October 29, 2008

Hey Burt’s Bees, Who’re You Callin’ Ugly?

Posted by Carmen Drahl on October 29, 2008 in Chemistry is Everywhere

Recently, I’ve seen a series of ads run by health and beauty products company Burt’s Bees in various fashion magazines. Based on a quick check of the web (see here or here, for instance), it has certainly accomplished what it set out to do–to get people talking about Burt’s Bees stuff. But one of the statements in those ads is unfair, and I hope I don’t find more like it.

Burt’s Bees says it designed the ad campaign as a way to encourage consumers to learn about the ingredients in beauty products and to discern what is truly natural and renewable from what isn’t.

What irks me about the ad I’ve shown is one of the supposed cons of DMDM hydantoin, a preservative used in moisturizers and other beauty products. “Short for 1,3-Dimethylol-5,5-Dimethyl Hydantoin, its uglier name.”

Now, I’m all for describing the pros and cons of the products that come out of chemistry labs. Products developed with the best of intentions have turned out to have dire consequences (see, for example, thalidomide). I agree with most of the ad’s content–for instance, formaldehyde is, in fact, a suspected carcinogen. But calling a chemical’s scientific name ugly, and then inferring that that’s somehow a suspicious aspect of an ingredient, is hitting below the belt. (more…)

Posted in Chemistry is Everywhere | 10 Comments »