Stay Calm and Grow A Mustache

Supporting Movember to raise awareness to men's health issues!

Burning Love

Wow - I guess it's been a while since I've posted.  I ran across this discussion the other day and thought it was pertinent to share:

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles have been used increasingly in sunscreens in the last decade to protect the skin because the tiny particles directly absorb the radiation from sunlight, especially in the UVB range. But because the articles are so tiny — generally about 100 nanometers across, compared with about 3,000 to 9,000 nanometers for a speck of dust — some scientists have raised concerns about whether they might do harm by seeping through the skin and into the bloodstream.

Concerns grew when studies in mice showed that when injected under the skin, titanium dioxide caused inflammation . In addition, the International Agency on Cancer Research, part of the World Health Organization, decided in 2006 to classify titanium dioxide as a potential human carcinogen, based mostly on inhalation studies in animals, though the group called the evidence “conflicting at best.”

But research has largely dismissed such concerns about absorption, and most experts say that sunscreens containing nanoparticles can be safely used.

More recently, concerns have focused on the possibility that these nanoparticles could promote skin aging. Nanoparticles tend to heat up a little when they absorb UV radiation, says Paul Westerhoff, a professor at Arizona State University’s School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, and some research suggests that this process could cause oxidative damage to the skin, particularly with one form, called anatase, when it was delivered in uncoated particles.

Dr. Westerhoff says most manufacturers now coat the nanoparticles with silicon or aluminum as a buffer against such harm and as a way to increase light absorption. But, researchers say, there’s some evidence that those coatings can break down over days or weeks, which may be an issue for sunscreens stored too long.

“I’m not saying that titanium dioxide is bad,” Dr. Westerhoff said. But he noted recently in Environmental Science and Technology that the products have not been thoroughly studied and are minimally regulated. The only Food and Drug Administration rule for sunscreens is that the titanium dioxide concentration be less than 25 percent (most are 2 percent to 15 percent). “I’m just saying we need to figure out if we should worry.”

Brrrrrrrrrr

It's not quite 127 degrees below zero, but 15 degrees below zero is dangerously cold.  Luckily we have lip balms to help keep our lips from getting too chap in this second round of "polar vortex" weather.  We can supply your business with a variety of lip balms that you can hand out to customers...they will think of you everytime they use the lip balm....hmmmm, that's better than a business card!

When Pig's Fly...

The was a story on NPR's Marketplace program yesterday regarding popular pork dishes in New York that are utilizing unusual parts of pigs.  An except from the story follows: 
"While the supply of pigs might be shrinking, demand for pork has been flying high. "Bacon has been a very big food trend," says brand consultant Debra Kaye, author of Red Thread Thinking. Kaye says our cultural tastes have evolved and we are embracing bacon like never before. "We started to see that sweet, smoky, salty could go together... and what is better salty and smoky than bacon? And that's where it really started to take off."
Case in point: bacon donuts, bacon cocktails, bacon chocolates, bacon-flavored vodka, bacon ice cream, bacon lip balm...
All this new demand + low supply = the price of pork goes up..."

Bacon lip balm caught our eye...and yes, we are guilty...We've made numerous orders of bacon flavored lip balm....

Jump Around...

Our lip balms are traveling again.  We made an appearance at the Capital One Bowl in Orlando.  Unfortunately a resounding "Jump Around" rendition between the third and fourth quarters wasn't enough to help our Badgers on to victory.  At least the weather was nicer in Florida than Wisconsin!