Chemist Confessions

Skincare changes for summer? | CC Podcast S4E16

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?

Decoding Vitamin C Products | CC Podcast S4E15

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.

How’s Your Skin Barrier Doing? | CC Podcast S4E14

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!

Decode that Moisturizer | CC Podcast S4E13

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.

30 Sunscreens in 30 Days - The Results! | CC Podcast S4 E12

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!

Decoding ”pregnancy safe” skincare | CC Podcast S4 E11

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.

Find Your Cleanser Like a Chemist | CC Podcast S4E10

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!

Decoding Cleanser Claims | CC Podcast S4E9

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!

Build an Acne Routine like a Cosmetic Chemist | CC Podcast S4 Ep8

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!

Decoding Acne Claims? | CC Podcast S4 Ep7

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!