Natural ingredients for hair and skin – what works? episode 187

Valerie George (0:00)

Hi, I'm Valerie, and you're listening to The Beauty Brains.

It's a show where real scientists answer your beauty questions and give you an insider's look at the beauty product industry. This is episode 187 I'm your host Valerie George, and with me today is a man who had the most shampoo head in America in 2005, Harry Romanowski.

Perry Romanowski (0:30)

Hey Valerie, and I still have some of that hair left.

Valerie George (0:33)

Oh, that's good, most people don't.

On today's episode, we're gonna be answering your beauty concerns about hard water, patting or smearing on skincare products, and which is best, and talking about natural ingredients that are good for hair. We also have our new segment, Kitchen Cosmetics, back. But first, let's say hi to Perry. We haven't talked since we came back from vacation.

Perry Romanowski (0:54)

That's right, I was in the Dominican Republic, and despite the things you hear in the news media around here, it was perfectly fine, and I felt perfectly safe.

Valerie George (1:04)

You didn't drink the alcohol?

Perry Romanowski (1:06)

Oh no, I drank the alcohol, but everything was in cans, so it was fine.

Valerie George (1:10)

Oh, that's good, no open jars. Yeah, I just got back from Prague. I had a wonderful time. Have you ever been?

Perry Romanowski (1:17)

I've never been there, and I've wanted to go.

Valerie George (1:19)

It was amazing. It's such an interesting part of the Czech Republic based on the historical influence of the different groups that have inhabited that area. And I do have to say, I want to give a shout out to the tour guide company I used, if that's okay. It's owned by a husband-wife duo named Vadim and Bonita, who are ex-pats living in Prague, and they provided a walking tour for the group I was with of the city. And I don't think I would have appreciated Prague in the same way than if I had not done the tour with them. I learned so much just about history, art, architecture, and more importantly, the when and why of how everything was put together.

Their company is called Insight Cities. You can find them at insightcities.eu, I think.

This isn't a paid ad, but I had such an amazing time with them. They also host tours at a bunch of other cities, and I'm a Virgo, so I'm going to check off the list of all the cities that they do tours in, because I felt like a scholar leaving that trip. I felt so smart.

Perry Romanowski (2:25)

Now, two things. First, do they do any tours in New Zealand? Because I'm heading there in July.

Valerie George (2:30)

No, I don't think so. Just Eastern Europe primarily.

Perry Romanowski (2:33)

Second, I'm wondering about the size of that city, so it's nice and walkable?

Valerie George (2:37)

Super walkable.

It's a city of a million plus people, I think 1.2 million in the greater Prague area. But the old Prague was very walkable. They have a great public transportation system, an above ground metro train, and a bus system as well. So it was great.

Perry Romanowski (2:56)

Well, I'll definitely have to get out there. Hey, while you were there, did you see any beauty products that were interesting?

Valerie George (3:01)

You know what? I didn't.

They have their particular brands that they like there, but I didn't get to peek into too many shops because I was so busy walking around and drinking lots of Pilsner.

Perry Romanowski (3:15)

Well, I can't wait to get out there myself sometime.

Valerie George (3:17)

It was fantastic. You'll have to book Vadim and Benita.

Perry Romanowski (3:26)

You know, Valerie, there's been a ton of beauty product news since we've been off.

Valerie George (3:31)

Oh gosh, the first one I do want to talk about with you is the Jacklyn Hill lipstick controversy.

Perry Romanowski (3:37)

Yeah, I was amazed on this one at how many people had contacted us about it and said, hey, could you weigh in on this? And I thought that was kind of strange that so many people contacted us about it.

Julie (3:47)

Hi, my name is Julie, and I've been a really big fan of this podcast. So here's my question.

There's this very famous beauty influencer with millions of subscribers called Jacklyn Hill, and she just launched her brand of lipsticks, and it has already filled to the brim with controversy. Twitter is going absolutely crazy with customers posting about their experiences online. For example, some found that their lipstick just breaks immediately on first contact while others are finding very unusual things in their lipsticks. You can find pictures of people pointing out small gritty beads in a lipstick or even something that looks like hair growing out of them.