Ingredients

I have been telling people this at every public talk that I have done for the past 7 years... finally it seems like people are catching on. Better late than never! (TL;DR: Natural is not always better. Essential oils are actually not that great for skin care. In fact, they are probably one of the most irritating things you could put on your skin.) https://www.nytimes.com//self-care-essential-oils-may-be-w #cosmetics #skincare #skin #beauty #essentialoils #dermatitis #allergy #cosmeticscience #cosmeticchemistry #ScienceOfBeauty

Finally, some progress in the world of beauty products... I remember growing up and always thinking there was something wrong with my body. My skin did not fit the beauty industry's definition of "normal". ("Normal" being white and having a Caucasian skin type.) I sometimes still struggle with that perception of myself, having endured it and believed it through my formative years and all through my 20s. The psychological damage this has done to generations of people - probably mostly women - for the past 50-60 years is unimaginable. It's enraging that it has taken this long to change. https://www.nytimes.com//unilever-normal-positive-beauty.h #beauty #beautystandards #racism #diversity #inclusion #cosmetics #skin #skincare

Article about racial bias in the cosmetics/beauty industry. No surprises there. Personally, I have experienced some racism in the past when shopping for cosmetics. https://www.cbc.ca/ne/business/beauty-racial-bias-1.5893568

Concerning news re: COVID-19 long-haulers who lost their sense of smell and have yet to regain it. https://www.nytimes.com//hea/coronavirus-smell-taste.html #COVID19 #covid #longhaul #publichealth #anosmia

An excellent reminder that not everything natural is actually good for you. Infographic by Compound Interest. #chemistry #naturalproductschemistry #organicchemistry #medicinalchemistry #scicomm

Whenever I do talks at the library, I always feel like there's never enough time to answer all the questions and address people's concerns. Seeing as it will be many months before we can return to in-person talks, I am planning to do an online Community Call. If you have burning questions about skin care and other beauty products, this will be your chance to ask them! I aim to do this as a video conference call on either Tuesday, January 19, 2021 or Wednesday, January 20, 202...1. If you are interested in participating, please fill out and submit the survey form below. Please indicate your preferred date and time (Eastern Standard Time zone: afternoon 1:30-2:30 p.m. or evening 7:00-8:00 p.m.), so that I can pick a time that best suits all those planning to attend. This will be a casual round-table discussion, so it will be your chance to ask me questions, and to chat about all things skin care related. If I have enough registrants, I will send out a video conference link to those who have registered. Please send your response on or before Friday, January 15, 2021. Thanks in advance and hope to see you there! https://us11.list-manage.com/survey See more

I have written about sunscreens several times over the past decade and it's a topic that needs to be continually updated. Seeing as it has been a few years since my last update, I thought it was high time to take another look. I have updated with new information on the environmental impact of synthetic sunscreens, and the mechanism of action of mineral sunscreens. http://theingredientslist.ca/dont-forget-the-sunscreen #scicomm #sunscreen #skincare #skin #cosmeticscience #environment

Useful infographic for understanding how mRNA vaccines work, by Compound Interest. #pandemic #COVID19 #publichealth #mRNA #RNA #vaccine #scicomm

For those who might not be aware, I am also on Instagram. I have to admit, I have not been good at coordinating my various social media accounts, so here's my first attempt! Recently, I received a brochure for La Roche-Posay's Lipikar AP. This product has been around for a while and it’s usually recommended to people with eczema as well as those with chronically dry skin. The shift in marketing, to focus on the skin’s microbiome, caught my attention. The microbiome is one of... the latest buzz words in beauty and skincare, so this isn’t overly surprising but it still feels like a major pivot, seeing as so much of the messaging on microorganisms has been that all of them are terrible and need to be destroyed, especially any that live on the skin. Seeing this through the lens of a science communicator and chemist, I wish this brochure explained the science more clearly to the non-science reader. There’s so many unanswered questions: why is the skin’s microbiome important? (Aren’t microorganisms bad?!) What constitutes an unbalanced microbiome, and what could cause it to become unbalanced? How does this product rebalance the microbiome? What is a biofilm, and why would it be good to disrupt it? There’s mounting evidence that the skin’s microbiome is an important factor in skin health, parallel to the gut microbiome. In particular, disturbing the microbiome by constant washing appears to increase the risk of developing chronic skin conditions such as eczema. My background in microbiology is limited, but I do know one sure fire way to disturb the skin’s microbiome and that’s to wash too often, in hot water, with powerful cleansers. An ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure: rather than attempting to rebalance the microbiome, a better bet is to leave it alone as much as possible. As Beyond Soap (Dr. Sandy Skotnicki's page) states, just wash the areas that get sweaty/dirty. More tips: use a mild cleanser, only wash when needed, and try to use warm instead of hot water when showering. #scicomm #sciencecommunication #skincare #beauty #skin #skinmicrobiome #skinmicrobiomescience #microbiome #cosmeticscience #scienceofbeauty #dryskin #eczema