LÉ Blog

In this (packed!) blog post: Ingredient Sourcing: a closer look at palm oil A Brand's Carbon Footprint Sustainable Packaging (plastic, glass, aluminum) Key Takeaways References Here at Chemist Confessions, we don’t avoid complex or loaded topics. And there are few topics as complex and as loaded as sustainability. The difficulty in coming up with solutions for a global problem with so many moving parts and people involved is enough to boggle even the brightest minds. Even if we were just addr...

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In this blog post: Headlines or Clickbait? Real life vs. Laboratory Conditions What we know today - Truth isn't always satisfying Key Takeaways References for your... Reference Every year, as things start to heat up, our thoughts turn once again to sunscreen. What SPF do I need? Mineral or chemical? Is this going to make me stickier than an ice cream on a hot day? How much should I use? (Hey Tiktok, it’s more than 2 fingers’ worth.) To add to the noise, sunscreen often gets caught in the cros...

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*Updated as of 5/17/2022 When you start dabbling in actives, you’ll easily fall into the rabbit hole of what you can and can’t layer. One of the complicated aspects of trying to figure out actives layering and why brands may not even be able to give clear answers is simply the fact it hasn’t gone through enough testing to truly know. Not to mention, the formulas these actives sit in can add another layer of complexity. The good thing is there are some active combinations that have been looked...

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Welcome to the Chemist Confessions Blog! We started this blog back in 2018, what was supposed to be our final hurrah to the industry. (Little did we know…) The blog was started with the hope that we could share our insider knowledge of skincare formulation, helping consumers find better products. As skincare users ourselves, we found the skincare world was overwhelmingly saturated and confusing to navigate. Additionally, everyone has their personal skin quirks that don’t fall within the dry/o...

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Here we'll update all the results of our #lazypolls we've ran in 2021. All of these are general snapshots and products are in no particular order. We highly recommend browsing the poll comments to get personal takes and use experiences. The #lazypoll has been running for the past 3 years and we've enjoyed the evolution of this series. You'll find users helping lost souls, sharing all sorts of detailed experiences, and discovering all sorts of new products. *To help readers learn more about pr...

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In our final podcast episode of 2021, we dedicated the meat of the episode on a chemical exfoliants update. That’s the alphabet clan of PHAs, AHAs, and BHA, and it resulted in a lot of curiosity about PHAs. Though PHA research is still relatively new and not as well-studied as classic glycolic acid, there’s still some really exciting data that validates it’s use as an exfoliator. In fact, we like gluconolactone so much we use 30% of it in our Baby Steps exfoliating treatment! So let’s do a de...

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So you're ready to tackle some pesky wrinkles eh? Don't worry, the chemists gotchu! The good news is that the skin concern of wrinkles is probably one of the more well-studied aspects in skincare science (even down to the physics and modeling of wrinkle formation!). As a result, more ingredients have been tested in this category than many other areas of skin concern, which is both good and bad. There are a lot of ingredients options to try, but it still requires some sifting through the foo-f...

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It’s sweater weather time! A change in weather means it just might be time your routine needs a couple updates. We’re not huge fans of nuking your entire routine you’ve worked so hard to build every season - but a few mini tweaks here and there can help make that transition into cooler weather a little easier. So read on for some of our chemists’ recommended things to work on this fall. Moisturizer Check-In: Enhance & Fortify! This is the right season to stay on top of your skin barrier healt...

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In this part 2 of our pigmentation guide, we’re going to shed some light on how to shop for the best ingredients & products to target that stubborn hyperpigmentation and build a successful routine. This will mirror a lot of what we talked about in our hyperpigmentation podcast episode, so check out the episode here if it’s easier for you to listen to it. Set Your Expectations Nope! It’s not just your imagination, that dang dark spot is persistent which makes tackling this skin concern pretty ...

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*For severe and cystic acne breakouts, we recommend finding an awesome dermatologist who is willing to help shape and build your acne routine from cleanser to treatment. Dermatologists are the only ones that will be able to prescribe more effective medication. Bring your products in to show your dermatologist so they can get a full understanding of your current regimen and what you’ve already tried. **As a nice supplement, checkout our oily skin guide to build out your skincare routine fundam...

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