Episode 355 - Do you become immune to skin care actives?

Valerie George (0:00)

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

The Beauty Brains, a show where real cosmetic chemists answer your beauty product questions and give you an insider's look at the cosmetic industry. This is episode 355, and it's a big one. I'm your host, Valerie George, and with me today is Perry Romanowski. Hi Perry.

Perry Romanowski (0:28)

Hello Valerie, great to see you.

Valerie George (0:31)

Good to see you. I almost called you Puri, which is appropriate because of the kittens, but we'll talk about that in a minute. On today's show, we're gonna cover some great questions, including does freezing hair cause damage?

Does skin get immune to the benefits of skincare products? What do we think of coconut oil for hair? Are collagen supplements for skin a myth? What are the key ingredients in shampoos like niacin that make hair look more full?

And what makes Curel Hydratherapy Wet Skin Moisturizer a water activated moisturizer? I told you, there's a lot of questions today, but first-

Perry Romanowski (1:03)

I know, six questions, whoa.

Valerie George (1:05)

Woo, but that inane chit chat. So I think the first question we have today is a great one because it's winter time, where we are in the Northern Hemisphere.

Perry Romanowski (1:14)

Yeah, and when we say winter, at least here in Chicago, you know, when I got back from my trip to Antigua, it was like five degrees here in Chicago.

Valerie George (1:25)

You deserve it.

Perry Romanowski (1:26)

And I didn't bring any gloves there. You know, you go to the airport, you're going somewhere warm, you don't dress for where you are, you dress for where you're going.

So I didn't have clothes on. And then my train back from the airport broke down at a stop. They got everybody off and I had to wait in the cold for 15 minutes.

Valerie George (1:46)

Unprepared for the cold.

Perry Romanowski (1:48)

But you know, I took it as a stoic challenge and I persevered. And I'm a better character for it.

Valerie George (1:55)

You are. You are. Well, speaking of cold, it also has been cold in Dallas, Texas, where I live now.

We had a polar vortex hit the United States and Canada, and the tip of it reached all the way down to Texas. So we saw temperatures around 15 degrees for the height.

Perry Romanowski (2:12)

And that's Fahrenheit.

Valerie George (2:14)

That's Fahrenheit.

Perry Romanowski (2:15)

Celsius. That wouldn't be too bad.

Valerie George (2:17)

Correct. Fahrenheit.

And that's pretty cold for Texas. And in fact, it was so cold, stash, short for blood mustache, the feral cat in our neighborhood. He wanted to come inside the lab and Mr. Cosmetic Chemist let him.

Perry Romanowski (2:31)

Oh, really? And he came in and he was good, huh?

Valerie George (2:35)

Oh, he loves it. He gets his cuddles. He gets something to drink.

He gets a bite to eat. He checks out what's going on. And then he takes a little nap and says, okay, I'm ready to go back outside because he's very social. He always has to see what's going on in the neighborhood.

And then we let him back out.

Perry Romanowski (2:53)

Wow, that's a very friendly feral cat.

I have two that come in, Puffers and the Heat Visor.

And they're both fine, but they like to get back outside, after they've had a snack or something. Unfortunately, they also don't like each other that much. They're kind of frenemies. And today they were in the house together and there was a fight and I had to break them up, but there was yellow fur all over the place. But they always hang out together. I don't understand. They're like bad roommates or something.

Valerie George (3:25)

Maybe they're siblings because sometimes siblings don't get along.

Perry Romanowski (3:29)

Well, they could be. They are both puffy.

Valerie George (3:32)

Yeah, that's funny.

Perry Romanowski (3:34)

Well, you know, I also happen to be Valerie. I was I got back from my trip and now my Apple watch doesn't work. And so I've tried to stand for 12 hours and it's not working. And my when I go for a run, I don't get credit for the moving.

It's very, very upsetting to me. But I went to the store, the Apple store. They're like, yeah, the warranty ran out 73 days ago. You need to buy a new one.

Valerie George (3:56)

Of course it did. Well, maybe it froze in the cold when you came back. It couldn't handle the train break.

Perry Romanowski (4:02)

I guess not. I'm kind of annoyed about it, quite frankly.