/oss/taxonomy/term/980/all en /oss/article/health-and-nutrition/fighting-urge-eat-bar-soap <p>There’s something very pleasant about perusing the artisanal soap selection at a home goods store or farmer’s market. With additives like honey and oatmeal, they appeal to the palate as well as to the nose. I know this too well. Each time I find myself putting soap back on the shelf, it’s not only to save $12, but also to fight the urge to make a meal of the bar of soap.</p> Fri, 14 Apr 2023 15:16:07 +0000 Cat Wang, B.Sc. 9477 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking/goat-milk-my-soap-yes-thats-soap-not-soup <p>I have never spent twenty bucks on a bar of soap before. But I just purchased “Dr. Squatch Deep Sea Goat’s Milk” soap. Not because I think there is anything special about it, but because I enjoy cleverness, and the Dr. Squatch promotional videos are indeed clever and funny. I was immediately snared when the video opened with a guy in front of shower curtain decorated with ducks and another one wearing a ducky showercap. </p><p></p> Wed, 30 Nov 2022 20:33:24 +0000 Joe Schwarcz Phd 9309 at /oss /oss/article/history-general-science/worlds-first-commercially-available-laundry-powder <p>It was a scientific breakthrough. Persil, introduced by the German company Henkel in 1907 was the world’s first laundry powder. The name derives from perborate and silicate, two key components in the product. Persil was introduced as an improvement over the action of soap, the traditional cleaning agent first formulated around 1500 BC. Just heat some sort of fat with ashes from a wood fire and you get soap. The ashes supply the alkaline chemicals needed to break down the molecules of fat and convert them into salts of fatty acids which we know as soap.</p> Wed, 27 Jul 2022 19:55:26 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9191 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/washing-your-hair-vancouver-soap-will-work-montreal-it-has-be-shampoo <p>Did you know that in Vancouver you can wash your hair with soap but in Montreal you need shampoo? Why? Because Vancouver water is soft and Montreal water is hard. That makes a big difference when it comes to satisfaction with hair washing. Hard water contains dissolved calcium and magnesium ions which react with soap to form a precipitate. This is the classic “bathtub ring.” The grayish deposit is bad enough on a tub, but you sure don’t want it on the hair. Vancouver has very soft water and soap will suds nicely and will not leave a deposit.</p> Fri, 02 Jul 2021 21:03:43 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8775 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health/no-bleach-isnt-gargling-or-washing-fruit <p> </p> <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in</em><span> </span><a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-no-bleach-isnt-for-gargling-or-washing-fruit/wcm/4e4d08a6-b373-47ba-9446-d7932fd95a5d/">The Montreal Gazette<span>.</span></a></p> Wed, 17 Jun 2020 16:43:01 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 8294 at /oss /oss/article/videos/covid-19-and-more-conversations-mcgill-oss <p></p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-1"></div> Thu, 02 Apr 2020 22:03:16 +0000 OSS 8206 at /oss /oss/article/health-videos/right-chemistry-wash-your-hands <p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-2"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" id="media-youtube-p-1qn1czu1u" width="640" height="390" title="Dr. Joe Schwarcz: Wash your hands!" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/P_1qn1cZU1U?wmode=opaque&controls=&enablejsapi=1&modestbranding=1&playerapiid=media-youtube-p-1qn1czu1u&origin=https%3A//www.mcgill.ca&rel=0" name="Dr. Joe Schwarcz: Wash your hands!" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>Video of Dr. Joe Schwarcz: Wash your hands!</iframe> </div> </p> Fri, 20 Mar 2020 21:18:16 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8190 at /oss /oss/article/general-science-you-asked/kosher-soap-unsafe-because-it-contains-lye <hr /> <p><em>Shira Cohen is studying Nutrition at the School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition at ���ϲ����� University, specializing in Global Nutrition. </em></p> Thu, 22 Aug 2019 19:17:15 +0000 Shira Cohen, Student Contributor 7880 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-health/why-does-orange-taste-so-horrible-after-brushing-my-teeth <p>If you have ever taken a good look at the back of a tube of toothpaste during those long two minutes of recommended brushing time, you may have noticed sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) and sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) listed as ingredients. Both of these are usually listed as a duo and are responsible for that bitter yucky taste that comes about when biting an orange after tooth brushing. Oranges contain a fair bit of citric acid, which has both a bitter and sour taste. For some reason, these compounds enhance the bitter taste and leaves the sour taste unaffected.</p> Thu, 06 Jun 2019 16:00:00 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7788 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-health/under-microscope-hair <p><img height="2744" width="2744" style="width: 600px; height: 600px;" class="file-original " src="/oss/files/oss/img_4678_edited.jpg" alt="" /></p> <p><img height="2759" width="2759" style="width: 600px; height: 600px;" class="file-original " src="/oss/files/oss/img_9736_done_0.jpg" alt="" /></p> <p><img height="2790" width="2790" style="width: 600px; height: 600px;" class="file-original " src="/oss/files/oss/img_1911_done.jpg" alt="" /></p> Mon, 13 May 2019 17:46:07 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. and Joe Schwarcz PhD 7757 at /oss /oss/article/you-asked/should-we-be-anti-all-anti-microbial-products <p>We received a question about antibacterial soaps, namely why should or shouldn’t we be using them? And if we’re supposed to avoid antibacterial soap, why is Purell, an antimicrobial agent, allowed?</p> Thu, 08 Feb 2018 15:29:04 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 6919 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-general-science/sulfates-shampoo <p><span>As someone who likes to routinely dye my hair bright pinks, blues and purples, I’m often told by my hairdresser to use sulfate free shampoos. He often talks to me about how multiple bleachings and dying's will leave my hair damaged and brittle, and how sulfate free shampoo will be gentler, both on my damaged hair and on the colour. It seems like every time I take a shower it occurs to me to look into why that is, and whether or not it’s true, but somehow by the time I’m dry, dressed and sitting at the computer I’ve forgotten again.</span></p> Tue, 27 Jun 2017 18:03:56 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 2558 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-health-household-products-news-quirky-science/marketing-appears-trump-science-antibacterials <p>Store shelves these days sag under the weight of antibacterial soaps, cosmetics, socks, toys and even garbage bags. There’s no question that “antibacterial” on a label increases sales, but there are plenty of questions about the wisdom of impregnating everything in sight with compounds that kill bacteria indiscriminately.</p> <p>Triclosan has been the hot antibacterial ingredient in household products for about four decades. But it is now itself feeling the heat, due to concern about endocrine disruption, the promotion of antibiotic resistance and effects on aquatic ecosystems.</p> Thu, 24 Jul 2014 11:24:08 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2172 at /oss /oss/article/environment-history-household-products-quirky-science/beginning-there-waspersil <p>The world’s first commercially available laundry powder was Persil, introduced by the German company Henkel in 1907. The name derived from perborate and silicate, two key components in the product. Persil was introduced as an improvement over the action of soap, the traditional cleaning agent first formulated around 1500 BC. Just heat some sort of fat with ashes from a wood fire and you get soap. The ashes supply the alkaline chemicals needed to break down the molecules of fat and convert them into salts of fatty acids which we know as soap.</p> Fri, 25 Jul 2014 09:28:29 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2173 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-health-quackery/new-use-soap <p>On my radio show today the story of putting a bar of soap under the sheet to cure leg cramps came up again. When science leaves a void, as it does with the treatment of leg cramps, unconventional therapies rush in to fill it. Just take a bar of soap, some say it has to be Ivory, place it on the mattress under the sheet and ...pleasant dreams! There are testimonials galore from people who say they thought it was a ridiculous notion, but they decided to try it anyway out of desperation, and it worked! Anecdotes are scientifically meaningless, and the plural of anecdote is not data.</p> Tue, 12 Aug 2014 00:08:29 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2179 at /oss