Episode 388 - Minoxidil, Hair Loss Lawsuits, Phthalates and cats

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 388 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, so welcome back from your vacation, Perry.

Perry Romanowski (0:32)

Thanks.

Valerie George (0:33)

Such as, can you mix chemical exfoliant with a hydrating serum to dilute the exfoliant? Is using a topical minoxidil safe to use on eyebrows? Does shampoo really strip all the lipids from your hair? Is the Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Cream properly preserved? And finally, do we know of a good website to find allergenic ingredients in products? But first, inane chit chat.

Perry Romanowski (0:58)

Valerie, I'm just back from my trip to Belize, and my insect bites are almost healed.

Valerie George (1:06)

Oh my goodness.

Perry Romanowski (1:07)

But I must have got about 150

Valerie George (1:09)

You know, your skin's still a little red-looking.

Perry Romanowski (1:12)

Oh, that could be it.

Valerie George (1:15)

Well, enough about you, Perry. We want to hear about the cat. We don't care how your trip was. The cat in the wall. We need an update.

Perry Romanowski (1:22)

It was lovely. Well, here's what happened. You know, the cat in the wall, this cat got into my wall, and I couldn't get him out, but I was leaving on my trip. So we talked about it in episode 386, if you want the start of it. But anyway, so my plan was to just let him be in my house while I was on my trip. So I put out a lot of food. I put out a bunch of water, enough for like two weeks.

Valerie George (1:49)

Okay.

Perry Romanowski (1:50)

And I put out litter boxes. And it's very interesting to me that a feral cat just knows to use a litter box.

Valerie George (1:58)

It blows my mind. I wonder how they know.

Perry Romanowski (2:02)

I don't know. I came back, and he went to the, he used the litter boxes that I put for him. It was so, so convenient, quite frankly. Wow. Yeah. So anyway, he, you know, it was like home alone. I put a couple of cameras there, and he came out of the wall. And then when he knew nobody was there, he would just hang out. There was a cat bed. He played with toys.

Valerie George (2:24)

Oh, he was living high on the hog. That's what he was doing.

Perry Romanowski (2:27)

He was. And then when I got home, he ran into the wall again. But he was a little braver. And then I let his friend Puffers come into the house.

Valerie George (2:39)

OK, so he's friends with Puffers.

Perry Romanowski (2:41)

Yeah, he and Puffers are pals. Like they they hang out outside and they lick each other and stuff. So he came out. He saw Puffers. And then eventually he just scurried outside and ran away. So and he still hangs out at my house now still. So but he was he's safe. He got to stay out of the cold. And I think he kind of is inside curious now.

Valerie George (3:04)

He is going to remember those days where he was on vacation while you were on vacation. And I hope he comes back.

Perry Romanowski (3:12)

It was you know, there was a moment when I saw that he knocked over the automatic feeder. And I wasn't going to come home for like two days.

Valerie George (3:20)

So I got worried because cats need to eat like their metabolism is crazy.

Perry Romanowski (3:25)

Right. And so my cleaning lady, I asked her to go to my house and make sure he's got food and water.

Valerie George (3:34)

Oh my gosh.

Perry Romanowski (3:35)

Which is probably a little bit out of control.

Valerie George (3:37)

Kevin had a nanny.

Perry Romanowski (3:39)

I know, he did. Well, yeah, she never saw him. She just went and gave him more food and such. So it all worked out perfectly fine. So there you go.

Valerie George (3:47)

I wonder if your house cleaner tells all her friends that you're the crazy cat man.

Perry Romanowski (3:54)

She actually might.

Valerie George (3:57)

Oh, goodness. Well, I don't have anything new to report. My black eye is gone. Sometimes I think I can still see like a little shadow. Like, oh, wow, it looks darker a little bit. But it's healed. People no longer wonder how I got it. So that's good. And, you know, life is just normal. It was 80 degrees Fahrenheit in Dallas this week. All week. So that feels pretty good.