answers

Australian Gold Botanical SPF 50 Tinted Face Sunscreen's PA Rating

I asked Australian Gold about my favorite facial sunscreen's UVA protection factor. Read on to find out its PPD (and PA rating).

If you’ve ever seen the package for an Asian sunscreen before, you may have noticed a lot of plus signs on the bottle. They aren’t just there to make you feel positive (get it? ha!)—they actually refer to the sunscreen’s level of UVA protection. SPF measures a sunscreen’s UVB protection. Europe and Asia actually have established UVA testing and labeling standards (hence the PA+++ on labels). However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t ask companies directly,…

CeraVe's response to my question about ceramide names

The INCI names of certain ceramides have been retired since 2014. So why does CeraVe continue to use the old names?

As I was researching yesterday’s post on Equate vs. CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion, I learned something interesting: The INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients) names for ingredients can change. The three ceramides that are included in every CeraVe product (ceramide 1, ceramide 3, and ceramide 6-II) have been updated, as of May 2014. So why does CeraVe continue to use the retired names? I decided to ask the company directly, and they responded within 12 hours.…

The best sheet masks for sensitive skin, according to The Face Shop

I asked The Face Shop why so many of its sheet masks include denatured alcohol. I also asked for fragrance-free recommendations. Here's what they had to say.

A few days ago, I contacted The Face Shop to ask why so many of the company’s sheet masks contain denatured alcohol. This morning, I received an email with the answers to my questions. Although the customer service rep recommended a product that wasn’t actually fragrance-free (even though she implied it was), she did introduce me to an interesting product line from The Face Shop: the Dr.Belmeur collection.