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!

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?

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!

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.

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.