Author Archive: Alex

Three ingredients, three problems …

Three interesting snippets on issues that concern us have come to our attention lately … The first concerns the preservative methylisothiazolinone (MI) — a subject we have covered extensively before. Cosmetics Design Europe recently reported that Denmark has called for…
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Whey to go?

“In Italy we used to bathe babies in this,” said my mother, carrying a large pot of watery yellow whey towards the kitchen sink. She had just made a little bowl of fresh, stiff ricotta cheese (very easy — bring a couple of…
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New awards – new sponsors!

It may only have been two years ago, but it’s easy to forget the extent to which Barefoot SOS’s Face and Body Rescue Cream dominated the 2013 FreeFrom Skincare Awards – not only taking home the champion’s prize for Best…
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How much ingredients information is too much?

Cosmetic Scientist Colin of Colin’s Beauty Pages has just posted a very interesting blog about an Australian brand’s particular product label. In it, he wonders about their marketing claims and imprecise use of the word chemical, but what interested us more…
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Facts, half-truths, myths – do we know what’s what in ‘free from’ skincare?

The subject of fact in natural skincare is something Michelle and I think about a lot as editors of the SkinsMatter.com site – we want to bring you accurate information, after all – but getting to the bottom of certain…
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Almond and Shea: a tale of two ‘nuts’

We recently came across this Q&A from the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology, concerning almond oil in skincare products — and the associated risk of an allergic reaction — possibly even anaphylaxis. The perceived wisdom with regard to…
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