I’ve had a sneaking suspicion that you could oil cleanse without using a regular cleanser afterwards, if you repeatedly wiped off the old oil and added more oil to dilute the dirt (not quite what I said in this early post – but that was assuming that you only wipe oil on your face once). So naturally I had to …
I’ve recently started trying out thermal cleansers. These are special cleansers that heat up when you rub them on your skin and add water. What’s the point of them and how do they work? I’m glad you asked, hypothetical reader! Do pores open with heat? Heat makes muscles relax, while cold makes muscles contract (you may know this from treating …
Earlier this week I posted about the different types of base ingredients in moisturisers: occlusives, emollients and humectants. I’ve dug up a few facial moisturisers I have lying around to deconstruct. When looking at most product ingredients lists, the ingredients will be in order from the highest concentration to the lowest. Typically, when deciding if a moisturiser will suit your …
Formaldehyde is listed as an ingredient in a number of beauty products (in particular, nail strengtheners and Brazilian Blowout-style hair treatments), and there’s been some controversy about whether or not it’s really in these products. In particular, cosmetic chemist Doug Schoon has stated that formaldehyde in water readily reacts to form another chemical, methylene glycol. Most of the top search …
Continuing on my pH and hydroxy acid kick, today’s Fact-check is on the influence of pH and alpha and beta hydroxy acids. Hold onto your hats for this one – it gets a bit technical – but hopefully I can translate it to something understandable. Further questions are welcome and I will try to answer them as best I can! …
Neostrata have recently released a range called Enlighten recently, which claims to lighten spots and reduce hyperpigmentation. Will it work? You may remember a recent post here on non-hydroquinone skin lighteners – for more information on the whiteners mentioned here, you can refer back to that. Neostrata Enlighten Ultra Brightening Cleanser ($39.95 for 100 mL) is a creamy cleanser that …
Note: This information is not quite correct. There’s some evidence to show that the pH of salicylic acid products isn’t that important to how well they work – for a longer explanation check out this post on pH and AHAs and BHAs. ——————————- Stridex “in the red box”, manufactured by Blistex, is a cult product that’s worthy of the hype …
In case I haven’t already managed to bombard you with this on other channels, an article I wrote was just published on The Toast, about surfactants and not being scared of chemicals. I’m very proud of it – click through here to read more! (I have to add a special thanks to the lovely and talented Cassie of Reluctant Femme …