Mini-Ep 485: Judge Not By Smell?
Doree and Elise hear from listeners about their shampoo bar recs, what to do when your soft pants start to pill, and when to replace your Vitamin C serum. They also take on a tough existential question, so stick around.
Mentioned in this Episode
To leave a voicemail or text for a future episode, reach them at 781-591-0390. You can also email the podcast at forever35podcast@gmail.com.
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Transcript
This episode transcript is AI generated.
Doree Shafrir (00:10):
Hello and welcome to Forever 35, a podcast about the things we do to take care of ourselves. I'm Doree Shafrir.
Elise Yu (00:16):
And I'm Elise Yu, and we're just two friends who like to talk a lot about serums.
Doree Shafrir (00:20):
And this is a mini episode where we hear from you, we share your comments and your thoughts, and we answer your questions to the best of our ability. But please remember, we are not experts. We are podcast hosts, and we always encourage you to seek support first and foremost from a medical and/or mental health professional as needed.
Elise Yu (00:37):
Speaking of medical professionals.
Doree Shafrir (00:39):
Yes.
Elise Yu (00:40):
While we aren't medical professionals, we have had some various ailments. And I have to say, after talking about having my nagging cough over the last couple of weeks, I've gotten really nice messages from folks. And one of them is about making sure that I get the pseudophedrine cough medicine, or not cough medicine, cold medicine. The good stuff. Is only behind the counter. Yeah. There's all this research that the other kind, the kind that's not behind the counter is largely ineffective. And you've really got to just go ahead and show your ID and get it from behind the counter because of that one ingredient that they have banned in stores without showing your ID, because it was being used to make meth back in large quantities. I remember when Breaking Bad first came out, I was like, "Could you really make meth in your bathtub? Is it that easy to make meth?"
Doree Shafrir (01:38):
I feel like it is that easy.
Elise Yu (01:40):
That's wild.
Doree Shafrir (01:43):
I mean, I don't know this from personal experience. I have not tried to make meth in my bathtub, but given the numbers of people who seem to have made meth in their bathtub-
Elise Yu (01:54):
Successfully. At least the local news certainly made us feel that way. Right.
Doree Shafrir (02:01):
Exactly. Well, I'm glad you are on the mend.
Elise Yu (02:05):
Yeah, I feel a little better. I certainly-
Doree Shafrir (02:09):
Actually, I'll just read this now because we did get a text about your cough.
Elise Yu (02:14):
Oh, that's very
Doree Shafrir (02:15):
Nice. A listener wrote, "Hi, Elise. Have you tried fishermen's friend cough drops for your cough? They actually numb your throat and prevent coughing. Also, you've probably already tried this, but have you tried sleeping on what I call a pillow mountain? It's a stack of pillows to elevate your head and drain your sinuses. I'm sorry you've been so uncomfortable at night. I'm not a medical professional, but I am the mother of a toddler who gets everyone sick all the time, so maybe I am an
Elise Yu (02:42):
Expert." I haven't heard of the fisherman's friend cough drops, but I will write that down and take that recommendation. It does feel nice to have a lossange. I've just been using the Recola.
Doree Shafrir (02:55):
Love a Ricola.
Elise Yu (02:56):
Yeah. And yeah, it has the menthol middle inside and I like that, but fisherman's friend. Okay. I'll give it a shot. And then I tried to make a makeshift pillow mountain, but I was having such a dry cough that I don't know that draining any ... There wasn't much to drain. It was really more of like a croop type cough situation. But anyway, it's much better. Good. I'm on the other side of it. Knock on wood. And thank you for your suggestions.
Doree Shafrir (03:28):
Well, is there anything else going on that you want to mention before we get to some listener voicemails and texts and emails and such?
Elise Yu (03:39):
Well, you and I have been DMing about this, but as you know, I went on that Blue Air retreat for Blue Air, the Air Purifier Company. I think maybe the number one air purifier company in the world. It's so big. We have a
Doree Shafrir (03:54):
Couple of blue airs actually.
Elise Yu (03:56):
Oh, good. Good. Because it's the official air purifier of the New York Knicks now.
Doree Shafrir (04:04):
Oh.
Elise Yu (04:04):
And it has long and more than a decade has been the official air purifier or the only air purifier brand that the US State Department uses. So all the embassies around the world use blue air. And recently they've wanted to make a push into the US market and got Jessica Pagula, major WTA tennis pro to be their sort of spokeswoman here. And they were hosting a tennis retreat a couple weeks ago, for those of y'all who didn't hear about this. And I went because somebody dropped out, like some tennis influencer dropped out. Little did I know that this brand was making content the entire time. They had hired a photographer who specializes in shooting on film. So no idea. The film had to be developed before we knew what he shot.
Doree Shafrir (04:57):
Oh, right.
Elise Yu (04:59):
Right. There was this whole time, couldn't have seen it immediately. So now almost two weeks later, it's been a week and a half since we've gotten back. Almost two weeks later, Blue Air put some of the film photos on its official Instagram account. And what does this carousel include? A shot of group yoga. The class, the influencer class, the cohort outside on the side of a tennis court, beautiful day under the sun doing yoga, but in like cat cow position. And whose ass is in the air? Closest to the camera. Yours, truly. You can imagine my shock when I got that Instagram tag notification. So I don't think any of us are quite identifiable. I mean, I could recognize me. But that happened. That happened. This is what happens, I suppose. If you agree to the terms of a content creator situation, you're agreeing.
Doree Shafrir (06:09):
Next so you know, your butt in the air is all over Instagram.
Elise Yu (06:14):
That is correct.
Doree Shafrir (06:16):
Wow.
Elise Yu (06:17):
Well, I hope the brand is happy with the results of that special, special time out in the desert. I mean, I'm very happy to have gone. It's just I was a little taken aback. Who knew? Who knew? At some point they took portraits of us. They had like a seamless backdrop and a photographer out there and we never saw the portraits. So I would have liked to see that where it's like my face and my front rather than my back. But you live, you learn. It's cool.
Doree Shafrir (06:50):
Wow. Okay.
Elise Yu (06:51):
Moving on. Yes.
Doree Shafrir (06:54):
Well, before we get to all of our listener stuff, I just want to put in a little plug for our live casual chat.
Elise Yu (07:04):
Yeah.
Doree Shafrir (07:05):
Which will be on April 8th at 1:30 PM Pacific, 4:30 PM Eastern. And that is for our paid Patreon subscribers. So if you want to get in on the live casual chat, we kind of just do it as like a Q&A format. People are asking us questions in real time in the chat and then we're doing like our regular casual chat stuff. And last time it went a little longer than like our typical casual chat. So it's a fun little thing that we're doing quarterly for our Patreon subscribers. And you can subscribe at patreon.com/freber35. You also get our regular casual chats, our weekly casual chats on the Patreon. So that's like a fun bonus episode. We also have our monthly pop culture recommendation episodes. You can also get ad free episodes at the $10 level and you get a shout out on the podcast each month as a little thank you.
(08:01):
So head on over to patreon.com/trebr35. And you can also just think of it as like you're just paying $5 to see our live show essentially. Yeah, you can think
Elise Yu (08:11):
Of it that way too. Yep.
Doree Shafrir (08:13):
And I want to play a voicemail before we take a little break.
Elise Yu (08:16):
Great.
Doree Shafrir (08:17):
A perennial topic on this show, which is Micro Joys.
Doree Shafrir (08:21):
Hello, Forever 35. I am calling from Rhode Island. It's Nora, your unofficial education correspondent. And I don't know if you all are still collecting or featuring micro joys, but one that I have found to be really uplifting and lovely this late winter into spring is I got little cups of caterpillars. I just ordered them online. It was like 50 bucks and I got 10 and now they have turned into butterflies. I got to watch like the whole cycle of them going into their cocoon and then coming out. And I am a teacher, so I've been bringing them to my classroom during the week and the kids are like all obsessed with them. It's been very, very cold here and super snowy. So they're heading towards the end of their time and I'm just hoping it's warm enough next week that I can take a bunch of my kids out and like release them outside, but anyone could do this and I got it.
(09:38):
I think it was meant to be like a homeschool kit. So if you have kids, I think this would be like a really nice thing to do with them. Butterflies are so pretty. They're so easy to take care of and I'm just really loving it. So I hope y'all are well. And I know it's always a horrible time here in America, but it does help to have small hopeful things. So take care. Bye.
Elise Yu (10:05):
This reminds me of Eleanor Cleghorn, how she's like, "The horrors persist, but I have my little crafts." So the horrors persists, but you have your little caterpillars.
Doree Shafrir (10:14):
You have your butterflies. Yes, exactly. All right. Well, before we take a break, just a reminder that our voicemail number is 781-591-0390 and our email is forever35podcast@gmail.com. Our website is forever35podcast.com. We have links there to everything we mentioned on the show. We are on Instagram @Feber35podcast and our favorite products are at shopmy.us/forever35. And after the break, we have a lot of shampoo bar advice. Shampoo
Elise Yu (10:46):
Bars.
Doree Shafrir (10:47):
Saying to Elise, I feel like shampoo bars are the new dish towels, like the thing that- People really respond to. Surprisingly, people have a lot of opinions about. So yeah, so we'll take a break. And just as a little reminder, our sponsors help keep this show free. Stick
Elise Yu (11:05):
With us.
Doree Shafrir (11:05):
Stick with us. Thank you. We'll be right back. All right. We are back. And Elise, you want to read our first text?
Elise Yu (11:20):
Sure. Happy to. I wanted to share some shampoo bar advice. I don't have a brand recommendation. I think you should shop based on your hair type and specific needs. My advice is on the technique. So your hair is as soft with liquid products. I find that the bar can tangle, even damage your hair if you rub the bar directly on your hair/scalp. It's very important to lather the bar in your hands with water for a good while and then use your hands to wash your hair as normal. I learned the hard way, but have otherwise found the switch to be an easy one. Love the pod. Thanks, Emily. Thank you, Emily. Good reminder. I think I've yet to try a shampoo bar, but I'm exactly like that. I would probably just put it straight to my head and then rip my hair out. Same. Yeah.
Doree Shafrir (12:05):
I would be like-
Elise Yu (12:06):
Hey, why am I shedding? Yeah.
Doree Shafrir (12:08):
Right. I would not have thought to lather the bar in my hands first. Oops. Okay. We also have a voicemail about shampoo bars.
Listener Voicemail (12:22):
Hi, Doree and Elise. This is Tuesday from St. Paul, Minnesota. I'm calling in response to the person who called about shampoo bars. So I've gone on, I guess, like a low waste or zero waste journey for myself to reduce my plastic, and I've used shampoo bars. So highly recommend the brand called Highbar, just H-I-B-A-R. But there's also other brands like Dapinas has a bar, Kitch, or Esseq. Highbar especially is made with the environment in mind. So all their packaging is great, and I think they now do deodorant and face wash as well. But yeah, those are great brands. For extra haircare, I like to do a hair mask once a week. That's just unfortunately from a regular plastic container. I use Moroccan oil brands and that is not in paper. It's in a plastic container, but I feel like it's still making a difference. So yeah, highly recommend those brands.
(13:22):
And also just make sure whatever bar you are buying doesn't come wrapped in plastic. Some shampoo bar brands wrap them in plastic and then put them in a cardboard box, which is totally unnecessary and annoying in my opinion. Anyway, good luck. Thank you.
Elise Yu (13:36):
Bye. Thank you. Thank you.
Listener Voicemail (13:37):
Okay.
Elise Yu (13:38):
I heard a lot of those brands in the previous episodes too, like the Atheiq and the Kitch. So it sounds like there is some coalescing around certain shampoo bars.
Doree Shafrir (13:49):
Yes. And in fact, our project manager, Sammy, not to be confused with our producer, Sammy, she said that she was influenced. She has curly hair and she is going to buy one of the atheic curly shampoo bars.
Elise Yu (14:05):
Cool. Yeah. Good.
Doree Shafrir (14:06):
So nicely done. Listeners.
Elise Yu (14:09):
We've been influenced.
Doree Shafrir (14:10):
Yes. Another text. This is for the person looking for bar shampoo. I did allergy testing last year and learned I'm allergic to an ingredient in soaps and shampoos. I've switched to the Earthling Co shampoo and conditioner bars and haven't looked back. I think they clean great. My hair feels and looks good and my skin is so much happier. Also less liquid when traveling. Thank you for the show. You ladies are the best.
Elise Yu (14:37):
You're welcome. And thank you for the suggestion.
Doree Shafrir (14:39):
Yes. These are great. These are all great suggestions. Someone else recommended the Earthling Co. And said there are a variety of scents to choose from. I love the citrus and mint ones. My hot tip is to get the unscented conditioner bar as it lasts longer than the shampoo, so you can use it with any shampoo bar. They have regular sales and have good bundle options as well. I have shoulder length, fine hair. I feel like it has helped with hair strength. I'm 42 and have noticed some thinning. The bars run about $15 and seem to last a long time. Also easy to travel with, no liquids. The body soap bars are nice too. Love the show. Been a regular listener since 2019, and it's a bright spot in my week. Oh, thank you. And that is from Allison in Vancouver, Washington.
Elise Yu (15:28):
Thanks, Alison.
Doree Shafrir (15:29):
That is so nice. So many good tips. And then we also got a voicemail with a different perspective on shampoo.
Elise Yu (15:39):
All right, let's hear it.
Listener Voicemail (15:40):
Hey, I'm calling in response to the person asking for. I just want to offer a different opinion. I also respect wanting to reduce your plastic waste. Don't get me wrong, even though I blame the corporations over the individuals, but that's another topic. If possible, what I would recommend, if the shampoo that you like offers a bigger bottle, like if they sell it in bulk, that's a great way to reduce plastic. I mean, it's still being used, but it's helpful. For example, I use the brand Obida, O-U-I-D-A-D, and they have a giant 33 ounce size bottle or something and I write the date on it so I can see how long it lasts. I have a bottle, the shampoo is coming up on one year old and I'm just replacing it now for the first time. I also only wash my hair two to three times per week.
(16:42):
So those are my thoughts. Maybe you can try to reduce plastic elsewhere. I don't know your coffee habits or shopping habits, but maybe there's an easier place for you to reduce. All right, that's my exact size. I
Doree Shafrir (16:57):
Like this perspective.
Elise Yu (16:58):
Yeah. I mean, it's sort of like carbon credits, right? If you're going to use more in one place, you can cut back in others.
Doree Shafrir (17:05):
Totally. Totally. And then the previous text brought up traveling. It's easier to travel with shampoo bars because they're not liquids, but we also got a text about travel size stuff because that had been something that another listener had written in about. And this person said, highly recommend the travel size Nalgene bottles and jars for liquids. They have them at the container store and are two to $3 each. They're made of a more durable plastic than the cheaper ones from Target and they've never leaked on me in 10 years. I did not even know Nalgene made travel size stuff.
Elise Yu (17:40):
Did you? Oh, I didn't either. I'm such a devotee of the muji. I use a lot of muji travel stuff. So I had no idea, but I do love the container store and it's very soothing to go to a container store and just see all of the ways to organize and get organized. I end up not shopping there that often. I think I go there to window shop because I don't want to buy more plastic to organize my current stuff. So I try to reduce even getting too much extra organization, but
Doree Shafrir (18:17):
I
Elise Yu (18:18):
Like going to the store. It's the same reason I like it, my TikTok algorithm, sending me the restocking videos. I get a lot of restocking on my TikTok and it's just like somebody stocking their fridge with snacks or somebody stocking their fridge with drinks. I like it. It's really soothing for some reason. It's like my ASMR.
Doree Shafrir (18:39):
I love that. Okay. Well, we're going to take another short break. And when we get back, we have an FYI about vitamin C because this came up recently where a listener was wondering if her vitamin C was still good to use.
Elise Yu (18:59):
After it smelled like soy sauce.
Doree Shafrir (19:01):
Yes.
Elise Yu (19:02):
We said toss it. We said
Doree Shafrir (19:04):
Toss it. We said no. All right. We will be right back. Okay. We are back and here is the voicemail.
Listener Voicemail (19:21):
Hey, Doree and Elise. I have a response to the caller about the vitamin C serum. So chemist confessions, the two ladies that you've had on the podcast before, they used to be skincare chemists at L'Oreal. They are experts on the color and smell of vitamin C. I love them for it. You can actually take a picture of the color of your own vitamin C and send it to them on Instagram and they'll let you know if you should check it or not. Anyway, all vitamin C serums, the ones that are like separuic acid from Skinceuticals and such, yes, they are all going to smell like ... They call it like hot dog water. That's just the way it is. So yeah, the smell is fine. The color can get amber to a dark amber, they say, but straight up brown, I would toss it. So I hope that helps.
Elise Yu (20:14):
Oh, so you can just send a photo to the chemist confessions on Instagram and find out. I love that. So judge by color. So according to this color and the chemists, and you're supposed to judge by color, not judge by smell because the smell could potentially smell like salty hot dog water. I just don't want to put that smell on my face. I know. To say nothing of whether the vitamin C is effective.
Doree Shafrir (20:41):
I know.
Elise Yu (20:42):
I don't want my face to smell salty. Stinky.
Doree Shafrir (20:45):
Sometimes it's really stinky.
Elise Yu (20:47):
Yeah. And this is why I must put in a plug again for my Soul Wasou First Care Activating Serum or whatever it's called because it's got this nice citrusy scent as well. It's very, very light and subtle.
Doree Shafrir (21:04):
Okay.
Elise Yu (21:04):
So not only does it feel good to put this serum on your face, but also smells nice.
Doree Shafrir (21:09):
Great. Okay. I
Elise Yu (21:10):
Really dig it.
Doree Shafrir (21:11):
And then we also got a voicemail about sunscreen. This is the same listener.
Listener Voicemail (21:16):
Oh, one more thing. I also wanted to respond to her sunscreen question. So according to chemist confessions also, the best sunscreen is the sunscreen you use. So if you like and love and enjoy putting on and the texture of the bare minerals, then stick with it. If that's something you do every morning, stick with it. Texture, they always say texture is cane. So if you like it, use it. So the best sunscreen is the one you use. So I think if you like the bare minerals and it's 30 SDF, I think that that's great. I'm channeling my inner chemist confession, but I would think that they would say yes. And also always reapply, but let's get real. We have lives and it's hard to do that. So I think if you're doing it every morning, I think you're doing an amazing job and keep it up.
Elise Yu (22:03):
I should mention, you asked me at the top of the show if I had anything I wanted to mention. I forgot until now, but Michelle Monahan, who's the actor who was one of the three besties in season three of White Lotus. Remember there were three besties, Leslie Bibb, Michelle Monahan and Carrie Coon. So Michelle Monahan was the one who hooked up with the guy who works at the hotel and she's the actor. And sorry, spoilers for White Lotus season three. And anyway, she just wrote a kid's book for a Kids Co, which is the company that I host the parenting podcast for. So A Kids Co has a series of books. A kid's book about racism was one of their first one. A kid's book about anxiety, a kid's book about disability and a kid's book, all different kinds. So she just penned one. Oh, I know that's the thing that you hate, right?
(22:54):
When we say penned instead of wrote. Yes. I hate it. She just wrote one. Let me just code switch for you, Door. Thank you. Thank you so much. She just wrote a kid's book for a kid's co called a kid's book about sun protection. So I don't know if yet. Yeah. And it just came out. Hang on. I want to make sure it's Sun Safety. Sorry. It's a kid's book about sun safety by Michelle Monahan. It's from Penguin Random House and it's for kids ages five through nine and it's supposed to empower kids to make sunsafe choices and prioritize skin health. She's a big skin advocate, I guess, sun safety advocate, I guess. Anyway, so I was excited about that. And so if you have kids who might benefit from caring more or knowing about sun protection, now there's a kid's book for it.
Doree Shafrir (23:47):
I love that. And then our last text was another callback to a hot topic that's been sort of ongoing for the last few weeks, which is soft pants.
(24:01):
So someone wrote in with a link that we'll link in the show notes on the website to a pair of athleta pants called the Venice High Rise Wide Leg Pant. Ooh, they have a nice wide waistband. I love a wide waistband. Yeah, it looks comfy. And they say on the topic of soft pants, I got these in a few colors and they check most of the boxes. Wide waistband. Thank you. "Pockets, soft and comfy, looks put together while traveling. They also come in a jogger style. I find the regular length to be too long for me. I'm five five, but they have tall and petite lengths. They're having a good sail right now." Okay. Good to know. Thank you so much. These do look very nice. I also see how they would be long. They look like they are made to be long, so I would maybe also, and I'm five six, I would maybe also get the petite.
(24:56):
So that's also a hot tip. Thank you. All right. Well, that brings us to the end of the show. Thank you all so much for listening and we will talk to you soon. Take care.
Elise Yu (25:10):
Talk to you next time.
Doree Shafrir (25:11):
Bye.