What can you eat or drink for better skin?
To tell you the truth, I’m skeptical there is much evidence at all that eating or drinking some specific thing is going to have a…
Category: Science
Is the end of gray hair near?
I saw this interesting news story about a group of European researchers who say they have found a treatment that can eliminate gray hair. Two…
How does a shampoo work
Some years ago I went through a phase where I was really into making computer animations. Here’s one I did that explains roughly how shampoos…
The science of aging
Creating anti-aging products is a popular activity for cosmetic chemists. But did you know that humans are programmed to die? This cute video explains it…
Slime mold is smarter than we think
This is a pretty cool story about slime mold. I was a biology major and always appreciated interesting animal adaptations. Here’s the video. [youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lls27hu03yw’]…
How sunless tanners work
Here is an instructive video put together by the good folks at the American Chemical Society. [youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP22ODuCip4′]
Video that explains acne
This is a cute video about acne and what causes it. Cosmetic chemists and formulators should know what causes the problems we’re trying to solve.
Laser Technique Allows Calculation of Skin Age
This was an interesting story about the determination of skin aging. According to the report, scientists used a harmonic generation microscope to determine the intrinsic…
New preservative from your eyes?
Here’s an interesting story about a technology that could be the future of preservation for cosmetics. According to researchers, they’ve discovered a compound in the…
Basic cosmetic science from the ACS
If you were a chemistry major in college, you undoubtedly heard of the American Chemical Society (ACS). It’s one of the oldest professional societies in…
The science of sunscreens
Here’s a pretty interesting video that shows just how sunscreens work. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wopwVVsbvWI&feature=relmfu] It’s helpful to any cosmetic chemist who works in the sunscreen field. It’s…
ACS Tackles Emulsions, Foams and Suspensions
When I was in college the only professional chemistry group that I knew about was the American Chemical Society. It’s an old organization and I…
How do Alpha Hydroxy Acids work?
Despite what many comsetic marketers claim, there aren’t a lot of anti-aging actives that work when delivered from topical applications. Retinol, maybe Niacinamide but not…
Will Shark Skin Studies Lead to New Sunscreens?
Did you ever hear that sharks never get cancer? Well, this is false. Sharks do get cancer. However, they don’t get all types of cancer.…
Silicones - Cosmetic Science in 300 Seconds
[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IruW49CoBUs’] Transcript: Cosmetic Science in 300 Seconds - Silicones Welcome to Cosmetic Science in 300 seconds brought to you by Chemists Corner. Today’s topic…
Gray hair is not caused by stress
I have a couple of gray hairs. At the age of 43, I have much less gray hairs than other people my age but I…
Journal of Cosmetic Science Summary
There is actual science that happens in the cosmetic industry and you can find much of it written in the peer reviewed Journal of Cosmetic…
Progress on hair bleach technology
Here’s an article which discusses a new development in hair bleaching technology. Rather than using hydrogen peroxide as is typically the case, scientists from Kao…
Advances in penetration of skin creams
Last week I wrote about skin penetration and the difficulty of both creating a product that works and the problems associated with cosmetic products that…
A Cosmetic Chemist at the Museum of Science and Industry
Here in Chicago we have an excellent science museum, the Museum of Science and Industry. I make a trip there almost once a year and…