Hard core science straight from the journals.
I was glad I made the time last summer to visit the National Gallery’s exhibition of the pigments artists have used over the years. It was a fascinating business, and it is a bit sobering to remember just how much work the great masters of painting had to do before they even got to the […]
Pigments In Paintings And Cosmetics Read More »
So you’ve enjoyed yourself over Christmas and now it is time to detox, right? Well no. The Christmas period brings inactivity, heavy food consumption and prolonged exposure to one’s family. These are all bad things and you are no longer at your best. But none of them lead to any kind of build up
Do You Need To Detox? Read More »
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
Don’t Get A Job – 5 Reasons It Is A Bad Idea Read More »
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 »
The excitable chaps who cover beauty over at the Daily Mail have gone even more effervescent than usual over the latest expensive skin serum. And when I say expensive I mean expensive – a four week course costs £600 (€750, $940). That is well over half the amount a full time worker on the minimum
Gene Therapy In Skincare Read More »
Who is the most popular chemist? Avogadro. Everyone knows his number. Okay it is a corny joke, and it is also probably a bit baffling if you have never heard of Avogadro’s number. It is one of those things that sounds a bit dry if you describe it in purely technical terms, but which is
I used to think about things in boxes when I was at school. There was chemistry, biology and gym. I didn’t really think much about the connections between them. But these subject headings we learn are not real. All the time your body is doing all sorts of exercise and there are processes
Personal Care Products and Exercise Read More »
As a keen environmentalist I often find myself face palming when a cosmetic company picks up on a green issue. They often home in on things that aren’t particularly relevant and propose solutions that are questionable. But I think the recent interest in the risks posed by microbeads is one where there is a real
Microbeads In Cosmetics Read More »
I was a bit slow off the mark with this one. When the Beauty Brains started their podcast I tried to find it on iTunes but couldn’t locate it. So I gave up. I should have persevered because I needed to search not for ‘BeautyBrains’ but ‘TheBeautyBrains’. So when the penny finally dropped I was
The Beauty Brains Podcast Read More »
