Health & Beauty - Chemistry of Health & Beauty Products

Some of the ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products are chemicals that may be hazardous to your health. Take a look at some of the ingredients to watch for and the health concerns raised by these chemicals.

Learn how to synthesize aspirin, acetylsalicylic acid, from salicyclic acid. Get information about the history of aspirin, the effects of salicylates, and see the structures of the reactants.

Use chemistry to make gifts or to pamper yourself. These are instructions for scented and colored bath salts.

It's important to drink plenty of fluids, but can you overdo it? Learn the truth about water intoxication and hyponatremia.

Yes, you could put laundry detergent in your dishwasher. Should you? Probably not. Here's why.

Is it true your hair can turn white from a bad scare or that your hair can turn gray overnight? Learn about your haircolor and get the answer to the question.

Find out how many calories you burn when thinking and how it compares with the energy expended by physical exercise.

Use your chemistry to make a fizzy, scented bath bomb. Make them for yourself or give them as gifts!

Learn the chemistry behind how hair detangler works and get recipes to make your own homemade hair detangler.

Some commercial hand sanitizers contain ingredients as scary as the germs they protect you from, so why not make your own hand sanitizer from ingredients you select? This is an excellent project for kids as well as adults, since the project can be expanded to include a discussion about hygiene and disinfection.

Fluoride isn't only found in toothpaste and water. There are many everyday sources and several steps you can take to lower your exposure.

Learn about the polymer in disposable diapers, sodium polyacrylate. Find out how the polymer absorbs water and why diapers leak.

Learn how blood tests and home pregnancy urine tests work, how early they can be used, and some reasons for false positive and negative test results.

This article discusses bronzers, self-tanning lotions and sprays, tanning accelerators, and pills. Learn how these products work and find out why tans fade.

You may use it every day, but do you know how it works? Learn about emulsions, micelles, and soap scum! Then check out links to sites about bubbles, soapmaking, and the regulation of soap chemistry.

Find out how sunscreen works, what an SPF rating means, the difference between sunscreen and sunblock, and how to protect yourself from both UV-A and UV-B radiation.

Does Febreze remove odors or merely mask them? Here's a look at how Febreze works, including information about its active ingredient, cyclodextrin, and how the product interacts with odors.

Fluoride is the fluorine ion added to toothpaste and dental rinse to help protect your teeth from cavities. Here's how fluoride works.

Is a burning reaction between a tattoo and magnetic resonance imaging (an MRI) based in fact or is it an urban legend? Here's the answer!

It's fast, easy, non-toxic, and fluoride-free! Use these instructions to make your own natural toothpaste.

Perfume is a classic gift, but it's even better if it is a scent that you made yourself, especially if you package it in a beautiful bottle. Perfume you make yourself is free from synthetic chemicals and is fully customized to your personal taste. Here's how to make your own perfume.

Learn how to remove fluoride from drinking water. Also learn ways to reduce fluoride exposure and find out what types of filtration don't reduce fluoride concentration.

You can make your own shampoo from scratch using simple ingredients and a little chemistry know-how. Here's a shampoo recipe to get you started.

These are the instructions for making your own gentle hand or face soap. It's work, but worth the effort!

If you understand sterilization techniques, some of the safest and best tattoo inks may be those you mix yourself.

This is a list of common food additives and a description of their uses.

Labs have lists of chemicals that don't go together, but it isn't as easy to avoid dangerous mixtures with home chemicals because they aren't pure substances. Here's some help. Be safe and don't mix these common household chemicals.

Learn what a bleach is, get examples of different types, and find out how bleach works.

How poisonous something is depends a lot on how it's administered and a several other factors, but this list will give you a general look at some of the most toxic substances known to man.

You probably know that lead is toxic, but do you know what makes it poisonous? Here's an explanation of what lead does in your body that makes it such a health hazard.

Find out why you cry when you cut onions and how you can keep it from happening.

Do you think it's the chlorine in the swimming pool that turns blonde hair green? Guess again.

A new study conducted by the CDC indicates that getting the flu vaccine doesn't protect you against cold, flu-like illness, or even the flu. Surprised? Here are some reasons why the vaccine may not work.

Soap lathers better in soft water, yet it's harder to rinse off than if you rinsed with hard water. Why? The answer lies in understanding the chemistry of soft water and soap.