From make-up artist and investigative beauty journalist to author and broadcaster, there aren’t many hats Paula Begoun hasn’t worn during her varied career in the beauty industry. Most well known as the founder of online beauty bible, and now product line, Paula’s Choice, what Paula doesn’t know about skincare isn’t worth knowing.

A respected authority on ingredients, formulas and up-to-date research, her stringent science-based approach and commitment to sharing #truthinbeauty has awarded her a legion of loyal fans.

We sat down with Paula to pick her brains about her most valuable skincare advice…

1. You can’t hydrate your skin by drinking water

No one has cured their dry or dehydrated skin by drinking more water. Hydration levels are at their optimum when the water transport system within the skin is working efficiently. This cannot be improved by the amount of water you drink, only the products you use.

2. Sheet masks are pointless

People are obsessed with how ingredients are absorbed but it’s the formula itself that’s much more important. The effectiveness of ingredients comes down to their molecular size, not how long they stay on the skin.

3. Natural isn’t always better than synthetic

We need to realise that natural isn’t necessarily superior. The brilliance of skincare is when it encompasses the best of the biomedical and natural worlds. What I can do to bioengineer certain ingredients, you can’t do with natural ingredients. Plus, there are a lot of really bad natural ingredients that can irritate skin.

4. Plant stem cells are useless

For stem cells to work they have to be alive, if they’re dead they can’t make other cells. Plus, even if they did somehow come back to life, then a plant will only ever make more plant cells, not more skin cells.

5. It’s never too early to start an anti-ageing routine

I would love to be able to say my products are so brilliantly formulated that you can repair the sun’s damage does but unfortunately that’s impossible. This is why it is so important to wear SPF and protect your skin from as early as possible. Sunscreen is a product you should be wearing from cradle to grave, every single day.

6. Forget food fads and follow an anti-inflammatory diet

An anti-inflammatory diet is the only way of eating that’s been proven to be good for skin. This involves avoiding sugar, charcoal grilled foods and saturated fats, and upping your intake of leafy greens, dark berries and omega fatty acids.

7. Blue light could be as damaging as UV

Research is now starting to show the health dangers of blue light. Not just in terms of skincare but for your eyes too. New evidence suggests that it’s causing damage to both the back and front of the eye. The scary thing is blue light is emitted from screens. My new crusade is spreading the word about how your phone light should be on yellow 24/7.  

Main image: Paula’s Choice