Who Needs Pantene?
Ahh, cosmetic ads from the ’70’s. How do we love thee? Let us count the ways…
This ad proudly proclaims that women who use Pantene don’t look like they need it. We see their point. This woman doesn’t look like she needs Pantene. She looks like she needs an eye doctor. On the bright side, at least the orthodontist finished with her before the photographer got there. This looks more like an ad for Crest White Strips than Pantene!)
Fine Print
This is also another one of those ads where you have to read the fine print to fully appreciate it. It says “each product contains Pantene’s unique Swiss Conditioner,” which as the asterisk tells us, is made in the USA. Ahh, God bless Madison Avenue’s advertising army!
The Beauty Brains Blog Blast
The Bionic Beauty is the first beauty blog we’ve seen on the Kindle. How cool is that?
Blogdorf Goodman has posted fairy makeup pictures that, frankly, creep me out a little bit.
Canadian Beauty has an awesome picture of Kim Kardashian and her new fragrance.
Christina Loves writes about the science of Vaseline Sheer Infusion.
The Beauty Brains get blabby about Bag Balm. (Is it really just for animals?)
Is It Okay To Change The Way A Flower Smells?
As Shakespeare once said: “A rose by any other name would smell like root beer.” Actually that’s what the great Bard would have said if had he read this Discovery.com story about customized flower fragrances.
Root beer roses
Scientists at the University of Florida have figured out how to change the scent of a flower by genetically altering the plant – they have literally made roses that smell like root beer and petunias smell like wintergreen. In addition to custom-scented bouquets, this discovery could also lead to new perfume notes.
The research is not as frivolous as you might think, though. They’re actually trying to find ways to increase pollination of fruit producing plants to increase crop yield.
What do YOU think? Would you want “designer flowers” or would you stick with the old standards? Leave a comment and share your flowery prose with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
Another iPhone Beauty App
We usually blog about anti-aging technology but here’s a new gadget that actually ages you: it’s a beauty app for the iPhone that makes you look older.
It’s called “Hour Face” and it’s designed to take a picture of your face and show you how you’ll look when you’re an octagenarian – and beyond. The effect is a little bit creepy – check out the video to see for yourself.
We’ve blogged about iPhone beauty apps before. What do you think about beauty apps for your smart phone? Like ‘em or loathe ‘em? Leave a comment and share your thoughts with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
Bag Balm: What Does It Do For Skin?
Lydia’s lost… Ok, I know that I spend way too much time shopping online when I have this fact stuck in my head: Bag Balm is the #3 best selling beauty product on Amazon.com. What’s up with that?!? What’s in this stuff, what does it do, and do I need to buy some?
The Left Brain’s leading reply:
Bag Balm reminds me of “Mane ‘n Tail:” They are both products designed for animals that humans have adopted for their own use. That’s right, Bag Balm is actually a product intended to treat skin condition of animals.
Bombastic about Bag Balm
According to the website for Dairy Association Company, Inc, the company that makes Bag Balm, it’s been used since 1899 to keep cows from becoming chapped. I assume this means it’s used to moisturize and protect the sensitive skin of the udders. For more background on the history of Bag Balm read this USA Today article. Just for the record, the website makes no mention of use on humans, which is not surprising since the product contains a drug active that is not approved for over the counter use on people.
Bag Balm ingredients
Since this isn’t a typical cosmetic product it doesn’t have to follow the labeling rules for cosmetics and therefore the package doesn’t have to carry a complete list of ingredients. But according to Drugstore.com I see that it contains 8-Hydroxyquinoline Sulfate at 0.3% in a petrolatum and lanolin base. Petrolatum and lanolin are both common skin care ingredients and are also used in heavy duty ointments and wound care products. The real star of the show is the 8-Hydroxyquinoline Sulfate. According to several sources such as this one, this compound is a bacteriostatic and fungistatic agent and it’s used to prepare antiseptics, deodorants, antiperspirants, and fungicides. (Personally, I’ve never seen this used in any products for humans.)
The Beauty Brains bottom line
I see Bag Balm as a product that combines excellent moisturizing ingredients with a drug active that has antiseptic properties. However, since the active agent is not approved for use on people, the company can not legally make claims in this regard. You may see benefits from using it but legally the company can only promote it for use on animals.
What do YOU think? Have you ever used Bag Balm or Mane ‘n Tail? Leave a comment and share your animalistic thoughts with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
Do Sunless Tanners Damage Skin?
Sonia says…Lately I’ve been using Clarins Liquid Bronze Self Tanning, and I like how it looks, but I was wondering, this sounds just too good to be true, don’t these self tanners damage the skin in the long term?
The Right Brain replies:
Don’t worry, Sonia. Self tanners use an ingredient called Dihydroxyacetone (or DHA) that creates a brownish color when it reacts with the upper layers of skin. The upper layers of skin are dead anyway and DHA doesn’t penetrate into the deeper layers so there’s really no danger. If you want more info, read our previous post on how sunless tanning works.