ibteachnu asks…I can no longer afford Arbonne. What drugstore brands are comparable to their hydrating wash, balancing toner, facial serum, and day creme? I’ve already replaced their RE-9 foaming body wash with Olay’s age defying body wash. What are your thoughts on that product?

Right Brain responds
After that big battle about Arbonne, we no longer let Left Brain answer questions about Arbonne, so this one is mine.

Arbonne Hydrating Wash

At almost $40 for a 3 ounce bottle of the Arbonne Hydrating Wash, it’s no wonder you can’t afford Arbonne anymore. No cleanser is worth that expense. Cleansers are put on and then rinsed away. Unless the skin is specially prepared before-hand, cleansers have limited ability to deliver anything to the skin. They simply remove things.

Arbonne does make it challenging to find ingredient lists, but with enough Google searching you can usually find them. The basic ingredient list for the Hydrating wash is as follows.

Sodium Cocoyl Sulfate, PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate, Stearic Acid, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Lauroamphoacetate, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Disodium Lauroamphoacetate

This isn’t a complete list but it’s enough to get the general gist of the product. Basically, they are using standard but more gentle surfactants.

Olay alternative?

Oil of Olay is always a good choice. It is made by P&G and is one of the most thoroughly tested skin care lines available. It also has the most cosmetic chemists and scientists behind its development.

The ingredients in this particular product are different than the ones found in Arbonne. Here’s the ingredient list.

Water, Petrolatum, Ammonium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauroamphoacetate, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Lauric Acid, Fragrance, Trihydroxystearin, Sodium Chloride, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Citric Acid, Niacinamide (Vitamin B3), Butyrospermum (Shea Butter) Extract (Shea Butter), Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A), DMDM Hydantoin, Sodium Benzoate, Disodium EDTA, PEG 14M

ALES & ALS are typically harsh detergents but the harshness is more than off-set by the fact that a moisturizing ingredient (Petrolatum) is the second ingredient. The Petrolatum will protect skin from the harshness of the detergents so overall, the Olay product should be more gentle than the Arbonne product.

Closer Drugstore Alternative

The Olay product and Arbonne products should behave similarly but if you are looking for something even closer, consider trying some of the following.

Johnsons Soothing Naturals Hair and Body Wash – hair and body wash. Contains PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate as the primary surfactant.

Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash – Contains three of the primary surfactants found in Arbonne

Beauty Brains bottom line

Everyone has different skin and you need to experiment to figure out which type of cleansing product works best for you. However, there is no need to spend a lot on a cleansing wash. Go to your local drugstore and find a product that will work for you. It will be good for your skin and wallet too.

How much do you spend on skin cleansing products? Do you think it is worth it? Leave a comment below.

LoonyLolipop asks…Many news articles are gushing about the revolutionary development of sunscreen supplements, specifically SunPill and Heliocare. These products would be a wonderful alternative to topical sunscreens because I am very allergic to oxybenzone and avenobenzene, two common ingredients in over-the-counter topical sun blocks. However, no article has mentioned whether this pill offers broad spectrum protection. It seems like I can get more effective and less expensive sun protection by wearing a hat and drinking green tea. I admit that I am a cynical person and can be fairly stubborn. Since you have more access and knowledge about scientific breakthroughs, are these sunscreen supplements over-hyped products? Or is there a sizable benefit that warrants the expensive price?

Left Brain enlightens…
I agree that sunscreen pills would be a great invention. Slathering on sunscreen lotions multiple times a day can be a bit of a pain. Of course, using sunscreen is one of the most important things you can do to prevent skin cancer and keep you skin looking young and healthy.

Sunscreen pills

There are a few different options for sunscreen pills. These include the following

Heliocare – Heliocare contains antioxidants derived from a natural fern (Polypodium leucotomos). These antioxidants are supposed to reduce skin-damaging free radicals which could theoretically have benefits to skin elasticity, reduce sun damage and increase tolerance to the sun. There is some evidence that the natural fern antioxidants taken orally can decrease UV damage. However, the study was pretty small (9 people) so more work needs to be done.

Verdict – There is some evidence that Heliocare supplements work.

SunPill – Sunpill contains a variety of antioxidants including Polypodium leucotomos extract, Green tea extract, pomegranate, etc. Again, these have some theoretical support but the studies have all been small and should only be considered preliminary.

Verdict – There is some evidence SunPills work and they are less expensive than Heliocare.

Murad Pomphenol Sunguard – This product contains a high level of pomegranate extract and some studies like this one suggest that it can help inhibit sun damage pigmentation.

Verdict – There is some evidence that Murad is somewhat effective.

Potential Problems with Sunscreen Pills

While there is some evidence that these products can work, there are a couple of problems with them.

The first issue with these sunscreen pills is that none of them claim to be a replacement for topically applied sunscreens. So, if you still have to apply sunscreen, what’s the point of taking an expensive supplement? At over $50 for 60 pills one has to wonder if it’s really worth it.

The next issue is that it’s unclear how long the product will work. With a topical sunscreen you know approximately how long it will last and when you need to reapply. With these supplements their effectiveness will depend on how your digestive system works. And this will be significantly different from person to person.

Perhaps the most significant problem with these products is that they are not regulated by the FDA, so you don’t even know if they contain the ingredients they claim to have. I’m always skeptical of supplements.

Beauty Brains bottom line

While sunscreen pills have some science suggesting they work, they are not a replacement for topical sunscreens. Add to that the price and they hardly seem worth the expense. I’d wait until the price comes down and products become more effective.

Kalisa’s Question…What can you tell me about Neutrogena Deep Clean Invigorating Cleanser/Mask? Specifically, is there any additional benefit to my skin of using it as mask (leaving it on for three minutes) as opposed to merely washing my face with it?

The Right Brain’s Answer:
To our surprise, Neutrogena does indeed recommend that this cleanser can be left on and used as a mask. We quote:

This revolutionary formula works as a daily cleanser or 3-minute mask. It foams instantly to dissolve dirt, oil and makeup. Skin tingles as the cooling lather deep cleans to leave skin feeling energized and shine-free for hours. For more intensive cleansing, use it as a mask. As it dries, you’ll feel it working deep within the skin’s surface to absorb shine-causing oil and pore-clogging impurities.

Why do we find this surprising? Let’s look at the ingredients, ignoring preservatives, fragrance, etc., and just focusing on the functional ingredients:

Ingredients that clean your skin:
Methyl Gluceth 20, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Lauryl Glucoside, Disodium Lauroamphodiacetate, PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate, Dimethicone PEG-8 Meadowfoamate, Polyquaternium-7

Ingredients that form a film on your skin and feel like a mask:
Polyethylene, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Synthetic Wax

Based on the presence of the mask type ingredients, this does look different than a typical cleanser – it appears to be designed to have a mask like feel to it. But how good of a mask is this? Typical masks contain clay or some kind of film forming polymer that really tighten the skin as it dries. Becaus this formula is different and because it contains so many cleansing ingredientes that will tend to soften the film so we doubt formula one would give you that strong tightening effect. Based on looking at the formula, our guess is this product would be a really good cleanser but it wouldn’t be a great mask.

But our real concern is about leaving this much surfactant on your face for so long. Surfactants, even relatively mild ones like this formula uses, can irritate skin. This product also contains menthol which is a known irritant.

The Beauty Brain’s bottom line:

Based on looking at the ingredients, we think that the risk of drying out your skin would outweigh any potential benefits. That’s our opinion without doing any testing so take it with the proverbial grain of salt. If anyone has tried this, let us know.

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.