How to pick out humectants

humectant

I recently posted an excerpt from The Lab Muffin Guide to Basic Skincare on my Instagram and Facebook (which is one of many useful tables in my eBook by the way, and it’s packed full of information on the super important fundamentals of science-based skincare – although I’m obviously biased since I wrote it and put all my best tips …

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Ion Boosted Skincare? Panasonic Skincare Tools

Ion Boosted Skincare? Panasonic Skincare Tools (video)

This video is sponsored by Panasonic. I’ve been really curious about all the microcurrent devices for skincare that have been popping up on the market recently. So when Panasonic approached me to try theirs out and make a video on the science behind it, of course I jumped at the opportunity (those devices aren’t cheap!). I talk about two different …

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Is Sodium Hydroxide Safe in Beauty Products?

Is Sodium Hydroxide Safe in Beauty Products?

Sodium hydroxide is in a ton of beauty products. But as one of my favourite unreliable sources says (the “favourite” is sarcastic by the way, just to clarify): Sodium Hydroxide is, however, a known irritant… The National Institute for Occupation Safety and Health … recommends that consumers prevent skin and eye contact The CDC reports that “Skin contact with sodium …

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Activated Charcoal in Skincare: The Science

activated-charcoal-cleansing-mechanism

Activated charcoal skincare products are pretty cool. They’re black, they’re sciencey-sounding and they’re said to suck dirt out of your pores like a magnet – what’s not to like? The reality is a little more complex than that… (If you’re after the video version of this post, check it out here! To make sure you don’t miss a video from …

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