Bad Beauty Science

A celeb skincare ad gets called out. Plus: another overhyped fitness study, 'holographic' bike, Ozempic dupes, and more health news.

Updates: 

• I shared my thoughts about Peloton's recent woes—and how the brand’s hype overshadowed its actual market opportunity—with Business Insider:
  Peloton’s Demise Is Another in a Long Line of Fitness Fads

  

 Related: Why Did Lululemon Dump the Mirror?

• I’m excited to speak at QED, the UK’s largest skepticism and pop science conference! Join me in Manchester! INFO

  

• I’ll also be speaking at CSICon in Vegas this fall! Join me, along with Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Timothy Caulfied, and more. INFO

—Rina Raphael

Bad Beauty Science

“I never thought I’d put SPF on bread,” exclaims a chipper Eva Longoria. “But I did.”

In a video released a few weeks ago—but getting attention this week—the actress partnered with L’Oréal Paris to share the importance of sun protection. Longoria—alongside a lab coat-clad expert—slathers SPF on a piece of bread, then pops it into a toaster. When the wet bread doesn’t toast, seemingly unfazed by the heat, Longoria posits it's because of glorious SPF.

But anyone familiar with breakfast chemistry knows this: soggy bread won’t toast. It’s the moisture. Any liquid would prevent toasting. 

“This is the dumbest ad I’ve ever seen,” remarked Food Science Babe in a stitched video. “By this logic, you could put water on that piece of bread and it also wouldn’t toast. But water is not a good SPF.”