Lefty and Righty will say we’ve got to be skeptical about beauty products and do research before spending a lot of money blah blah blah. I don’t disagree, but whether you research or not, at some point you’re going to buy new stuff. So, when you do make a decision to buy, there are two ways you can help support the Beauty Brains.

Super sponsors

One, is to buy from our sponsors. Those are the featured ads in our header and on the sidebar to the right of this post.

But you can also support our site by making your next purchase through an amazon link on our site. The best part is, it doesn’t matter WHAT you buy after clicking on our Amazon ads. We still get a portion of the sale and that helps us cover our expenses. That’s right, you can buy ANYTHING on Amazon. To make my point, I found another ridiculous item from Amazon to use as an ad in today’s post. I present to you: the Face-Butt Soap Bar!

Face or Butt?

Yes, that’s right. It’s a dual sided bar of face labeled to help you tell which part of your body to wash. I’m guessing this product will appeal more to guys. But go ahead and click on it anyway. And after you’ve enjoyed a good laugh, and you’re ready to do some serious shopping, go ahead and buy something else. ANYTHING else. If you’re shopping online anyway you can help us out at the same time with no extra cost to you. (If it helps, you can think of it as doing your little part to support the Sarah Bellum Sephora Fund.)

I hate to stereotype people and organizations but I can’t say that I’m surprised by this recent study that shows that women in sororities are more like to have body image problems.

Sorority Rush Risk

This topic is bound to be a bit controversial, so I suggest you click on over to ScienceDaily to read about it more detail. But the bottom line is that women who rushed a sorority had higher levels of self-objectification and disordered eating behaviors than among women who did not take part. According to the article, this is the first study to test objectification theory in a real-life context.

What do YOU think? Have you (or someone you know) had an experience with sorority life that’s changed your self image? Leave a comment and share your thought and concerns with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.

Modistmoz asks…I’ve just begun looking into starting an anti aging regiment for my skin (I am 30 with very fair skin). I’m working hard to research products to find the best fit. I was wondering what the Beauty Brains has to say about the new Oil of Olay Professional Pro-X line. Is it any good?

The Right Brain replies:

Is Pro-X any good? According to one study, it’s as good as prescription anti-aging from a dermatologist. Maybe.

Doubtful data?

According to Cosmeticsdesign testing done by Procter Gamble, makers of Olay, shows that its Pro-X line performs as well as a tretinoin-based prescription treatment. (Tretinoin is also known as Retin-A.) Now, we can guess what you’re thinking: Yeah, but it’s P&G’s test that shows that it works! Can we trust them? The answer is yes, if the study was designed and executed properly. The real question is exactly what was the test designed to prove? Test data can be used to support many different conclusions depending on the study design.

X-rated action

In this case, P&G had expert graders look at pictures of the panelists after treatment with both product regimines and rate the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. After 6 months the graders rated both products as performing similarly. But since the Pro-X treatment regimen is moisturizing while the tretinoin treatment tends to be irritating, the tretinoin dosage started low and was ramped up over time. One could argue that this methodology gave the Pro-X product a head start in the treatment, but P&G points out that this application process is consistent with how people actually use tretinoin in real life to help reduce irritation. So, their conclusion is that “prescription efficacy for improving fine lines can be achieved with a cosmetics regimen as well as being better tolerated by patients.”

The Beauty Brains bottom line

If you like the way tretinoin makes your skin look but you find it irritating, you might have better luck with the Olay Pro-X line. But don’t expect miracles.

What do YOU think? Have you had luck with any wrinkle fighting anti-aging skin treatments? Leave a comment and share your experiences with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.

Source: British Journal of Dermatology

2010, Issue 162, Pages 647 – 654
A randomized, controlled comparative study of the wrinkle reduction benefits of a cosmetic niacinamde/peptide/retinyl propionate products regimen versus a prescription 0.02 percent tretinoin product regimen
J.J.J. Fu, G.G. Hillebrand, P. Raliegh, J. Li, M.J.Marmor, V. Bertucci, P.E. Grimes, S.H. Mandy, M.I. Perez, S.H. Weinkle, J.R. Kaczvinsky

Berlina beckons…I had recently been using Infusium leave in treatment on my hair and it had been working fabulously. But, my little brother managed to spill the entire bottle on my floor. After thinking of buying another bottle, I bought a replacement conditioner for the time being for the rest of the week. I was wondering what it is in Infusium that works so well with my hair? I heard that it may cause your hair to weaken. Is this true?

The Right Brain Responds:
Infusium 23 has been around for many, many years (although now it’s owned by P&G) and it’s a very nice leave-in formula. What’s in it that makes it work so well? Let’s take a look at the ingredient list:

Water, Amodimethicone, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Panthenol, Cetrimonium Chloride, Dimethicone Copolyol, Polyquaternium-11, Citric Acid, Betaine, Glycerin, Sorbitol, Tricontanyl PVP, PPG-2 Methyl Ether, Serine, Glycine, Glutamic Acid, Arginine, Threonine, Lysine, Alanine, Proline, Hydroxyethylcellulose, PEG-8/SMDI Copolymer, Behenic Acid, Palmitoyl Myristyl Serinate, Oleic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Linoleic Acid, Stearic Acid, Arachidic Acid, PEG-8, Polysorbate 80, Amino Methylpropanol, Fragrance, Sodium PCA, Methylparaben, Methylisothiazolinone, Methylchloroisothiazolinone

If we strip this list down to the basic, functional ingredients it looks like this:

Amodimethicone, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Cetrimonium Chloride, Dimethicone Copolyol, Polyquaternium-11

Infusium action

Of these ingredients, two are really doing most of the work: amodimethicone (which is a water soluble silicone dispersion) and cetrimonium chloride (a very simple but very effective quaternary ammonium compound which sticks to damaged areas of the hair.)

Does it weaken hair? No. All conditioners work by smoothing the cuticle and lubricating the hair shaft to protect hair from damage. Infusium does that very nicely without weakening the hair.

The Beauty Brains bottom line:

If you like leave-in conditioners, you’ll probably like Infusium 23. Make your brother buy you a new bottle and don’t worry about weakening your hair.

How do YOU like to conditioner your hair? Leave in? Rinse out? Leave a comment and share your conditioning tips with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.

Lefty and Righty will say we’ve got to be skeptical about beauty products and do research before spending a lot of money blah blah blah. I don’t disagree, but whether you research or not, at some point you’re going to buy new stuff.  So, when you do make a decision to buy, there are two ways you can help support the Beauty Brains.

Super sponsors

One, is to buy from our sponsors. Those are the featured ads in our header and on the sidebar to the right of this post.

But you can also support our site by making your next purchase through an amazon link on our site. The best part is, it doesn’t matter WHAT you buy after clicking on our Amazon ads. We still get a portion of the sale and that helps us cover our expenses. That’s right, you can buy ANYTHING on Amazon. To make my point, I’ve picked the most ridiculous thing I could find on Amazon to use as an ad in today’s post. I present to you: the baby toupee!

Crazy baby stuff

Yep, a toupee for infants. How crazy is that? I can’t imagine any of you will actually buy one, but aren’t you just a little bit curious about it? That’s ok – go ahead and click through and see all the hilarious pictures of the hairy babies. And after you’ve enjoyed a good laugh, and you’re ready to do some serious shopping, go ahead and buy something else. ANYTHING else.  If you’re shopping online anyway  you can help us out at the same time with no extra cost to you. (If it helps, you can think of it as doing your little part to support the Sarah Bellum Sephora Fund.)