A human nose has around 400 types of scent receptors. Despite the myth that humans have a bad sense of smell relative to other animals, a 2014 study reported in the journal Science concluded that the human nose can distinguish at least 1 trillion different odors. So it's no surprise that smell influences how we interact with the world and the emotions we associate with people, things, and experiences. In beauty products, fragrance is a key factor in people's attraction to a product. It becomes a part of how they present themselves to the world. But for many people, fragrance has the...

Though we may hear them mentioned frequently, can you actually say with certainty what parabens or phthalates or silicones are? And, furthermore, explain why having them floating around in your personal care products may not always bode well? To break down the how, what, when, where, and why of these frequently used ingredients, we turned to dermatologist and SEEN co-founder Dr. Iris Rubin.

THE SNEAKY PLACE YOU MAY BE BREAKING OUT We’ve heard about acne on your face, your back, your chest, but there’s another area frequently prone to breakouts that just doesn’t get the same attention: your scalp. Yup, true story.

HAIR PRODUCTS LEAVE A TRACE, CHOOSE WISELY. Most people think that when they rinse hair products off in the shower, those products wash down the drain. But what most people don’t realize is that hair products – even the “rinse-off” ones! – also leave a residue behind that is invisible to the eye but still very much there.Leave-in hair styling products, as well as many rinse-off products, by design bind to the hair and leave a residue to give you those gorgeous locks. If 100% of the products rinsed off in the shower, you wouldn’t get the hair benefits you were looking for and would question...

WE'RE NOT JUST ABOUT SINGLE INGREDIENTS. HERE'S WHY. Beauty brands love to tell an ingredient story: usually that means one hero ingredient (oftentimes from a far-flung location) being pushed to the forefront as the magical does-it-all wonder. But while individual ingredients can be powerful, more often it’s the synergy between multiple ingredients that proves truly innovative.

Acne can be a riddle: everyone knows solving it is difficult, but so too is trying to trace back and determine what caused it to begin with. Sometimes, shifting hormones are to blame, but, just as often, the origin of a breakout may not be so clear. And, even, pretty unexpected. Here, a few seemingly innocuous things that may actually be contributing to your acne.

Pores, we may all have them, yet there is still so much confusion about them. Why are some people’s bigger than others? How exactly do they get clogged? And, relatedly, how can I prevent them from getting clogged? Also, can I really shrink their size as so many products claim to do? Here, SEEN’s founder Dr. Iris Rubin helped us put together an essential primer on all things pore related.

Our monthly quick dive into a skin-related micro-topic with SEEN co-founder and derm-in-residence Dr. Iris Rubin. As if experiencing breakouts on your face isn’t exasperating enough, there is also the possibility that your body may suffer the same indignity. And, according to Dr. Iris Rubin, acne on your body happens much the same way it does on the face.

SEEN HERE Meet SEEN co-founder and resident skin whisperer Dr. Iris Rubin. Her main focus may be the health of our skin and hair, but her mission at SEEN is bigger than that: helping everyone feel seen. And with each purchase the brand gives back to be able to do just that.

Our monthly quick dive into a skin-related micro-topic with SEEN co-founder and derm-in-residence Dr. Iris Rubin. Sulfates: you’ve likely heard the word, but do you know what they are and why some brands (SEEN included) steer clear of them? Chemically speaking, a sulfate is a type of surfactant, which are molecular compounds designed to play well with oil and water. In beauty products, sulfates are often the detergent that help to make shampoo suds up or your soap lather. While they’re generally considered safe, the growing wave of sulfate-free products is an indication that the ingredient...