Health – Lab Muffin Beauty Science

Sunscreen absorption and receptor binding: Debunking TikTok Misinformation

Michelle Wong — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 11:00:25 +0000

There’s tons of misinformation on the dangers of sunscreen on social media, and it seems like all of the myths make the rounds each time a new platform emerges. Currently the trending platform is TikTok. Even though sunscreen safety is a topic I’ve covered many times, it repeatedly comes up in many different flavours. I’ll break down the misinformation in ...

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Parabens, Fragrance, Colorants, Talc: Debunking Bobby Parrish’s TikTok misinformation

Michelle Wong — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 12:37:23 +0000

Bobby Parrish, a home cook and food influencer who goes by the name FlavCity, has made a number of viral TikTok videos recently about dangerous personal care ingredients. As you might expect, there’s quite a lot of misinformation in them. I debunked a couple of them in a recent YouTube video, along with some other TikTok videos – you can ...

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Barrier Repair, Rosacea, Sensitive Skin: Products & Tips

Michelle Wong — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 12:10:29 +0000

Irritated and sensitive skin can be tricky to deal with – whether it’s because your skin is innately sensitive, or because it’s messed up from harsh products or harsh weather. I recently sat down with my friend Hannah English to talk about our favourite tips and products for irritated skin. She’s a pharmaceutical scientist and skincare content creator who shares ...

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US Sunscreens Aren’t Safe in the EU? The Science

Michelle Wong — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 11:30:36 +0000

There’s been a lot of fearmongering about chemical sunscreens. There were scary-sounding new stories – sunscreen absorbing into blood, killing coral reefs, zinc oxide being toxic, benzene in sunscreens… Related Post: Top 7 Sunscreen and SPF Myths I’ve covered most of these before, and they’re largely just the media taking things out of context and sensationalising them, partly for views, ...

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You don’t need to freak out about benzene in dry shampoo

Michelle Wong — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 12:00:59 +0000

There’s been another beauty product recall because of benzene. This time it’s dry shampoos produced by Unilever, including products from; Dove TRESemmé TIGI Suave I’ve talked about benzene contamination in products before, specifically sunscreen. It’s a very similar situation this time. The key points: Benzene is not intentionally added to products. Rather, it’s a trace contaminant that’s accidentally found its ...

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

Michelle Wong — Wed, 13 Jul 2022 13:52:39 +0000

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 ...

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Talc and Asbestos in Makeup: Not So Pretty Episode 1

Michelle Wong — Mon, 06 Jun 2022 13:30:00 +0000

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 ...

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New York 1,4-Dioxane Ban In Beauty Products?

Michelle Wong — Tue, 03 May 2022 13:33:00 +0000

If you’ve ever looked up sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) and sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) in a clean beauty app, like me, you might be surprised to find that SLES is dirtier than SLS. These apps are terrible and based on pseudoscience: SLS and SLES are both safe in your products. But if you’re a skincare nerd, you’ll know that SLS ...

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Food, Diet and Acne: The Science

Michelle Wong — Wed, 22 Dec 2021 12:30:00 +0000

You’ve probably seen hundreds of these sorts of videos and infographics giving you lists of foods to stop eating to cure your acne. Is there any truth to this? Are all these foods actually giving us acne? Here’s a deep dive into the science behind food and acne. A quick warning: I’ve had a lot of requests for this topic, ...

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

Michelle Wong — Sat, 16 Oct 2021 12:00:21 +0000

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 ...

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