Surfactants You might think of surfactants as just an ingredient in detergents that makes sudsy bubbles, but that’s not the primary function of a surfactant. In fact, the human body produces its own surfactants and I am pretty sure there aren’t any self-sudsing humans out there! All joking aside, surfactants serve a very specific purpose, simply put [...]
Why you should put Caviar on your face or in your hair? Caviar—aficionados say it's best eaten from the back of one's hand—is an acquired taste. But slathering it everywhere else is beginning to seem like an excellent idea. Of all the foods that have transitioned from tasty-on-your-plate to beautifying-ingredient-du-jour —think honey, yogurt, sugar, etc.—caviar [...]
While strawberries may not actually be considered a berry, they still harvest a wealth of benefits for the skin and hair, when both ingested and used topically. Often considered a fruit of romance and love, strawberries have shown to help aid in weight loss, heart health, regulating blood pressure and reducing inflammation. More recently, this [...]
When it comes time to find organic ingredients and products, you’ll quickly see that there are a few things that are never (and won’t ever) be classified as organic. This can be frustrating when you’re trying to certify your product, but there’s no getting around the scientific reasons that prevent some items from being classed [...]
Dry shampoo is one of those super convenient beauty tools we really couldn’t imagine living without, especially since it comes in handy on all those dirty ‘do days, when our locks need a well-deserved break. But while a bit of your go-to formula can instantly save you from a bad hair day, most of us [...]
Hair comes in a bewildering variety of sizes, shapes and colors, which leads to different appearances, tactile properties and behavioral issues. This creates the desire to name or describe these various states—in large part, to aid in directing product development efforts and ultimately to help guide formulas to those with the respective hair “type.” To [...]
Manuka honey is a type of honey native to New Zealand. It’s produced by bees who pollinate the flower Leptospermum scoparium, commonly known as the manuka bush. Manuka honey’s antibacterial properties are what set it apart from traditional honey. Methylglyoxal is its active ingredient and likely responsible for these antibacterial effects. Additionally, manuka honey has antiviral, [...]
Now… you're interested in choosing the best neck cream, but when you were in your 20s my guess is that the last thing you were concerned about in your quest to be as beautiful as possible was the appearance of your neck. You were probably even less concerned with how your neck would age over time. The [...]
In today’s “hyper-green” culture, it’s easy to presume that everyone is striving to make cleaner, greener and more sustainable choices when it comes to their beauty and personal care product purchases. Indeed, for many female consumers sustainability and being green are high priorities, but for others, electing to buy or use green and sustainable products [...]
Can you imagine if consumers read cosmetic product labels disclosing full chemical names rather than general INCIs? Based on the current chemophobic environment, nothing would sell; not even life's most essential element: dihydrogen monoxide (H2O). But such nomenclature generalizations seem to have initiated the vicious cycle (and yet human behavior) of lumping what appears to [...]
