Freezing Retinol, color preserving shampoos and other beauty questions answered - episode 245

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 245 I'm your host, Perry Romanowski, and with me today, all the way from sunny or not so sunny California, Valerie George. Hello, Valerie.

Valerie George (0:34)

Hi Perry, it's still sunny here.

Perry Romanowski (0:36)

Oh yeah, well, it's not sunny here. It's cold, it's gray, it's chilly here, I have to say.

However, that's not going to stop us because on today's show, we've got lots of questions and lots of answers. Today, we're going to talk to you about whether silicones and proteins are any good in hair products, whether you need to use the same amount of sunscreen in the winter as you do in the summer, if color preserving shampoos and conditioners work, how long retinol products can last, and whether you can freeze them to make them last longer. And finally, do perfumes smell different on different people. But before we get to that, let's do some of our patented, or not so patented, inane chit chat.

Valerie George (1:20)

Our signature chit chat.

Perry Romanowski (1:22)

That's signature. That's better than calling it inane. Valerie, it's been a little while.

Last week were the holidays. How did that go for you?

Valerie George (1:31)

We took a break from recording, but we still were able to give our fans some of our best questions in an episode.

But it was really nice to relax. I didn't get to relax a whole lot. As I've teased a little bit over the last several months, I have a new venture launching, and I've really been focusing on that because I launch in January.

Perry Romanowski (1:54)

Oh, that'll be fun.

Valerie George (1:55)

Yeah, and it's been a lot of work to get it ready for the world. So I spent the Thanksgiving time doing that.

Perry Romanowski (2:02)

Well, Valerie, we actually didn't go out on Thanksgiving, although I probably drank too much, but hey, it's the holidays. It was a fun Zoom call with my family. Actually, I found out my ancestral home, the home that I grew up in, in Bellwood, Illinois was for sale, and I looked it up on Redfin. Now, guess how many square feet this house had? Now, there were nine of us in there, so my two parents and all the seven kids.

So, guess what the square footage was?

Valerie George (2:38)

750

Perry Romanowski (2:40)

Close, it was 1000 square feet.

Valerie George (2:43)

For nine people?

Perry Romanowski (2:44)

For nine people, yes.

Valerie George (2:46)

Wow, I hope you liked your family.

Perry Romanowski (2:49)

I did, I actually had to share a bed with my younger brother there for a couple of years. We had two sets of bunk beds. My two sisters were in one bed, me and my brother were in the other, and the two older brothers got the two top bunk beds. So, there you go.

So, apparently we didn't have a lot of money growing up, but it was fun to see the old house on Redfin.

Valerie George (3:11)

Are you thinking about buying it?

Perry Romanowski (3:13)

No.

I'm just wondering, what were my parents thinking? I mean, I guess, it was the 70s, it's totally different. I also cooked a pie. I made a coconut cream pie, which is my favorite.

Valerie George (3:31)

And did you eat the whole thing?

Perry Romanowski (3:33)

Not yet, but I'm almost there. I will.

Valerie George (3:38)

Thanksgiving time for me is the worst because I am allergic to cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg.

Perry Romanowski (3:45)

So that's right.

Valerie George (3:46)

And that's basically like every pie, every dessert, every treat.

Every store when you walk in, they have that cinnamon in the air. It's an awful time of year for me.

Perry Romanowski (3:55)

Oh, well.

Well, it'll be over in 25 days or so, right? And just one other final chit-chatty thing. I did pass my 12-year anniversary of running and juggling outside every single day. Boy, my legs are tired, I have to say.

Valerie George (4:14)

How do you stay motivated to do that? Because I'm on day three of quitting soda again for like the sixth time. I'm a recovering soda addict for those of you who don't know me.

And I'm on day three, and I'm like, what? How do you do 12 years of like, you know what, let me go outside in the blistering Chicago cold or the sweltering Chicago heat and toss those beanbags around? How do you do that?