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

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

From Tiny Matters by Multitude

May 13, 2026 · 35 min · Episode 109

About this episode

This episode explores the clean beauty industry and its connection to chemophobia and anti-science thinking.

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.  Check out  Wow if True here  or wherever you listen to podcasts! A transcript and references for this episode can be found at  acs.org/tinymatters . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

People in this episode

Guest: Michelle Wong

Topics covered

  • clean beauty
  • cosmetics
  • chemophobia
  • anti-vax
  • science communication

Keywords

  • clean beauty
  • cosmetics
  • chemophobia
  • parabens
  • fragrances
  • anti-vax
  • science communication

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: FDA, Tiny Matters, Multitude, acs.org, Wow if True

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