Episode 339 - How Long Does Sunscreen Really Last and Why Does it Degrade?

Valerie George (0:00)

Hi, I'm Valerie and you're listening to The Beauty Brains.

Welcome to The Beauty Brains, a show where real cosmetic chemists answer your beauty product questions and give you an insider's look at the cosmetics industry. This is episode 339 I'm your host in live person, Valerie George, and with me today is Perry Romanowski. Hi Perry.

Perry Romanowski (0:29)

Hello, hello virtual Val. I mean, real Val, how are you? It's good to have you back.

Valerie George (0:35)

I was virtual last week because I was traveling, but I'm back today because we're gonna answer some great questions together about what is hexyl resorcinol doing in your skincare?

How should you treat highlighted hair that's getting a little crispy feeling? Can you use benzoyl peroxide on your underarms? What's the deal with sunscreens? Do they really just stop working? And finally, is it okay to use dog conditioner on your own human hair? But first, that inane chit chat.

Perry Romanowski (1:02)

Well, speaking of dogs, how are your new dogs?

Valerie George (1:05)

Butch and Frank are doing good. They're getting better.

Frank is just misunderstood, he's misunderstood.

Perry Romanowski (1:16)

And he's still chewing stuff.

Valerie George (1:19)

Yes, I don't know if you can hear him in the background. They're still going at it. They have not sold AirPods, but they did get Mr. Cosmetic Chemist spare glasses. And they're the ones he didn't like. So he was a little unhappy, pretty unhappy actually, but not too unhappy because they weren't his favorite pair.

Perry Romanowski (1:37)

Sure, give them a good reason to get new ones.

Oh, I remember the days of puppies. Boy, oh boy, they chew on everything.

Valerie George (1:45)

Well, just Frank, butch is fine.

Perry Romanowski (1:47)

All right, sure, sure.

Valerie George (1:49)

If you saw Frank's face, you would be like, yep, he's Frank.

Perry Romanowski (1:54)

Well, it was raining like a gale here today and the poor porch kitties were all getting drenched.

Valerie George (2:01)

Oh, where do they hide when it rains?

Perry Romanowski (2:03)

Wherever they can. That little puffers was in the bush and then he saw me open the door and he ran in the house and he didn't want to leave.

Valerie George (2:12)

Oh, puffers.

Perry Romanowski (2:13)

Yeah, I told him off though.

Valerie George (2:15)

What did Ted have to say about it?

Perry Romanowski (2:16)

Well, I had the closed doors, so I keep them separated. You can't really mix outdoor cats and indoor cats.

Valerie George (2:23)

No, Ted's not gonna like that.

Perry Romanowski (2:26)

You know, I got into a little debate the other night because of this thing I saw about, you know how I drink diet coke.

Valerie George (2:34)

Yeah, didn't the World Health Organization just say they're thinking about labeling it a carcinogen?

Perry Romanowski (2:41)

Yeah, and so then all these artificial sweetener naysayers are like, hey, that's gonna cause cancer. I'm like, come on, it's not gonna cause cancer.

But yeah, the World Health Organization, you know, they're like a political body, right?

Valerie George (2:59)

Yeah.

Perry Romanowski (3:00)

So I mean, you gotta respect what they say, but you also have to respect what the National Institutes of Health is saying and the American Cancer Society, which isn't that it's carcinogen. So I don't know. What is a person supposed to believe, Valerie?

Valerie George (3:15)

It's really hard to be honest. And what I say is if you like it and you seem to be doing fine and you want to drink it, you should be able to guzzle as much diet coke as you want.

Isn't everything a carcinogen though, too?

Perry Romanowski (3:30)

I mean, if you have enough of it, the World Health Organization even says it's, or at least the US limits are like, for a person who weighs like 135 pounds, for it to be a problem, you have to drink like 12 cans a day.

And you know, I don't drink 12 cans a day. I drink one can, so maybe two.

Valerie George (3:50)

I think that's fine in moderation.

Perry Romanowski (3:53)

You know what I found most music, I was having this debate with somebody.

Well, she was drinking a glass of wine and I was drinking my Diet Coke. I'm like, you know wine causes cancer, right?

Valerie George (4:04)

Look at you, starting stuff.

Perry Romanowski (4:07)

I know, I had to stop.

Valerie George (4:10)

Yeah, well speaking of starting stuff, let's head over to Beauty Science News.

Perry Romanowski (4:14)

Let's do it.

Valerie George (4:21)

Well, one article I saw, I thought this would really get your goat here. Canada bans animal testing of cosmetics.