The Eco Well podcast

A roundtable discussion follow up on the CHOICE SPF testing scandal - a response to some bad takes I've seen circulating on social media about how the brands involved aren't responsible, and that the responsibility lies entirely with the testing lab that was committing fraud. Unfortunate and unpopular truth: that's not how that works. This discussion featured Dr Rania Ibrahim PhD, coming at it from the clinical testing expert POV, and Avril Love, from the legal and regulatory POV. If you are a brand, this episode is probably an important one for you to tune into to understand what your responsibilities are, and how you can carry them out. For consumers, the takeaways of this convo would be super helpful in learning how to find trustworthy brands. This episode was almost entirely led by audience questions - thank you to everyone who submitted thoughtful prompts and comments! Interested in supporting the podcast? Please share, subscribe and write a review! If it's accessible, we also have a Patreon which you can find at patreon.com/theecowell

How does bad science get published, and why does it matter? This week's conversation with Dr. James Heathers PhD dives into the cracks in our scientific publishing system, the rise of research fraud, and the ripple effects of flawed evidence. If you've ever wondered how misinformation travels through "peer-reviewed" channels, this episode offers a candid look behind the scenes. Interested in supporting the podcast? Please share, subscribe and write a review! If it's accessible, we also have a Patreon which you can find at patreon.com/theecowell

Quality control might not be the flashiest topic in beauty, but it is one of the most important. In this episode, I'm joined by industry expert Geoff Waby for a deep dive into what really goes on behind the scenes to make sure products are safe, stable, and consistent. We unpack what happens when things go wrong, where brand responsibility begins and ends, the unique challenges of refillable products, how consumer use plays into the equation and more! If you've ever wondered what "quality" actually means in beauty, or taken it for granted, this episode will change that. Interested in supporting the podcast? Please share, subscribe and write a review! If it's accessible, we also have a Patreon which you can find at patreon.com/theecowell

In this episode, we dive deep into the complex and often misunderstood world of endocrine disruption with toxicologist, pharmacologist and endocrine disruption researcher, Chris Borgert PhD. We unpack how the science has evolved, what we actually know about real-world risks, and how public fear has outpaced scientific consensus. From moral panics around masculinity and fertility to the rise of science sensationalism and skewed research incentives, this conversation explores how a nuanced scientific topic became a cultural flashpoint.

There are so many new trendy ingredients - from exosomes to PDMR, peptides to tranexamic acid… But do they actually work? In my first episode of the season, I thought it would be fun to kick things off with an ingredient trends vs science conversation, featuring PhD candidate and cosmetic scientist, Lanesa Mahon. What works, what's over hyped, and what even is "science based"? We explored all that and more! Interested in supporting the podcast? Please share, subscribe and write a review! If it's accessible, we also have a Patreon which you can find at patreon.com/theecowell

Last week I moderated the Truth in Beauty Panel, Surfactants Edition, at the 15th ICIS World Surfactants Conference, brought to you by the Independent Beauty Association. This episode features that conversation! How has misinformation impacted the surfactants sector? Disclaimer - surfactants are chemicals that are fundamental for much of what we have become accustomed to societally, from transportation to infrastructure and more. In cosmetics, they enable many of the different product formats, such as lotions and cleansing products. The panel included Dennis Abbeduto from Colonial Chemical, Claire Mcgahan from Stepan Company and Women in Chemicals, and Neil Burns, who put on the conference with ICIS. Big thank you to Colonial Chemical for sponsoring IBA to help make this conversation happen! Disclaimer, we had some recording challenges at the conference so this was a re-record - for those in attendance, worth a second listen since we covered a bit more! Interested in supporting the podcast? Please share, subscribe and write a review! If it's accessible, we also have a Patreon which you can find at patreon.com/theecowell

This episode features a deep dive into the topic of greenwashing, featuring greenwashing researcher, Dr Wren Montgomery PhD. We get into the different forms of greenwashing, greenwashing specific to cosmetics, its impacts, how brands can avoid making greenwashed claims, how consumers can navigate green claims, and more. Interested in supporting the podcast? Please share, subscribe and write a review! If it's accessible, we also have a Patreon which you can find at patreon.com/theecowell

Beauty myths multiply! My latest podcast episode features OG beauty myth buster, Michelle Wong PhD, aka @labmuffinbeautyscience. What's the latest trending beauty misinformation, where is it coming from, how is it growing and how does it impact both consumers and the beauty sector writ large. Probably not great - probably important for the industry to get behind addressing. We also dive into the importance of scicomm, current barriers for good independent scicomm - from the fact that so many of us do it for no pay on top of full-time jobs, how it impacts us personally when we debunk, to the rampant issues of plagiarism that adds to scicomm burnout. And what can be done from the beauty sector to better support independent beauty scicomm. Interested in supporting the podcast? Please share, subscribe and write a review! If it's accessible, we also have a Patreon which you can find at patreon.com/theecowell