Articles
Plain-language answers to the questions we get asked most, graded by what the research actually shows. Written by people, checked against the evidence, no products pushed.
Showing all 25 articles
- Trending
Korean skincare: what is worth copying, and what is just a trend
Ten steps, snail mucin, glass skin. Here is what the K-beauty habit gets right, and the parts you can skip.
5 min read - Trending
“Natural” skincare: why the word means nothing, and what to look at instead
There is no legal definition of natural for cosmetics. Poison ivy is natural. Here is a better question to ask.
4 min read - Trending
Your skin barrier, slugging, and why less is often more
The internet has only just discovered the skin barrier. Science has known about it for decades. What it is, how people wreck it, how to look after it.
4 min read - Trending
Skin cycling, skin flooding and the rest of the viral routines
Four nights on, two nights off, and the other named routines. Which ones are sensible repackaging and which are nonsense.
5 min read - Trending
The microbiome and barrier repair, minus the marketing
Pre, pro and postbiotics, beta-glucan and ceramides. What the skin barrier actually needs, and what it does not.
5 min read - Trending
Gentle exfoliation is replacing the strong stuff
Mandelic acid, PHAs and enzymes are having a moment. What exfoliation does, and how often is too often.
5 min read - Trending
Viral skincare myths, checked
Beef tallow, pore shrinking, drinking water for glowing skin, expensive equals better. Short answers with the reasoning.
5 min read - Common skin issue
Breakouts and acne
Blocked pores, spots and cysts. What actually helps, what a pharmacist can sell you, and when it is a GP job.
6 min read - Common skin issue
Facial redness and rosacea
Flushing, lasting redness and visible vessels. Why the usual skincare advice often backfires.
5 min read - Common skin issue
Dry, itchy skin and eczema
Barrier problems, the itch-scratch cycle, and why moisturiser is the treatment rather than an afterthought.
6 min read - Common skin issue
Dark marks, melasma and uneven tone
Marks left by spots, patches driven by hormones, and sun spots. Different causes, different answers.
6 min read - Common skin issue
Sensitive and reactive skin
Stinging, tightness and reactions to products. Usually a damaged barrier or an ingredient you can identify.
5 min read - Common skin issue
Oily skin and visible pores
Shine, blackheads and the pore-size question. What can change and what genuinely cannot.
5 min read - Common skin issue
Dark circles and tired-looking eyes
Three different causes, and creams only help one of them. How to work out which you have.
5 min read - Common skin issue
Skin in perimenopause and menopause
Dryness, adult acne, thinning skin and hair. What changes, why, and what actually helps.
6 min read - Common skin issue
Teen and tween skincare: what is actually needed
Twelve-year-olds are buying retinol. Here is what young skin needs, and what to put back on the shelf.
5 min read - Common skin issue
Men's skin, shaving and the things nobody mentions
Ingrown hairs, razor burn, thicker oilier skin and sun damage. A short routine that covers it.
5 min read - Common skin issue
Fungal acne, and why acne treatment makes it worse
Itchy, uniform little bumps that will not shift. Often not acne at all, and the fix is completely different.
5 min read - Common skin issue
Body acne, back spots and rough bumpy arms
Chest and back breakouts, and the goosebump texture on upper arms that is not acne at all.
5 min read - Research
Sunscreen is the one step the research is loud about
If you only change one thing in your routine, this is it. What the studies found, and how to pick one you will actually wear.
4 min read - Research
Retinol without the misery
The most studied cosmetic active for the look of fine lines, and the one people give up on fastest. How to start so you do not.
5 min read - Research
The ingredients worth knowing, graded by the evidence
Strong, good or emerging. Our honest grade for the actives you see on every shelf, and what each is best for.
6 min read - Research
Do collagen supplements do anything for skin?
A big review looked at 23 trials. The answer depends almost entirely on who paid for the study.
5 min read - Research
LED masks, microneedling pens and home devices
Which at-home gadgets have real data behind them, which are a professional treatment in a weaker costume, and which to avoid.
6 min read - Research
How to read a skincare label without being fooled
Ingredient order, the 1% line, what claims are regulated and what a percentage on the front really tells you.
5 min read
Everything here is cosmetic guidance to help you choose products. It is not medical advice, and it does not diagnose or treat anything. If something on your skin worries you, see a pharmacist or GP. How we grade evidence · The skincare app
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