junk science

If you've read much of anything on this blog, you know that I talk a lot about truth in skin care and avoiding fear-mongering about "evil" ingredients, especially when the sources leave something to be desired. Well, around this time last year a book came out and my friends and family, seeing that it was claiming to be about the same things, kept referring me to it. So, I took a look! I was excited! I had high hopes! I thought someone other than me wanted to talk about this! Sadly, no. Sadly, what I found when I picked up "No More Dirty Looks" by Siobhan O'connor and Alexandra Spunt (Da Capo Lifelong Books 2010) was an endless stream of attacks on ingredients without any sort of reputable scientific data to back it up, and claims of knowledge about toxicology and toxins that were so WRONG that they made my blood boil. Sadly, this sensationalistic book took off. And people still suggest I should read it, which I understand as it seems like something that's right up my alley.


Then today, I came across this article in the Financial Post for Junk Science Week, by a man I have always admired for telling it like it is when it comes to science, Joseph Schwarcz, director of McGill's Office for Science and Society right here in Montreal. Turns out, Ms. O'Connor and Ms. Spunt consulted him when writing the book. And as he explains in the article I linked to above, he was hesitant to have people who knew nothing about chemistry writing a book about...chemistry! He explains that the claims they make are false and NOT based in science, or chemistry. Or anything but sensationalism, really!

Please, please, PLEASE go read the article here. And be aware that there is a huge amount of fear-mongering out there! It makes me very happy that people like Joseph Schwarcz are with me on my mission of spreading truth in skin care and battling misinformation!