Episode 374 - The Truth About Quats - Friend or Foe & more beauty questions

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 374 I'm your host, Valerie George, and with me today is Perry Romanowski. Hi Perry.

Perry Romanowski (0:26)

Hello Valerie.

Valerie George (0:28)

On today's show, we're gonna cover lots of questions, including what can Batanna oil do for hair? Is there a benefit to looking for quat-free products? Can you use a clarifying shampoo more than once a week? Is there a difference between men's and women's products that treat thinning hair plus career advice, but first, inane chit-chat?

Perry Romanowski (0:48)

Hi, it's Valerie. It's been a little while. Valerie, you're in Texas, and you were in California before then.

Valerie George (0:55)

Yep.

Perry Romanowski (0:55)

I wonder, did you get inundated with these cicadas?

Valerie George (1:00)

I don't think in California we did, but in Texas we have them. And they're a little bit quieter now, but they were really present all summer. Very loud, but now we don't really hear them anymore. We did see one hatch live on our porch.

Perry Romanowski (1:17)

Wow.

Valerie George (1:17)

And then it died, and then Reggie the rat tried to take him.

Perry Romanowski (1:21)

Oh. Well, you know, it's funny, the Portuguese love to chase after the cicadas. They're like little toys, and they catch them, and I guess they eat them or something like that.

Valerie George (1:30)

Oh my gosh. Well, they're very big.

Perry Romanowski (1:34)

So, what happened was like, I started getting these red welts on my body, like these gigantic red welts. And I thought it was weird. And then I read an article that said, with the cicadas came this mite that lives on the cicadas. And these parasitic mites or something, I mean, they're not human parasitic, but they do bite. And so when they bite you, you get these gigantic red welts. And so I've got a few of these gigantic red welts all over my body, because I don't know. I haven't been, it's not like I've been interacting with the cicadas. They're just out in the environment now.

Valerie George (2:09)

Oh, interesting. I didn't know that. But speaking of porch kitties, let's talk about some lab kitty news.

Perry Romanowski (2:16)

Oh, yeah. What's up about the lab kitties?

Valerie George (2:19)

OK, so basically we have hardly seen any kitties all summer. And it makes sense because during the day, it's like over 100 million degrees. The cats do not want to be outside.

Well, it's cooled off even though tomorrow, it's also going to be 100 degrees, but it's cooled off a little bit. And so we've seen a few cats around. And I noticed pretty kitty a few days ago laying on the other side of the fence, and she looked very thin and gaunt. And I said, oh, goodness, I better get her some wet cat food. So I removed this barrier that prevented them from entering the driveway of our lab and made it easier for her. And she started eating this food. Wet food. And I was like, oh, okay, cool. She let me within a few feet of her, which is the closest I've ever been to her. Well, I was sitting on the driveway with her, and all of a sudden pops out from around the corner, a kitten face.

Perry Romanowski (3:14)

Oh no, a kitten.

Valerie George (3:16)

And it turns out there's four kittens. And one of them looks just like Stache. Mind you, pretty kitty is Stache's sister. So it makes sense that he may have a nephew that looks like him. And they are the cutest. Mr. Cosmetic Chemist named the initial cat, who's very curious about me. He named him Patch, because he has just one little orange patch on his neck, and then the rest of him is totally different. And the other kittens are really shy, but Patch is really bold.

Perry Romanowski (3:49)

Well, are you going to, any plans to catch them and get them placed, or I guess they're just outdoor cats?

Valerie George (3:56)

Well, we do plan to abduct Patch.

Perry Romanowski (4:01)

Oh.

Valerie George (4:01)

And Pretty Kitty is in mommy mode, so she's hissing at me and stuff, which she's never done. And I'm like, you best watch yourself, because I have a can of food in front of me. Wet food, not garbage, generic food. I bought Friskies off Amazon. No, Fancy Feast, not Friskies. Fancy Feast off Amazon. And it's not the pate that your cats hate. I went and got the little, what do they call it? Tidbits, or it's like the actual pieces.