This is Beirut

Cosmetic Counterfeits: Lebanon Grapples with the Surge of Fake Beauty Products (2/3)

Bélinda Ibrahim, 14/07 10:50 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Lebanon Cosmetic Counterfeits Beauty Products Skin Care Health

On Instagram, just a few clicks on reseller accounts or sponsored stories plunge you into a sleek, alluring world where top brands — Lancôme, Estée Lauder, Guerlain, Dior, La Roche-Posay — are sold at slashed prices. Descriptions sound convincing: “imported from the US,” “end-of-line stock before packaging update,” “personal stash ...

Anti-Counterfeit Guide: How to Spot Fake Skincare and Shop Safely (3/3)

Bélinda Ibrahim, 13/07 18:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Counterfeit Cosmetics Skin care Lebanon Beauty Health Awereness

Today’s counterfeit cosmetics are almost indistinguishable to the naked eye: they have the same bottle, same typography and nearly the same texture as genuine ones. Moisturizers, serums, sunscreens, micellar waters, foundations, luxury sets — no category is spared. And no country, either. From the US to Lebanon, France to South Korea, ...

Fake Beauty, Real Risks: Investigating Cosmetic Counterfeits (1/3)

Bélinda Ibrahim, 11/07 19:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Beauty Care Black Market Health Sunscreens Cosmetic Counterfeits

Same logo, same packaging, same “high protection” claim… but sometimes, the contents are just water and thickeners. In a recent investigation led by journalist Hugo Clément and pharmacist Laurence Coiffard (for “Sur le Front,” France 5, June 2025), several counterfeit sunscreens were lab tested. Findings were alarming: some products ...

"Mirror Bacteria": Could Lab-Created Life Trigger the Next Pandemic?

Bélinda Ibrahim, 26/06 12:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Mirror Bacteria Pandemic Lab-Created Health Chirality

What if a completely foreign form of life—built according to rules opposite to our own—were to emerge from a laboratory? Long confined to the realm of science fiction, the idea is gaining new relevance with recent advances in synthetic biology. At the heart of the concern is the possible creation of a “mirror bacterium,” an organism based ...

Golden Skin, Hidden Risks: The Nutrition and Beauty Truths Behind Tanning

Bélinda Ibrahim, 15/06 19:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Tanning Health Skin Sun

Just like sugar, the sun carries a double edge—it caresses the skin, then leaves its mark. In summer, tanning becomes a quiet ritual: pursued on beaches, flaunted on Instagram and sustained by a booming cosmetic and wellness market. But the glow we chase rests on a false promise—the belief that bronzed skin signals health and beauty. In truth, ...

Segmented Sleep: Rethinking the Myth of Uninterrupted Rest

This is Beirut, 04/06 12:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Segmented Sleep Health Naps Sleep Patterns

For decades, the standard was clear: a good night’s sleep had to be long, uninterrupted and last between seven and nine hours. This is what we call monophasic sleep. Yet, this way of sleeping is neither as universal nor as natural as we might think. In reality, our ancestors didn’t sleep the way we do, and recent research suggests that ...

Lebanon Regains WHO Voting Rights, Pledges Health Reforms

This is Beirut, 23/05 19:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon WHO Health Reform Geneva Refugees

Lebanon has regained its voting rights at the World Health Organization (WHO) after a two-year suspension due to unpaid membership fees. Speaking from the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Minister of Public Health Dr. Rakan Nassereddine said the reinstatement “restores Lebanon’s influential role in the organization’s discussions and ...

The Anti-Inflammatory Power of Food

Bélinda Ibrahim, 18/05 17:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Inflammations Food Health Well-Being

Inflammation is, in itself, a natural defense mechanism. When a foreign body, infection, or injury occurs, the body mobilizes immune cells to repair tissue. Redness, swelling, heat—these are signs that the body is healing. But there is another, more insidious and damaging form: chronic inflammation. Invisible to the eye and symptom-free for a ...

US Baby with Rare Illness Treated with Tailor-Made Gene Edit

This is Beirut, 16/05 11:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

USA Health genetics Illness Gene-Editing

A US infant with a rare condition has become history's first patient to be treated with a personalized gene-editing technique that raises hopes for other people with obscure illnesses, doctors said Thursday. The wee pioneer is KJ Muldoon, now a 9-and-a-half-month-old boy with chubby cheeks and big blue eyes. Shortly after birth, he was diagnosed ...

Trump Says Will Sign Order Aimed at Cutting US Drug Prices

This is Beirut, 12/05 05:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

United States Donald Trump Health Drugs

President Donald Trump unveiled plans Sunday for a new policy on pharmaceuticals he claimed would reduce US prescription drug prices by between 30 and 80 percent. "They will rise throughout the World in order to equalize and, for the first time in many years, bring FAIRNESS TO AMERICA!" Trump wrote in a social media post, adding he ...

Essential Oils: Potent Natural Remedies with Hidden Risks

Bélinda Ibrahim, 11/05 17:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Essential Oils Health Wellness

Lavender, peppermint, tea tree, lemon and ravintsara—essential oils have taken over natural medicine cabinets. They prominently feature in skincare rituals, cosmetic products and home remedies for everything from winter ailments to stress and pain relief. As concentrated extracts from aromatic plants, they embody a return to nature in a world ...

The Healing Power of Tears: Nature’s Own Painkiller

Bélinda Ibrahim, 07/05 12:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Tears Healing Health

Crying. This universal gesture, so often confined to the private sphere or burdened with shame, is in fact one of the most powerful signals the human body can send. We cry in response to pain, loss, injustice or overwhelming emotion – not only to express what words cannot, but also, biologically, to find relief. Emotional tears – distinct ...

Health