#12: Dodgy skincare "tests", scientific fraud, sunscreen reviews, Valisure, beef tallow

September(ish) update.

Another slightly delayed update - my health issues dragged on for a bit longer than anticipated, but hopefully we’re heading back to a regular schedule now!

I managed to catch up on a lot of work as well, so there’s a lot in this update…

Shorter content

My latest posts on Instagram and TikTok:

• Do you need to apply hyaluronic acid on damp skin, and does it dry out your skin? This was a reel sponsored by The Ordinary, who performed some clinical tests to help bust these persistent myths!

• A couple clips from my appearance on Dr Karan Explores - on collagen supplements and what’s in a basic skincare routine

• Can you test vitamin C serums on apples? (Kind of)

• US vs international sunscreens - this was a fun collaboration with The Washington Post!

• Debunking chemical sunscreen fearmongering (as is tradition)

• Debunking a beef tallow enthusiast who’s “exposing the beauty industry”

• Do spray sunscreens work?

• Benzene is apparently coming out of laundry detergents now (not really)

• Oily skin can benefit from moisturiser!

• An oncologist warns people about chemical sunscreens

• Some Australian comedians warn people about benzene in sunscreens

Dodgy TikTok skincare tests

There’s been two videos since my last update.

First up - there are a whole bunch of weird and wacky “tests” that people are doing on skincare products at home. Do they work?

Most of them don’t… but some of them kind of do! Some tests I cover:

• Sunscreen on toast

• Lip balm on paper

• pH testing Vaseline and vitamin C serums

• Betadine (iodine) test for vitamin C serums

• Apple test for vitamin C serums

• OneSkin’s sunscreen ad - testing with a UV sensor and a UV camera

• “Acne-safe” makeup apps

• Yuka app

You can watch the video on YouTube or Nebula. Article versions are coming soon!

Rosemary oil and hair loss, part 2: Scam like a scientist

This is probably the dodgiest science I've covered so far! I went further down the rosemary oil rabbit hole, and it turns out there’s proper scamming (allegedly) going on.

We're talking paper mills, a guy who publishes more than one paper a day, and researchers hoping we wouldn't notice that their photos are of the same mouse.

Watch it on YouTube or Nebula.

Articles: sunscreen reviews and Valisure/benzene deep dive

I also finally got my act together and wrote up article versions of some of my sunscreen recommendations. They’re split by region:

Part 1: Japanese sunscreens

Part 2: European sunscreens

Part 3: Korean sunscreens

I also posted the second part of the article version of my Valisure and benzene deep dive! This part talks about their past petitions, the history of critiques around the validation of their methods and results, and some of the potential conflicts of interest around their work (links to class action lawyers, their benzoyl peroxide patent…)

My first academic conference talk(s)!

A little while back, I gave my first in-person international academic conference presentation(s) at the 6th International Conference on Ultraviolet Radiation and Skin Cancer Prevention. I spoke about the impact of TGA sunscreen regulations on influencers at the pre-conference workshop, then delivered a plenary talk about sunscreen mythbusting on social media on the big stage.

The stage doesn’t look too scary from this angle, but I swear this was a gigantic auditorium!

Thank you Esther Olu @themelaninchemist for her sacrifice

I’m very proud to say I only metaphorically peed my pants. Both talks will be posted online soon (once I muster up the courage to watch the recordings).

I also met a whole bunch of personal heroes of mine, whose research I’ve been reading for years, and learned a LOT about sun protection - I’ll be sharing some really interesting new findings in upcoming videos!

Extra bits

• The Kindle version of my book The Science of Beauty is currently $1.99 on Amazon US!

• I made an appearance on fellow Nebula-ite Foreign Man in a Foreign Land’s video on skin bleaching and Vybz Kartel (huge Jamaican popstar who went through some pretty extreme skin colour changes). His videos are hilarious and insightful - I highly recommend giving them a watch!

• Also went on The Skinthusiast podcast to chat to Amy Koberling about, well, everything! We covered pore-clogging ingredients, rosemary oil, hyaluronic acid myths, the EWG, my book, the EU banning more ingredients than the US and more.

• I recently started trying out Differin gel (1% adapalene) after learning about it when writing my retinoid guide - it’s been interesting! I’ve found that it makes the very surface layer of my skin peel, but it seems to be less deep than tretinoin (for me at least). I’m still rotating between drug and cosmetic retinoids for this reason - the peeling is very annoying when it starts after I’ve applied makeup! What have your experiences with different drug retinoids been like?