At Whole Foods, you can see a Purell dispenser that says, “Free of parabens.” Those words may provide comfort to anyone who doesn’t like parabens, but they only make me wonder what those wipes contain instead of parabens. All personal care products usually have to contain preservatives, unless they’re completely water-free (since microbes need water to live)—see a list of preservative-free products here. Anyway, I guess I’ve been thinking about preservatives—and…

If you have acne, you’ve probably heard about the Stridex pads I’m writing about today. These pads are easy to use, pretty cheap, and they claim to be “easy on skin, tough on acne.” This last point is easier said than done. Although acne is a serious problem, acne treatments can sometimes do more harm than good. The FDA has received a number of complaints from consumers who experienced allergic reactions and/or irritation in response to acne products that included benzoyl…

From the name of this blog, you might (correctly) surmise that I tend to pepper my dad with more questions about the products I use every day. But today I’m going to flip the switch and talk about a product that came recommended by my mom: Olay Complete Moisturizer Sensitive (SPF 15). She bought a two-pack of this at Costco, and liked it so much that she suggested that I start using it, too. When someone like my mom recommends something to you, you listen, because she has pretty high…