Episode 389 - Fragrance trends, dye and dry shampoo, peptides and more

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Beauty Brains – Episode 389: Fragrance Trends, Dye and Dry Shampoo, Peptides and More

Release Date: February 20, 2025

In Episode 389 of The Beauty Brains, hosts Perry Romanowski and Valerie George delve deep into the evolving landscape of beauty products, focusing on emerging fragrance trends, innovative hair color solutions, safety concerns surrounding dry shampoos, advancements in peptide-based skincare, and the legitimacy of anti-pollution beauty claims. Through insightful discussions and expert analyses, they provide listeners with a comprehensive understanding of the latest developments in the cosmetic industry.

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1. Fragrance Trends for 2025

Valerie George introduces the segment by referencing an article from Marie Claire (as noted in Perfumer and Flavorist magazine) outlining the 10 major fragrance trends for 2025. The hosts explore each trend, providing context and expert opinions.

a. Men’s Perfume for Everyone

Traditionally, men's fragrances leaned towards amber and leather. In 2025, this trend is expanding as women increasingly embrace these traditionally masculine scents, highlighting the cyclical nature of fragrance preferences.

Valerie (05:34):
“Wooded scents are in, and everyone’s wearing them. It’s interesting because this was also very popular about 20 years ago, showing how cyclical things are.”

b. Boozy Accords

Fragrances inspired by alcoholic spirits like rum and cognac are gaining popularity. This trend appeals to consumers seeking rich, indulgent scents that evoke the essence of their favorite beverages.

Perry (05:59):
"If you want to smell like a piña colada, that's going to be cool now."

c. Oil-Based Fragrances

Perfume oils are becoming a trend due to their longer-lasting properties compared to traditional sprays. However, Valerie notes potential drawbacks such as the oily feel on the skin.

Perry (06:45):
"They would last longer for sure."

d. Maximalist Moments

Contrary to Coco Chanel’s philosophy of subtle fragrances, the maximalist trend embraces bold, strong scents that make a statement.

Valerie (07:00):
"Consumers are taking a more 'is more' approach to their fragrances. Coco Chanel would be really disappointed because she always said you don't want your fragrance to walk into the room before you do."

e. Moss

Once predominantly used in male fragrances, moss is now being incorporated into feminine and gender-neutral scents, adding an earthy dimension to modern perfumes.

Valerie (07:59):
"Apparently, moss is very big, and experts predict it will be used more in feminine and gender-neutral scents, whereas historically it's been in male fragrances."

f. Tangy Gourmands and Fruity Notes

Fragrances featuring tangy gourmand elements like caramel, vanilla, and chocolate, alongside fruity notes such as fig, pear, and pomegranate, are on the rise. These scents offer a sweet and playful olfactory experience.

Valerie (08:44):
"People want to smell big and bold, which makes sense with these maximalist moments."

g. Citrus Forward Scents and Scent Wardrobes

There is a growing preference for citrus-forward scents combined with floral notes, as well as the concept of maintaining a scent wardrobe—using different fragrances for different days or occasions.

Perry (08:55):
"They want to smell like Lemon Pledge or Pine Sol or something."

2. Cosmetics News: Anti-Pollution Beauty

Valerie brings attention to a recent trend reported by Cosmetics Design focusing on anti-pollution beauty products. These products aim to protect the skin from environmental pollutants, including claims related to blue light protection.

a. Blue Light Concerns

Perry expresses skepticism about the efficacy of blue light protection in skincare, emphasizing that the majority of blue light exposure comes from the sun rather than electronic devices.

Perry (11:56):
"The blue light stuff is just marketing made up stuff. You're not really helping it."

Valerie acknowledges the potential harm of pollution on both skin and hair but notes that consumer concern remains low, limiting the demand for such products.

Valerie (12:27):
"People aren't gravitating towards it. I don't think people are concerned about protecting their skin from benzene particulates in car exhaust."

3. Listener Questions

The episode features a series of listener-submitted questions, which Perry and Valerie adeptly address with scientific insights and practical advice.

a. Dye Shampoos (Laura’s Question)

Laura inquires about dye shampoos that claim to color hair without a developer. Valerie explains that these products use oxidative dyes that gradually react with ambient oxygen to impart color, a much slower and less efficient process compared to traditional hair dyes.

Valerie (20:48):
"These uncolored dye molecules penetrate the hair shaft and slowly react with oxygen over time, providing a gradual color change."

Perry adds that such products often resemble conditioners more than shampoos based on their ingredients.

Perry (21:42):
"I’m looking at the ingredient list. It looks like a conditioner, not a shampoo."

b. Excessive Sebum Control (Heather’s Question)

Heather seeks advice on managing excessive sebum on her cheeks. Valerie recommends using salicylic acid, which helps regulate sebum production and reduce inflammation.

Valerie (30:25):
"Applying a low-dose salicylic acid serum daily can help remediate long-term excessive sebum issues."

c. Dry Shampoo Safety (Pia’s Question)

Pia raises concerns about dry shampoos containing benzene and potential health risks. Perry and Valerie clarify that only a few dry shampoos have been found with benzene traces, primarily due to propellant impurities. They emphasize that when used in moderation, dry shampoos are generally safe, as the benzene levels detected are extremely low and unlikely to pose significant health risks.

Valerie (37:38):
"Most heightened attention is making dry shampoos safer, and benzene levels are too low to be a concern for regular use."

d. Azelaic Acid Without Prescription (CK’s Question)

CK questions how certain brands can sell 15% and 20% azelaic acid products without a prescription and whether these products are as effective as pharmacy versions. Valerie explains that these higher concentrations typically require a prescription due to their drug-like effects in treating conditions like rosacea.

Valerie (42:02):
"They're likely taking a risk by selling higher concentrations without prescription, as these are not over-the-counter products."

e. SH Polypeptide 9 and Rosacea (CK’s Second Question)

CK also asks if SH polypeptide 9 in a peptide cream could affect his ongoing BBL treatments for rosacea. Valerie assesses that the peptide blend used is generally innocuous and unlikely to interfere with medical treatments.

Valerie (44:00):
"This product is probably fine and won't interfere with your BBL treatments."

f. Natural Fragrances and Safety Data Sheets (Cassenia’s Question)

Cassenia is confused by hazard statements concerning natural fragrances in Safety Data Sheets (SDS), particularly regarding toxicity to aquatic life and skin sensitivity. Perry and Valerie elucidate that SDS often report hazards based on 100% exposure, which is not representative of actual product use where fragrances are present in trace amounts. They caution against misinterpreting SDS as they do not account for diluted usage scenarios.

Valerie (47:35):
"Safety data sheets are often for 100% exposure and do not reflect the actual usage concentrations in finished products."

Perry (49:09):
"Safety data sheets are meant for high exposure scenarios, not for the minimal amounts used in consumer products."

4. Concluding Remarks

As the episode wraps up, Perry and Valerie encourage listeners to submit their own questions and engage with the show via social media and Patreon. They emphasize the importance of being informed consumers and making beauty choices based on scientific evidence rather than marketing claims.

Perry (54:11):
"Remember, be brainy about your beauty."

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Notable Quotes:

• Valerie (05:34):
  “Wooded scents are in, and everyone’s wearing them. It’s interesting because this was also very popular about 20 years ago, showing how cyclical things are.”

• Perry (11:56):
  “The blue light stuff is just marketing made up stuff. You're not really helping it.”

• Valerie (20:48):
  “These uncolored dye molecules penetrate the hair shaft and slowly react with oxygen over time, providing a gradual color change.”

• Valerie (30:25):
  “Applying a low-dose salicylic acid serum daily can help remediate long-term excessive sebum issues.”

• Perry (43:09):
  “It’s unlikely to impact your BBL treatments. The brand is stringent on product formulation, so you can probably continue using it.”

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Final Thoughts:

Episode 389 of The Beauty Brains offers listeners a rich exploration of contemporary trends and safety concerns within the beauty industry. By dissecting fragrance innovations, evaluating the efficacy of novel hair and skincare products, and addressing consumer inquiries with scientific rigor, Perry Romanowski and Valerie George empower their audience to make informed and savvy beauty decisions. Whether you're curious about the latest scent fashions or wary of potential hazards in your beauty regimen, this episode serves as a valuable resource for all beauty enthusiasts.

Transcript

[Perry Romanowski]

Hi, I'm Perry, and you're listening to the Beauty Brains. Hello and welcome to the Beauty Brains, a show where real cosmetic chemists answer your beauty product questions and give you an insider's look at the cosmetic industry. This is episode 389. I'm your host, Perry Romanowski, and with me today is Valerie George. Hello, Valerie.

[Valerie George]

Hi, Perry.

[Perry Romanowski]

Valerie, we've got a big show. We did take a week off, but we're all back, and we've got lots of questions, including how does a dye shampoo work? How do you deal with excessive sebum? Are dry shampoos dangerous? How do companies sell azelaic acid products without requiring a prescription? Does SH polypepeptide 9 stimulate capillary growth? And are natural fragrances toxic to aquatic life? But first, Valerie, I am right now in Florida. I drove all the way from Chicago down to Florida to get out of the cold.

[Valerie George]

Wow. What are you gonna do with Teddy the cat? I felt like you've been gone so long already this year.

[Perry Romanowski]

I know. You know what? We brought Teddy with us.

[Teddy the Cat]

Aw.

[Valerie George]

What about the Cat in the Wall?

[Perry Romanowski]

The Cat in the Wall is outside.

[Valerie George]

Yep, that's right.

[Perry Romanowski]

I have to say, I did put out a lot of extra food for my outdoor kitties, The Heat Miser Puffers, Benitu, PK Clone, and Lil Blue. But I am worried about them because it's so cold. I mean, I have shelters out there for them, but, you know, I'm gone for two weeks, and they're kind of on their own. My neighbors does feed them, so that's good. But, you know, the whole trip I'm worried about them.

[Valerie George]

Oh, how sad. I have a question. Are you sunburned?

[Perry Romanowski]

Well, maybe. You know. You know, I use sunscreen, but somehow I like mist stuff.

[Valerie George]

You mean like mist your whole face and neck?

[Perry Romanowski]

No, I sprayed sunscreen on my face and neck, but, you know, and I wear a hat, and, you know, it's. I don't usually reapply, so that's probably a problem. I don't know. Well, also, although, on the other hand, I am polish, and I just have a natural red face.

[Valerie George]

Well, you. You look perpetually red, ever since your last vacation. Then I think the spray sunscreens probably aren't it for you, and you need to put, like, a cream sunscreen in your bag.

[Perry Romanowski]

I would agree with you. I do. I have to do that? Honestly, my sun protection strategy is usually just cover everything up. Like I'm the guy sitting on the beach with a towel over him, bundled up, just My head is showing. That's it. But, you know, it works. But not 100%, because I got. I did get some sunscreen. Sunburn.

[Valerie George]

Yeah, that's true. Well, it is a little cold in Dallas as well, but we've had some nice days. And I thought you would be interested to know that Pretty Kitty is now inside. Curious.

[Perry Romanowski]

What? I thought Pretty Kitty was gone.

[Valerie George]

She's back. She's totally back. Yeah. Although one of her. Well, two of her kittens have been missing for a long time. I think they're gone.

[Perry Romanowski]

Yeah.

[Valerie George]

Then there were two. Now they're bigger cats, and one of them was found kind of in multiple pieces. I guess there's, like, a coyote in the neighborhood. Yeah. Anyway, so Pretty Kitty's back, and she has been coming up to the door and staring inside, and she will not move until someone comes to get me. She wants to see me. And so the other day, I was like, let me leave the door open. And she actually had her paws on the threshold, and the UPS driver came up, and she got scared and ran away. So we tried it again. The next time, she was looking for me in the door with her bold stare, and she actually came inside. But then she saw Mr. Cosmetic Chemist, and this other chemist that I have came from outside, and she got scared and she took off. But she's been back to see me every day. You will just be working away, and all of a sudden, boom. Her face in the window.

[Perry Romanowski]

Well, that is exciting. I hope you're feeding her and, you know, maybe get a trap and get her fixed so she doesn't have any more kittens.

[Valerie George]

Oh, well, once we're gonna trap her inside, that's for sure.

[Perry Romanowski]

Well, make sure all of the holes in your walls are closed, because they might run in.

[Valerie George]

Oh, my gosh, what a nightmare.

[Perry Romanowski]

All right, are we ready to head on to some beauty news?

[Valerie George]

I saw an interesting article. We never really talk about fragrance, but Marie Claire did release 10 big fragrance trends for 2025.

[Perry Romanowski]

Marie Claire is like a women's beauty magazine or something. I think I went and visited them in New York.

[Valerie George]

They are. And I don't really follow their. What they're publishing, but it turns out the magazine Perfumer and Flavorist, which is a magazine I do read does, and I thought it would be fun to talk about some of the fragrance trends that they talked about.

[Perry Romanowski]

Yeah, let's see. They. So the story is the 10 biggest fragrance trends for 2025. Ed, what do we got here? Well, men's perfume for everyone. What? Oh, I guess traditionally Men are supposed to smell like amber and leather, so now women want to smell like that. Is this what we're saying?

[Valerie George]

Exactly. Wooded sensor in and everyone's wearing them. And what's interesting is this actually also was very popular about 20 years ago. So it just shows how cyclical things are. Boozy Accords are also trending, so fragrances are becoming inspired by alcoholic spirits such as rum and cognac. I personally love the smell of bourbon, so I'm kind of happy to see that this is going to the fragrance side.

[Perry Romanowski]

If you want to smell like a pina colada, that's going to be cool now.

[Valerie George]

Exactly.

[Perry Romanowski]

You know, that's my. My karaoke sog. The pina colada song.

[Valerie George]

It is.

[Perry Romanowski]

If you like pina colada.

[Valerie George]

You know, we did karaoke together in Canada and I don't remember that one. But also I didn't do. I think we were focusing on Bryan Adams.

[Perry Romanowski]

We were. We were. All right. Speaking of Brian, what's this oil based fragrances?

[Valerie George]

I guess people are really interested in perfume oils, which they say lasts longer than traditional perfumes, but I don't really know if that's the case.

[Perry Romanowski]

Well, if it's not a volatile oil, then it would last longer, but then it makes your skin oily, so that seems a little aesthetically unpleasing.

[Valerie George]

Yeah, yeah, not for me, but they.

[Perry Romanowski]

Would last longer for sure.

[Valerie George]

There's also this trend of maximalist moments. Of course it's influenced by perfume talk, which I'm assuming is some kind of annoying hashtag on tick tock, but it's.

[Perry Romanowski]

Like tick tock but perfume. Oh my God, what is this?

[Valerie George]

Consumers are taking a more is more approach to their fragrances. And I think Coco Chanel would be really disappointed because she always said, like, you don't want your fragrance to walk into the room before you do. And this just goes against everything she says.

[Perry Romanowski]

You know, you remember that store, Bath and Body Works?

[Valerie George]

I do.

[Perry Romanowski]

Or they're still around. They might. Anyway, they were big in the malls, but they had this one like cucumber melon scent.

[Valerie George]

Oh, I hated that one.

[Perry Romanowski]

There was a girl who I used to work with and she was just covered in cucumber melon every time she come in. Like you knew she was at work because she just. The cucumber melon was just wafting everywhere.

[Valerie George]

I just got so over that fragrance. At first it was like, wow, this is really good. And then it was like, yeah, I can't wait to never smell it again.

[Perry Romanowski]

That's a fragrance trend that has disappeared. But what hasn't disappeared is more moss.

[Valerie George]

Apparently moss is very big, and experts predict that it will be used more in feminine and gender neutral sense, whereas historically it's been in male fragrances. It's like very earthy.

[Perry Romanowski]

Do you think. Do you think Kate Moss uses Moss fragrance?

[Valerie George]

I wonder if she used a CK one. Wasn't she a Calvin Klein model?

[Perry Romanowski]

She could have been, yeah. I was just happy I remembered her name.

[Valerie George]

Other notes that are in are really powerful notes. People want to smell big and bold, which makes sense with this maximalist moments. But tangy gourmands. Gourmand is a category that is almost food. Like, so. Caramel, vanilla, chocolate. It makes sense with the boozy Accords coming in.

[Perry Romanowski]

Sure, sure.

[Valerie George]

Fruity notes like fig, pear and pomegranate. And then consumers are seeking citrus forward scents with uplifting notes like bergamot and lemon mixed with florals.

[Perry Romanowski]

So they want to smell like what, Lemon Pledge or Pine Sol or something.

[Valerie George]

You know, I'm just not a lemon fan.

[Perry Romanowski]

Yeah, I mean, I like it. I like lemon for, like, cleaning surfaces. But walking around smelling like a lemon.

[Valerie George]

Yeah. Well, also, consumers are looking to have multiple fragrances. So they have this scent wardrobe versus, like an individual scent. So, yeah, I guess that capitalizes on the more is more trend. I don't know.

[Perry Romanowski]

I guess that girl who I was talking about who used the cucumber melon, like, she was like, I'm the cucumber melon person. Right.

[Valerie George]

She didn't want a wardrobe of stuff. She wanted cucumber melon.

[Perry Romanowski]

But now the kids these days would be just like, okay, on Mondays, I'm cucumber melon. On Tuesdays I'm Strawberries and Cream.

[Valerie George]

Wednesdays, Sweet Pea. Thursday's Warm Vanilla Bean. Friday's Love spell. Oh, wait, that's Victoria's Secret.

[Perry Romanowski]

I thought Friday was fish. Do you know that song? Only during Lent there's a song. Today is Monday. Today Monday. Bread and butter.

[Valerie George]

All.

[Perry Romanowski]

You hungry, Chip? No, no. I learned it in the 70s, I guess.

[Valerie George]

Yeah, sounds like it. Oh, my goodness.

[Perry Romanowski]

You know, I always loved music class when I was a kid.

[Valerie George]

Well, I'll tell you something. I actually got kicked out of choir in fourth grade. They implored my mother to find another hobby for me. Isn't that terrible?

[Perry Romanowski]

Why did you get kicked out? Is this a voice thing or.

[Valerie George]

I wasn't very good.

[Perry Romanowski]

Come on, I've heard you karaoke. You do? All right.

[Valerie George]

It's pretty bad.

[Perry Romanowski]

Maybe in four. Maybe in fourth grade I could see that.

[Valerie George]

Oh, Gosh. Well, what do you see in the news this week?

[Perry Romanowski]

I saw this story in Cosmetics design about anti pollution beauty and they were just looking at this, this trend about whether, about pollution. Regular exposure to pollution at high levels is spurring a lot of development in beauty products. And it's according to them, research has shown that air pollutants come in contact with the skin, they cause oxidative damage and this can lead to DNA damage. And so a lot of companies are launching products to be anti pollution products. One of the areas they're looking at is blue light. There is this sense that that blue light causes damage, like blue light from your phone or your computer or your TV is causing damage. And that's part of the pollution realm now as far as I'm concerned. I think all of this pollution stuff as far as making products that can offset the effects of this, first of all, the blue light stuff is that's just marketing made up stuff. You're not really helping it. All the blue light you get is from the sun and it just overwhelms anything you'd get from your devices.

[Valerie George]

That's true, that's very true.

[Perry Romanowski]

And so products that are supposed to target and save you from blue light, they're not really having much impact there. It's much more of a marketing story. Now I'm curious what your thoughts are on this, the anti pollution part, because certainly there are nitrous oxides in the air, especially living in urban parts, and that stuff is going to get on your skin, that's going to cause oxidation. Can you create skin care products that actually help against pollution?

[Valerie George]

Well, pollution isn't great for hair either. And I think there is data at least over the last 10 years that are showing that pollution can be harmful to skin. Not great for your hair. But the challenge is anytime you pitch this to a brand like, hey, I think this active would be really great for this product because it has really great anti pollution data. People aren't gravitating towards it. And I just don't think people are concerned. Like people are more worried like, oh, is this paraben free? Not, you know, is this going to protect my skin from all the benzene particulate that's getting pushed out by car exhaust? You know, like that's not a concern for people. So I think at least not in the United States, Canada, Europe.

[Perry Romanowski]

So it is strange though that if the things to worry about that stuff is more worrisome than like parabens or some other chemical in your cosmetic product. I mean nobody is. People Aren't really worried about the right stuff, which is kind of strange.

[Valerie George]

I think something has to happen for consumers to get concerned, for them to make the demand on brands and then brands start, start to use these ingredients. Because I think in theory, you know, it's great to have some of these materials. But from a marketing positioning, nobody is making anti pollution hair care, for example, at least as like a core problem solution focus. Because I don't think consumers really think it's a problem.

[Perry Romanowski]

Right. It's. It's hard to notice that it is a problem. I think you can kind of accept that, oh, if you live in the city and the city grime kind of gets on your skin, that's going to have a negative impact. Now, of course, once you take a shower and you wash all that off, you feel like your skin is not being affected by that anymore. So it's a little harder to sell to say, oh, this anti pollution product is going to protect you from that. Because I'm not even sure there's a technology that can really protect you very much from these pollution things. But it does make a way for brands to differentiate themselves and maybe stand apart for sure. All right, well, that is that. Are we ready to answer some questions?

[Valerie George]

Well, first, Perry, I think we had some listener feedback. So when I.

[Perry Romanowski]

You are correct. We did. Yeah.

[Valerie George]

When I posted on Instagram that you had these horrific bug bites and I showed a picture of your legs, guys, you should have. He showed me his torso one time and I was like, oh, my gosh.

[Perry Romanowski]

People were like, oh, torso is worse than the legs.

[Valerie George]

You know how Perry keeps sunscreen in his golf bag? He should leave bug spray in his suitcase so when he goes on vacation he doesn't have to worry. So, Perry, all these listeners are saying, put bug spray in your suitcase. What do you think of that?

[Perry Romanowski]

Bug spray was in my suitcase and bug spray was on my body and oh my gosh, still went after me.

[Valerie George]

Really?

[Perry Romanowski]

And it was not. It's not that citronella bs. It doesn't actually work. It's the deet, the NN diethyl meta toluomide. The stuff that actually has been proven to work. Well, it doesn't work for me. I say it didn't work for me.

[Valerie George]

We need to go to the bug spray companies and say, something has happened. This stuff isn't working. That's crazy. You got bit up with the bug spray.

[Perry Romanowski]

I know. It's. Well, it's just. It's a hard problem to solve and the bug spray will keep it away. From some people, but obviously not mine. The craziest thing is like my wife was, who is right next to me the entire time, gets one bug bite. I get 150. I don't know, they just gravitate towards me, I guess.

[Valerie George]

Oh, gosh. Well, good luck.

[Perry Romanowski]

Yeah, well, I'll keep trying. You know, we also did get some listener feedback last time. Last show, I believe it was, somebody asked for a website that could tell them about ingredients that would or cause allergic reactions. And somebody had pointed out a different website all the way from Minneapolis. She said skinsafe.org is a great site for searching household personal care and beauty product ingredients.

[Valerie George]

I think we recommended Inky Decoder, but she's saying Skin Safe. Okay.

[Perry Romanowski]

Skin safe. Yeah, skinsafe.org although I think skin safe, probably products.com is another place for it. Anyway, it's a platform that aims to help consumers identify personal care products with all their ingredients. It's developed in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic. Although I gotta say that seemed a little marketing ish sometimes Mayo Clinic is.

[Valerie George]

Not right on stuff.

[Perry Romanowski]

Right, right, right. No, but they also are like it's a collaboration with them. So it was like, I don't know, I talked to somebody who worked there while during my lunchtime and it's. I think they were just kind of, you know, trying to get the coattails of Mayo Clinic to give it some more legitimacy. But anyway, they have a database of 135,000 products. They're evaluated for ingredient safety. Now from a positive standpoint, you know, they, if they are in a partnership with Mayo Clinic, that does offer some credibility. They have a lot of products that are listed, so that's handy for searching. And they have user friendly tools. You can like barcode scan, so check stuff out. So that's good. On the other hand, it's also they like over flag some things. So you know, maybe something is not an allergen, but they're going to say that it is. So that could add to some, you know, that could scare consumers a bit more.

[Valerie George]

Also if it's just looking at the ingredient label which is published to the public, there's just certain things you miss. Like for example, if you're allergic to coconut, some ingredients could come from coconut or they could come from palm. And even if I'm only sourcing a palm derived source, they would participate in this over flagging where it's like whoa, watch out. But in actuality it's coconut free.

[Perry Romanowski]

Yeah. And you know another thing that happens and this happens not just with A site like this. But any site on the Internet that has ingredient lists, the ingredient list for a product can change.

[Valerie George]

That's true.

[Perry Romanowski]

And this data may or may not be current. I remember there was a site called drugstore.com.

[Valerie George]

Oh, they were so great. I used them all the time. I actually used to buy from them as well.

[Perry Romanowski]

Oh, well, I love that site. But they, I would look up the ingredient list for Suave Shampoo because I was doing a project and I looked at the ingredient list that was listed online and then there was a typo or something and they had it throughout the whole thing and the typo was not on the actual product because I had the actual product. And so, you know, instead of seedal alcohol, they just called it cetl. Like wait a second, that's. So the data is not necessarily always correct. And this is true of like inky decoder too because you know, they, of course they're going to try their best. But product ingredient list gets updated all the time and so it's probably not always completely accurate.

[Valerie George]

That's true. But thanks for the recommendation.

[Perry Romanowski]

Indeed. Check that out if you're looking for ingredients that you might be allergic to. Speaking of being allergic to, we're allergic to unanswered questions. So let's move on to beauty questions. Now. Our first one comes to us from Laura. She says, hi, Perry and Valerie. I'm a huge fan from Italy. I work in the cosmetic business and your show helped me to overcome a lot of marketing bull bs. I just watched an ad on my sm SM Social media. Social media. That's it. Yes. There you go. Okay. I just watched an ad on my social media introducing a new way to dye your hair and cover gray. It's a dye shampoo that works in just 10 minutes and is promoted as super easy to use and also long lasting. I checked the ingredients and it contains PPT and resource and all, but it's not activated by a developer. Can you check it and explain to me how this works? Thanks for all the great work you do, Laura. And she listed instant dye shampoo, which is polarhaircare.com this is a very interesting.

[Valerie George]

Product because it is a shampoo that contains oxidative dyes. And so ordinarily when you are using a permanent hair color, it contains oxidative dyes and you have to add hydrogen peroxide to it to get the dyes to go from colorless to colored. But in the case of this shampoo, you're just using oxidative dyes. There's no hydrogen peroxide so Laura has a great question. How is it working? So what happens is these uncolored dye molecules penetrate inside the hair shaft, and over time, they're exposed to ambient oxygen in the atmosphere, and they will slowly find each other and react. It's a very slow process. It's way less efficient than just dyeing your hair. And not all of the dye molecules will find each other. So you'll have some unreacted stuff in your hair, but nonetheless, you should get a little bit of hair color.

[Perry Romanowski]

Now, I'm looking at the product. This looks like a hair conditioner. This is probably not a shampoo.

[Valerie George]

Oh, okay. Sorry. I thought she said it was a shampoo. Give me a second.

[Perry Romanowski]

Well, no, she might have said the product I'm looking at right now. Oh, it. No, actually it says instant dye shampoo, but I'm looking at the ingredient list. I'm not seeing a. I'm not seeing a surfactant. Like, what. What is this? Wait, this looks more like a conditioner to me, Valerie. What's, what's. And they call it a shampoo, but I, I'm not, I'm seeing conditioner ingredients.

[Valerie George]

Well, let me speculate on what I think is happening here. So essentially, Just for Men is a brand owned by Comb International. They're a US Based company. They have actually a patented shampoo technology where they employ this exact same concept. They take a shampoo like a cleansing shampoo, and they put these uncoupled dye molecules in it and say, air, do your thing. And they actually have patented this all over the world. They're one of the first companies to do it. I'm suspecting that this brand, Polar Hair Care, is putting this in a conditioner because they want to circumvent the Just for Men patent. Otherwise they would be in violation because the Just for Men patent says, well, you have to have at least like one cleansing surfactant present.

[Perry Romanowski]

Right.

[Valerie George]

And so in this case, they don't. So this is basically a hair color. I'm going to guess that you could actually put sodium or, excuse me, hydrogen peroxide in this product and dye your hair much faster versus air dyeing it.

[Perry Romanowski]

Huh? Oh, very interesting. And I'm looking at the ingredient list. The reason I say it doesn't seem like a shampoo is because it's got cetera alcohol in it. It's got glycerol stearate, it's got petrolatum, it's got. Got cyclopentosiloxane. These are all stuff you'd find in a Conditioner. One of the questions I have for you is the dye molecule. Is that the phenyl methyl pyrazolone?

[Valerie George]

Phenyl methylpyrazolone is one of them. The ingredient list is actually very strange on this because they say ingredients and then other trace ingredients, which you're not really allowed to do that. And they list dye molecules. I think Laura said she doesn't see ppt, but it's actually ppd, and it's the fourth ingredient, P phenylenediamine. It's in the main ingredient list along with resorce at all and phenylmethyl pyrazolone. But there's other colorants, such as NnBiS2 hydroxyethyl, P phenylene, diamine sulfate meta aminophenol that appear in the other trace ingredient section. So I just find the whole thing very bizarre.

[Perry Romanowski]

Yeah. You know, if we had a contest of who could pronounce chemical names better, you or me, you might win.

[Valerie George]

I take. I take home the gold medal.

[Perry Romanowski]

You might do that. All right, so that's basically how it works. Now. Does it really work, do you think? I guess it works over time.

[Valerie George]

It works over time. It's gradual, progressive color. I think it's a little cheesy. I personally don't like exposing skin to colorants like that because again, if you're in the shower and you're putting this on like a conditioner, it's. It runs down a lot of your body. And I personally, just from a usage standpoint, I think the less skin contact you can have with colorants, the better. So I probably would reach for a more conventional hair colorant and skip the shower.

[Perry Romanowski]

Now, the other. There are other ones where they use direct dyes as the ingredient, and those, to me, seem a little safer because there's not any chemical reaction. It's not monomers that are unreacted, so. But they don't work as well. Right.

[Valerie George]

They don't work to cover gray hair, for sure. And there's very little penetration into the hair. So I think if you're looking for, like, true, more permanent color change, this is a better option than a product with direct dyes, which is directly colored. No reactions required. But I still say just go do conventional hair color. Skip this weird gimmicky stuff.

[Perry Romanowski]

Yeah, yeah, I'd agree. All right, we got another question from Heather.

[Valerie George]

Hi there. I came across this product when looking into fillers, I have static lines on my forehead and between the brown area. It has a hefty price point. But this is a doctor's website. What do you think? Grenzine serum from Oakville plastic surgery. Skin Light.com is the website.

[Perry Romanowski]

Yeah. Vivier is the brand. V I V I E R and.

[Valerie George]

Grenzene is the serum. G R E N Z C I N E. We'll put it in the show notes. And the ingredients are essentially propylene glycol, pentalin glycol, butylene glycol, water ascorbic acid, which is vitamin C. Ethoxydiglycol, which is a penetration enhancer. Grapefruit fruit extract, which is a fragrance.

[Perry Romanowski]

Oil, I guess, or a marketing ingredient. Yeah, I guess it might adjust the ph.

[Valerie George]

And then 14 diaminobutane dihydrochloride, which has this street name, Polyamine Dav. And a fragrance. So what do you think, Perry? This are actually getting fillers, Valerie.

[Perry Romanowski]

They're charging $334 for one ounce of this stuff. I mean, that's like 10 bucks a gram.

[Valerie George]

I know. I. I was just asking the question to play the. For polite podcast hostance and water.

[Perry Romanowski]

I know what this is. Wow. Okay. Well, let's look at what.

[Valerie George]

So to be fair, Perry, the humectants are the first ingredient.

[Perry Romanowski]

Yeah, that's actually. If you put this on your skin, it's going to feel warm to the touch. It'll feel like it's warming.

[Valerie George]

Yeah.

[Perry Romanowski]

Which is kind of cool. But I mean, come on. So the benefits, they say, are anti wrinkle firming and lifting. It's for your face. Hypoallergenic. I mean, I don't see anything in this product that you couldn't find in something else at a much less expensive price.

[Valerie George]

Let me tell you a story here, Heather and Perry. I have a friend who has really bad melasma. I mean, really bad. And I told her, you have to go get laser and go under for the.

[Perry Romanowski]

For the listeners who don't know what melasma is. What. That's a hyperpigmentation or.

[Valerie George]

Yes, big patches of dark hyperpigmentation. It's very stubborn. It's often hormonal, genetic. From sun exposure. Prolonged sun exposure. And so I just told her, like, you have to go see a dermatologist to address this. Laser is the only thing that's going to remove the topical stuff. And then you need some kind of prescription from them. I mean, it was very severe. So she goes to the dermatologist and they said, oh, just use this skin care product. We sell it. And it was a few hundred bucks per bottle, just like this. What and she was just like, I work in the industry. Like, I don't think this product is gonna fix my right medical condition that I have. And it just goes to show that like, even though this product is at a doctor's office, that doesn't mean it works. Like they're interested in making money on this stuff. And yeah, I would say if, you know, you really have these hefty lines, you need fillers or you need Botox or you need some kind of like more stringent medical intervention. And this bottle is a third of the price of Botox and will last you about one month. Botox will last you three months. Fit fillers might last a year. So, yeah, I don't know. I would just kind of do the math.

[Perry Romanowski]

Yeah, save your money because go get Olay for 25 bucks. Regenerist.

[Valerie George]

That's a great product.

[Perry Romanowski]

It is. It gives you nice moisturizing and then save that other 300 that you were gonna spend for, you know, Botox. Yeah, it's like, it seems much more economical and it'll be much more effective because I cannot say, even at 300 bucks, I cannot say that this thing, which is just humectants and this polyamine growth factor, I can't say that's going to work.

[Valerie George]

No.

[Perry Romanowski]

In a way that you'll notice certainly it's not going to work as well as both.

[Valerie George]

I really enjoyed seeing your face though, when you saw the price tag. Okay, Heather snuck in another question while I have you.

[Perry Romanowski]

She did.

[Valerie George]

You've talked about how to deal with excessive have you talked about how to deal with excess excessive sebum? Specifically on my cheeks, under my eyeglasses. Thanks for the pod, Heather.

[Perry Romanowski]

And would you just, what, Use a washcloth to like, dab. Do you have any excessive sebum tips?

[Valerie George]

Well, sebum comes from the inside and it's usually genetic. And so I would recommend applying some routine salicylic acid. Not just like because, you know, you have pimples or whatever, but salicylic acid, even at a neutral ph, has a lot of beneficial data for regulating sebum production within the sweat glands and for reducing inflammation. So I would say that would help remediate the long term problems with excessive sebum. And you have to keep using it, using it daily, but just topically. I mean, I think there's different makeup products that would help absorb it, but ultimately that doesn't correct the issue.

[Perry Romanowski]

Yeah, like cornstarch or silicone. Like a silica products with silica in it would, would help powdered Makeup, you know, absorb. Yeah, that kind of thing. But it's kind of a genetic thing, so you just have to keep on it.

[Valerie George]

Keep on it and. Yeah, a low dose salicylic acid serum. And you could even just put it on your cheeks if that's your only problem, Mary. But I would do it every single day.

[Perry Romanowski]

You know, I just got a product with salicylic acid in it and it's 15%. You know what the product is?

[Valerie George]

A wart remover.

[Perry Romanowski]

It is.

[Valerie George]

You have been obsessed with those.

[Perry Romanowski]

I. No, you know, I get this. I thought it was a bug bite, but it's like. It's like weird. So I'm like, this is probably a wart. Because every so often I'll get these, like from out of nowhere. I'll just get this wart on my hand. I don't know where it comes from. It's probably out there. But I'm going to like salicylic acid the hell out of that thing and it'll be gone.

[Valerie George]

I have a question. Do you think that gets rid of moles? I have a lot of. I wouldn't say they're moles, but they're like little skin tags and I get all these like really hard growths. My dermatologist said I won the lotto with all the stuff that I have. But do you think it would get rid of those? Because I usually just scrape everything off.

[Perry Romanowski]

You know, I do not think it will get rid of those because the salicylic acid, what it does, I mean, it has the exfoliating, so maybe it'll help with that exfoliating piece. But I think the salicylic acid also kills the. Because a wart is a fungi or mold or something like that, and it will kill that. So I think salicylic acid is exfoliating and so it could help take off a tag or something. I don't help think it's gonna help with mold.

[Valerie George]

I mean, a girl can try, I guess.

[Perry Romanowski]

I know. You know, it does help with moles, though. It shovels. You can dig up the hole and.

[Valerie George]

Oh, gosh, don't we have another question?

[Perry Romanowski]

We do. Here's an audio question from Pia. Let me play that now.

[Pia]

Hey, beauty brains. This is Pia calling from Queens, New York. My question is about dry shampoo. I follow a local brand, a local skincare brand, and recently they posted a video about dry shampoo having dangerous ingredients. I think they mentioned benzene. And also the fact that many hair care companies have done recalls or are in the Middle of lawsuits because of dry shampoos having dangerous ingredients and ingredients that are carcinogens. So my question for you is, is that true? I don't use dry shampoo every day or anything like. But I do use it like once, maybe once every couple of weeks. And I just want to make sure that it's a safe product for me to continue using. Thank you so much. Bye.

[Perry Romanowski]

Well, I remember that the benzene thing was a big to do last year. So the question is, do these products have benzene in them? And are these companies going through lawsuits? And so I think the quick answer is, yes, there were some dry shampoo, not all of them, but there were some dry shampoos that tested positive for benzene. And two, yes, a couple of companies are going through lawsuits because of this. But the question is, does that make them unsafe?

[Valerie George]

I don't think so. So what happened is a few years ago, anyone who manufactured products with propellants got a letter from these aerosol manufacturers who actually buy the propellant for use in aerosol products. And they said, hey, oopsie. We just wanted to let you know that our propellant's been coming back with high traces of benzene because it's not avoidable in this product type. And so then Valisure, this company, started doing a lot of benzene testing. The FDA has since said, your testing methods are bogus. You must cease testing immediately. Because they actually didn't say this about the dry shampoos, but they actually said it about aerosol sunscreens. And so they basically said, you're creating a big scare when your test methods are leading to false positive results. So in my opinion, given the high publicity of this matter, given the fact that benzene contamination has been brought to the attention of aerosol manufacturers, I think there's a lot of diligence. And it's not like there's a ton of aerosol manufacturers. Very select few actually can produce aerosols. I think there's a lot of heightened attention to this. And so I think it's probably okay to use.

[Perry Romanowski]

Yeah, it's certainly the way she's using. She. She sprays it on her hair once or twice a week, and it's all about the dose. And it's a lot easier to detect a level of benzene because it's way a tiny amount. The amount that will impact your health is much higher. And so the levels that we're talking about are way low. Now, the question was about, like, what brands have lawsuits against them. This is what's gonna Happen. Lawyers will go after big companies. And so some of the brands that you're talking about, Dove, Nexus, Suave, Pantene, Herbal Essences, Aussie, all the big brands. Right. Because those are big companies. They have money and. And they. They have money. That's who you go after. Like a brand like Batiste, which you could find at Target. Nobody's going after them, even though they're made kind of the same way. So, honestly, what happens here is this was a propellant issue. You're able to detect a really low level of an ingredient, which can be problematic if you're exposed to at high levels. This doesn't expose them at high levels. Now, as far as recalls go, you know, some of these big companies would just said, okay, let's just recall it to be completely safe. Right. Just because it has a bad reputation or something. So they just recall it. But there's never been any evidence that using these products causes any health problems.

[Valerie George]

I'd also like to throw another wrench into the mix. So dry shampoos.

[Perry Romanowski]

What is a wrench?

[Valerie George]

Well, you know, I just like to throw a wrench into it. Really.

[Perry Romanowski]

Just throw a monkey wrench into the. Into the works. The spanner, as it were.

[Valerie George]

Yeah. So basically, dry shampoos historically have not been regulated for volatile organic compound content. And the state of California has caught on, and they said, wow, dry shampoos have around 95% VOC propellants in them. Whoa. We can regulate this and cut it down to 55 in a couple years, 50 years after that. So if the benzene comes from the propellant, which, again, it is in very, very, very, very trace, minute quantities, and you're not exposing yourself to a lot. If we have to cut the propellant down from 95 to, let's say, 55, you're effectively cutting that benzene impurity quantity in half as well. So they're only going to get safer. Most states follow the state of California when it comes to VOC regulations, and in fact, many other states also follow it. So I think it's just going to get safer.

[Perry Romanowski]

Yeah. And honestly, it's not unsafe at the moment at the levels that they find. It's. All this shows is that they're getting better at detecting smaller and smaller levels. Benzene is a common ingredient in organic chemistry to make other ingredients, and there is always some level that's unreacted, but, you know, the dose makes the poison. So I wouldn't worry about the dry shampoo that you're using.

[Valerie George]

Well, our next question comes to us from CK on Patreon.

[Perry Romanowski]

Hi, I have two questions and since you're a patron CK, you get two questions. Here it is. First one, I use prescription 15% azelaic acid from the pharmacy. I'm not a fan of the texture or tube and discovered Dermatica offers both 15 and 20% azelaic acid. They do not require you to utilize their telehealth services to purchase these. Is there some sort of loophole that allows them to sell 15 and 20% without a prescription? Also, would you trust their AZ acid is equally or close to as effective as the azelaic acid that you purchase from a pharmacy? So let's go to that one first. What is this? So actually I was looking in some research of this and you can get over the counter in the United States, azelaic acid products at a 10% or lower. The Ordinary actually has a 10% version and that's available without a prescription. But to get 15% and 20% that does require a prescription. So how is it that this company is selling it without that?

[Valerie George]

I think it's probably a risk that they take. I, I don't really know because I actually go to a doctor to get mine and you need the script to do it. So I don't. Like I said, maybe it's a risk thing. I would be surprised if they were allowed to do it, to be honest, because again, it's not an over the counter drug product. It requires a prescription from a medical professional. And so unless they're just saying any person who inquires gets the prescription, I think it's pretty reckless and it's occurring at a risk to them. There is no data that shows azelaic acid is effective below 15%. 15% is the minimum requirement and it is used to treat rosacea. Actually like the exfoliating properties are very low and slow. Like they take, it takes months. It's not like instantaneous, like glycolic. So it's primarily prescribed for treating rosacea pustules. That mechanism is not known and how it does it. Treating rosacea is a drug claim. And so I think probably they're getting away with it because they don't actually talk about treating rosacea in the product claims. They say, oh, it fades, blemishes, stubborn dark spots, signs of aging. They don't actually talk about the real things that it treats, but they have a little tiny note compatible with these pathways on their website, like rosacea acne scars. Those would be drug claims. So I actually think they're not following the law now, in terms of, is it the same stuff you get from the doctor? Probably. But, you know, when you look at the price of their cream versus like a copay, if you have health insurance, I probably would just get it from my dermatologist and maintain under supervision with it.

[Perry Romanowski]

Yeah, I think maybe one of the things that they're doing, and we can only guess if they're selling it online, there's gonna be some municipalities that don't require a prescription for 15 and 20%. And so if their idea is, oh, we're selling it to them and then, oh, if you're in a place that does require it, well, you know, that's kind of a loophole. So that would be another guess of mine.

[Valerie George]

Very interesting. Well, we'll never know, but I probably would just go see a doctor.

[Perry Romanowski]

Yeah, go see a doctor. Okay. She's got a second question. It's regarding SH polypeptide 9. The ingredient is in a peptide cream that I really enjoy. It's just the stratia interface. However, I have Rojasia and am going through BBL treatments to treat capillaries. Since this ingredient is supposed to simulate the growth of new capillaries. Do you think this is a product that those of us with vascular redness should avoid this ingredient? Thanks, ck.sh polypeptide9.

[Valerie George]

Yeah, I actually like the Stratia brand. I know the founder. She's really great, really diligent with her stuff. In terms of whether you should avoid sh oligopeptide sh polypeptide 9. I know that the blend that Stratia is using is called Bioplacenta. It's a synthetic peptide blend out of Korea. There's a lot of really great data behind it. That material on its own is probably going to be really innocuous. It's not going to impact your BBL treatments that are treating your capillaries. It's not going to impact your rosacea. I don't know necessarily that it stimulates the growth of new capillaries. That's actually a claim I'm not familiar with with Bio Placenta, and I'm very intimate with the material.

[Perry Romanowski]

Well, I will say they claim to be a cell signal protein and it's supposed to be a vascular endothelial growth factor. So that's probably where they're getting. It's supposed to play a role in supplying the fibroblast cells with nutrients in that sort of mitigates and stimulates wound healing kinds of things. Again, it's a peptide thing. Often these Peptides, they don't get down to the dermis, where they would maybe be effective. And so if it's just topical, it's more like a marketing thing here. I don't know what's your feelings of sh. Polypeptide 9?

[Valerie George]

I mean, I think the supplier has a lot of really great data behind it, but. Oh, yeah, again, I don't.

[Perry Romanowski]

No doubt they do.

[Valerie George]

Well, no, I mean, I, I, you know, they do that. It's really, really incredible. But I don't think it's going to really. I don't want to say it's not going to do anything in the skin because I don't know if that's true. But I don't think that you have to be worried about it interfering with your treatments.

[Perry Romanowski]

So what are these BBL treatments anyway? I'm not familiar with that.

[Valerie George]

BBL is basically broadband light treatments, and it uses intense pulse light to, to improve different features of the skin. It can get really focused on, like sunspots, rosacea, hair growth. I guess it's like some kind of laser. I actually prefer more like laser treatments. I think BBL is a little more. Less intense on the spectrum. So even more, I'm like, this product's probably not gonna, you know, do any harm because, you know, CK is really focused on this, like, one ingredient. But there's actually a lot of synthetic human peptides in this product. There's a lot of other materials present in the product, and you kind of have to look at the product at a whole, not just one ingredient. I think this product's probably going to be fine. Like I said, the brand is really stringent on how they put products together. And I would say you don't have to worry, but if you're concerned, you can skip it or patch test.

[Perry Romanowski]

Yeah, okay. It shouldn't be a problem. All right, we got time for one more question. Comes all the way to us from a patron, Cassenia.

[Valerie George]

That's what I would say.

[Perry Romanowski]

All right, there you go. Hello, Valerie and Perry. Thank you for all the knowledge you are sharing with us. I was wondering if you could share your thoughts on natural fragrances and aromatic extracts and hazard statements in their safety data sheets. I'm confused when it comes to hazard statements in a safety data sheet because specifically in the areas of skin sensitivity and toxicity to aquatic life, natural fragrances, fragrances of plant origin and aromatic extracts are being used by big sustainable brands such as Burt's Bees and Badgers and Ethnique. However, reading the SDSS on many of these natural fragrances I look at the hazard statements and it says the ingredient may be toxic to aquatic life. There are different categories, but still it's not very clear how toxic it really is. For example, in a rinse off product, what if a fragrance is used at recommended levels, is it still toxic to aquatic life? The same goes for skin sensitivity statements in sds. What are the chances a plant derived fragrance would cause skin sensitivity allergy if used at recommended levels in the rinse off products? Hope that's not too confusing and I look forward to hearing what you think. Thanks. All right, Valerie, first of all, the sds, what is this SDS she's talking about?

[Valerie George]

A safety data sheet is in the United States an OSHA requirement, but there's also a global harmonization standard requirement where essentially the ingredient, the finished product, the chemical mixture, has an assessment done on it to disclose, disclose hazardous materials to the consumer. And it doesn't.

[Perry Romanowski]

In the old days we used to call them material safety data sheets. So the MSDs, now they're just called safety data.

[Valerie George]

Yeah, yeah, they made the switch like 10 years ago.

[Perry Romanowski]

So, yeah, I don't know.

[Valerie George]

The only things that need to be disclosed are ingredients that the consumer needs to be worried about. And it doesn't necessarily take into account the dose, unfortunately. They basically just say, hey, this material's in here, it's in here at this range. And this material, material is known to do this to your eyes and this to your skin and this to aquatic life. And so.

[Perry Romanowski]

Well, one of the important things that these safety data sheets are, and actually as a cosmetic chemist, whenever you get an ingredient into your lab, they have to provide these safety data sheets. A lot of times these safety data sheets are for like firefighters or first response emergencies because if there's like a kid chemical spill out there, they have to know how can we clean this up? Or is it safe for the environment? And that kind of thing. So it's. They're trying to communicate not only information that to the people that are working with the chemicals and their exposure and that kind of important thing, but also to people who might have to interact with this chemical out in the environment or out in the marketplace, how to.

[Valerie George]

Store it, how to handle it. Exactly.

[Perry Romanowski]

Yeah, they're trying to communicate a lot of information and it can actually sound pretty scary for things that aren't actually as scary as that seems on the safety data sheet.

[Valerie George]

Exactly. So in terms of the skin hazards, you know, I think you have to take it with a grain of salt because you're not using the product or the Fragrance, that's at 100%. At 100%. Right. It's in a small percentage in the, in the product. The other piece is in terms of the environmental fate. Acute toxicity, chronic toxicity. Again, that's conducted on the raw material at 100. And they essentially expose invertebrates like Daphnia or algae to the substance and they look at basically how long they're able to survive and they calculate the lethal concentration and the lethal dose and they tell you if, you know, if the test doesn't do well, it could be harmful to aquatic life. Now if the fragrance is used in the raw material at a certain, or in the product at a certain level, is it going to do the same thing? I don't know. I guess the safety data sheets approach is like an abundance of precaution over exact usage, case scenario. And so again, it's really hard to tell.

[Perry Romanowski]

Honestly. I look at these safety data sheets as a thing that consumers should not be really worried about.

[Valerie George]

Exactly.

[Perry Romanowski]

If you're working with the chemical, then yeah, that's your concern. Concern. But we're talking about information that is on the a hundred percent of the ingredient. It's kind of like that benzene thing. If, yeah, if you were exposed to 100 benzene, that's going to be really bad. If you're exposed to 0.0001% benzene, it's not going to be that big a deal. So the dose really does matter. And I think a lot of the information that you see in these safety data sheets is related to 100% exposure, which is just not realistic, unless maybe you're working with the ingredients. Now, as far as the, the natural piece goes, what you got to understand is natural. Whether it's a natural fragrance or synthetic fragrance, it's all the same chemicals. Yeah, right. I mean they're, they're, they're just chemicals. And high exposure to a high level of chemicals can be dangerous. If you isolate the ingredients in poison ivy and put that on you, that's natural and that's not good for your skin. So the fact that it's natural or fragrance, it shouldn't surprise people because they are just organic chemicals.

[Valerie George]

Bottom line, a safety data sheet is not a reliable method, at least for a finished product. To understand the real risks in terms of safety, additional safety testing would need to be conducted by the brand. And that's really what the consumer should be looking for.

[Perry Romanowski]

Yeah, yeah. But it is really effective in fear mongers to look at the safety data sheet and try to scare consumers to get them away from somebody else's product.

[Valerie George]

Oh, for sure. Well, that's all we have time for. Thanks for listening, everyone.

[Perry Romanowski]

Yeah, I do hear the music. Hey, if you get a chance, can you go over to Apple Podcasts or Spotify and leave us a review that's going to help other people find the show and ensure that we have a full docket of beauty questions to answer.

[Valerie George]

Speaking of questions, if you have one, we would love to get your voice on the show. It's easy to do. Just record a question on your smartphone using your voice app, email it to thebeautybrainsmail.com or there's even a form in the show notes of this episode to attach your question.

[Perry Romanowski]

Exactly. And you can be like Pia or, you know, I know Valerie doesn't like it, but I could take your question.

[Valerie George]

And make it AI, which we don't want. So we need you guys to send in your audio questions.

[Perry Romanowski]

That's right. Hey, you know, the Beauty Brains are also on Patreon. You know, you have. You might not have noticed or you might have noticed that we don't have ads in our show and we like it that way, but there are some expenses with the show and so if you appreciate what we do and you want a higher priority to your questions to get it answered, follow us over there on patreon. Go to patreon.com thebeautybrains and subscribe at any level. Not only do you get a higher percentage, not only do you get a higher priority of your questions answered, you also get a transcript of the show.

[Valerie George]

Also, don't forget to follow us on our various social media accounts. On Instagram, I'm slaying it. We're at the Beautybrains 2018.

[Perry Romanowski]

You are killing it, by the way, an excellent job.

[Valerie George]

Thank you. On X, we're at the Beauty Brains. On Blue sky, we're at the Beauty Brains. I don't even know how to get to that. We have a Facebook page and unfortunately, fortunately, TikTok is still around, so we're still squatting on our TikTok handle.

[Perry Romanowski]

Yeah, someday might. We might do that.

[Valerie George]

Although we've been talking about it for like three years.

[Perry Romanowski]

We should just take it off. I know. Is it ever gonna be banned? I don't. What do I have to say about that on Tic Tac? I don't know. Although we might just start, like, clips from the show. Maybe. Dr. We'll see.

[Valerie George]

Maybe. Well, thanks again for listening, everyone. And remember, be brainy about your beauty.

[Perry Romanowski]

Thanks, everyone. Kittens.

[Teddy the Cat]

They say there's a shampoo that colors your hair? No peroxide needed? Just leave it there? But science says it's a slower game? Not magic, just oxygen making the change? Stay brave about beauty? Don't fall for the fairy tales? Science first, let's break it down? No more hide behind the veil? Pricey serums with the doctor's name? 300 bucks but they work the same as a drugstore cream For a fraction of the cost? Save your money, don't get lost? Dry shampoo, Benzy fears, pollution claims and hinges tears? Marketing's loud but we see clear? Stick to the facts, no missing here, Rad, don't follow the fairy tales? Science first, let's break it down or hide behind the veil? So be brave, out your beauty? Save some money too? Don't forget to feed the kids their food.