TPDTY: Salicylic Acid Might Not Help

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salicylic acid molecule

I, and countless other people navigating acneic skin, have at one time or another bought and used a whole slew of salicylic acid skincare products to try to deal. My family’s favorite when I was growing up was pHisoderm, and if you’re a Millennial or older, you probably remember TV infomercial darling Proactiv.

What is Salicylic Acid?

Salicylic acid, a beta-hydroxy acid (BHA), is oil soluble – so it is good at:

  1. helping dead skin cells slough off
  2. penetrating deep into pores to break down sebum and gunk
  3. reducing inflammation (legacy wisdom described crushing aspirin and making a paste to apply to blemishes)

But it isn’t always the answer for addressing acne. Salicylic acid isn’t a silver bullet, and it can even make things worse.

Time Matters

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Smart Toothbrush? Skip It

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Smart Toothbrushes - Are they worth it?

Today, let’s talk about the scourge that is the smart toothbrush.

I’m a proponent of electric toothbrushes. They make oral hygiene easier to achieve for most configurations of teeth. My mouth is healthier for them. I’ve used brushes from both Oral-B and Sonicare (I use a 10+ year old FlexCare, which is a discontinued model; I would buy this one today) in my lifetime, and both made a positive impact on my oral hygiene and wellbeing, especially as I went through my Invsalign journey.

At some point within the last decade, those companies decided that the world really needed–that consumers really wanted– a smart toothbrush. Sigh.

What is a Smart Toothbrush?

A smart toothbrush is an electric toothbrush that incorporates advanced technology and connectivity features to enhance the brushing experience. These toothbrushes often come with built-in sensors, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity, and smartphone apps or companion software.

Many modern electric toothbrushes still incorporate sensors to caution you against using too much pressure and timers to alert you when to change quadrants. So… why all the connections and internet? Why does my toothbrush need an internet connection or bluetooth?

Why Does a Toothbrush Need an Internet Connection?

In theory, the value smart toothbrushes provide lies in being able to provide you with data on your brushing habits. They can also gamify your daily hygiene by giving you virtual headpats for, you know, being an adult and taking care of your teeth.

Sense my derision?

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Help Your Communities

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I don’t have grand delusions of having some gigantic platform. Written content isn’t as performant as mind-numbing short-form video slop, after all. But I do have this itty-bitty one, and there’s an aspect of stewardship that says if you can, you should.

Many Americans experience food insecurity. Too many. Hell, you may be one or may have been one.

On Saturday, November 1st, help that normally arrives on the first of the month is not coming due to the federal government shutdown. Demand for food pantries and community support, as a result, is already surging and will continue to do so.

On top of SNAP being unavailable, the number of furloughed federal workers AND federal workers who are required to continue to work without pay (Air Traffic Controllers, TSA, etc) will increase demand on these support systems.

This may be someone you know. This certainly is someone who benefits your life directly or indirectly.

So! Call to Action:

First: If you have vulnerable folks in your life, check on your people. If you’re in a position to help them directly, help them. If not, help them find resources that can help them.

If you can contribute to your local food bank(s), do that! If you need to identify your local food pantries, Feeding America can help you find them. Then, if you can contrbute:

  • 🥫 Food & Goods – this is is great!
    • 🪥 Hygiene Supplies – ESPECIALLY menstrual hygiene supplies (not covered by SNAP anyway).
      Strained household budgets that could once cover these products are now going to food. These products are EXPENSIVE and CRITICAL, so consider helping with those if you can.
  • 💵 Money – This is even better since they can stretch a dollar further than we can.
    • 🏢 If you work for a corporate employer, many offer donation matching! If you donate to a registered nonprofit, you may be able to get your employer to match. That is a huge help right now.
  • ⏳ Time – Increased demand for support resources means pantries need more hands on deck. Call yours to see what help they need.
    • Check out Food Rescue. They have an app that connects volunteers with grocers or restaurants who have food that can still be used but that they would have to get rid of and to organizations that can take and put it to use promptly while it is still good. Some communities have their own version – my area is not on this site but has its own.
    • 🏢 If you work for a corporate employer, some even offer paid time off for volunteering. Mine offers two paid work days off per year to volunteer. You’d be surprised what you can do with sixteen hours.

This isn’t someone else’s problem. This is in your backyard. You can help.

Worth It? ecoTools Daily Brush Cleaner

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ecoTools Daily Brush Cleaner

Precious few of us wash our makeup brushes as often as we should – but ecoTools Daily Brush Cleaner makes it easier for me to pull off.

Although washing our brushes at least weekly is high up there on the list of things we can do to improve both our application and skin’s health, a lot of us non-professionals just don’t do that. It is a bit silly when you think about it: caring for your tools – whether they are makeup tools or powertools – helps them last longer and perform better.

I used to use Cinema Secrets to buy time between proper soap washes, but when I saw that ecoTools, a more accessible and affordable brand, had a similar product (their ecoTools Daily Brush Cleaner), I wanted to try it out. Both less expensive and easier to get, it seemed a good fit as long as it worked.

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How DARE They: L’Oreal Telescopic Formula

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L'Oreal Telescopic has a new, crappier formula. It's dead to me.

For the first time, I wish something had been discontinued: L’Oreal tampered with the L’Oreal Telescopic formula.

Huh…That’s Weird

When I had to travel earlier this year, I picked up a fresh tube of L’Oreal Telescopic in Carbon Black because I worked through my stash (I bought a few tubes on sale a while ago). I thought I had mixed up tubes because I noticed it wasn’t applying the way I’d expect a fresh tube. And, weirdly, it wasn’t removing as easily despite using the same tools. At the time, I was on the opposite coast; perhaps the water was different? Or, Occam’s Razor: I left the new tube at home.

After all, L’Oreal Telescopic was reliable – it lengthened, separated, and simultaneously did not smear but did remove easily at the end of the day. It was super accessible – drugstore, Ulta, Wal-Mart, Target, Amazon – you name it, you could find it.

What Gives, L’Oreal Telescopic?

That wasn’t it. I bought another tube this month. Still didn’t remove easily. Going at it with a makeup removing cloth and warm water removed maybe 20% of it – I still had stubborn product clinging desperately to my lashes for dear life.

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