I give green personal care products a pretty rough time on this blog. I don’t have any problem doing this as a public service because so many of them basically aren’t very good. But it does run the risk that I appear to be anti-green in general. Nothing could be further from the truth, and […]
A Quick Guide To The Environmental Crisis Read More »
I get asked from time to time about how to become a cosmetic scientist. I have already talked about what kinds of qualifications you might need. But I think there is an assumption that the only way into this line of work is to get a job. That is what I did and what most
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I am not sure exactly when Victoria’s Secret became such a big thing. It only seems like a few years ago nobody in the UK had even heard of it, but now it is one of those brands you can’t get away from. This is quite an achievement given that it is still has a
Regular readers will know that any aqueous cosmetic product needs a preservative to stop it going mouldy. Preservatives tend to get a bad press, and given that most of them are inevitably toxic they are probably going to carry on getting it. Preservatives get a lot of attention not only from journalists and the nervous,
A Natural Way Of Preserving Products Using Oregano Read More »
Here’s a funny thing. I was asked on my Facebook page why Clinique Smart Custom Serum smells of bacon. I should first point out that I am a bit of social media dinosaur and although I have had a Facebook account for some time I was only vaguely aware that you could message on it
Why Does Clinique Smart Custom Serum Smell Of Bacon? Read More »
The theme of the last Scandinavian Society of Cosmetic Chemists’ annual meeting was labelling of cosmetic and personal care products with various accreditations, of which the biggest example is the various organic accreditation schemes out there. These are certainly talked about a lot in the industry – indeed there were some pretty heated discussions about
How Well Are Accredited Organic Personal Care Products Doing? Read More »
Some formulations look a lot more complicated than they really are. Take this one from cult emollient Olverum bath oil. Isopropyl Myristate, Pinus (Pine Oil), Arachis hypogea (Groundnut oil), Lavandula hybrida (Lavandin Oil), Limonene, Linalool, Citrus limonum (Lemon oil), Eukalyptus globulus (Eucalyptus oil), Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary oil), Citral, Litsea cubeba (Exotic Verbena), Fragrance, Lavendula augustifolia
I was delighted to get the chance to listen to cosmetic industry demigod Alban Muller at the recent annual meeting of the Scandinavian Society of Cosmetic Scientists. Almost as an aside he brought up the subject of the Cosmetic Valley – a sort of European version of Silicon Valley for cosmetic and perfume producers.
The biggest cause of complaints to cosmetic companies from consumers are allergic reactions. Anyone can develop an allergic reaction to anything at any time, so this is only to be expected. There are some ingredients that are more inclined to cause allergic reactions than others. Preservatives and fragrances are big culprits, which probably won’t surprise
Do We Need A Low Allergy Standard For Cosmetics? Read More »
Big corporations are run for profits and are not too scrupulous about how they seek them. We have seen tobacco companies ignore the health of smokers. Big chemical companies have pushed lead into petrol. Mining companies leave the public to foot the bill for clearing up the mess their operations create. The list goes on.
Is Benzophenone A Risk To Reproductive Health? Read More »
