FAIR SKIN = PRETTY ?? maybe…

Nowadays, most of the ladies prefer fair skin, and I, of course am one of them. I’m not the kind of girl with very fair skin, so I envy those fair people very much!! There is a saying in mandarin that says: fair can cover three uglinesses.
In order to have fair skin, one of the most crucial ways will be applying sunscreen whenever we go out because ultraviolet rays (UVA and UVB ) from sun are the CULPRITS that make our skin darker and early aging! Argg…

I purposely edit the photo to see how we look when we become darker without using sunscreen.

But then, is sunscreen helpful or harmful?
The first thing that comes to my mind is sure helpful. With the use of sunscreen, we can actually prevent ourselves from skin cancer and premature aging of the skin. But, recently, I’ve read some article that says there are some ingredients in the sunscreen that are carcinogenic. Oh! My god!!! I have been using this sunscreen for few years!! Should I stop using it?

So what is sunscreen?
It is a type of sun protection beauty product in the form of lotion or spray that we apply on our skin which will absorb or reflect some of the UV radiation. It can be grouped to 2 categories, which are the chemical sunscreen and the physical sunscreen.
1. Physical sunscreen- it forms protective barrier on skin and yet does not being absorbed into skin. It blocks or reflects the UV radiation before reaching our skin.
2. Chemical sunscreen- it absorbing the UV radiation before the UV affecting our skin, but it is absorbed into our skin.
Ingredients for physical sunscreen:
* Zinc oxide: Best broad spectrum protection. Protection from UVB and most of the UVA.
* Titanium oxide: Highly reflective white chalky mineral. Protection from UVB and short UVA.
Ingredients for chemical sunscreen:
* Avebenzone, octyl salicylate, ecamsule, cinnamates, aminobenzoic acid, dioxybenzone (UVB, UVAII), padimate O, cinoxate, homosalate,octocrylene, sulisobenzone,titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, etc.

Sunscreen is made up of organic chemical compounds which have the functions to absorb UV light, inorganic substances such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide (mentioned above), reflect or scatter the UV light. Sunscreen is used to prevent squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma. However, many sunscreens in the market do not block UVA radiation which does not cause sunburn but on the other hand causing the rate of melanoma (skin cancer) to increase. Thus, some people may use the sunscreen that exposed to a high UVA levels without realizing it.

At the end of the day, I’ve made a research and I found out that not all the sunscreens are harmful to us. *Cheers* Research says that the degree of harmfulness solely depends on the products that we choose to use. During last time, I always purchase those sunscreens that are cheaper. Now, instead of buying those cheaper sunscreens, I’d buy those with sun protection factor, SPF which are less harmful to our skin. The higher the SPF, the more protection the sunscreen provides. Besides that, I will also be able to achieve my lovely fair skin. =D

Magical Oil Transformation

Just few days ago my mom and I went to Daiso Japan to buy some stuff and we came across something really cool. Never have we seen this gadget before, and I'd say Japanese are really one bunch of crazy geniuses to come up with so many gadgets. So, guess what, we've found these =D

The front

The back

The Japanese words are Katameru Tenpuru, which simply means oil solidifying agent. Since my mom has been complaining about how much trouble she has to go through to dispose the oil after cooking, so we've decided to buy one home to try our luck. Each box contains 5 packets, filled with 20g of powder, made of seaweed that can solidify up to 2 2/3 cup of oil. The box claims that the contents are made of purely plants, so it is very eco-friendly.

Here's how the magical powder work.

The is the used oil my mom wants to get rid of.

This is the small packet of Katameru Tenpuru.

Pour the powder into the cooking oil. P/s the oil has to be hot for the powder to work.

Stir it well.

Then finally, leave it for the night.

So, on the next morning..

Ta-daa, Katameru Tenpuru magically hardens the oil.

Now just scrape it off

and throw it away.

Then you're done. A simple and easy way to dispose used oil.

We know that pouring used oil into the toilet and sinks pollutes the environment. When oil are poured down the drain it causes water pollution. Not only that, it also clogs our pipes when the oil accumulates inside the pipe, and to repair it would costs a lot of money. So, lucky for us, chemist has come up with a formula that helps us dispose oil in an eco-friendly manner. They are simple and easy to use and more importantly it saves the earth. This pretty much inspires me how things around us could be different when we see it in a different angle, so that we could learn how to make our surrounding a better place to live. 

THE SECRET OF FRESH BREATH – MOUTHWASH

   

There is a conversation of me with my lovely mummy below.

Mum: “Aiyor, you didn’t brush your teeth ah? Why you have so serious bad breath?”

Me: “I did brush lar! How I know why will be like that, I don’t want also.”

Mum: “I think you cannot just brush your teeth, you need to use mouthwash also. If you continue like this, no people dare to marry you ah!”

Recently, I found that only brushing teeth is not enough to freshen our breath. So, mouthwash is needed as a supplement. Mouthwash is a liquid oral product to maintain oral hygiene, reduce formation of plaque and tartar, reduce cavities as well as whiten teeth.

Mouthwash can be classified into three main types:

1.     Cosmetic mouthwash- purely for disguising bad breath. It can be used to clean our teeth but does not have the ability to prevent tooth decay.

2.    Antiseptic mouthwash- freshen breath, stop the growth of bacteria, prevent the buildup of plaque and protect the teeth from decaying.

3.    Fluoride mouthwash- increase the fluoride layer on teeth and so strengthens the teeth as well as extra protection against tooth decay.

The ingredients of mouthwash are composed of diluents, antibacterial agents, oxidizing agents, flavorings and colorants.

1.     Diluents:

·         Water (H₂O)– make up over 50% of entire formula

·         Alcohol

2.    Antibacterial agents (kill bacteria and reduce plaque):

·         Thymol (C₁₀H_13.OH)

·         Cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC)

·         Phenol (C₆H₅OH)

·         Chlorhexidine

·         Tannic acid (C₇₆H₅₂O₄₆)

3.    Oxidizing agent (use oxygen to reduce the anaerobic bacteria in mouth):

·         Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃)

·         Hygrogen peroxide (H₂O ₂)

4.    Flavoring :

·         Menthol

·         Methyl salicylate (C₆H₄(HO)COOCH₃)

5.    Preservative (preserve freshness once the bottle is opened) :

·         sodium benzoate (NaC₆H₅CO₂ )

6.    Fluoride ( efficient in preventing tooth decay and strengthen our teeth as it increase the fluoride layer of our teeth)

When I am searching the information about mouthwash, I found that it is better for us to choose a mouthwash that is alcohol-free as some researchers suggested that alcohol-containing mouthwash may cause oral cancer. Besides that, some people will have the mouthwash addiction because of the alcohol in the mouthwash. Consuming the mouthwash regularly will cause to death.

Readers, if you don’t want to buy mouthwash in the market, there is a tip for making a very simple homemade mouthwash for yourself!

-      Add one-half teaspoon of salt/ baking soda into 8 ounces of water, stir and gargle.

 I searched a funny picture online! And I’m imitating him with my mouthwash! Haha….

 Lastly, an advice for all my lovely readers, tooth brushing is irreplaceable by the mouthwash. Only the combination of brushing, flossing, using mouthwash twice a day and visiting dentist regularly can maintain oral health. So, let’s start to take good care of our oral health! =)

nail polishes poisoning

          Wah…!!! So beautiful nail polish…I think all my girl friends like nail polish. Nail polish has been traditionally worn by women, but has recently popular in men also. Nowadays, there are also nail designs which girls prefer. First thing came into my mind is nail polish is lacquer that applied to our fingernails and toenails to protect our fingernails and toenails. Let us find out what ingredients in nail polish and will it really protect our nails or harm it.

Nail polishes are made up of nitrocellulose which dissolved in a solvent, usually is butyl acetate. Nail polishes contain the following basic components which include film foaming agents, pigments, solvents, resins and plasticizers. Adhesive polymers in the nail polishes will make sure that the nitrocellulose will adhere to the nails’ surfaces. Between the polymers chains, there are plasticizers which form spaces between the polymers to make the film sufficiently flexible after drying. Pigments are added to make desired colors and sparkling particles are added to make sure that the nail polishes have reflecting characteristics.  Besides that, ultraviolet stabilizers are added to prevent colors changes when the dry films are exposed to sunlight. Nail polishes also contain a material called toluene which is petroleum-based product that has been linked to cancer. Formaldehyde in the nail polishes may cause allergic and is also dangerous for use by asthmatic people as it is carcinogen.

Nail polish can actually causes a lot of problems. We can get poison when we inhale or breathing nail polish. These are the poisonous ingredients, Toluene, Butyl acetate, Ethyl acetate and Dibutyl phthalate. Dibutyl phthalate will cause testicular problems in humans. The symptoms when we get this poisoning are our kidneys and bladder will increase the rate of urinate. The nail polish will also affect our eyes, cause eyes irritation and possible eyes damage. Furthermore, the nail polish will also cause heart and blood circulatory problems, causes irregular heartbeat and chest pain. It will also affect our nervous system, causing drowsiness, euphoria and the worse is coma.

From a TV show, I learn an experiment which actually frightens me stop to use nail polishes. Now, let me show you how the experiment going on. We just need to apply nail polish on a piece of polystyrene and observe what had happened to the polystyrene. 

After knowing this, I think all of us will realize that it is harm to our body if we apply too much of nail polishes. So, for me, I will stop using it as i want a better life and to make sure that I can live longer.

Soaps : What is in it actually??

In our everyday lives, we would use one type of chemical to clean the house, car, furniture and even ourselves. This chemical that I’m talking about is soap. We use soap to clean and it tends to remove almost any stains, but what exactly is the chemical that makes its cleaning properties so popular in our everyday lives? 

Soap, actually, is a salt of a fatty acid which is obtained by treating vegetable or animal oil fats with a strong alkali solution. Fats and oils are composed of triglycerides: three molecules of fatty acids attached to a single molecule of glycerol. The alkaline solution brings about a chemical reaction known as saponification. In saponification, the fats are first hydrolysed into free fatty acids, which then combine with the alkali to form crude soap. Glycerol is then liberated and is either left in or washed out and recovered as a useful by-product according to the process employed. Soaps are key components of most lubricating greases, which are usually emulsions of calcium or lithium soaps and mineral oil.

simplified structures of Na stearate, a typical soap

When used for cleaning, soap serves as a surfactant in conjunction with water, which helps to lossen the grease stains on fabrics or on any surfaces. The cleaning action of this mixture is attributed to the action of micelles, tiny spheres coated on the outside with polar hydrophilic (water loving) groups, encasing a lipophilic (fat loving) pocket that can surround the grease particles, causing them to disperse in water. The lipophilic portion is made up of the long hydrocarbon chain from the fatty acid. In other words, where oil and water normally do not mix, the addition of soap allows oils to disperse in water and be rinsed away. Synthetic detergents operate almost similar to soap.

The ingredients of soap is mostly alkaline and helps in making the grease stains easier to be removed and to prevent any unwanted smells from the grease and oil stains. Below is a table of ingredients and its properties.

Ingredient	Primary Functions	Typical Examples
Abrasives	Supply smoothing, scrubbing and/or polishing action	Calcite Feldspar Quartz Sand
Acids	Neutralize or adjust alkalinity of other ingredients	Acetic acid Citric acid Hydrochloric acid Phosphoric acid Sulphuric acid
Alkalis	Neutralize or adjust acidity of other ingredients Make surfactants and builders more efficient Increase alkalinity	Ammonium hydroxide Ethanolamines Sodium carbonate Sodium hydroxide Sodium silicate
Antimicrobial agents	Kill or inhibit growth of microorganisms that cause diseases and/or odour	Pine oil Quaternary ammonium compounds Sodium hypochlorite Triclocarban Triclosan
Antiredeposition agents	Prevent soil from resettling after removal during washing	Carboxymethyl cellulose Polycarbonates Polyethylene glycol Sodium silicate
Chlorine bleach	Also disinfects	Sodium hypochlorite
colourants	Provide special identity to product Provide bluing action	Pigments or dyes
Corrosion inhibitors	Protect metal machine parts and finishes, china patterns and metal utensils	Sodium silicate
Enzymes	Proteins classified by the type of soil they break down to simpler forms for removal by detergent Cellulase reduces pilling and greying of fabrics containing cotton and helps remove particulate soils.	Amylase (starch soils) Lipase (fatty and oily soils) Protease (protein soils) Cellulase
Fabric softening agents	Impart softness and control static electricity in fabrics	Quaternary ammonium compounds
Fluorescent whitening agents	Attach to fabrics to create a whitening or brightening effect when exposed to daylight Also called optical brighteners.	Colourless fluorescing compounds
Fragrances	Mask base odour of ingredients and package Cover odours of soil Provide special identity to product Provide pleasant odour to clothes and rooms	Fragrance blends
Hydrotropes	Prevent liquid products from separating into layers Ensure product homogeneity	Cumene sulphonates Ethyl alcohol Toluene sulphonates Xylene sulphonates
Opacifiers	Reduce transparency or make product opaque Provide a special effect	Polymers Titanium dioxide
Preservatives	Protect against natural effects of product aging (for example, decay, discolouration, oxidation and bacterial attack)	Butylated hydroxytoluene Ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid Glutaraldehyde
Solvents	Prevent separation or deterioration of ingredients in liquid products Dissolve organic soils Clean without leaving residue Solvents used in cleaning products are water soluble	Ethanol Isopropanol Propylene glycol