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Sarah Bellum’s Sponsor Shout Out
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.)
Don’t Be Fooled By Fake Sunscreens
Ally asks…I have got a face cream as a gift and it’s day defence cream for normal/combination skin with UV filter. What strength that UV filter is or whether it’s UVA+UVB protection is not mentioned. I was reading through ingredients list and couldn’t find any evidence of UV protection, but maybe my knowledge is just not deep enough. It goes like this: ionized water, glyceryl stearate, cetearyl alcohol, vegetable oil, ceteareth-20, capric and capronic acid triglycerides, decapric ether, perfume oil, dimethicone, plantain extract, primrose extract, blueberry extract, perfume composition, methylparaben, propylparaben, silver ions. This list was translated by myself with help of Google. What do you think? It it any good for combination skin? The vegetable oil especially worries me as this is a product designed to deal with oily t-zone.
The Left Brain responds:
There is nothing on the list that is obviously a UV filter. Some blends of dimethicone may be sold as UV filters but this list doesn’t seem to have one. Maybe they are counting the blueberry extract or primrose extract as UV filters. The product doesn’t seem like a great face cream especially with all the different oils it contains. But it all depends on how the product is formulated. You could make a nice product with those ingredients but it would be difficult. Based on the ingredient list, my guess is that it probably isn’t the best thing to use for combination skin.
Is Baby Shampoo Bad For Your Hair?
Kitten Devine’s question…Yesterday at a hair shop they asked me what shampoo I used. So I told them I use Zwitsal baby shampoo, because I like how it makes my hair feel and because sodium laureth sulphate is only the 5th ingredient on the list, so I figured it’s more gentle and doesn’t strip the color out of my hair. Now they told me that baby shampoo was bad for your hair because the pH of it is different then regular shampoos. Because of the different pH it would open your cuticles whereas ‘good’ (more acidic) shampoos would close them. Is this true or myth?
The Left Brain’s reply:
As Purple Rules pointed out in our Forum, the pH of baby shampoos has nothing to do with it’s performance. Shampoos are formulated over a pH range from about 5.0 to 7.0. Most people’s water has a pH around 6.5 to 7.0. No matter what shampoo you use, once it’s on your head mixed with water, the pH will be about the same as the water. The people at your hair shop are mistaken.
What do YOU think? Has your stylist ever told you to change shampoos because of the pH? Leave a comment and share your thoughts about this myth with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
Does Infusium Weaken Hair?
Berlina beckons…I had recently been using Infusium leave in treatment on my hair and it had been working fabulously. But, my little brother managed to spill the entire bottle on my floor. After thinking of buying another bottle, I bought a replacement conditioner for the time being for the rest of the week. I was wondering what it is in Infusium that works so well with my hair? I heard that it may cause your hair to weaken. Is this true?
The Right Brain Responds:
Infusium 23 has been around for many, many years (although now it’s owned by P&G) and it’s a very nice leave-in formula. What’s in it that makes it work so well? Let’s take a look at the ingredient list:
Water, Amodimethicone, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Panthenol, Cetrimonium Chloride, Dimethicone Copolyol, Polyquaternium-11, Citric Acid, Betaine, Glycerin, Sorbitol, Tricontanyl PVP, PPG-2 Methyl Ether, Serine, Glycine, Glutamic Acid, Arginine, Threonine, Lysine, Alanine, Proline, Hydroxyethylcellulose, PEG-8/SMDI Copolymer, Behenic Acid, Palmitoyl Myristyl Serinate, Oleic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Linoleic Acid, Stearic Acid, Arachidic Acid, PEG-8, Polysorbate 80, Amino Methylpropanol, Fragrance, Sodium PCA, Methylparaben, Methylisothiazolinone, Methylchloroisothiazolinone
If we strip this list down to the basic, functional ingredients it looks like this:
Amodimethicone, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Cetrimonium Chloride, Dimethicone Copolyol, Polyquaternium-11
Infusium action
Of these ingredients, two are really doing most of the work: amodimethicone (which is a water soluble silicone dispersion) and cetrimonium chloride (a very simple but very effective quaternary ammonium compound which sticks to damaged areas of the hair.)
Does it weaken hair? No. All conditioners work by smoothing the cuticle and lubricating the hair shaft to protect hair from damage. Infusium does that very nicely without weakening the hair.
The Beauty Brains bottom line:
If you like leave-in conditioners, you’ll probably like Infusium 23. Make your brother buy you a new bottle and don’t worry about weakening your hair.
How do YOU like to conditioner your hair? Leave in? Rinse out? Leave a comment and share your conditioning tips with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
Are Men’s Shave Creams Different Than Women’s?
Eva asks…Is there a difference between men’s and women’s shaving creams? And what are the merits of shaving oils and lotions?
The Right Brain replies:
The main ingredients in shaving creams are the soaps that soften hair and lubricate skin. Most formulas create this soap my mixing a fatty acid (like stearic acid or palmitic acid) with an alkaline ingredient (like triethanolamine). This is true of products for men or women.
Shaving science
Let’s look at some ingredient lists for examples:
Typical Men’s shave cream #1 (Edge):
Deionized Water, Palmitic Acid, Triethanolamine, Stearic Acid, Isopentane, Sunflower Oil Monoglycerides, Sorbitol, Aloe Barbadensis Gel (Aloe Vera Gel), Fragrance, PVP, Isobutane, PEG 90M, FD&C Blue 1
Typical Mens’ #2 (Gillette):
Water, Stearic Acid, Triethanolamine, Isobutane, Laureth 23, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Propane, Fragrance, Butane, BHT
Typical Women’s Shaving Cream (Skintimate):
Purified Water, Palmitic Acid, Triethanolamine, Stearic Acid, Isopentane, Sunflower Oil Monoglycerides, Sorbitol, Lanolin Alcohols, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E, USP), PEG-90M, PVP, Fragrance, Isobutane, FD&C Red 40
See the similarity? There products differ by a few ingredients but the basic soap components are the same. The sensory characteristics are different but both types perform the same basic function.
What about lotions and oils?
Most lotions are similar to creams in composition but they’re usually not in aerosol form. Shave oils are quite a bit different. They usually consist of a mixture of vegetable oils without any water. Therefore, they don’t wet the beard as well as creams although they do lubricate the skin. Some people prefer creams, others prefer oils. Go figure.
Man With World’s Longest Hair Dies
What kind of beauty science blog would we be if we didn’t report on this story: The man with the world’s longest hair just died.
Tran Van Hay, who lived in Vietnam and passed away last week at the age of 79 is on record as having the longest hair in the world, according to the Guinness World Records. At the time of his death it was estimated to be 6.8 meters (more than 23 feet! The last time his hair was officially measured, in 2004, it was 5.6 meters or 18 feet.)
Ladies of the Long Hair Community, eat your hearts out!
What’s the longest hair you’ve ever known anyone to have? Leave a comment and share your thoughts with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.