Selling Cosmetics to a Chemistry Major #2

A coworker of mine has a small side business selling Amway products. The resident makeup brand of Amway is ARTISTRY.

In reference to their exfoliating scrub, my coworker commented

"It sloths away dead skin and revitalizes the skin in such a way to encourage the grow of new skin."

I wonder how that is.

"It alters the mitochondria"

WTF!!! [Me] "Have they done studies on it's ability to predispose people to cancer? That just doesn't sound safe." This sales pitch sounds too carcinogenic

Selling Cosmetics to a Chemistry Major #1

I was at MAC about a week ago searching for some inspiration. I am prone to extremely dry lips which is only exacerbated by cold weather. As such, my lips and any lipstick I would be wearing would crust off like bad leather.

In comes James, consultant for MAC

"Your lips probably dry out because of all the petroleum in chapstick, people think it moisturizes but it really helps dry out lips and constant application makes it worse."

Now, being a science-y person, I'm inclined to ask why but I don't want to put tons of pressure on James just for the details. I get directed to MAC's lip conditioner.

"My mother used to put chapstick on constantly"

Ahh...so it is based off of experience, okay.

[Me] "The first ingredient on the package is petrolatum." [James] "Oh, well it's different"

Based off patterns on how chemicals are named, petroleum and petrolatum have a shared parent somewhere back in their development line.

Upon asking for something that could remove makeup without drying out my lips, I get directed to the MAC's Water Charged mineral make up remover.

"It has water in it so that it doesn't leave an oily film."

I would imagine this comment related to how some people use baby oil as make up remover, otherwise I would have no idea how this statement would make sense. Despite having oil's hydrophobicity on my mind, the make up remover took the lipstick right off of my lips quite effectively.

"All of our products are cruelty free, they're not tested on animals, just our make up artists"

That technically still is animal testing, but whatever, I'm sold!

I, by no means, am trying to be a jerk to James for his level of chemical knowledge as much as I am just trying to relate that this is what really goes through my head when I'm make up shopping. I bought both of the mentioned products as they are actually very good products.

As for my inspiration, I could not help but dwell on James' story about his mother. Petroleum or any wax is suppose to create a protective barrier around the lips to prevent moisture loss. Applying chap stick to dry lips is like pouring oil in the desert, it's not going to help anything - the moisture is already lost. At this point, I contemplated how to add moisture to my lips and decided to put my Cetaphil facial moisturizer on my lips. It may seem odd, but chemicals can seep through your skin into your system, if I already moisturize my face, why not my lips? I added a slather of chap stick after that and my lips stayed moist and soft much longer. Thank you James! Overall, $45 for two good products and some inspiration.

Happy Holidays!

It's been a while since I've written - which is usually always the case. I have completed all my tests and projects so now I have a few weeks of bummin' it and I couldn't be happier. Given the time though, I'll probably post two blogs between today and tomorrow - think of them as holiday presents. I'll start with the easier one now.

Facial Equilibrium

I don't think that anyone should find a way to incorporate acne into their personal style. I've never met a person who liked their acne. I had bad acne at trying times - middle school and early high school. I did go to a dermatologist and when I went to college, I stopped using medication because my dermatologist had died and our health insurance gave us a more complex process for getting a new dermatologist so I gave that up. I had heard of the process -wash, astringent, moisturizer. I never really liked moisturizer, since it always made my skin feel more oily. Yes...it didn't occur to me that you have to let your moisturizer set. After recommendations from beauty books and my sister who is a cosmetologist, I gave the routine a try again. After weeks of doing the routine, other people started noticing the quality of my skin improving and I only noticed it after I felt how smooth my skin was one day. My sister, the cosmetologist, was rather irritated because she was following the routine as well and had not received the same results. This is the best recommendation I can give to anyone. I may not be a dermatologist, but I do know something about equilibrium.

Skin & Oil

I'm beginning to think that oil production is an inherent constant within our biology. Yes, I'm saying it's genetic. While I don't have any sources, I'm pretty sure that there is a genetic predisposition for acne and that if at least one parent had it, the kids will be likely to have it too. What does oil have to do with this? When dead skin cells and other matter accumulate on the skin, the oil provides that flow that pushes the matter into pores so that the clogged pore will develop into some skin blemish. If genetics dictates that skin remains at a certain lubricated level, if you wash your face with hot water, use the most drying astringent, and strip the oil off of your skin, the sebaceous glands will only increase production to reach the original level of oiliness - equilibrium is met.

Bear in mind, I'm not a skin doctor, I just observe patterns and since my assumption is that skin oil production is dictated by some kind of equilibrium, let's introduce Le Chatlier's Principle. When conditions are changed, how is equilibrium affected. For the sake of skin, here are some examples.

(mid-day, hours after face washing)
oil production (sebaceous glands) = oil on face

(after face washing)
oil production (increases) = oil on face (decreased due to washing)

Decreased oil on face due to a strong astringent only makes oil production increase more to compensate for the dryness. I'm assuming that there is a moisture level that has to be maintained and this is that importance of moisturizer.

(after face washing)
oil production (decreased) = oil on face (decreased due to washing) + moisturizer

If the skin is moisturized, there's no need to produce more oil because of the level of moisture on the skin. And you can still deep clean with an astringent as long as you use moisturizer.

What to Use

Chances are, if you have acne, your skin might be sensitive already. When you put something like Oxy on that stings, you'd like to feel that it's killing the bacteria and killing the acne, but I personally believe you're not doing yourself any favors. You're only further irritating your skin. So try to be gentle with your skin and be patient. I start with: Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser

It's non comodegenic (doesn't clog pores), you can use it without water, I even sometimes use it as an emollient before I go to sleep.

I follow with: Burt's Bees Garden Tomato Toner. Astringents are a bit of a tricky thing. They're usually always going to sting a little and stinging pain tolerance is not a good way to decide on a toner. I try for something light and low in alcohol. My sister, who is the cosmetologist, went to the Aveda Institute, so she is really into natural products. Generally, the more natural your products, the less likely they are to sting and they'll feel more soothing - at least in my experience. My sister bought me a toner for my birthday and I really liked it, but retail, it is about $25. At my grocery store, they sell Burt's Bees Tomato Toner and I thought it would work better as a cheaper alternative ($10). I've been using it ever since. I only recently tried Clean and Clear, their cooling toner, but it stings my skin to where it is really red, even moisturizer couldn't soothe it.

I follow my toner with: Cetaphil Moisturizer. As you can tell, I really trust Cetaphil. I like that they're moisturizer is oil free and noncomodegenic. It is also good that is has some sun protection. When I'm stressed, it shows in my skin. During my days of little sleep, my skin would get drier especially around my lips. I started using more moisturizer (2 pumps instead of one) and despite the stress on my body, my skin was doing really well. This also keeps your skin from drying out because of the toner.

At night before I sleep, I wash with the gentle cleanser and then I go over with a light alcohol free toner. Neutrogena makes some good ones. So there you have it. Some insight into skin care from someone with oily skin. You really just have to find a routine that sounds like it'll work for you and stick to it. It's a bit of a lifestyle change, but you have to take care of yourself.