Welcome to If Ben, the show about how technology is changing our lives and our future.

I'm Shannon Paulus.

Hey, everyone. Welcome to If Ben. We're coming to you from Slate and Future Tense,

a partnership between Slate, Arizona State University, and New America.

We are recording this on the afternoon of Tuesday, July 30th. On today's show, we'll talk about the

science and technology behind skincare products. The world of skincare can be really confusing.

It's basically chemistry wrapped in marketing, beauty standards, and people who hope to take

your money. To help us sort through what actually matters to your face, I'll talk to Victoria

Fu and Gloria Liu. They're co-founders of chemist confessions, which is a blog and Instagram

account that help people understand the science behind skin care products.

After the interview, my colleague Erin Mack will join me for Don't Close My Tabs,

where we'll talk about the best things we saw on the web this week.

That's all coming up on if then.

Now it's time to talk about skincare products and the ingredients that go into them.

If you've ever put even a little thought into picking out a face wash, you know that there are

approximately 1 million products available to do the job. Atop that, there are lotions, masks,

serums. There are products that are sulfate-free, paraben-free. There's stuff that has CBD added to it.

As someone who reports on health and wellness, I find myself asking all the time,

is all of this stuff just marketing bullshit?

There are, in fact, smart people involved in the skincare creation process,

like our two guests today, Victoria Foo and Gloria Liu.

They're co-founders of Chemist Confessions, which includes a blog and Instagram account that

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