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…

My hair gets pretty darn frizzy in the summer. I usually throw my hair into a ponytail because I’d have to get up an hour earlier to have enough time to tame all that frizziness. I was curious if Not Your Mother’s Leave-In Conditioner could help keep my hair under control, so I picked up a bottle when it went on sale at CVS. I bought it on the same day I picked up Not Your Mother’s Texturizing Sea Salt Spray. This leave-in conditioner states that it is formulated with an…

Ever since I got back from Hawaii, I’ve been daydreaming of long, lazy days at the beach. That’s probably why I impulse-bought Not Your Mother’s Texturizing Sea Salt Spray when I spotted it at CVS. It promises to leave your hair looking perfectly wind-tousled, like you just spent the day at the beach. I was intrigued—I’ve only ever used sea salt for cooking/eating before. Could it really help texturize my hair and shape it into glamorous, tousled waves?