The Beauty Brains

For our U.S. readers who are celebrating the 4th of July, here’s a patriotic-themed post. Take a look at these 1970’s perfume ads.

The first is for “Moon Drops: Not imported From Anywhere. It’s simply out of this world.”

The second is for “Norell: The First Great Perfume Born in America.”

Do you notice anything that they have in common? (Besides their sheer 1970’s-ishness, that is.)

Apparently the advertising for both these products was designed to combat the “Only foreign nations like France can make great perfume” misconception that ruled the fragrance industry until the late 1970s.

• Discount Perfume
• Jennifer Lopez Perfume
• DKNY Perfume
• Versace Perfume
• Men`s Cologne
• Fendi Cologne

Certainly this notion seems out of date today when one considers how many American “born” fragrances dominate the sales charts.

But isn’t a little bit odd how these anti-foreign fragrance ads from 30 years ago predict the anti-immigration debate in the U.S. that’s raging through today’s headlines?

Are these ads a fragrant foreshadowing of things to come almost 40 years later??

Could they prove to be perfumed prognostications of future world events???

Nawww, not really. The Right Beauty Brain just thought they’d make a cool post.

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SheFinds gets a sneak preview of The September Issue.

Girlawhirl thinks real world wonders are way more wonderful than stuffed animals.

FocusOnStyle.com and a bevy of fashion writers show you how to rock The Boyfriend Shirt- one shirt SEW many looks!

Would you like to mix your own SPF lotion? The Beauty Brains tell you why that’s a no-no!

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Kim Ray’s question… I was wondering if mixing equal parts of sunscreen with lotion would yield the same benefit as applying both separately.  I want the higher SPF of actual sunscreen and the stronger moisturizer of the lotion. It is really hard to find a product that delivers on both.

The Right Brain responds:

We appreciate how tough it is to find SPF lotions that strike the right balance of moisturization and protection but we don’t recommend that you mix sunscreens with lotion. Here’s why…

Two reasons not to mix SPF lotion

First, as we pointed out in our post on The Wrong Way to Apply Sunscreen, certain ingredients that are commonly used in skin care products can interfere with the way UV absorbers deposit/spread on the skin. The last thing you want to do is compromise the performance of the active ingredient in a sunscreen. Not only are you wasting money but more importantly you’re increasing your risk of sunburn or worse!

Second, as Vananners pointed out in our Forum, if you mix an SPF lotion with a non-sunscreen product you’re essentially diluting the sunscreen. So if you mix your products 50/50 you’d have to use twice as much of the mixture to get the same protective effect. And that’s going to make your skin greasy feeling.

The Beauty Brains  bottom line

We’d recommend you keep looking for a sunscreen that provides the right level of moisture for you. Does anyone out there in the Beauty Brains community have any suggestions for Kim Ray?

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Mid Brain muses:

First we told you about a better way to get your gray hair dyed. Then we explained how stress causes gray hair. And most recently we we told you how to to get rid of gray hair forever.  Now  we’re blogging about why you should be HAPPY that you have gray hair. (Why all the posts about gray hair? Trust me, if you had to look at the Left Brain’s roots everyday you wouldn’t have to ask that question!) Anyway, the latest news is that gray hair may actually protect you from cancer!

Gray hair is good

Hair color is produced by cells called melanocytes which are in part controlled by stem cells. When the number of stem cells in hair follicles goes down, hair turns gray. Now researchers at Tokyo Medical and Dental University in Japan have discovered that radiation and chemicals that damage DNA can cause stem cells to permanently transform into melanocytes. Without the stem cells to produce more melanocytes, hair turns grey (Cell, vol 137, p 1088). Another researcher, David Fisher at Harvard Medical School, suggests this processes may help protect us from cancer, by preventing damaged stem cells from passing on mutated DNA.  “One likely beneficial effect is the removal of potentially dangerous cells that may contain pre-cancerous capabilities,” he says. So there you have it gals, it’s Gray Pride Day!

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Either you are getting too smart or I’m not making these beauty science polls hard enough! A whopping 55% of you figured out that the headline about eating fruit was the fake. Read on for the explanations.

Divorce makes you look older – TRUE

Only 6% of you were fooled by this headline. The truth is that the stress of divorce does make you look older. According to a recent twins study published by Case Western Reserve University, people who had gone through a divorce looked 2 years older than their twin who hadn’t.

Researchers concluded that avoiding anxiety is a way to slow down your biological clock.

Losing weight makes you look older – TRUE

Only 5% of you believed this headline was fake but it’s real. According to more work done by Case Western Reserve University researchers, women who lose a lot of weight are perceived as older than their peers who haven’t. Of course, this only applies to women over the age of 40. Younger women will not look older if they lose weight.

Eating fruit makes you look older – FALSE

A full 55% of you figured out that we made this one up. While there is no evidence fruit makes you look younger, it is an important part of your diet and you should probably be eating more. The fake headline was inspired by this true story about how older people are not eating enough fruit.

Smoking makes you look older – TRUE

17% of you thought we were trying to fool you with this one but we weren’t. Smoking does make you look older! In fact, the term “smoker’s face” was added to medical dictionaries after a study demonstrated you could identify smokers from pictures of their faces.

Just another of the many reasons to stop smoking

Space travel makes you look older – TRUE

16% of responders thought this was fake but it’s true. I particularly liked the explanations in the comments about this story. According to astrophysicists, space travelers will be bombarded with radiation that will damage their DNA. This damage has been linked to accelerated aging.

So, did you get it right? Are we making these Beauty Science or BS polls just a little too easy? Leave a comment and let the rest of the Beauty Brains community know.

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Cee Cee says…I usually wash my face with the cheaper drug store brands but my friends swear by the more expensive Clinique Liquid Facial Soap. Is there something about this product that makes it worth the extra money?

The Right Brain replies:

Clinique Liquid Facial Soap (which sells for $18.00 sells for 6.7 ounces) is formulated with sodium laureth sulfate, a milder cousin of sodium lauryl sulfate, as the primary cleansing agent.  It also contains seven or eight additional secondary cleansers and conditioning agents. Here’s the ingredient list if you want to make a full comparision.

Clinique Liquid Facial Soap ingredients

Water purified, sodium laureth sulfate, sodium chloride, cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine, lauramidopropyl betaine, sodium cocoyl sarcosinate, TEA-cocoyl glutamate, di-PPG-2 myreth-10 adipate, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, PEG-120 methyl glucose dioleate, sucrose, sodium hyaluronate, cetyl triethylmonium dimethicone PEG-8 succinate, tocopheryl ethyl succinate ethyldimonium ethosulfate, butylene glycol, matricaria, hexylene glycol, polyquaternium-7, laureth 2, caprylyl glycol, sodium sulfate, EDTA, disodium EDTA, sodium benzoate, phenoxyethanol.

Are there other products that are cheaper? Sure. Freeman, for example, has a simpler primary surfactant and it’s about half the cost.

Freeman Foaming Facial Cleanser Ingredients

Water, Glycerin, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Chamomila Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Witch Hazel Extract, Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract, Rice Extract, Punica Granatum Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Grape Seed Oil, Panthenol, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Cocamidopropyl PG Dimonium Chloride Phosphate, Polysorbate 20, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Disodium EDTA, Butylene Glycol, Methylchloroisothiazoline, Methylisothiazolinone, Limonene, Linalcol, Fragrance

While the Freeman product contains multiple natural extracts, it’s cleansing system is not as sophisticated as Clinique’s. Plus, it contains fragrance which is a no-no for products designed for sensitive skin. Finally,  Freeman’s packaging is not as upscale  as Clinique’s shiny chrome pump and frosted bottle.  So with Clinique you’re not only paying for a more sophisticated formula but also the aesthetics and style of the Clinique name.

The Beauty Brains bottom line

Clinique is a very well formulated and nicely packaged product even though it may be a bit expensive for some people. The good news is there are plenty of other alternatives. As always, we suggest you experiment with a few different products to determine what’s right for your skin. You don’t have to buy a more expensive product just because your friends tell you it’s better.

What do YOU look for in a facial cleanser? Mildness? How well it moisturizes your skin? Or just how well it gets rid of makeup? Leave a comment about your fave face wash for the rest of the Beauty Brains community.

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While we here at the Beauty Brains answer your questions, we also hope to help you become smarter consumers. If you’re seriously interested in learning about beauty care products, here’s a great source of solid scientific information: the Personal Care Products Council (PCPC) website.

The PCPC (formerly known as the CTFA) is one of the oldest, and most respected, sources of information on cosmetic science. Much of this site is designed for those in the industry who are members and who can access ingredient dictionaries, Cosmetic Ingredient Reviews that show the regulatory status of ingredients, and other legal functions. But there are other sections open to the general public that our readers should find interesting. You might want to check out the following:

Cosmetic Ingredient Safety: here’s your inside scoop on the TRUTH behind cosmetic ingredients. Don’t believe the crap you get in emails and press releases, click here for the real science behind ingredient’s safety and efficacy.

Look Good Feel Better – a site that deals with using make up to counter act some of the effects of cancer treatments.

Work Your Image: a site that deals with how to use your beauty skills to get and hang on to , the job you want. Includes links to 25 Free Business Clothing Programs!

Site for Teens with Cancer:
We hope you never find yourself in need of this kind of information. But if you do, here’s where to go.

There’s much more, but you get the picture. PCPC online is one of our favorite resources. Check it out if you’re interested in learning about the products that you put on your body every day.

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Ivy inquires… You know, I’ve been wondering about Pantene Restoratives and its effectiveness. I even went so far as to write to the Pantene P&G company and ask them on what grounds do they issue a guarantee promising 90 % less breakage in one month? I didn’t get an answer.

The Right Brain responds:
Don’t worry, WE’LL give you an answer! Here’s the exact claim that Pantene makes for this product:

90% less breakage in one month.*

* Shampoo and conditioner vs. non-conditioning shampoo.

It’s easy to skip over reading the asterisk and the fine print, but actually they’re quite important. That’s how the advertiser defines how the claim is supported. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves….

Hair Breakage Claims

First, let’s make it clear that U.S. law only states that companies can not falsely advertise and that they must have substantiation for any clams that they make. However, the law does NOT specify HOW the claims must be supported. Therefore, every company is free to make up its own proprietary methods of testing.

For a hair breakage claim, like in the case of Pantene Restoratives, the support is usually based on measuring hair breakage caused by physical abrasion testing. The test could look something like this:

Take two bundles of hair fibers. Treat one bundle with the products you want to test, in this case the Pantene Restoratives shampoo and the conditioner. The other bundle is the “control” tress. It doesn’t get treated with anything – it’s just washed with a regular shampoo. Then, both tresses are exposed to some sort of physical abrasion, for example, the hair is combed repeatedly.

After this physical assault, the researches count the number of broken hairs on each tress. By comparing the numbers of hairs broken from each tress, the scientists can calculate the difference in breakage. The claim’s reference to “one month” simply means that they conducted the test over a period of 4 weeks (or an equivalent number of treatments in a shorter period of time) and added up how much breakage occurred after that many treatments.

So, is it possible to get a reduction in breakage as high as 90%? Yep, we’ve seen that happen.

How is that possible? Because what this test really measures is how well the conditioner lubricates the hair and reduces the friction of combing. Any hair tress treated with conditioner (any good conditioner) will have MUCH less breakage than a tress just washed with a non-conditioning shampoo.

So is this claim supportable? Yes, it is.

But does the test REALLY reflect the difference in breakage you’ll see in your normal hair routine? Probably not.

But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad test. The kind of test we just described will support this claim even if you don’t necessarily see that much difference in your own personal usage of the product.

The Beauty Brain’s bottom line

Any time you see a numerical cosmetic claim, you should take it with the proverbial grain of salt. If it’s a reputable company, you can bet that they have SOME kind of test that will support the number you see. But that doesn’t mean that’s a measure of how much benefit you will experience from the product.

So IF seeing those numbers gets you to buy the product and IF you like the product, then everybody wins.

But IF you try the product because it offers “90% less breakage” and you don’t notice less breakage yourself and so you don’t like the product – then you probably won’t buy the product again. And if you don’t buy the product again, no matter what their test data says, then the company hasn’t done a very good job of supporting their claims. Have they?

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Going away for the weekend? Find out what to pack at StyleBakery.com

Smarter Fashion helps us decide what to wear to the big 4th of July party this year.

Late night? No problem. Look well-rested for work and play with this 5-minute makeup routine from SheZoom.

SheFinds uses Sunsense Wristbands to prevent the lobster look.

Havaianas for summer are girlawhirl’s latest obsession.

FocusOnStyle.com shows you how to get Megan Fox’s sexy one-shoulder look from the Transformers premiere work for you!

The Beauty Brains explain why chlorine is bad for your hair.

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Jumping Angel asks…With summer vacation in full swing (yay!) I’m spending a LOT of time in the pool. What can I do to keep the chlorine from hurting my hair?

The Right Brain responds:

Before we answer your question let’s talk about why chlorine is bad for your hair.

Chlorine catastrophe

Chlorine is used to disinfect pool water because it’s a very reactive molecule and it combines with organic compounds. So when your little brother pees in the pool the chlorine helps break it down so bacteria can’t grow. Unfortunately this reactivity means it can also affect your hair. In fact there are two different ways that chlorine hurts hair.

1. Protein damage
Chlorine has been shown to interact with the thin membrane that covers the cuticles of your hair causing tiny bubbles to form. These bubbles are called “all worden sacs” for those science geeks reading this. Once this protective coating is damaged the natural glue that hold your cuticles in place is more quickly worn away and so they become loose and lift up. This is why soaking in the pool gives your hair that raspy dry feel.

2. Color complexation
Chlorine reacts with the pigments and dyes in your hair, both natural and synthetic. This reaction shifts the hue of the color which is why your hair picks up that nasty greenish tint.

How to protect hair from chlorine

Of course the best thing is to keep your hair away from the chlorine in the first place. So you could always wear a bathing cap like the Left Brain does. (which is a VERY sexy look, I must say.) But if that doesn’t fit your style, then we recommend conditioning your hair before swimming. A good conditioner with high levels of silicone can act like a shield to prevent the absorption of chlorine. Tresemme and Pantene are two good brands to use in this regard.  If you want to feel like you’re doing even more to protect your hair, after your swim you can also use one of the swimmers shampoos, like Ultraswim, that supposedly reduce the chlorine with thiosulfite.  Thiosulfite is supposed to prevent the chlorine from oxidizing your hair.  (Theoretically this could be helpful but we’ve never seen any evidence that it really works.)

What do YOU do at the beach or pool to protect your hair? Leave a comment and share your brainy beach tips with the rest of the Beauty Brines, uh, I mean, Beauty Brains community.

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