Lately I’ve noticed that some products advertise SPF protection, but only contain one active ingredient: titanium dioxide. Why is that a problem? Because titanium dioxide only protects against part of the UV spectrum—specifically, UVB and UVA2 rays. It does not protect your skin from UVA1 (340–400 nm) rays, according to this table from the Skin Cancer Foundation.

If you’re anything like me, when you’re traveling light, you probably don’t feel like transferring your normal face wash into a smaller container—so you’re forced to select among the travel-size options at your local drug store. The last time this happened to me, I opted for Clean and Clear Deep Action Cream Cleanser because it looked pretty good (and I was hoping it would be a better choice than the MUJI moisturizing face soap I chose last time). After using it for a…

Remember when I visited the DECIEM store back in April? The store associate recommended mandelic acid for smoothing the texture of my acne scars, and alpha arbutin for lightening the appearance and redness of the scars. The store was sold out of alpha arbutin at the time, so I was only able to give mandelic acid a try. (Read the review here). Finally I was recently able to order some alpha arbutin directly from the DECIEM website. I’ve been using it once or twice a day for a few weeks now,…