The Triple Helixian

The traditional function of a toner is to help remove any residual cleanser and makeup. By dispensing the toner onto a cotton pad and sweeping it over the skin, it also helps restore some much needed hydration. Remember the swelling and shrinking of the corneoctyes that was discussed in the last section? What about the graph … Continue reading →

If you actually read through all FOUR previous sections and understood them, bravo to you! I’d imagine most people would skip RIGHT to the relevant part: how to choose a cleanser. Let’s not get in their way! There are several general aspects that need to be considered when choosing a cleanser: While I generally don’t … Continue reading →

As the previous post inferred, using harsh cleansers on a regular basis will lead to dry skin. While that doesn’t sound TOO horrible, it does have further implications, which will be addressed in this post. Dryness from Over-Cleansing and/or Using Harsh Cleansers As stated before, dry skin is in essence the result of not having … Continue reading →

Okay, we’ve familiarized ourselves with the different types of surfactants commonly used in cleansers. But how do they actually affect the skin? Let’s find out. Now, cleansers are typically in contact with the skin anywhere from 15-60 seconds, or longer if a “specialized” cleanser is used; such as a hydroxy acid-, benzoyl peroxide-, or sodium sulfacetamide-based one. During this … Continue reading →

As discussed in the previous section about the types of cleansers and how they are characterized, true soaps exclusively use one family of surfactants: alkyl carboxylates, which are basically (alkali) salts of fatty acids. While the most common one is sodium stearate, there are many out there. In order to know which ingredient is a … Continue reading →

Cleansers can be divided into two main categories: bar or solid cleansers and liquid cleansers. Within each category are several subcategories of cleansers. This article will briefly discuss each subcategory and what characteristics define them. Keep in mind that both categories of cleansers employ the same types of ingredients to do their bidding: emollients and … Continue reading →

The concept of cleaning the skin with soap and water has existed for thousands of years ago. But for those thousands of years, the choices have always been the same. It wasn’t until the early 90’s that the choices in cleansing options multiplied. These days, there are shelves upon shelves of cleansers available for purchase … Continue reading →

I know I just published the Publishing Schedule article like… less than a day ago. Oh well. Okay, completely impromptu post time! So… after writing the How Much Exactly Is 2.0 mg/cm^2—The Amount of Sunscreen Necessary to Achieve the Labeled SPF Rating? post, one of the readers suggested that I tell people to buy a 1/4 teaspoon … Continue reading →

Have you ever wondered how many sunscreens have insanely high SPF ratings, but don’t actually contain the necessary amounts of the various UV filters to achieve such a rating? Well, I definitely have. And more often then not, the questionable SPF ratings occur with sunscreens that utilize inorganic UV filters such as titanium dioxide (TiO2) and zinc oxide (ZnO). While I’ve certainly … Continue reading →