Episode 399 - From Curl Cream to Tretinoin: Unpacking Your Beauty Questions!

Perry Romanowski (0:00)

Hi, I'm Perry, and you're listening to The Beauty Brains. Hello, and 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 cosmetic industry. This is episode 399 I'm your host Perry Romanowski, and with me today is Valerie George. Hello, Valerie.

Valerie George (0:29)

Hi, Perry.

Perry Romanowski (0:30)

Did you ever see that TV show?

Valerie George (0:33)

Hello, Valerie?

Perry Romanowski (0:34)

Yeah, I think, yeah.

Valerie George (0:35)

No, I didn't know that was a TV show.

Perry Romanowski (0:37)

Oh, you know what? It was Hello, Larry.

Valerie George (0:39)

Oh, my.

Perry Romanowski (0:42)

I should do some more research for the show.

Valerie George (0:43)

Yeah, I think I would have heard of a show called Hello, Valerie.

Perry Romanowski (0:47)

Speaking of show, on today's show, we're going to cover a lot of questions, including how do you know if a product has gone bad? Are the results from Retinol comparable to Retin A? Is Pantene bad for hair? Can you use skin products on your scalp? Is it okay to use a metal spoon to mix vitamin C? And are salt sprays safe for use? But first, a little chit chat. I missed you guys last week and I heard that you and Sarah did a little show together.

Valerie George (1:15)

We did. I still don't have the guts to do one on my own. I just don't. But I know that you're headed off on a big trip and I just might have to be alone next week. I don't know. Mr. Cosmetic Chemist said absolutely not to joining me.

Perry Romanowski (1:29)

Oh, come on. He can't just chime in. We could come up with some clever brain thing. It could be, let's see, Medulla Blangata. Where do you go?

Valerie George (1:43)

Oh my goodness. He won't go for that at all.

Perry Romanowski (1:47)

Well, yes. I'm traveling to Italy to speak in the IPCE Fourth Annual Conference there. I'm the keynote speaker and it's being held in Verona, Italy.

Valerie George (2:01)

Oh, Verona is a beautiful place. I've been many times. I don't know if you remember Perry, but when I worked at a very large salon brand, I had to go to Italy a couple of times a year for work to our factories. And I loved it. I mean, I got a little tired of going to the same places, but, you know, I wasn't like in Capri or like on the Amalfi Coast. You know, I was like in a factory in Milan. Oh, but I had a little opportunity to go around. So I hope you have a great time. Verona is really charming.

Perry Romanowski (2:33)

Well, my my wife has got lots of travel plans for us. So that'll be good. Hopefully my gimp leg holds out. Apparently I've torn my meniscus and it takes a while for that to get better.

Valerie George (2:44)

So they did confirm it's torn.

Perry Romanowski (2:47)

Yeah.

Valerie George (2:47)

And ideally you wouldn't be running in order for it to heal. Ideally, maybe you would even have it repaired surgically.

Perry Romanowski (2:55)

Well, my doctor said that first I should try physical therapy, which I'll try when I get back.

Valerie George (3:01)

What did he say about juggling every day on it?

Perry Romanowski (3:04)

Well, she did not say it was a problem.

Valerie George (3:07)

Okay. Well, we'll see when you're like, does not get better.

Perry Romanowski (3:11)

I know, but I think it'll get better. It just takes longer. So, you know, I'm running slower and shorter, but, you know, otherwise I'm going to get, you know, I'll gain way too much weight because I won't be exercising and I'll be crazy.

Valerie George (3:26)

Oh, goodness. And you were also just in New York for Suppliers Day. I didn't get to go. I had a little bit of FOMO, but you know what? I have a ton of work. I'm trying to get wrapped up here. And so I didn't regret going too much, not going too much.

Perry Romanowski (3:41)

Right. Well, it was a big show. I got to see lots of people. We, I met a few Beauty Brains fans even. So that was very cool. Yeah. And I've moderated a bunch of the sessions there, which were interesting. You know, they had some good information. And there was one guy talking about silkworm protein, but made through recombinant DNA. So they didn't hurt the silkworms.

Valerie George (4:07)

Yeah, that would be very interesting. A lot of silk protein, unfortunately, is made by e-boiling the worms, or, you know, doing unsavory things that actually just end up killing the worms. So in hair care, it's very popular, but it's not humane at all.