I got a lot of crap last week for my post on “Why Guys May Like You Better If You Don’t Wear Perfume.” As one of our readers pointed out, it was supposed to be tongue in cheek but apparently I failed miserably. But even my lousy science writing wasn’t nearly as bad this beauty science story linking hair color and aggression.

Bad ass blondes?

According to the Times Online, a study at the University of California showed that women with lighter hair color are more aggressive and “warlike.” Shocking, eh? But before all the blondes in the audience start sending in hate mail, let me tell you the rest of the story.

Thank god for science bloggers like Ryan Sager at True Slant who do their homework. Ryan questioned the results in the Times article so he sent an email to the author asking for clarification. It turns out the author DID NOT publish the study in question. The author told Ryan, and I quote, “I’m afraid you, and thousands of others for that matter, have been badly misinformed. I have never done any research that shows blondes are more aggressive, entitled, angry or ‘warlike’ than brunette or redheads.” In fact, when the author did break his data down by hair color in actually showed the opposite effect! Apparently the Times Online were sloppy fact checkers, to say the least.

So, there are two things you should take away from today’s post: blondes are not more aggressive then brunettes and red heads and you should always be skeptical when you read science reports in the press.  Even when they come from the Beauty Brains!

Thanks to the Skeptics Guide to the Universe podcast for introducing us to this story.

In a study that’s sure to be controversial, the journal Psychological Science reports (via Science Daily) that women may be wasting billions of dollars every year on perfume because the natural odor may be more attractive to men.

Periodic perfumery

The study was designed to test the hypothesis that male testosterone levels can be  effected by odor signals from females, especially during ovulation. The researchers had male volunteers sniff tee shirts worn by women in different phases of their menstrual cycles. The amount of testosterone in the men’s saliva was then measured. The results showed that guys who smelled the shirts of ovulating women had more testosterone in their spit. Even more interesting, these guys rated the odor of the shirts worn by ovulating women as more pleasant. The researchers speculate that this biological reaction may be driven by some kind of mating behavior. Does this mean you shouldn’t wear perfume during your period?

We often use the phrase “puffery” to describe some of the claims made by cosmetic companies.  To help understand what we mean by that term, we’ve found an excellent reference from the Journal of Consumer Research. (Via ScienceDaily)

Puffery claims explained

Authors Alison Jing Xu and Robert S. Wyer, Jr. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign define claims as puffery if they “purport to be of great importance but are actually inconsequential and often meaningless.”

By this definition, claims based on technical details that are only valid to experts in the field but that are not necessarily perceived by the consumer could be considered puffery. We see this all the time with ads that make statements like “makes your hair 5x stronger.” Yes, there is a way to measure the percentage increase in hair strength but how in the world would a consumer know how “5x” really means for them?

Interestingly, the researchers did an experiment which showed that when consumers think they have less relative knowledge than an average person, puffery claims can increase their positive assessment of the product, regardless of the source of the ad. But when the consumers thought they had more relative knowledge than the average person, puffery claims had a positive ONLY when they came from a more credible source, like a professional magazine. When consumers thought they were better informed and they read puffery claims from a “regular” source of information, like a popular magazine, then the puffery actually DECREASED their belief in the product.

It will be interesting to see how cosmetic companies integrate these findings into their advertising strategies.

What do YOU think? Do you pay attention to so called “puffery” claims? Leave a comment and share your thoughts with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.

Reference:
Alison Jing Xu and Robert S. Wyer, Jr. Puffery in Advertisements: The Effects of Media Context, Communication Norms and Consumer Knowledge
Journal of Consumer Research, August 2010

Are you curious about cosmetic ingredients? Every product sold in the United States is required to put a listing of the ingredients they use but do you ever wonder what those chemicals are? I know I did. During my college days I would read the ingredients on the shampoo bottle and wonder, what are these chemicals? To find out used to require a trip to the local library, a copy of the CTFA Dictionary and a degree in chemistry. But no longer!

Here are 7 FREE websites that list information about cosmetic ingredients. Some of them are searchable (just type in the ingredient name) while others are listed alphabetically. If you’re curious about an ingredient, just look it up. Then if you still have questions, be sure to get it to us by clicking on the button to Ask the Brains.

Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionaries

INCI Directory by Special 4 Chemists – The most thorough list of cosmetic ingredients without consulting the “official” INCI Dictionary. Geared more towards cosmetic formulators than consumers.

Cosmetics Info – The cosmetic industry’s compilation of cosmetic ingredients. It has limited information and focuses on safety data not on performance.

The Cosmetic Cop ingredient dictionary – Paula has put together a good list of common cosmetic ingredients. These focus more on skin care ingredients.

The Personal Care Products Council buyers guide – If you know the name of an ingredient, you can search for the company that makes it and get information from them directly.

EWG Skin Deep Database – The safety information here is not quite accurate but they do list lots of ingredients which can be helpful.

Tightcurly Ingredient list – She’s put together her own compilation of hair care ingredients. It limited information but we admire her spirit.

Avre Skin Care ingredient dictionary – a focus on skin care ingredients and mostly on ingredients they use in their products.

These sites should help inform you about cosmetic ingredients, at least until the Beauty Brains come up with their own version. Would this be something that you would want us to work on? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts

Did you know that some people in the world are more tasty to mosquitoes than other? This and other fascinating facts have been found by studying the field of biomimicry. Many of the cosmetic and personal care products you use everyday came as a result of studying nature. Here’s a story about research on a brand new insect repellant. These scientists really crack me up. Listen to what they did.

Mosquito madness

First, they convinced people to volunteer to be exposed to hundreds of mosquitoes. (Some people will do anything for a buck). They created this Y-shaped chamber and had two volunteers place a hand under one of the opening. The itch-inducing insects then flew down the chamber looking for some blood to suck. It turns out that mosquitoes really do prefer some people over others. And the reason is related to the different chemicals you naturally produce in your sweat.

After identifying the lucky people who were distasteful to mosquitoes, the researchers then collected their sweat and isolated the key repellant chemicals. My favorite part, they attached tiny electrodes to the mosquito’s antennae. Can you imagine trying to put an electrode on a mosquito?

New chemistry

Through this research, the scientists created a new, natural insect repellant that the rest of us can use. They are waiting for a patent to be granted before they tell the Beauty Brains and the world what chemical they use, but soon it will be found in sprays, lotions and creams just like DEET.

For years people have been trying to find alternatives to DEET. Forget what you’ve heard about natural ingredients like Citronella or Beautyberry, they don’t work very well. Right now, DEET-containing products are the only thing that is really effective for everyone. But DEET has some issues so scientists have continued to study insects to find better alternatives. It looks like by collecting sweat and strapping electrodes on mosquitoes, they’ve finally come up with something that works.