Usually the Beauty Brains community is very good at guessing the right answer to our polls but this week I’m pleased to announce that we fooled most of you!

All answers are taken from the article “Structural characteristics and permeability properties of the human nail” which appeared in the November/December 1999 issue of the Journal of Cosmetic Science.  (That’s the same article we cited in our post on Coconut oil and nails.)

1. Toe nails grow about 50% slower than finger nails.

True, but 17% of you thought this was the fake. (Unfortunately, there’s no online link to the article so you can’t read all the explanations but trust us, it’s true.)

2. Finger nails grow faster on longer fingers.

True again even though a whopping 41% of you said this was false. According to the study, growth occurs in a definite order in relation to the length of the fingers; in general, the longer the finger, the faster the growth.

3. If you’re right handed, nails grow faster on your right hand.

True, but this one fooled 23% of the Beauty Brains community.  Research shows that nails of the dominant hand (i.e., right vs. left) exhibit a faster rate of growth.

4. Thicker finger nails grow more slowly.

False but only 19% of you guessed that correctly.  It surprised us too to find out that the growth rate of the nail is usually independent of nail thickness.

The Beauty Brains bottom line

Kudos to the brainy Beauty Brainiacs who got the answer right. And to the rest of you, better luck next time!

It’s time for another Beauty Science poll and this time we have a theme: Know Your Nails. (I was inspired by the Right Brain’s post last week on coconut oil and nails.) Three of these statements about nail science are true; one is a clever forgery. Can you guess which one is the fake? Scroll down on the right sidebar to cast your vote.

Which statement is FALSE?

1. Toe nails grow about 50% slower than finger nails.

2. Finger nails grow faster on longer fingers.

3. If you’re right handed, nails  grow faster on your right hand.

4. Thicker finger nails grow more slowly.

If you aren’t sure or think you know, leave a comment and get hints from the Beauty Brains community.

It’s time for the answers to last week’s Beauty Science Poll. Looks like this one was a little harder since most of you did not guess the right answer.  Keep reading to find out if you guessed correctly.

Botox is not only good for removing wrinkles but it can also prevent hair loss.

True
About 22% of you guessed this was false but Cosmeticsdesign reports that one aesethetic surgeon claims to have data showing that Botox is a solution for baldness. Theoretically two to three injections a year can reduce scalp tension through increased blood circulation, which helps to improve the level of nutrients in the tissue surrounding the hair follicles, reactivating hair growth.

You can fight Swine Flu with a soap-sniffing “breathalizer” device that tells if people really washed their hands.

True

Although 33% said this was fake, ScienceDaily says that University of Florida is using this technology to monitor health-care workers’ hand hygiene by detecting sanitizer or soap fumes given off from their hands.

An aquarium worker was arrested after feeding whitening toothpaste to fish so “they would look better for tourist pictures.”

False

29% of you correctly guessed this was the made up headline. But it was based on a different story that IS true. BBC news reported that a journalist was arrested and charged with this same crime after dumping dandruff shampoo into a tank of fish on live TV to demonstrate how toxic the chemicals are. Of course as we all know, the dose makes the poison so dumping an entire bottle in a small tank isn’t a realistic test.

Adding a cup of coffee to your skin care routine could protect you from sun damage.

True

15% of you were fooled but Cosmeticsdesign says that researchers have discovered that caffeine could help control how the body sheds damaged cells, which could help mitigate the effect of UV damage. Does this mean we’ll see Starbucks brand sunscreen in the near future?

How did YOU do in this week’s poll? Did you guess the right answer for the right reason? Or were you just lucky?

It’s time for another Beauty Science poll. Three  of these four headlines are true beauty science stories. One is totally bogus BS. Can you guess which one is the fake? Scroll down on the right sidebar to cast your vote.

Which statement is FALSE?

1. Botox is not only good for removing wrinkles but it can also prevent hair loss.

2. Researchers have found a way to fight Swine Flu with a soap-sniffing “breathalizer” that tells if people really washed their hands.

3. An aquarium worker was arrested after feeding whitening toothpaste to fish so “they would look better for tourist pictures.”

4. Adding a cup of coffee to your skin care routine can protect you from sun damage.

If you aren’t sure or think you know, leave a comment and get hints from the Beauty Brains community.

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.