Chemistry For Your Life

#028

This week, Melissa and Jam travel even further down the rabbit hole of hair chemistry. How does our hair get damaged? How do we curl, straighten, and perm our hair? What's going on there at the molecular level? Let's find out!

References from this episode

1. Biochemistry, Edition 4 - Garret and Grisham


2. Making waves: The chemistry of hair perms - Christine Herman, Chemistry & Engineering News


3. How Did the 80s Get Hair So Big? - American Chemical Society


4. The Chemistry of Hair - C. S. Whewell, Ph.D., F.R.I.C., F.T.I.


5. The Science of Curls - Leidamarie Tirado-Lee

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

Watch our episodes on YouTube

Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife

Thanks to our monthly supporters

Sara Hull

Dog Day Dan

Bri .

Summer Alden

Amanda Raymond

Kyle McCray

Justine

Ash

Vince W

Julie S.

Heather Ragusa

Autoclave

Dorien VD

Scott Beyer

Jessie Reder

J0HNTR0Y

Cullyn R

Erica Bee

Elizabeth P

Rachel Reina

Letila

Katrina Barnum-Huckins

Suzanne Phillips

Venus Rebholz

Jacob Taber

Brian Kimball

Kristina Gotfredsen

Timothy Parker

Steven Boyles

Chris Skupien

Chelsea B

Avishai Barnoy

Hunter Reardon

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

Watch our episodes on YouTube

Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How do we build chemistry classrooms where more students can thrive? In this bonus BCCE Community Conversation preview, Melissa talks with Matt Mayo about neurodiversity in chemistry education. They discuss why every student experiences learning differently, how understanding those differences can make us better teachers and colleagues, and why creating more accessible learning environments benefits far more people than we might expect. It’s a thoughtful conversation about curiosity, empathy, and what it means to teach the whole student.

Important Links

• Submit a Question for Community Conversations


• bcce.divched.org/2026


• YouTube.com/@chemforyourlife


• chemforyourlife.com

Timestamps

• 0:00 – Introducing the Community Conversation on neurodiversity


• 2:40 – Meet Matt Mayo and why this topic matters to him


• 6:10 – What the BCCE session will explore: students and faculty


• 11:00 – Why more educators are thinking differently about neurodiversity


• 14:00 – Melissa’s ADHD journey and designing courses that help everyone


• 18:30 – Questions to bring back to your own teaching community


• 19:10 – Universal Design for Learning and meeting students where they are


• 24:00 – Why awareness is the best place to start


• 25:30 – ADHD “superpowers” and different ways of thinking


• 28:00 – Looking ahead to the Community Conversation at BCCE

Support this podcast on Patreon 

Buy Podcast Merch and Apparel

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

Watch our episodes on YouTube

Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hairspray seems simple… until you actually stop and think about it.
How does it come out as a fine mist? Why doesn’t it dry up inside the can? How can it hold your hair in place without acting like glue? This week we’re unpacking the surprisingly clever chemistry behind one of the most common products in our homes—and discovering it’s far more complicated than either of us expected.

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

Watch our episodes on YouTube

Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife

Timestamps

• 0:00 – A question inspired by our forensics episode: what is hairspray?


• 4:40 – The three ingredients inside a can of hairspray


• 10:40 – How the propellant turns liquid into a fine aerosol spray


• 18:30 – How polymers create an invisible “hairnet”


• 29:00 – Why designing hairspray is harder than you might expect


• 36:20 – How hairspray compares to gel and mousse


• 45:50 – Fun categories: movies, cast iron, and things that turned out to be more complicated than expected

References from the Episode:

Thanks to our monthly supporters

Sara Hull

Dog Day Dan

Bri .

Summer Alden

Amanda Raymond

Kyle McCray

Justine

Ash

Vince W

Julie S.

Heather Ragusa

Autoclave

Dorien VD

Scott Beyer

Jessie Reder

J0HNTR0Y

Cullyn R

Erica Bee

Elizabeth P

Rachel Reina

Letila

Katrina Barnum-Huckins

Suzanne Phillips

Venus Rebholz

Jacob Taber

Brian Kimball

Kristina Gotfredsen

Timothy Parker

Steven Boyles

Chris Skupien

Chelsea B

Avishai Barnoy

Hunter Reardon

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

Watch our episodes on YouTube

Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Great teaching doesn’t happen in isolation—it happens in community. In this bonus BCCE Community Conversation preview, Melissa talks with chemistry educator Dr. Joanne Stewart about communities of practice: groups of educators who come together to share ideas, solve problems, and help one another grow. They explore why teaching is hard to improve on your own, how these communities support both faculty and students, and why meaningful change in chemistry education depends on building relationships, not just sharing resources.

Important Links

• Submit a Question for Community Conversations


• bcce.divched.org/2026


• YouTube.com/@chemforyourlife


• chemforyourlife.com

Timestamps

• 0:00 – Introducing the BCCE Community Conversation series


• 2:40 – Meet Joanne Stewart and her work in chemistry education


• 5:10 – What is a community of practice?


• 8:20 – How educators can get involved (even as a “lurker”)


• 11:50 – Sharing teaching resources and learning from one another


• 15:30 – Building a “community of communities” in chemistry


• 18:50 – What this year’s Community Conversation will explore


• 23:50 – Why lasting educational change requires strong networks


• 29:20 – BCCE events, communities to explore, and final invitations

Buy Podcast Merch and Apparel

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

Watch our episodes on YouTube

Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What happens when some listeners challenge one of our past episodes?
This week we’re revisiting our silicone episodes after several listeners pointed us toward new research. Along the way we answer questions about mosquito wristbands, waterproof mascara, stubborn adhesives, and whether amino acids may have formed on the early Earth after all. It’s an Ask a Chemist episode full of updates, follow-ups, and a reminder that science is always a work in progress.

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

Watch our episodes on YouTube

Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife

Timestamps

• 0:00 – Revisiting our silicone episodes after new research


• 2:00 – Does silicone really leach into food, and should we be worried?


• 10:30 – What we know (and don’t know) about silicone safety


• 17:30 – Do mosquito patches and wristbands actually work?


• 23:30 – How does waterproof mascara stay waterproof?


• 27:20 – A chemistry detour: removing paint and stubborn adhesives


• 30:20 – The Miller–Urey experiment and the origin of amino acids


• 33:20 – Wrap-up + send us your chemistry questions

References from the Episode:

Thanks to our monthly supporters

Sara Hull

Dog Day Dan

Bri .

Summer Alden

Amanda Raymond

Kyle McCray

Justine

Ash

Vince W

Julie S.

Heather Ragusa

Autoclave

Dorien VD

Scott Beyer

Jessie Reder

J0HNTR0Y

Cullyn R

Erica Bee

Elizabeth P

Rachel Reina

Letila

Katrina Barnum-Huckins

Suzanne Phillips

Venus Rebholz

Jacob Taber

Brian Kimball

Kristina Gotfredsen

Timothy Parker

Steven Boyles

Chris Skupien

Chelsea B

Avishai Barnoy

Hunter Reardon

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

Watch our episodes on YouTube

Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.