Science – Lab Muffin Beauty Science

The science of red light masks

Michelle Wong — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 20:17:11 +0000

Red light is everywhere – you’ll see it used by celebrities, skincare influencers, and biohackers (not sure why male wellness influencers get their own special name). What does it do, and which products actually work? Let’s dig into the science behind red light therapy, or photobiomodulation. The video version of this post was part of a 3-way collaboration with Becky ...

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Sunscreen safety and the FDA situation: Huberman’s skincare podcast response (Part 2)

Michelle Wong — Sat, 22 Feb 2025 04:32:41 +0000

The most controversial topic in Dr Andrew Huberman’s skincare episode is probably sunscreen safety, which is hugely misunderstood even by scientists and medical doctors. Much of the confusion comes from differing sunscreen regulations around the world, and the fact that “not safe” has different meanings in everyday, regulatory and toxicological contexts. This is part 2 of my articles responding to ...

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Physical barriers for sun protection? Huberman’s skincare podcast response (Part 1)

Michelle Wong — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 12:49:47 +0000

A little while back, Dr Andrew Huberman, a Stanford neuroscientist with a massive podcast, released an episode called “How to Improve Skin Health & Appearance”. It had a bunch of slightly weird recommendations if you’re familiar with skincare science. He mentioned some of his sources, but didn’t have any experts talking. 1.5 months later, he released another skin episode, this ...

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Factcheck: Low-Tox Sunscreen Swaps?

Michelle Wong — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 03:47:35 +0000

There’s been a few viral posts about how harmful chemical sunscreens are. The latest one is a post about “Sunscreen Swaps” from @a.glimpse.of.amelia (an Australian “low-tox” consultant) and @jordiepieface (a nutritionist from New Zealand), claiming that “some conventional sunscreens can do more harm than good”. Unfortunately, most of the post is inaccurate, and it’s likely scaring people away from using ...

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Is benzene in benzoyl peroxide a cancer risk?

Michelle Wong — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 11:58:37 +0000

There’s been a lot of stories about benzene contamination in personal care products over the last 4 years. This year, benzene was discovered in benzoyl peroxide, a staple acne treatment. How concerned should we be? Petition and original paper I’ve written about the background behind Valisure’s benzene analyses before, as well as questions about the accuracy of their data and ...

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Does Visible Light Cause Skin Damage? And How to Protect Against It

Michelle Wong — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 06:00:50 +0000

There’s been increasing talk about how blue light from phones and computer screens could be a potential cause of skin damage. Is it worth worrying about, or is it just marketing? This topic is going to be a two-parter. In this installment we’re going to talk about visible light damage, and how you can protect your skin; in part 2, ...

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How to dry your hair, according to science

Michelle Wong — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 11:59:24 +0000

What’s the best way to dry your hair, according to science? Is it hair dryers, hair straighteners, towels, or just leaving it to dry naturally? I have fragile, expensively damaged hair and try a lot of hair products, so I have a special interest in this. Here’s the science of drying your hair. The video is here, keep scrolling for ...

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Red flags for unreliable sources: a guide

Michelle Wong — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 03:13:01 +0000

How do you check if information is reliable? One shortcut that works well (most of the time) is to check if the source itself is reliable! This is much faster and easier than trying to learn the science behind an area you’re not already familiar with – it takes a lot of time to properly factcheck information, even for experts. ...

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Cyperus oil for hair removal: Is it safe and effective?

Michelle Wong — Sun, 20 Oct 2024 01:09:43 +0000

There’s been a lot of hype around Cyperus oil for hair removal, largely based on a study where it supposedly worked as well as laser. Unfortunately I don’t think it works, and if it did work, it would be a risky product to be using. For context, my PhD is in medicinal chemistry. Part of this involves looking at the ...

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Are gel nails bad for you? UV, skin cancer and allergies

Michelle Wong — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 20:30:43 +0000

If you’ve ever tried gel nails, you’ll know you have to bake your fingers under a UV lamp. And if you’re like me, you might’ve thought: I know UV from the sun is bad and causes skin cancer, tanning beds are extra bad, they cause extra skin cancer… is this thing that looks like a tanning bed (for ants) actually ...

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