Is aloe vera lotion really good for skin? Episode 156

Gemma (0:00)

You're listening to The Beauty Brains Show, where real scientists answer your beauty questions. And now, here's Randy and Perry.

Perry Romanowski (0:20)

Hello, and welcome to The Beauty Brains. I'm your host, cosmetic chemist, Perry Romanowski, and with me, as always, my mansplaining partner, Randy Schueller. So, Randy, this is show 156, and today we've got some science news stories, and we're gonna answer some questions. We do that on occasion, right? We're answering a question about aloe lotion, whether it's good for the skin or not.

Randy Schueller (0:46)

A lot of people want to know about that.

Perry Romanowski (0:48)

They do, you know, aloe is a very popular product. I can't wait till we talk about that one. And then we're gonna talk about nail oil and whether it's a good product. Now, I should mention that coming up is the big International Federation of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists meeting out in Orlando.

Yes, we SCC members, Society of Cosmetic Chemists members, are members of a worldwide organization, and once every 16 years, apparently, because the last time, well, no, it's 12 years, the last time was 12 years.

Yes. There's a big conference, and it's a three-day affair. I'm heading down to Orlando, and I'm just gonna fill my head with all things cosmetic science.

Randy Schueller (1:35)

When you told Mrs. Romanowski that you're going to Orlando for an affair, how did she respond?

Perry Romanowski (1:41)

It's a scientific affair. What do you want me to do? Actually, she was gonna go with, but we're going on vacation right after that, so she didn't want to do the two trips.

Randy Schueller (1:54)

I understand, and now our audience knows way more of the makeup they need to.

Perry Romanowski (2:01)

Yeah, speaking of that, why don't we get into our beauty science news?

Randy Schueller (2:06)

Very good. I'll take the first story. This is rather timely, because if you're listening to the show in real time, Halloween is only a couple of days away. So happy Halloween, Perry.

Perry Romanowski (2:16)

Oh, thanks, Randy. I love Halloween and all the candy.

Randy Schueller (2:18)

Yeah. Well, not only do you get candy, but this is also the time of year that we get fear-mongering stories about how dangerous Halloween makeup is. So.

Perry Romanowski (2:29)

Is the campaign for safe cosmetics done another PR?

Randy Schueller (2:32)

No, this one, I'm preemptively talking about this. They haven't gotten on it yet. But if you are looking for just the right glow-in-the-dark makeup to go with your scary clown costume, the FDA has some advice for you. So, you can achieve glow-in-the-dark makeup two ways.

The first is to use fluorescent colors. Now these are the ones that look really cool under black light.

Perry Romanowski (2:53)

Sure, sure.

Randy Schueller (2:54)

You know, basically reflective of that wavelength. Now, what you need to know, though, are there only eight approved fluorescent colors that you can use in cosmetics? None of these, by the way, are allowed for use in the area of the eye.

So this is kind of a public safety announcement on which colors to look for in your glow-in-the-dark Halloween makeup. I'll put these all in the show notes, of course, but just in case you're having trouble falling asleep, I will list them for the audience now.

Well, there's only eight, so this should be painless, but if there's... So look for D&C Orange Number 5, Number 10, Number 11, or D&C Red Number 21, 22, 27, 28, or Yellow Number 7 So if you're buying Glow in the Dark Halloween Makeup and it doesn't have one of those seven colors, don't use it. It may not be safe. It's certainly not approved for that application. Now, those are all the fluorescent colors. There is one true Glow in the Dark color you can use. So what I'm talking about, complete darkness, and it glows a beautiful greenish-yellow color, right?

Perry Romanowski (3:59)

Like phospholuminescence.

Randy Schueller (4:01)

Exactly. And there's only one. There's only one colorant approved for that, and that is Zinc Sulphide. Now, even that is not approved for everyday use, and also not approved for use around your eyes.

So there you go, ladies and gentlemen. Now you can be safe this Halloween with your Glow in the Dark makeup.

Perry Romanowski (4:22)

So I can't paint scary neon eyeliner?

Randy Schueller (4:27)

Not safely. You cannot. No sir.

Perry Romanowski (4:29)

Well, I won't be doing that this year. All right.

Because I'll be in Orlando at the IFSCC meeting.

Randy Schueller (4:35)

Having an affair.

Perry Romanowski (4:37)

I'm not having an affair. All right, Randy. But speaking of international stories, here's one that I saw, this article in The Daily Mail, which claimed to reveal how big beauty brands fool you into buying their products.