Hi. My name is Leonardo Olivieri Carvalho. I am a biomedical scientist based in Brazil, with a degree in Biomedicine specialised in molecular biology, a postgraduate qualification in Higher Education Teaching, and a published paper in the Journal of Cellular Biochemistry (Wiley). I am 39 years old.
I created BioFlowBeauty because I kept running into the same problem on both sides of the science communication divide: research that is accurate but completely inaccessible to anyone without specialist training, and beauty content that is accessible but built almost entirely on marketing language. The middle ground honest, evidence-based information about skincare, women’s health, and beauty written in plain language is far rarer than it should be.
Where the Science Background Comes From
I completed my undergraduate degree in Biomedicine at Universidade Paulista (UNIP), specialised in molecular biology. My final undergraduate project focused on the proteomics of human neutrophil nuclei: the molecular mapping of proteins in immune cells that play a central role in inflammation and infection response.
After graduating, I joined the LBPQ (Laboratório de Bioquímica e Química de Proteínas) at the Universidade de Brasília (UnB) as a research collaborator, working under Professor Wagner Fontes on two connected projects examining neutrophil biology through proteomics. That work resulted in a peer-reviewed publication in the Journal of Cellular Biochemistry (Wiley, 2015):
Carvalho LO, Aquino EN, Dias Neves AC, Fontes W. The Neutrophil Nucleus and Its Role in Neutrophilic Function. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, 2015. [Read the paper]
I also completed a postgraduate specialisation in Higher Education Teaching, and contributed a scientific review article on the therapeutic properties of copaiba resin oil, published in the Revista Eletrônica de Farmácia (2014).
This background shapes how I read research: not just what the conclusion says, but how the study was designed, what its limitations are, and whether the finding is likely to replicate. That critical reading is the foundation of every article on this blog.
Why a Blog About Beauty and Women’s Health?
Beauty marketing is one of the most sophisticated misinformation environments in consumer culture. Ingredients are chosen for their names and price tags rather than their clinical evidence. Claims are padded with in vitro data that rarely translates to living skin. The regulatory gap between jurisdictions means that products banned in Europe are freely sold elsewhere.
Women are the primary target of this industry, and they deserve better information than they typically receive. Not because beauty choices are trivial they are not but precisely because they matter. The products you use daily, the ingredients your skin absorbs, the hormonal dynamics your lifestyle either supports or disrupts: these are health decisions, even when they do not feel like it.
BioFlowBeauty exists to bring the same rigour I applied in the laboratory to questions that actually affect daily life: which skincare ingredients have genuine evidence behind them, how hormones and the gut microbiome interact, what the science says about hair loss, and what regulatory bodies actually know about the chemicals in common cosmetics.
What You Will Find Here
- Skincare science barrier function, active ingredients, retinoids, chemical exfoliation, and what the clinical evidence actually supports
- Hormonal health the menstrual cycle, perimenopause, thyroid function, and the estrobolome: how your gut microbiome directly regulates estrogen levels
- Nutrition for women evidence-based eating for energy, skin health, metabolic function, and longevity beyond the era of passing dietary trends
- Makeup and cosmetic safety what the EU and US regulatory frameworks actually say about common ingredients, and how to make informed daily choices
- Hair health the biology of growth, loss, and what the peer-reviewed literature supports for care and treatment
- Weight and metabolism what the science shows works, what does not, and why so many popular approaches consistently fail the evidence test
- Gut health the emerging science of the gut-brain and gut-hormone axes, and their specific relevance for women’s wellbeing
A Note on Transparency
Some posts on BioFlowBeauty include affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Affiliate relationships do not influence what I recommend or how I write about anything. The science always comes first.
All claims on this blog are traceable to their sources. If you spot something that looks wrong, I genuinely want to know: [email protected]
BioFlowBeauty is educational content, not medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for personal health and skincare decisions.