Podcast

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! 0:48 | Brand Update: Our Incubator is in full swing! 2:38 | In the News: Melatonin Supplements, Skinification of Makeup, and Animal Cruelty 15:17 | Decode t...

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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!

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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 tailo...

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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.

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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!

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Correction on this episode!! Someone on instagram kindly pointed out to us the base we so blatantly missed on the Dermalogica Peelfoliant. We received the product, and measured the pH. The product has a pH of 3.6, which is consistent with most home peels on the market. We'd say this is a home peel on a mid to mild intensity! Correction 2: our friend aesthi friend @cherrydollface pointed out to us that many in-office peels don't really require neutralization. Consult your professional on wha...

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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.

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