Dr Michelle Wong - Lab Muffin Beauty Science
@labmuffin.com
#SciComm and educator, medicinal/supramolecular/synthetic chem PhD, cosmetic chemist, YouTuber
I explain the science behind beauty products and debunk misinformation. I talk a lot about sunscreen and "toxic" ingredients 🌞
labmuffin.com/links
I explain the science behind beauty products and debunk misinformation. I talk a lot about sunscreen and "toxic" ingredients 🌞
labmuffin.com/links
Reposted by Dr Michelle Wong - Lab Muffin Beauty Science
Our current medical establishment all said the opposite was true.
Full article: www.newscientist.com/article/2502...
Full article: www.newscientist.com/article/2502...
November 5, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Our current medical establishment all said the opposite was true.
Full article: www.newscientist.com/article/2502...
Full article: www.newscientist.com/article/2502...
This seems more useful than impact factor
Huge variability documented in how publishers respond when informed about a problematic body of work by a research group. www.jclinepi.com/article/S089...
#publishers #retractions
#publishers #retractions
August 24, 2025 at 4:54 PM
This seems more useful than impact factor
It's ironic that this article perpetuates fear about chemical sunscreens being unsafe. Plus the misconception that dermatologists are experts on product safety (that's toxicologists and safety assessors).
Also the US blanket recommendation on sunscreen use that's not actually based on evidence...
Also the US blanket recommendation on sunscreen use that's not actually based on evidence...
August 19, 2025 at 12:39 PM
It's ironic that this article perpetuates fear about chemical sunscreens being unsafe. Plus the misconception that dermatologists are experts on product safety (that's toxicologists and safety assessors).
Also the US blanket recommendation on sunscreen use that's not actually based on evidence...
Also the US blanket recommendation on sunscreen use that's not actually based on evidence...
Reposted by Dr Michelle Wong - Lab Muffin Beauty Science
Next is MUDCAPS from @labmuffin.com and @theecowell.bsky.social, more friends that are bigger deals on instagram so do follow them there if you use it. Here’s a frame from Michelle’s most recent vid which I really liked, even though I have no special interest in cosmetics, I still learnt loads
August 13, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Next is MUDCAPS from @labmuffin.com and @theecowell.bsky.social, more friends that are bigger deals on instagram so do follow them there if you use it. Here’s a frame from Michelle’s most recent vid which I really liked, even though I have no special interest in cosmetics, I still learnt loads
Reposted by Dr Michelle Wong - Lab Muffin Beauty Science
I want to share two handy mnemonics that can help you identify BS, BS peddlers, and ensure you give yourself the best chance to take in GOOD information
The first is CRABS by Jessica Stokes-Parish. We are instagram friends but I don’t think she’s here. She’s great! www.instagram.com/j_stokespari...
The first is CRABS by Jessica Stokes-Parish. We are instagram friends but I don’t think she’s here. She’s great! www.instagram.com/j_stokespari...
August 13, 2025 at 3:42 PM
I want to share two handy mnemonics that can help you identify BS, BS peddlers, and ensure you give yourself the best chance to take in GOOD information
The first is CRABS by Jessica Stokes-Parish. We are instagram friends but I don’t think she’s here. She’s great! www.instagram.com/j_stokespari...
The first is CRABS by Jessica Stokes-Parish. We are instagram friends but I don’t think she’s here. She’s great! www.instagram.com/j_stokespari...
Reposted by Dr Michelle Wong - Lab Muffin Beauty Science
This video from @labmuffin.com is really great at explaining how to tell whether supposed experts in a scientific field you're not familiar with are actually experts worth listening to.
youtu.be/0bRpljNL7ro?...
youtu.be/0bRpljNL7ro?...
Debunking TikTok "expert" beauty advice
YouTube video by Lab Muffin Beauty Science
youtu.be
August 13, 2025 at 12:47 AM
This video from @labmuffin.com is really great at explaining how to tell whether supposed experts in a scientific field you're not familiar with are actually experts worth listening to.
youtu.be/0bRpljNL7ro?...
youtu.be/0bRpljNL7ro?...
My time to... shine? 🫠
It's a bizarre experience to have this much attention on my very niche area of expertise.
It's a bizarre experience to have this much attention on my very niche area of expertise.
August 11, 2025 at 11:42 PM
My time to... shine? 🫠
It's a bizarre experience to have this much attention on my very niche area of expertise.
It's a bizarre experience to have this much attention on my very niche area of expertise.
The avocado toast to luxury fragrance houseless millennial pipeline
August 6, 2025 at 2:27 AM
The avocado toast to luxury fragrance houseless millennial pipeline
Dear science communicators and scientists,
Can we please be mindful of how we frame our videos?
The vast majority of companies that employ hundreds/thousands of scientists are NOT lying about things you can easily test with household items.
Views shouldn’t be the only metric we care about.
Can we please be mindful of how we frame our videos?
The vast majority of companies that employ hundreds/thousands of scientists are NOT lying about things you can easily test with household items.
Views shouldn’t be the only metric we care about.
August 2, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Dear science communicators and scientists,
Can we please be mindful of how we frame our videos?
The vast majority of companies that employ hundreds/thousands of scientists are NOT lying about things you can easily test with household items.
Views shouldn’t be the only metric we care about.
Can we please be mindful of how we frame our videos?
The vast majority of companies that employ hundreds/thousands of scientists are NOT lying about things you can easily test with household items.
Views shouldn’t be the only metric we care about.
Wow it's almost like harm reduction works, like I was taught in both my pharmacology and criminal law classes back in 2006... who woulda thunk it
The curious case of the disappearing smoking data. The Roy Morgan release was unequivocal: smoking rates among young adults are up after vaping ban which had "demonstrably failed". And then it disappeared and was replaced with something more amenable. www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/health/...
Exclusive: Smoking data taken down after link to vape ban
A report showing increased smoking and vaping among young Australians was pulled after it embarrassed the government and led to complaints from other researchers.
www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au
July 20, 2025 at 3:09 AM
Wow it's almost like harm reduction works, like I was taught in both my pharmacology and criminal law classes back in 2006... who woulda thunk it
Is your scalp itchy and nothing seems to really work? I got you
July 18, 2025 at 2:38 AM
Is your scalp itchy and nothing seems to really work? I got you
Seeing a lot of people recommending sunscreen mists... unfortunately they're really not that effective for applying to your face, sorry!
See the cloud lingering in the air? That's sunscreen NOT going on your skin - my experiments estimated that 80-95% of the sunscreen doesn't land.
See the cloud lingering in the air? That's sunscreen NOT going on your skin - my experiments estimated that 80-95% of the sunscreen doesn't land.
July 15, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Seeing a lot of people recommending sunscreen mists... unfortunately they're really not that effective for applying to your face, sorry!
See the cloud lingering in the air? That's sunscreen NOT going on your skin - my experiments estimated that 80-95% of the sunscreen doesn't land.
See the cloud lingering in the air? That's sunscreen NOT going on your skin - my experiments estimated that 80-95% of the sunscreen doesn't land.
New safeguards for Australian sunscreens, because specific ingredients "aren't safe"? Here's what that actually means!
July 12, 2025 at 1:41 AM
New safeguards for Australian sunscreens, because specific ingredients "aren't safe"? Here's what that actually means!
Sigh... no. The commonly used chemical sunscreens are all approved in the EU as well, the differences are pretty minor. US sunscreens aren't much more "toxic" than elsewhere.
But the newer filters give formulators more tools, so they can make much nicer sunscreens that you actually WANT to use.
But the newer filters give formulators more tools, so they can make much nicer sunscreens that you actually WANT to use.
July 11, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Sigh... no. The commonly used chemical sunscreens are all approved in the EU as well, the differences are pretty minor. US sunscreens aren't much more "toxic" than elsewhere.
But the newer filters give formulators more tools, so they can make much nicer sunscreens that you actually WANT to use.
But the newer filters give formulators more tools, so they can make much nicer sunscreens that you actually WANT to use.
Reposted by Dr Michelle Wong - Lab Muffin Beauty Science
Are you wearing enough sunscreen??!
@labmuffin.com spills the chemisTEA behind SPF, sunscreen policy & more on the latest episode of the Curiosity Weekly pod 🧪
Listen & lmk if you can tell I’m fangirling the entire time 🙂↕️ podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/c...
@labmuffin.com spills the chemisTEA behind SPF, sunscreen policy & more on the latest episode of the Curiosity Weekly pod 🧪
Listen & lmk if you can tell I’m fangirling the entire time 🙂↕️ podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/c...
July 3, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Are you wearing enough sunscreen??!
@labmuffin.com spills the chemisTEA behind SPF, sunscreen policy & more on the latest episode of the Curiosity Weekly pod 🧪
Listen & lmk if you can tell I’m fangirling the entire time 🙂↕️ podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/c...
@labmuffin.com spills the chemisTEA behind SPF, sunscreen policy & more on the latest episode of the Curiosity Weekly pod 🧪
Listen & lmk if you can tell I’m fangirling the entire time 🙂↕️ podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/c...
Reposted by Dr Michelle Wong - Lab Muffin Beauty Science
given how many people have replied "get a hat" seemingly in earnest despite the concern being my neck while i am biking, i'm stealing from a recent @labmuffin.com video because apparently not enough of you understand that lots of UV exposure is indirect on account of That's How We Can See Things.
![a picture of a smiling face under an umbrella labeled: 1.6m = 5'2" (me in chunky shoes)
below is a block of text from diffey b, sun protection: a risk management approach, 2017 which reads:
as an example, we estimate the PF for beach umbrella which has a UV transmittance of 1%, a diameter of 1.6 m and is at a height 1 m above the ground. the SVF is calculated on a horizontal surface located vertically underneath the center of the umbrella, mimicking the UV exposure received by someone stretched out underneath. for a simple structure such as this example, the SVF can be canculated by [math] which equals 0.68. This results in a PF of 2.6, which responds to a transmission of 38%. This value compares favourably with measurements made around the middle fo the day in mid-july in valencia with an umbrella of the same radius and height above the ground, in which a mean transmission of 34% was obtained over the period of measurement. we can see that even when in the shade of direct sunlight, 20% or less of the sky needs to be visible if the protection is to be worthwhile (pf > 10)](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ywbm3iywnhzep3ckt6efhoh7/bafkreid4h7wvacrxyvyhh5ldxmmiqo464llfcq6in37utztqapc2txk6ue@jpeg)
June 25, 2025 at 8:02 AM
given how many people have replied "get a hat" seemingly in earnest despite the concern being my neck while i am biking, i'm stealing from a recent @labmuffin.com video because apparently not enough of you understand that lots of UV exposure is indirect on account of That's How We Can See Things.
My pet conspiracy theory is that the US uses Fahrenheit as part of a concerted effort to keep the population scientifically illiterate, so everyone is forced to hire experts to help them with tasks that shouldn't need it.
See also their unnecessarily complex legal contracts and tax filings...
See also their unnecessarily complex legal contracts and tax filings...
June 24, 2025 at 2:46 AM
My pet conspiracy theory is that the US uses Fahrenheit as part of a concerted effort to keep the population scientifically illiterate, so everyone is forced to hire experts to help them with tasks that shouldn't need it.
See also their unnecessarily complex legal contracts and tax filings...
See also their unnecessarily complex legal contracts and tax filings...
Did you see the Choice sunscreen testing results? Here's an SPF deep dive! Key points:
Sunscreens are very effective, these results do not indicate you should lose faith in them
SPF testing is imprecise - this is an inherent limitation of the test, lots of variation even if nothing's gone "wrong"
Sunscreens are very effective, these results do not indicate you should lose faith in them
SPF testing is imprecise - this is an inherent limitation of the test, lots of variation even if nothing's gone "wrong"
June 13, 2025 at 2:49 AM
Did you see the Choice sunscreen testing results? Here's an SPF deep dive! Key points:
Sunscreens are very effective, these results do not indicate you should lose faith in them
SPF testing is imprecise - this is an inherent limitation of the test, lots of variation even if nothing's gone "wrong"
Sunscreens are very effective, these results do not indicate you should lose faith in them
SPF testing is imprecise - this is an inherent limitation of the test, lots of variation even if nothing's gone "wrong"
Baking matcha cookies right after everyone called matcha "propaganda"
(It's ok, these are for my Asian friends who didn't need propaganda to like matcha... they're not too sweet)
(It's ok, these are for my Asian friends who didn't need propaganda to like matcha... they're not too sweet)
June 1, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Baking matcha cookies right after everyone called matcha "propaganda"
(It's ok, these are for my Asian friends who didn't need propaganda to like matcha... they're not too sweet)
(It's ok, these are for my Asian friends who didn't need propaganda to like matcha... they're not too sweet)
Did this study show that removing parabens and phthalates from your products reverses breast cancer, like Dr Yvonne Burkart claimed on Diary of a CEO? No.
May 30, 2025 at 12:48 AM
Did this study show that removing parabens and phthalates from your products reverses breast cancer, like Dr Yvonne Burkart claimed on Diary of a CEO? No.
Unfortunately this is 21st century thinking:
"Covid is usually very mild"
"Only the vulnerable get severe symptoms"
"But did they have pre-existing conditions"
etc
Individualism -> healthism -> eugenics -> fascism
"Covid is usually very mild"
"Only the vulnerable get severe symptoms"
"But did they have pre-existing conditions"
etc
Individualism -> healthism -> eugenics -> fascism
The deeper meaning behind "almost no healthy children die of the measles" is that, when children do die of the measles, it's only ever because they were already ill. And the deeper meaning behind that is "well, we can't save 'em all." And that's just...17th century thinking.
May 17, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Unfortunately this is 21st century thinking:
"Covid is usually very mild"
"Only the vulnerable get severe symptoms"
"But did they have pre-existing conditions"
etc
Individualism -> healthism -> eugenics -> fascism
"Covid is usually very mild"
"Only the vulnerable get severe symptoms"
"But did they have pre-existing conditions"
etc
Individualism -> healthism -> eugenics -> fascism
This dermatologist has 1.8 million followers on TikTok.
I suspect most dermatologists know the evidence doesn't support taking 2.5 mg biotin a day, or hypochlorous acid for acne... but this kind of thing is now the public face of dermatology 🙃 #dermsky
I suspect most dermatologists know the evidence doesn't support taking 2.5 mg biotin a day, or hypochlorous acid for acne... but this kind of thing is now the public face of dermatology 🙃 #dermsky
May 7, 2025 at 3:36 PM
This dermatologist has 1.8 million followers on TikTok.
I suspect most dermatologists know the evidence doesn't support taking 2.5 mg biotin a day, or hypochlorous acid for acne... but this kind of thing is now the public face of dermatology 🙃 #dermsky
I suspect most dermatologists know the evidence doesn't support taking 2.5 mg biotin a day, or hypochlorous acid for acne... but this kind of thing is now the public face of dermatology 🙃 #dermsky
Just overheard my husband telling someone benzene wasn't a sunscreen ingredient, it was a byproduct of the manufacturing process 😮
Learning by osmosis works!
Learning by osmosis works!
May 6, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Just overheard my husband telling someone benzene wasn't a sunscreen ingredient, it was a byproduct of the manufacturing process 😮
Learning by osmosis works!
Learning by osmosis works!
Reposted by Dr Michelle Wong - Lab Muffin Beauty Science
This is democracy manifest
May 3, 2025 at 3:25 AM
This is democracy manifest