#8: Deep dive on benzene and Valisure, "acne-safe", inactivating glycolic acid and more
#8: Deep dive on benzene and Valisure, "acne-safe", inactivating glycolic acid and more
April update.
I got really buried in making my latest video on benzene (see below), but hopefully this newsletter is heading back towards a fortnightly schedule!
Shorter content
My latest posts on Instagram and TikTok:
Unboxing my book! I opened my first physical copy of The Science of Beauty this week - it’s really gorgeous in person, I can’t wait for everyone to read it! It’s available for pre-order now, including the eBook and audiobook versions.
This link should direct you to the best retailers in your region, but it’s a bit buggy, so you might need to find it through Amazon or check your local English book retailer (please let me know your country if it doesn’t work, I can ask to get retailers added manually!).
Water doesn’t “inactivate” glycolic acid toners - this myth comes from a viral TikTok video from a dermatologist. Unfortunately myths from dermatologists are particularly “sticky”, since a lot of the general public incorrectly assume that dermatologists are experts on cosmetic products, despite multiple cosmetic chemists presenting different arguments to try to debunk it.
Micellar water doesn’t “ruin” skin (longer explanation: article)
Why acne-safe product lists are super misleading (longer explanation: article / video)
Why anecdotal evidence is extra tricky for hair loss (longer explanation: article / video, I’ve also done an article and video on anecdotal evidence in general)
Wedding photos! Featuring my handmade dress, and my pre-wedding skincare routine.
Deep dive into Valisure and benzene in products
The long-form video I promised on benzene and Valisure is out! This took an incredibly long time to put together - 168 hours over 4 weeks according to my records, despite me already knowing the science, and having my video editor do the bulk of the video assembly. I’m still really tired from doing it, but I think it’s my best video so far!
What it covers:
Valisure’s misleading (IMO) explanation of the temperatures they used
Their misleading characterisation of the risk of benzene
Their really clever-or-incompetent(?) trick of confusing people with concentration instead of dose
Valisure’s history of “scientific deficiencies” in measuring other contaminants in products
The harmful impacts of these sorts of practices
Possible motives for Valisure’s bad science
You can watch it on YouTube and Nebula.
I’ve also posted the article version of the first half, but this was really difficult and time-consuming to turn into text form, and I don’t think it explains it anywhere near as well as the video.
I’m not sure when the second half will come out - if anyone has any expertise in turning this sort of thing into text and would be interested in helping, please reach out!
Extra bits
Rob Lapham (@roblapham) and Liam Layton (@theplantslant) invited me onto an episode of their podcast, In Moderation. They both do a lot of debunking work in nutrition, particularly on TikTok (but they’re on Instagram and YouTube too) - they’re excellent for helping to navigate food misinformation!
I contributed to articles on damaged hair and split ends, and face sunscreens
Random recommendations
LIFE ORGANISATION
Toggl has been incredible for me for timekeeping, which is how I know exactly how long the benzene video took! It’s fantastic for anyone who freelances, or just wants hard data on how long things take, including hobbies. It’s been great for getting more realistic expectations of what can actually fit into my schedule (still working on the overall time management thing…). I’m pretty bad at sticking to systems, but I’ve stuck to it since October 2019, and the free version of Toggl has been more than enough for my purposes.
WATCHING
My friend Estefannie is an engineer with great fashion sense, who makes hilarious inventions. She’s mostly on Instagram - her recent sparking bra and stabby nails are amazing!
I’ve been enjoying The Present Past’s videos - really high quality explainer videos by a historian.
LISTENING
Conspirituality is a really great podcast about the intersection of misinformation and new age spirituality. It’s my new “hanging the laundry” listen.
EATING
I always assumed Hainanese chicken rice was really time consuming to make, but my dad recently told me his secret… it’s Hainanese chicken rice paste. It means you can make a reasonable approximation of Hainanese chicken in under 40 minutes! Ayam and Singlong pastes are both very good - the Ayam paste is vegan.