Reacting to Your Unpopular Opinions

I asked on Instagram for all your unpopular opinions a short while back, and filmed a chatty video discussing a handful of them – check it out here!  Topics covered: 0:19 Body moisturisers are good face moisturisers 1:10 Skincare is unnecessary 2:32 Physical exfoliation is terrible for sensitive skin 5:20 Hyaluronic acid causes inflammation 8:23 Hyaluronic acid dries skin out …

Read more

Nail Polish, Miscarriages, Cancer? Not So Pretty Episode 2

Not So Pretty 2 cover

Not So Pretty is a HBO documentary series about supposedly dangerous beauty products. It’s a very persuasive, slick-looking documentary. A lot of people chucked out their products after watching it, and as someone who breaks open bottles to use the last three drops at the bottom, this cut me deep. As a scientist who uses a lot of beauty products …

Read more

Talc and Asbestos in Makeup: Not So Pretty Episode 1

Not So Pretty

HBO has a new 4 part documentary Not So Pretty which talks about supposedly dangerous beauty products. This kind of documentary comes out every 6 months or so, and everyone panics and throws out their products. Like pretty much everyone I think, I’m concerned about my health, but not so into people trying to exploit this concern for attention, or …

Read more

Do zinc sunscreens stop working and go toxic after 2 hours?

Chemical vs Physical Sunscreens: The Science (with video)

There’s a new paper on zinc oxide sunscreens not working and becoming toxic after 2 hours of UV exposure. A lot of people have sent me this paper, so here’s my analysis of it. In short, the researchers found that sunscreen ingredients broke down when mixed with zinc oxide and exposed to UV light, and the degraded mixtures had lower …

Read more

Should you avoid aluminium in deodorants? The science

I’ve recently been approached by several natural deodorant companies to talk about the health risks of aluminium-containing antiperspirants. As much as I’d like that sweet sweet cheque… I can’t. Because the science just isn’t there. So instead, I’m going to debunk the aluminium scaremongering. (Note to deodorant companies: There are valid reasons to switch to natural deodorants. Aluminium ingredients can …

Read more

Clean Beauty Is Wrong and Won’t Give Us Safer Products

Think Dirty App

If you use beauty products, it’s impossible to not have heard of clean beauty. It’s a revolution. You want your products to be clean – you don’t want to use dirty products! You want your products to be good for your health and good for the environment. There are beautiful celebrities telling you about how they detoxed and cleaned out …

Read more