Can a shampoo prevent hair loss?

I recently appeared on Channel 4’s Supershoppers to talk about Alpecin shampoo.  I have been amused for some time the way they run adverts for this shampoo on the television that manage to talk about it without actually mentioning that it is intended as a treatment for hair loss.  I was quite surprised to discover, literally in front of the camera, that they have no such inhibition on the pack itself.  It states in big letters that is what the product is for.  I had assumed that if they were following the rules in their on air promotion, they would be just as scrupulous across their whole marketing platform. Continue reading →

My interest in blogging and my blog varies. Sometimes I wake up and before I have done anything else I check my stats eagerly to see how I am doing. I then spend the rest of the day either elated or dejected, depending on the numbers. More often I don’t give it a second thought and just get on with the rest of my life allowing whatever happens online to take its course. Continue reading →

Is Exercise A Pointless Exercise?

I spend a lot of my time looking at claims made for various cosmetic products.  People selling products are easily convinced of the benefits of those products, and are eager to share those benefits with potential purchasers.  But it’s very often the case that the claims they make are based on the flimsiest of evidence.  That is how the world works.  The more you spend time looking at cosmetic claims, the more cynical you get about all claims across the board.  So when someone tells me that exercise is good for you my first reaction is to be suspicious, even though this claim is often made, seems reasonable and doesn’t seem to be especially controversial.  And it is one that I think most people assume is backed up by solid science. Continue reading →

If you can win a medal, can you create a great cosmetic?

My apologies to all non-British readers, but like many of my fellow countrymen the big news at the moment is that the UK came second in the tally of medals scored at the Rio Olympics. And given that nobody expects Britain to outshine America in this particular contest, this is in effect winning the Olympics. (Particular apologies to American readers there – but when you win something every year it is inevitable that people start taking it for granted.) Continue reading →

When I started my consulting business three years ago, even though I had been planning it for some time, it was still quite scary. For the first time in my life I had no monthly cheque to look forward to at the end of the month. Would I get enough work in to cover my expenses? Luckily I managed to pull in a big job quite quickly. It was a project on the borderline between pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, which was just the kind of thing that I could offer and which not too many other people could.  Without this bit of luck I might have had to get a job instead.  And with all due humility – it was quite handy for the client that they found me.  They are a start up too and getting some help early on must have been beneficial. Continue reading →