One of the greatest things about science is that you can set up demonstrations / experiments that have unexpected results. And these demonstrations don’t have to cost a lot of money. Often you can do them with things you have right in your kitchen.

There aren’t a lot of great science demos to show the principles of cosmetic science (although I’m going to work on coming up with some). Here is a good list of kitchen experiments that you can try. It’s from one of my favorite podcasts Naked Science.

Here are two demos related to surfactants.

1. Bubble color interference
2. Bouncing soap

Do you have any great sources for science demos? I’m always on the lookout for them. Leave a comment below.

As a cosmetic chemist you will no doubt run into people (either in person or on the Internet) who hold strong opinions about beauty products, chemicals, and product safety.  They will be quick to tell you about the products that work and the ones that are a complete waste.  They also seem to know exactly which chemicals are causing all sorts of health horrors from cancer to birth defects.  You might even run into someone who writes books about the subject despite the fact that they hold no particular background in the subject.

This has always puzzled me.

Why would someone who has no background in cosmetic science or toxicology develop strong beliefs that are in contrast to what researchers and scientists who study the subject say?

Dunning-Kruger effect

It turns out, there is an explanation.  It’s called the Dunning-Kruger effect.  This is a psychological condition in which a person who is unskilled in an area believes themselves to have above-average intelligence in that area.  It’s thought that this is a result of the person’s inability to recognize their own mistakes.

Conversely, people who actually have a competence in an area tend to underestimate their knowledge and confidence in that area.  This is why scientists typically couch their words in terms of probabilities and possibilities.  They never say, “Use of this chemical is absolutely safe.”  Rather, they would say something like, “There is no evidence that this chemical will cause harm.”

Unfortunately, recognizing your own shortcomings is difficult so even if you are competent in one area, you might suffer from this same effect in another.  There are some things you can do to avoid it such as remaining skeptical of your own expertise and getting advice from trusted friends.

Here’s a pretty good article which discusses the Dunning-Kruger effect further.

What to do?

While there are things you can do to prevent this effect in yourself, you might become frustrated when you run into a person who is afflicted by the condition without knowing it.  If you are on Twitter, Facebook or read beauty blogs you will run into a lot of people like this.  Here are some ways that I try to deal with it.

1.  Avoid criticism.  Calling people names or telling them they are ignorant is not an effective way to help them see the light.

2.  Never tell someone they are wrong.  They may be wrong but if you tell them they are, you will not change their mind.  You will just make them mad and most likely increase their conviction in their erroneous belief.

3.  Offer your opinion when asked.  Rather than telling people what is right or wrong, offer your own opinion in as humble a manner as you can.

4.  Ask questions.  The number one way to debate/dialogue with a person suffering from the Dunning-Kruger effect is to ask them questions.  If you can get someone to examine why they believe something, you might be able to crack their confidence.  For example, when someone writes that Parabens cause cancer and shouldn’t be included in cosmetics, I ask them what preservative they think is safer?  I’ve never received a good answer to this.

Non scientists can often hold very strong opinions that you know are probably incorrect.  I realize it is frustrating but as a scientist it is your responsibility to communicate what you know as the truth.  I know it’s not easy but if it were, everyone would be doing it.

Here’s a pretty good demonstration that you might use in the future for a presentation to your marketing group or other people you want to impress with a cool science trick.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22r1zWOYiRM

I’m going to take a break from writing about cosmetic science today and show you some other sciencey thing that caught my interest. It is a vortex cannon and it looks very fun and easy to make.

Just take a box, cut a hole in it and fill it with smoke. Then have some fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b2SV3ASUxY

There is a trend in the cosmetic industry some market research folks have labeled ‘beauty from within’. These are products which consumers are supposed to ingest to realize the benefit.

For example, BORBA Age Defying Skin Balance water.

In truth, I’ve been a bit skeptical of this trend. There is very limited data that suggests you can have a specific effect on skin by eating a certain product.

There certainly have been studies that show some foods have an effect on skin. For example, eating a diet rich in tomatoes has shown to protect skin from UV damage. But the conclusion of these is that there is only a small effect and you should still use standard sunscreens if you are going to be in the sun.

Here is a recent study that looked at the effect of what you eat has on your skin color. In this research, scientists found that you could indeed improve the appearance of your skin color by increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables that you eat. This is just preliminary research but it is interesting. It also coincides with an idea I had to see if I could turn my skin orange by eating enough carrots. I once ate 3 pounds in one evening but didn’t see any skin color change.

Cosmetic chemists ingredients

While I don’t find the current crop of ‘beauty from within’ products to be compelling (there’s little evidence that they work), research like these two do suggest that there may be something to this field of cosmetic development.

Perhaps, innovative cosmetic chemists will have to study up on nutrition and create some products that really are effective.

I don’t know how I stumbled upon the book The Joy of Chemistry (received it as a Christmas gift) but I’m glad I did. It was just what I needed to reignite my interest in the entire field of chemistry. And it also helped clarify some of the things that I learned in college but forgot right after passing the exam.

The Joy of Chemistry is written by chemistry experts Cathy Cobb and Monty Fetterolf with the intention of inspiring a general audience to appreciate chemistry. To this end they cover each topic with in three distinct ways. First, they begin with a experiment which demonstrates the principle. These are easy experiments with materials that anyone can get. At the start of the book they give a checklist of materials you need to do all the experiments which is incredibly helpful.

The next way they cover each topic is to explain the scientific principles behind what is happening. This is the “hard science” but the authors write it in such a way that it is understandable by most people. In truth, I didn’t have a difficult time understanding the chemistry but I’m not completely sure someone without a science background would have such an easy time. Still, with some thought, anyone could get the basic ideas.

The final part of every topic covered is to discuss some real world application of the chemistry. For example, in the chapters on electrons and atoms they describe how these chemistry principles make photocopiers function. I found this part of each section most enlightening because when learning chemistry in college you rarely get exposed to real world applications.

The Joy of Chemistry is 393 pages long but only about 320 pages of actual reading as there are lists of elements and their properties, a long index and other appendix pages. It’s a very readable book and is organized in two parts. In the first part, 18 topics in chemistry are covered including things such as atoms & electrons, pH, colligative properties, electrochemistry, inorganic chemistry, and more. In the second part they cover 4 topics that demonstrate how each of the principles are applied in real life. This includes chapters on Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Analytical Chemistry. The last chapter shows how chemistry is used by forensic scientists to solve crimes.

Overall, I recommend the Joy of Chemistry for anyone who has an interest in chemistry and wants a simple explanation of the topics. Chemistry graduates might find it a little too simple, but anyone who has been away from school for long will be delighted to remember many of the principles that you might have forgotten. And if you didn’t get a degree in chemistry but want to get a good background (to help understand formulating) this will be an excellent book for you.

You can get a copy of the book through Amazon. If you purchase through the following link you help support this website.

The Joy of Chemistry

I just finished reading the excellent book The Joy of Chemistry and in a future post I’ll do a review but while I was reading I began to think about inorganic chemistry. For the most part cosmetics require knowledge of organic chemistry. Inorganic chemistry doesn’t come into play too often.

But fret not, learning about all those p-orbitals and coordination compounds were not a complete waste of your brain. There are still a number of inorganic compounds that are incorporated into cosmetic formulations.

Sunblock. Titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. These materials are used in sunscreen formulations to protect the skin from UV damage. These ingredients also double as pigments in color cosmetics.

Colorants. There are a number of color compounds based on inorganic complexes. Iron oxides, alumina, calcium carbonate, bisthmuth oxychloride and mica are just a few examples.

Thickeners. There are a number of bentonite clays that can be used as thickeners. Also, salts like sodium chloride or ammonium chloride can be used to thicken surfactant formulas.

Acids. Strong inorganic acids like Hydrochloric acid or Phosphoric acid are used to reduce the pH of some formulations.

Bases. To adjust pH up bases are used. Sodium hydroxide is used to create soap and potassium hydroxide is used in relaxers to straighten hair.

Hydrogen peroxide is used to bleach hair and advance the chemical reaction of polymeric hair colors.

Aluminum salts. These compounds are used in antiperspirants to prevent sweating.

Selenium sulfide is a potent anti dandruff ingredient.

Pumice is an inorganic compound used as an exfoliant.

Silica is added to cosmetics as a filler material that can extend color cosmetic colorants and provide slip.

Compressed air. One of the ways that aerosols are made is by using compressed air. That means nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen and the rest of the inorganic compounds found in air are used.

And of course the most common inorganic ingredient used in cosmetics is water.

Knowing organic chemistry is a key part of your cosmetic science background but don’t ignore inorganic chemistry completely. It’s still an important part of formulating.

I like to amuse myself with chemistry videos on youtube. Here is an interesting about entropy that might be helpful for current and future cosmetic chemists.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1nKEz2DPC0

Incidentally, entropy is one of my favorite chemistry topics of all time.

This is a little outside the realm of cosmetics but I like science and thought this animation was very cool.  It takes you all the way down to the smallest thing that we’ve discovered (or theorized) up to the largest things in the Universe.  So very cool.

The Observable Universe

If you ever wanted to create a Valentine’s Day themed cosmetic product, here is an ingredient you might consider adding.  Synthetic pheromones.

In a study from San Francisco State University researchers  men were found to be more attracted to women wearing pheromones in their perfume which resulted in more dates, kisses, cuddles and even sex.

Pheromones

Pheromones are a type of compound that allows animals to chemically communicate with each other. They are versatile chemicals that help ants figure out how to get home, that let dogs mark their territory and that let mammals know when to mate. The word pheromone comes from the Greek words pherin, to transfer, and hormone, to excite.  Pheromones are similar to hormones but instead of working within the body, they work between bodies.

How do they work?

The chemical communication of pheromones is simple. One animal (or human) releases the pheromone and another senses it. In essence, the behavior of the sensing animal is controlled by the pheromone releaser. In mammals, pheromones are detected by an organ called vomeronasal organ (VMO) which is located somewhere in the head between the nose and mouth. Pheromones are a bit like odor molecules but they have a much different effect.

So do pheromones really work?

Well, if pheromones really worked it would mean that controlling the behavior of people would be simple. If you wanted someone to fall in love with you, you could simply spray some pheromones whenever they’re around. Fortunately, human behavior is a bit more complicated than that.

It is still debated among scientists whether pheromones have an effect or not. These researchers demonstrated that women actually saw an increase in sociosexual activity when wearing perfume that contained pheromones. The impressive part of this research was that it was compared to a placebo control. But one study (of 36 women) isn’t enough to substantiate these incredible claims.

Other researchers have looked at all the human pheromone data and the results are inconclusive. Yes, pheromones are real. Yes, they may have some physiological effect. But how much pheromones change behavior is still unclear.

On a different day I’d be more skeptical on this one, but what the hell, Happy Valentines Day!