Ask any celebrity or supermodel what they do to look so fabulous all of the time and you will most certainly hear some amazing secret of theirs. Miranda Kerr claims four tablespoons of coconut oil taken by mouth daily keeps her Victoria’s Secret ready at all times. Pippa Middleton told the press that she rinses her hair in cold water to close it’s pores. Does hair even have pores? No. Gisele refuses to use sunscreen because of the “synthetic poison” it contains. What?
Well, non-profit Sense About Science, aims to call out outlandish celebrity health and beauty advice. It’s database of 5,000 scientists, from Nobel prize winners to postdocs and PhD students, work with the media and the public to change the way we understand science and evidence. Basically they take science and help us make sense of it all.
In 2007, Sense about Science launched their Science for Celebrities campaign. Each year they review the odd health and beauty claims that tinsel town makes and have scientists respond to the claims. The hope is that the scientist’s expert perspective will help the celebrity realize where they went wrong and arm the public with the truth behind the claim.
You can read the 2011 Celebrities and Science paper here.
Bottom line? Don’t get your health and beauty advice from people whose expertise is acting, singing, or strutting down the runway. Realize that famous folks have a group of professionals at their beckon call who keep them looking gorgeous. Not to mention great genes.