The bodybuilding aesthetician
Where science meets fitness and aesthetics
recent posts
- Understanding Alopecia: The Different Types of Hair Loss by Sarah Curran MSc
- Types of Melasma: How They Differ and Why It Matters by Sarah Curran MSc
- Getting Back on Track After Binge Eating: What Research Suggests
- Cryptochromes in the Hair Follicle: Blue Light, CRY1, and Hair Growth by Sarah Curran MSc
- Ultraviolet Light and Skin Aging: What’s Really Happening Beneath the Surface by Sarah Curran MSc
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Hair loss is something we have been covering quite a bit lately in UCD, and it made me realise how often it comes up not just academically but in real life too. It is something I see a lot, and something I have personally experienced as well. Dealing with hair loss myself has given me…
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Binge eating doesn’t just end when the episode finishes. For most people, what follows is the harder part. Guilt, frustration, and the urge to fix it quickly by eating less, training more, or starting over. The issue is that response is often what keeps the cycle going. Research consistently shows that what actually helps is…
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When we think about hair growth, most people jump straight to nutrition, hormones, or topical treatments. But there is a really interesting and still emerging area of research looking at how light, specifically blue light, interacts with proteins in the hair follicle to influence growth. This actually came up in tonight’s skin science lecture, and…
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One of the most important topics we are covering in skin science is the impact of UV rays on the skin. When we talk about skin aging, most people think of time as the main driver. In reality, ultraviolet (UV) exposure is the dominant external factor, responsible for up to 90 percent of visible skin…
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Skin infections remain one of the most common and disruptive issues in combat and contact sports, including wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, judo, MMA, and rugby. These environments create ideal conditions for the transmission of bacterial, fungal, and viral pathogens, often leading to missed training, withdrawal from competition, and wider team outbreaks. I covered the microbiome of…
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Combat sports place unique physiological demands on athletes, requiring a combination of power, endurance, repeated high-intensity efforts, and technical precision. Across the literature, a small group of supplements consistently demonstrates performance benefits. The most well-supported include caffeine, creatine, sodium bicarbonate, and β-alanine, with emerging evidence for beetroot juice. A well-structured, high-quality diet should always form…
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Sodium bicarbonate, commonly known as baking soda, is one of the most well researched legal ergogenic aids for high intensity, intermittent exercise. This makes it especially relevant for combat sports, where performance depends on repeated bursts of explosive effort. Physiological Rationale High intensity exchanges in boxing, MMA, judo, wrestling, taekwondo, and karate rely heavily on…
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As someone who has spent years studying Exercise and Nutrition, and having done my MSc research project on weight cutting in combat sports, and completing the UFC Level 3 Specialist Sports Nutrition course, this is an area I’ve spent a lot of time on. I also love Muay Thai, and performance nutrition has always been…
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In combat sports, whether boxing, MMA, wrestling, or Muay Thai, making weight is a central part of competition. Fighters often face intense pressure to drop to a lower weight class before a fight, and unfortunately, some methods used are extreme and unsafe. As someone who works in nutrition and has spent years researching exercise and…
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While studying for my skin science lectures today at UCD, I thought it would be a good idea to write a post on vitamin D. We covered vitamin D production in the skin, and it was one of the most interesting topics so far, because it sits at the intersection of dermatology, nutrition, and overall health.…
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