Think #8

Exfoliation

• Kind of a violent sounding word for the simple act of getting rid of dead skin cells. That’s not to say exfoliation doesn’t have intricacies, because it does- but a la Chef Gusteau in Ratatouille, “Anyone can [exfoliate].”
• That begs the question, “Why do I need to exfoliate?” Well, you don’t. Your epidermis sloughs off naturally over time as new skin cells are produced. Exfoliating just speeds up this process. It also helps decrease hyperpigmentation, reduces the risk of acne in people with oily skin, and makes skin smoother and softer overall.
• The first thing to think about with exfoliation is which body part(s) is/are going to be involved. The skin on your face is definitely more delicate than the skin on your legs. You can’t use chemical exfoliants of the same concentration in both spots, at least not when you’re starting out. You also shouldn’t be scrubbing your face as hard as your body unless you’re trying to look like a tomato or prune.
• After you decide where you’re going to exfoliate, you need to pick your method: chemical or physical. Chemical exfoliants are acids or enzymes that dissolve dead skin cells. Physical exfoliants are things like scrubs and brushes that require friction to loosen and remove dead skin cells.
• I think chemical exfoliation is cool and read a lot about it in college, when I had a boatload of acne. There are two main types of acids- alpha hydroxy and beta hydroxy, aka AHAs and BHAs. AHAs are water-soluble; BHAs are fat-soluble. AHAs are good at surface-level exfoliation while BHAs can get into pores and clear trapped sebum. Examples of AHAs are lactic and glycolic acids. The most well-known BHA is salicylic acid, which is a major ingredient in many acne-fighting products.
• There’s a lot more to be said about AHAs in particular, but this is getting way too long so I’ll leave it at that.

Goat milk

• I’ve never had goat milk, only goat cheese. According to sources on Google, though, goat milk is generally thicker and creamier than cow milk. People seem to have differing opinions on taste, with some people saying goat milk is sweeter than cow milk.
• Objectively, goat milk has less lactose and different proportions of caseins (milk proteins) than cow milk. This makes it easier to stomach for those with lactose intolerance and some types of casein allergies.
• Cow milk will always be cheaper than goat milk in the US unless the supply of goats drastically increases in the future.

The Backyardigans

• This was a cartoon on Nick Jr. that came out in 2004. I saw a tweet with one of the show’s characters, prompting this thought.
• There were five main characters: Pablo the penguin, Tyrone the moose, Tasha the hippo, Austin the kangaroo, and Uniqua the unique-looking animal (I thought she looked like a dog). They were called the Backyardigans because they all met up in one of their backyards and came up with a new imaginary adventure each episode.
• The worst character was Tasha. She was bossy and stuck up. Pablo and Uniqua were a hoot. Those two were totally a thing, lowkey.
• The Backyardigans won an Emmy for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program in 2008. Nickelodeon decided to do a reboot in 2024 with a series of music videos. They redesigned the characters’ looks and let me tell you, they are NOT a vibe. Uniqua looks like a worm now. She did not deserve that.