‘Clean beauty’: Cosmetics, chemophobia and the anti-vax pipeline

In the early 1930s, a “new and improved” eyelash dye called Lash Lure blinded more than a dozen women, ultimately forcing the FDA to pass new regulations on cosmetics. Nearly a century later, beauty remains far safer than it was in the past, but you could argue that beauty marketing has become far more insidious, with vague language and chemophobic claims to push consumers toward products. In this episode, we chat with cosmetic chemist and science communicator Michelle Wong to unpack the booming “clean beauty” industry, including a conversation about parabens and fragrances and how chemophobia (a fear of chemicals) early in life can become a gateway to broader anti-science thinking, including anti-vax. You can follow Michelle at @LabMuffinBeautyScience on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube where she makes longer explainer videos. 

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