135 - What I'm Reading: Week of March 8th
Benzene in acne products, a supplement for post birth control use, France enshrines abortion rights, OTC birth control & continuous glucose monitors access, the end of teen subculture & more...
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⭐️ = What excites me most this week.
🗞 NEWS & PRODUCTS
⭐️ 🚨 Valisure, the New Haven based lab previously known for exposing high levels of benzene in aerosol based dry shampoo & sunscreen, now has found high levels of benzene in certain acne products caused by a breakdown in benzoyl peroxide (a common acne fighting ingredient). Proactive, Clearsil, Target’s Up & Up, Clinique and a Walgreens product were all named. While this is alarming, experts in the space have pointed out the methods used by Valisure to conduct this testing are well outside of the standards required for OTC (over the counter) products that are already highly regulated. Products were tested at room temperature (they don’t share this data) and then put under accelerated stability testing where products were held at a temperature of 122°F for 18 days - which is not representative of a real world or in real time scenario. Experts in the space are already commenting on the unorthodox testing methods, suggesting the results should be examined more critically. Aside from the ultra-high temperatures, I do find it odd Valisure is not testing from different lot numbers or multiple samples of the same product…it all feels a bit off, especially when making such strong and potentially damaging claims. If you want to see a great breakdown of why this is fear mongering and cherry picking at its best I suggest you watch this video by Dr. Michelle Wong - aka LabMuffin - one of the best in the business.
Axios: Worldwide obesity tops 1 billion.
⭐️ The New York Times Magazine: Teen subcultures are fading. Pity the poor kids.
Just for fun:
🧴 Skin / Personal Care:
Phylis - a clinically ‘driven’ skincare brand made with a minimal footprint [Instagram].
RMÈD - a skincare line from GoodSkin, an aesthetic clinic, to round out a face routine [Instagram].
Credo beauty relaunched the Follain product line - with a more sustainable positioning. Credo acquired Follain in 2022 [Glossy].
Blended - body products designed for melanated skin with products that address discoloration, dry skin, and overall wellness [Instagram; Beauty Independent].
BeTween - aloe based skincare for tweens not ready for acne care [Instagram].
Fast Company: Why we’re willing to spend more on beauty products than ever before. Brands such as Westman Atelier are a case study on why consumers are increasingly willing to splurge on makeup.
sdafkjdsofjds💊 Supplements:
⭐️ Turn-Health - a hormonal health startup launched its first product, Birth Control Cleanse, a supplement meant to support women going off birth-control and ‘rebalance your hormones’. I do wonder how long someone would take this post use [Instagram; Beauty Independent].
👩🔬 Femtech:
⭐️ NYT: CVS and Walgreens will begin selling abortion pills this month.
⭐️ 🇫🇷 BBC: Why Macron hopes abortion rights are a political winner.
TheNextWeb: How femtech is closing the gender gap in health data.
🛍 Retail: DTC, Brick + Mortar, Social Commerce, and more...
JLO Beauty is exiting Sephora - retail is hard…beauty is competitive, being a big name celeb does not equal success in this sector.
TechCrunch: Target to launch its own version of Amazon Prime, starting at $49/year.
🩺 Digital Health: Wearables, Smart Devices, and more...
⭐️ The Dexcom Stelo is the first FDA approved over the counter continuous glucose monitor (CGM), it is explicitly not to be used by those with diabetes, using insulin, or for monitoring low-blood sugar.
National Geographic: What is cortisol—and should you actually be worried about it?
Fast Company: New studies reveal what COVID-19 can do to your brain.
MIT Technology Review: Organoids made from amniotic fluid will tell us how fetuses develop — The new technique lets researchers “access the fetus without touching the fetus” and could help spot certain conditions earlier.
🗣 Social Media: News about TikTok, Meta, BeReal, Snapchat, X...
♻️ Sustainability: Sustainable Design
CNN: Man charged with smuggling greenhouse gases from Mexico into US in first-of-a-kind prosecution.
💸 M&A, IPOs, SPACs, Bankruptcies, Closings...
Fashion United: Clinical Skin acquires skincare brand Glytone.
Galderma, parent company of Cetaphil, is planning its IPO.
🔬RESEARCH
🫀 Nature: Landmark study links microplastics to serious health problems. People who had tiny plastic particles lodged in a key blood vessel were more likely to experience heart attack, stroke or death during a three-year study.
🦷 A study found silver diamine fluoride (SDM), an inexpensive alternative to tooth sealants for preventing cavities - a scalable and affordable alternative to more expensive sealants.
🧐 REPORTS
🐕 The Hustle: Tail-wagging trends: what’s next for the pet food industry.
🇨🇳 Daxue Consulting: Pinduoduo’s trailblazing expansion and challenges in international markets.
⭐️ McKinsey: An update on US consumer sentiment: Consumers see a brighter future ahead.
🇨🇳 ChinaSkinny: Major changes in consumption patterns for 2024 Chinese New Year Spring Festival.
💡 Enjoy,
-Anne