Here’s my second video. It’s based on my Purging vs Breakouts post, which I got a lot of questions on – I’m hoping that this video makes things a bit clearer if you’re trying to work out if you’re purging or breaking out from a new product! In it I cover: the science behind purging and breakouts tips on working …
I talk a lot about topical products, but hardly ever about treatments! Today I’m diving into THE most popular cosmetic treatment: Botox. What Is Botox? I’m sure you’ve all heard of Botox – the (sometimes accurate) stereotype of how Botox stops your face from moving and you become an expressionless human mannequin with perfectly smooth skin. Botox is actually not …
There’s a lot of buzz about fermented ingredients in skincare. It’s been a big hit in Korea, with entire product lines revolving around the idea of letting ingredients marinate for a bit longer. Here’s the science behind fermentation. What is fermentation? Fermentation refers to chemical reactions performed using microorganisms. More specifically, it usually means reactions that convert sugars to other …
I’ve been a little frustrated with what scientific concepts I can get through in words and crudely drawn illustrations on this here blog. When I teach at my day job, I do a lot of hand-waving, emphatic underlining, symbolic gesturing and smashing together of whiteboard markers, and not having the ability to show movement sometimes feels a bit like I …
Move over UV and sunscreen, the next big thing in anti-aging is pollution and pollution prevention. Many types of pollution are well known to be harmful when inhaled, but there hasn’t been much information about how they interact with skin until quite recently. A handful of newer studies have shown that pollution is linked to skin allergies, aging and slower …
It’s pretty obvious that psychological stress impacts on your physical health and skin, but exactly how they’re linked isn’t well understood. “Stress” is a bit vague and difficult to measure. But there’s more and more research on how stress impacts your body, and how reducing stress can help. A small amount of stress can actually be a good thing. Humans …
Much like “organic” and “all-natural”, “paraben-free” is one of those phrases you’ll see displayed prominently on increasing numbers of skincare and beauty products. What are parabens, what health effects do they have, and should you be avoiding them? Here’s the science behind the marketing. (I’ve written a much simpler rundown of parabens here, if you want a quicker overview.) What …
I’ve done a lot of posts on skincare products I love… now, for something a bit different, here are some that I really hate and would only recommend to people I don’t like. So if I ever recommend these to you… it’s not me, it’s you. I just don’t see our relationship working out. Coffee Scrubs Coffee scrubs are made …