Chemist Confessions

We?ve dedicated many episodes to Vitamin C, but there?s still more to cover! Recently, there have been a lot of Vitamin C launches and they are specifically for tackling hyperpigmentation. What makes this arena slightly confusing is that many of these products use Vitamin C derivatives. But, how helpful is Vitamin C in helping to tackle this very stubborn skin concern? And which Vitamin C molecule is best? We discuss all this and more. It?s time to go down the rabbit hole again!

We?ve encountered many skincare users who have discovered that the Vitamin C realm is just not their cup of tea and neither is it for their skin. Enter resveratrol! We discuss what resveratrol is, its antioxidant capabilities, and why despite the amount of data, we consider this a solid option as a non-Vitamin C antioxidant replacement. You?ve been warned, we get nerdy here, but lets go down the rabbit hole shall we?

There?s a lot of rice-based ingredients and rice-adjacent ingredients in skincare. They can span from functional ingredients such as waxes and thickeners to exotic actives like the very famous Pitera. Amongst all of these ingredients, there?s one isolated active compound that we believe deserves some attention and that is kojic acid. This ingredient is a byproduct of the sake fermentation process and happens to have some solid data as a hyperpigmentation-fighting active. So let?s dive in!

Centella Asiatica (aka cica) has continued to reign as a trendy plant-based active. For good reason! With origins as a wound healing ingredient, the research behind centella asiatica as a skincare ingredient has really grown. We go through the research update and talk about its benefits as a skin soother and possible anti-aging ingredient. Finally, we walk through how to shop for centella asiatica and ultimately how to hunt for the good stuff: madecassoside & asiaticoside.

In the world of AHAs, mandelic acid feels like that forgotten child. We always talk about the golden child, glycolic acid, as well as the more gentle exfoliator, lactic acid. So when would a person need mandelic acid in their life? We go through the data and discuss who it?s good for, how much you should be using, and how to shop for this unique AHA.

Ginseng is definitely one of those alluring, almost magical ingredients that not only gets touted as a cure-all but almost as a skin cure-all as well. This root has been linked to a wide array of skincare benefits such as being an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging. But is there any merit to these claims? We discuss the science and just how helpful ginseng can be to your skincare routine.

Niacinamide is EVERYWHERE in the skincare world, but for good reasons. It?s a jack-of-all-trades type of molecule that has actual clinical evidence that ranges from improving skin barrier function, reducing sebum production, to brightening hyperpigmentation. But in recent years products now have way more niacinamide than ever before. So let's review some of niacinamide?s most famous clinical tests and answer the question ?is there such thing as too much niacinamide??

Urea has surprisingly been creeping up the ranks in skincare ingredient awareness. This oldie but a goodie has actually been looked at for some time and been compared to some of the greats like glycerin. Uniquely, urea at lower percentages serves as a hydration ingredient but at higher concentrations acts as a keratolytic similar to AHAs. So you have to wonder, can urea replace our AHAs?

Glycerin is probably one of the first ingredients that chemists learn to work with in formulation. In fact, we happen to call this the Frank?s Red Hot of skincare because the industry really puts that sh** in everything! But despite its economical, functional status, this ingredient has really risen in the ranks in terms of trendy ingredients! In this episode, we review glycerin?s benefits and discuss whether or not glycerin deserves the title of best hydrating ingredient in skincare.

It?s great to see awareness grow around maintaining skin barrier health. In caring for your skin barrier, ceramides would probably be the first ingredient that would be suggested. However, there are a lot of questions on who and what skin types should be using ceramides. Based on the data, are ceramides only good for those with compromised skin barriers? We dive into the research to see what the data says and how to use ceramide in your routine for your skin scenario!

Hyaluronic Acid has consistently been a trendy ingredient in skincare for better or worse. There?s so much confusion with this ingredient because it?s been touted as a miracle anti-aging ingredient but also gets flagged as a potential irritant that may even cause skin dehydration. Not to fear! In this episode, we go through the science, and talk about when and how to incorporate hyaluronic acid in your routine.

Bakuchiol was put on the map as soon as results came out that bakuchiol seemingly performed on par with retinol in treating anti-aging concerns. But does this hold true? The chemists? review what bakuchiol even is, the actual study that made this ingredient famous, and discuss who would benefit from using this ingredient! Let?s talk babchi stuff!

Retinal (aka retinaldehyde) is definitely a hot ingredient in skincare right now! You might have heard that retinal is more potent than retinol because it only needs one step to convert into retinoic acid vs. retinol?s two. But is retinal truly better than retinol? We go through the data and give you the inside scoop on the state of retinal skincare!

We talk about retinol a lot. That?s because it?s the most popular retinoid that can be used in cosmetics. Most are well aware of the anti-aging and hyperpigmentation benefits but there are still a lot of questions on how to properly use retinol. In fact, one of the most common questions we get is, ?Can I use retinol in the daytime? Does the sun destabilize retinol and thus what I?ve applied on my face is now useless?? Let?s dive into the science!

Adapalene is the one retinoid that?s available to us as an over the counter topical for acne. This third generation retinoid has become a popular alternative to tretinoin and for good reason! It?s found to be more stable and has less irritation. So naturally, you?re probably wondering?if tretinoin is great for anti-aging, can adapalene work too?

A New Year! A New Theme! 2024 is all about skincare ingredients and in this episode, we?re focusing on the OG of retinoids, tretinoin. We review what it is, why it?s so prevalent, and answer one of the most common questions we get on this ingredient: Is using tretinoin long-term bad for skin?

It?s the last episode of the 2023! It?s time to lookback on all the skincare science we discussed, all the animals we shared, all the skincare goodness (and craziness) that happened this year. It?s been a great year and we can?t wait for what?s in store for 2024! Happy Holidays!

How is it already end of year?! Well it?s gifting season again, so let?s go through skincare gifting! We decode gift sets, what might be worth it and what we would pass on. We also discuss skincare we would gift as well as skincare we would want gifted to us! TIme to get into the Christmas spirit!

We?ve talked a lot about tackling your active breakouts, but what about post acne marks & scars? They can seem so frustratingly persistent. But the good news is, things that tackle your breakouts like tretinoin and adapalene can also help tackle the healing phase to minimize acne scarring. Another active ingredient that can be helpful is glycolic acid? butttt that comes with a lot of caveats. So let?s dive into the science of post acne care!

With acne breakouts being the stubborn, complicated creature that it is, it?s no wonder the world of acne treatment options is a billion-dollar industry. Today we?re walking through some of the recently trendy acne favorites. Are they worth the hype? How important are they to your acne strategy? Let?s dive in!

We can?t believe we haven?t done a dedicated podcast episode to anti-aging superstar retinol. This skincare active has been clinically tested (again and again) to effectively improve fine lines, wrinkles, hyperpigmentation? you name it! But with thousands of retinol serums to choose from, and even countless different ?retinoids? to shop for, it can get confusing fast. So let?s get into the retinoid landscape, interesting retinol clinical tests, and all your retinol questions answered.

Retinol's popularity is ever-growing as THE anti-aging ingredient to dabble into - and for good reason! Butttt with so many retinol serums on the market to choose from, it's bound to lead to some confusing products + claims. So let's take a look at some confusing %s, Cerave's retinol range, and get your burning retinol questions answered! 

Skincare for sensitive skin sometimes feels like an open-ended category.  It can feel like there are too many random products out there and yet too few that really answer sensitive skin needs. In this very dense episode, we talk about what defines sensitive skin, what labels could help, the skin redness conundrum, and how to build a routine for sensitive skin. Settle in! We?re going down the rabbit hole!

If you have sensitive skin you may find that this realm of skincare just doesn?t speak to your skin needs that well. What?s worse is that if you try shopping for your sensitive skin, you?ll be bombarded with the widest array of skincare products and skincare actives. To help, the chemists break down this category into three groups of ?could be better?, ?better?, and ?best? based on their product testing! Through these examples, the hope is that you?ll be able to research and find a more tailored skincare solution to your sensitive skin needs. Let?s get into it!

Tackling hyperpigmentation already feels like you need a whole team of products to get any meaningful improvement. But, some of the most popular hyperpigmentation treatments seem to come with the biggest price tags. The chemists give their analysis on this group, run through the testing, and see if these truly live up to their price tag. For once, these frugal chemists might actually be swayed by these luxury serums.

Hyperpigmentation is probably one of the most stubborn skin concerns to tackle. It takes a lot more patience, diligence, and what feels like an army of actives to see meaningful improvement. Because of this, there are quite a few products in this realm to choose from, and decoding the ingredient list can get pretty messy. We go through two cult favorites and walk through our thought process in shopping for hyperpigmentation products! Lezzgo!

If you?re a skincare junkie, you?ve probably come across the term ?slugging?. This trend of sealing in your moisturizing routine with a balm really highlights the benefits of occlusives. These waxy, oily, balmy substances are pretty helpful to your moisturizer game, so let?s get into the science, the controversy, and just which occlusive product to include in your arsenal!

The slugging trend is here to stay and if you've ventured into this realm, you might have realized that the products suggested can vary a lot! Here we decode two popular "slugging" products and go through which one to choose for your skin type.

It's time for an exfoliation update! But this time, we're spending a segment on physical exfoliators aka. scrubs. Scrubs can actually be a helpful addition to your exfoliation game specifically for very stubborn texture concerns and blackheads. We discuss the various kinds of scrubs, any testing behind them, and what to look for when you're shopping for them! 

Chemical exfoliants come in all sorts of product types and one type that seems to be expanding is home peels. These typically include higher concentrations of chemical exfoliants and are meant to be used as wash-off masks. To give everyone a general picture of the landscape, we go through a few product decodes and soon realize this realm isn?t as straightforward as we thought!

6 years ago our journey started in skincare education started with decoding ingredient lists. Since then, this realm has evolved a lot...for better or worse. In this episode, we've decided to take some time to break down decodes based on product type and discuss when decoding can be helpful and when decoding could lead you into a pit of confusion.

We?ve been decoding all sorts of claims in the skincare world, but devices happen to be some of the most confusing products to figure out. Today it?s decode challenge mode! We walk through a really good example of a device that comes with the works in terms of claims and talk about what to pay attention to and what we?d probably ignore.

There?s a whole world of Vitamin C molecules outside of ascorbic acid, but they all get lumped under the ?Vitamin C? serum category. The difficulty here is that not every molecule has been validated to give the same benefits of ascorbic acid. So let?s get into a few of the major players, what they?ve been tested for, and how to go about shopping for these Vitamin C alternatives.

Vitamin C seems to be entering all sorts of skincare arenas, including body care. But is Vitamin C actually helpful in the category? Let?s take a look at a couple products to understand what?s really going on here. 

You?ve probably wondered, ?Out of all the Skinceuticals CE Ferulic Dupes out there, which one should I buy?? Well we?ve decided to put a few dupes to the test. After some surprising results, we go over which serums we would avoid. We also discuss what clues to look for to help you decide whether or not its time to let that Vitamin C serum go. Let?s get into it!

Have you wondered if your body needs a skincare routine too? You?re definitely not the only one. Despite this arena getting a lot of attention, there isn?t a ton of research or data to go off of. Instead, let?s go through a few common body products that would have some sort of testing behind them..and no it?s definitely not caffeine.

Summer is in full swing now! In addition to the gazillion sunscreen articles, this is also the time of year when all these jazzy ?summer skincare routine guides? come out. But do you really need to change up your routine just for summer? Is skin actually different during this time of year? Should you continue with retinol usage? What about your hyperpigmentation routine?

Vitamin C is definitely a must-have active during summer because of its excellent antioxidant properties to help prevent and combat photodamage. Because of its benefits, this category has expanded in the last couple of years into different formats outside of the classic: water-based, suspension, and powder formats. In this episode, let?s decode a wash-off mask, a stick, and an AOX sunscreen to see if these alternative formats hold any merit.

There?s been a big focus on ?Skin Barrier Health?, but what does that even mean? Many don?t realize that dabbling in things like anti-aging and hyperpigmentation is a moot point, if your skin barrier isn?t in tip-top shape! In this episode, the chemists do a deep dive into the biology behind good skin barrier health, what ingredients can help, and how to shop for your skin barrier!

It?s time to give our skin barrier some spotlight. But wait! When you start going down the rabbit hole of moisturizers, you stumble on some very odd formulation. So let?s go through some recent product launches and see if we can figure out what exactly we want in a moisturizer and how to make sense of the wild ingredients and claims.

For 30 days, the chemists decided to trial 30 different sunscreens for texture, wear, and wash-off using a UV camera. We ended up learning a lot through this journey so let's discuss! Who were the winners? losers? and what new sunscreen habits did we pick up? Let's talk about it!

Since one of the chemists reached a major life change, it?s finally time to dabble in the world of ?pregnancy-safe? skincare. It?s not a surprise that this is a realm that doesn?t have a lot of regulation and not a lot of testing. So let?s go through what data IS available and how the chemists would navigate skincare during this more delicate time of life.

Cleansers are a pretty good hybrid of an art and a science. Aside from a few basic criteria like gentleness and cleansing power, why you like a cleanser can get pretty personal. This makes shopping for a cleanser pretty difficult, but you have us! And we?ll try to put some logic to this world, so let?s do it!

Let?s decode the mysterious world of cleansers! One of the most personal skincare product categories around where the science doesn?t quite link as well to product success. So how helpful are cleanser claims? And how well do they lead to your next holy grail cleanser? Let?s get into the bubbly, soapy, madness!

Let?s get into acne and how to build a solid acne routine. We discuss the research side where groups are looking into the microbiome, bacne, and even acne for people of color! We discuss how to assess your breakouts and how to build a proper acne routine. These are all critical pieces of knowledge to have as many of us tackle this stubborn and what feels like never-ending skin concern!

It?s time for our annual recap on acne. A ~$9 billion dollar industry with thousands of touted acne products. Unfortunately this category sometimes gets a pass when it comes to proper claims because everyone rides the OTC salicylic acid claim. That means it?ll take a little decoding to really know what claims are legitimately helpful for post acne marks (and not just hyperpigmentation). Let?s do this!

The sun is here! This means it?s time for us all to brush up on our sunscreen habits and make sure we all know what to look for when shopping for sunscreens. But the sunscreen landscape is vast and there are so many types to choose from: fluids, lotions, droppers, sprays, sticks, and foams?! Does this mean we have to apply these differently? How well does the touted ?2-finger rule? hold up? So much to get into!

Sunny days ahead! That means it?s time to roll out the sunscreen content and we definitely had to start with sunscreen claims. The category has exploded into all sorts of formats and now we?re seeing brands get fancy with them by adding actives as well. So what does this mean? Is this how we decide which sunscreen is better? Let?s get into it!

It?s time to get into the Eye Cream Meatz! A topic we?ve been avoiding for far too long. The main struggle is that the biology is complex and the research is sparse, ultimately leading to a confusing product landscape. We?ll walk through the eye cream category and help assess what makes for a better/best eye cream or?an eye cream that needs a whole lot of faith!

We?ve been avoiding it too long, but it?s time to tackle eye creams! In this episode, we break down the three types of eye claims you?ll come across: the faux clinical claim, the ?not so clinical? clinical claim, and the legit clinical claim!