The Skeptical Cosmetic Ch i tChemist...Most vilified Cosmetic IngredientsMost vilified Cosmetic Ingredients 1. Sulfates – SLS 2. Parabens 3. Talc 4. Pt ltPetrolatum 5. Mineral Oil

TheThe Skeptical pCosmetic Ch i tChemist

Id tif i &Identifying & Detecting Beauty BS

Perry Romanowski

Cosmetic Chemist Writer / Entrepreneur

http://chemistscorner.com

http://thebeautybrains.com

My missionMy mission

Educate Inspire EntertainEducate Inspire Entertain

What do we believe?What do we believe?

Aliens

Astrology

Gh tGhosts

Flat Earth

We only yuse 10%Of our O ouBrains

Sh i h iShaving hair makes it grow back thicker

Zero Definitive Proof

Most Popular Beauty Myths• Natural is safer• Cosmetics are toxic• More expensive is better• Cosmetic woo works• Pantene is plastic

Natural is better &

safersafer

N t lNatural

N t lNatural

Natural

NaturalNatural

N t lNatural

No evidence that “natural” is inherently better or saferinherently better or safer

Chemicals are toxic

Most vilified Cosmetic IngredientsMost vilified Cosmetic Ingredients

1. Sulfates – SLS2. Parabens3. Talc 4 P t l t4. Petrolatum5. Mineral Oil6 Propylene Glycol6. Propylene Glycol7. DEA8. Formaldehydey9. Aluminum 10.Fragrance

No evidenceNo evidence of harm

Expensive products are better

H l Eff tHalo Effect

Wrinkle CCream

• Consumer Reportsp– $57 Regenerist

cream better than $335 La Prarie$335 La Prarie cream

• BBC report– Boots $20 cream

reduces wrinkles

MoreMore Expensive

BetterBetter

CosmeticCosmeticAcupuncture

You need to Detoxify Your Body

P tPantene

• Wax on your hair

• Makes hair fall out

Why do we believe?Why do we believe?

A tAcceptance

D i lDenial

Doubt & Inquiry

Skeptical Quiz

Which one is the FALSE headline?

• Rich people are more prone to skin cancerp p p

• Your skin is home to over 182 species of mites

• You can become addicted to tanning

• Prolonged use of muscle pain cream can kill you

Why be skepticalWhy be skeptical

• It’s scientificIt s scientific• Find what really works

Fi d t h t i t• Find out what is true• Learn new things• Harder to be fooled• Save money• Save money

Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.

– Philip K. Dick

Step 1 - Doubt

Step 2 - Investigate

Step 3 – Tentative Conclusion

“All is to be doubted ”All is to be doubted.Rene Descartes

Filter outFilter out things that aren’t true

Skeptical ToolkitSkeptical Toolkit

• Verification of facts• Reject arguments from authority• Reject arguments from authority• Falsifiable hypotheses • Don’t fall in love with your ideas• Occam’s Razor• Quantify whenever possible

Trust but Verify the facts

No statement should be believed because it isbelieved because it is made by an authority.

Hans Reichenbach

Hypothesis must ypbe falsifiable

Don’t fall in love with your ideas

Quantify whenever possible

What is good evidence?What is good evidence?

• TangibleTangible• Verifiable

P f bl i d d t• Preferably, independent• Anecdotal evidence is not evidence

– Not reliable– Memory errorsy– Perception errors

Always us Controlled Experiments

Example of bad experimentExample of bad experiment

If you use a product 3 things can happenIf you use a product 3 things can happen1. Gets better2 Gets worse2. Gets worse3. Stays the same

• If you use no treatment, 3 things happen

1820

141618

1012

No Treatment

68 Product A

024

01 Week 2 Weeks

Weak experiment

4045

303540

No Treatment

202530 No Treatment

Product A

101520

Best

05

10 technology

01 Week 2 Weeks

Better experiment

Beware of Logical Fallacies

Statistical BS

Ad H iAd Hominems

Ad Hominems

Argument from authority

Appeals to ignorance

Biased data selection

Coincidence is the science of the true believer.

- Chet Raymoy

Suppressing Evidence

Avoid the Cult of the AmateurAvoid the Cult of the Amateur

The trouble withThe trouble with people is not what they don’t know, butthey don t know, but that they know so much that ain’t so.

-Josh Billings

Reliable Online SourcesReliable Online Sources

• Peer reviewed journalsPeer reviewed journals– JSCC

PubMed– PubMed – Cochrane Reviews

A i A d f D t l– American Academy of Dermatology

• Mostly reliable– Wikipedia

• There are two types of knowledge– The kind that has been proven wrong– The kind that hasn’t yet been proven wrong

- Karl Popper

ContactContact

Vice President Brains Publishing Inc.

Email: Perry Romanowski@gmail comEmail: [email protected]

LinkedIn: PerryRomanowski

Phone: 708-207-7642

Twitter: thejoggler

FacebookFacebook

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