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Breaking Beauty Podcast
Live With Dermatologist Dr. Shereene Idriss! Busting Skincare Myths, The “Cheap” Aging Hack We Need to Know Now, and the Scoop on Her First-Ever Sunscreen
00:57:51
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- [00:01]
Carlene Higgins
The following podcast is a Dear media.
- [00:03]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Production.
- [00:08]
Carlene Higgins
Welcome to Breaking Beauty, the podcast, all about the breakthrough people, products and moments in beauty.
- [00:14]
Jill Dunn
We're your hosts, Jill Dunn and Carlene Higgins. Happy first day of summer everyone. I'm Jill Dunn. I'm one of the co hosts because after eight years of doing this, people still get myself and Carlene confused.
- [00:32]
Carlene Higgins
That's true.
- [00:33]
Jill Dunn
So this is Carlene.
- [00:34]
Carlene Higgins
I'm Carlene. I have my voices way down here. That's how you can recognize, that's how you can voice recognize me.
- [00:39]
Jill Dunn
This is true. This is true. Well, we want to thank all of you for joining us today because we know it's a Friday, it's a work day and so maybe you had to skip out of work, but we really appreciate you being here and we also need to thank. Where are they, our friends at the one hotel for hosting us in this beautiful space. It's very, it's much like an oasis in here. Like I kind of want this to be a spa. It kind of feels spa esque, spa adjacent. So we really appreciate them hosting us and we always appreciate when we go to one hotels in other cities too.
- [01:11]
Carlene Higgins
Yeah, I feel like it's always a bit of an oasis. It's like quiet and you can always get the good, natural, healthy food. So we appreciate that. And even though it's always quiet and serene, we're going to make some noise today. Yes, we are. Because we have Dr. Idris in the house.
- [01:28]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Thank you so much.
- [01:30]
Carlene Higgins
Yes, everybody knows Dr. Idris, but just in case, Dr. Sherene Idris is a Manhattan based board certified cosmetic dermatologist and her practice in Bryant park has a one and a half year wait list. So get on it now. Dr. Idris has captured over 4 million followers across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube with her skin nerdiness, proud nerdiness, educating the world with her real talk takes on skincare scams, giving practical advice and her real talk about the industry which we love around here at Breaking Beauty podcast. So welcome Dr. Idris.
- [02:10]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Thank you guys so much. And honestly, thank you for coming on a Friday where it's finally sunny.
- [02:14]
Carlene Higgins
Yes.
- [02:14]
Dr. Sherene Idris
And beautiful. And you're choosing to sit indoors with us, so super grateful.
- [02:19]
Carlene Higgins
And you have a connection to Toronto, is that right?
- [02:21]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Yeah. So my husband is Canadian and he grew up in Toronto. So we, we definite a lot back and forth.
- [02:29]
Jill Dunn
And by the way, for any of you who do not know, Dr. Idris's skincare line is officially now available in Canada.
- [02:36]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Yes.
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Jill Dunn
At Sephora. Right.
- [02:37]
Dr. Sherene Idris
All the Sephoras across Canada.
- [02:39]
Jill Dunn
And I also just wanted to do a little background. Carlene and I, of course you may know by now, but some people I don't know if you listen to our podcast, but we are breaking beauty podcast. We are two longtime magazine beauty editors turn beauty podcasters and we're in your feeds every single Wednesday. So we talked to everyone from Haley Bieber to makeup by Mario. Who else?
- [02:59]
Carlene Higgins
Oh my gosh. Tracy Ellis Ross, Dr. Pimple Popper. It's been eight years, guys, so they're being humble.
- [03:05]
Dr. Sherene Idris
They're one of the best beauty podcasts.
- [03:07]
Jill Dunn
On the on the hearing kind. And Dr. Idris, you're actually joining us for the third time today. So this is Lim. We haven't had a lot of people on the show three times, so that's how amazing you are.
- [03:19]
Carlene Higgins
So she's top. She's like VIP now with the breaking beauty fam. Yeah. So let's get started. In today's episode, we're going to deliver some skincare truth bombs. We're going to myth bust some tick tock trends. Like should we be indulging in the caveman theory? Plus, we're going to have Dr. Idris do what she does best. She's going to tell us how to level up our own skincare routines. We all want that. And we're going to get an exclusive sneak peek on the newest product that's coming from Dr. Idris. Pretty much nobody knows about this except for the the media. It's truly top secret. Keep it under your hat until June 30th. It's so exciting.
- [04:00]
Jill Dunn
So here we go.
- [04:17]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Have you ever heard the saying, tell.
- [04:18]
Carlene Higgins
Me what you eat and I will.
- [04:19]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Tell you who you are.
- [04:21]
Carlene Higgins
I'm Katie Lee Beagle and I'm food obsessed.
- [04:24]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Tune into my podcast all on the Table and get to know celebrities, bold.
- [04:27]
Jill Dunn
Faced names and industry insiders in an.
- [04:30]
Carlene Higgins
All new way as they share the ingredients that make their recipe for life. I want to know it all. From the favorite childhood birthday cake to the breakfast they eat every day. An engagement meal in Paris or a.
- [04:42]
Jill Dunn
Guilty pleasure fast food indulgence.
- [04:45]
Carlene Higgins
You can tell a lot about a person by what's in their fridge. And hey, everybody's got to eat.
- [04:51]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Make sure to tune in every Thursday.
- [04:52]
Carlene Higgins
And follow so we can devour every last morsel together. We're putting it all on the table. Today's episode is brought to you in part by Mara. You guys know that I'm lazy slash busy. And I will admit that sometimes when I'm not wearing makeup, I will skip Washing my face. But I'm really trying to get a handle on that and turn things around because I do wear sunscreen every day and that has to be washed off or it's more likely to give you acne. It's given me little white heads or postules if I don't wash it off. So I want to tell you about Mara's bestselling award winning algae enzyme cleansing oil. It's really the only way to wash your face this summer. And let me tell you why. It's a cleansing oil that removes every trace of the day. So we're talking longwear makeup, if you're a long wear makeup wearer. Also sunscreen in just one step. But it's a multitasker which is perfect for lazy slash busy people like me. It's powered by fruit enzymes like pineapple and pumpkin to gently exfoliate your skin. At the same time it is gentle, you can use it in the eye area. But it's also like tough on makeup and grime, which is great. And because it's an oil, I find that it leaves my skin feeling super hydrated after. So it's clean but. But it's not like dry or stripped afterwards because it is a cleansing oil. Now I use it on damp skin. Apparently it's so multi use you can use it on dry skin as well. Those exfoliating like pumpkin enzymes are going to work as a light peel. I haven't tried that, but I mean, that sounds fun. Lazy slash busy people, listen up. You need to check out Mara's facial oil. So it's the perfect time to pick up the Mara cleansing oil and anything else you might need. Head into your local Sephora to shop Mara or head to Saora.com and don't forget to wash your face. Now it's officially the first day of summer. Dr. Idris, as we're recording this, so what skincare rule do you wish that people knew that people would abide by that doesn't have to do with spf. We're throwing you a curveball.
- [07:05]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Obviously. I was going to say sunscreen. Right. I think it's very interesting. A lot of people just follow a skincare routine blindly in terms of steps like cleanser, toner, serum, serum, moisturizer, eye cream, sunscreen. And they don't really think about necessarily their problem, their skin type, but also their environment. Because in summer it's very different than in the middle of winter when the air is extremely dry and you need to keep layering everything over and over again in summer In Toronto, it's humid.
- [07:32]
Carlene Higgins
Yeah.
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Dr. Sherene Idris
So you do not need as much for the morning especially. Maybe you can repair at night. The ACs are blasting. Yes. The air can get a little bit dry, but throughout the day, you really do not need to be layering a hydrating toner and a hydrating serum and a hydrating moisturizer under a hydra. You really do not need it unless you are extremely dry as a human being. And most people are kind of in that middle zone. So you can really get away with minimizing your skincare routine in the summer and not having to layer as many hydrating products over and over again.
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Carlene Higgins
Yeah, I tend to just do a hydrating toner and go straight to sunscreen, but that's just me, you know, because.
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Dr. Sherene Idris
You probably want something more lightweight. Yeah, yeah. I will go more for the serum underneath the sunscreen than the moisturizer on the sunscreen.
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Carlene Higgins
Yeah, yeah, agree.
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Jill Dunn
Okay. So recently on your Instagram, Dr. Idris, you were talking about the concept of a skincare gym for your best skin ever. So what does this involve? I hope it doesn't involve weightlifting.
- [08:24]
Dr. Sherene Idris
No, it doesn't involve weightlifting. It doesn't involve facial yoga. It does not involve any of that. But what I was trying to get across is when you're talking about discoloration, hyperpigmentation, melasma, brown spots, I am a firm believer, even before I had a skincare brand, that that's the one thing that you guys can really make a difference with when it comes to over the counter skincare. A thousand percent. You're never going to replenish volume with a cream. It's just not going to happen. You're never going to retexturize your skin completely with a serum. You're going to need some in office help. But you can really make a difference with your skin tone and that comes from sun damage, brown spots, et cetera. Now what I meant by that particular statement that the skincare is your gym. It's almost like thinking, I have brown spots, I'm going to get laser. I'm going to be fine. Like I'm going to go get liposuction and go eat two Big Macs and I'm going to be fine. No, you're not. You got to go to the gym if you got liposuction if you want to maintain those results.
- [09:16]
Jill Dunn
Right.
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Dr. Sherene Idris
And if you're going to get a laser treatment, you got to go to the gym. And the gym is in your bathroom on your vanity. And that's what I meant by Skincare is your gym routine, right? It's about being consistent long term with those ingredients that are constantly going to help your skin be in the best shape that it can be over time.
- [09:31]
Jill Dunn
Okay.
- [09:31]
Carlene Higgins
Okay. Now this is a direct quote I'm taking from a video that you posted recently. Harvard may have just discovered the cheapest anti aging pill and it won't cost you a million bucks. I mean, you have my attention, so share with the class.
- [09:48]
Dr. Sherene Idris
I posted this a few weeks ago, but Harvard conducted one of a kind, very large scale, double blind, randomized control trial where they had over, I believe, a thousand people that they followed for four years. And they gave them each 2,000 international units of vitamin D every single day. And they measured it over the course of time and they looked at their skin and they looked at their cells, and what they found was that the telomeres on your chromosome, and I'll explain to you what that means, did not shorten as much after four years. And telomeres are the end caps of your chromosomes. And as you get older, they shorten because of, you know, biodegeneration and life and aging and inflammation. They tend to get shorter. But they were actually not as short as where they would have thought they would have been. And that indicated that you had gained maybe three years in terms of cellular rejuvenation, et cetera, in your skin cells and so in your cells overall, rather. And so it's a very interesting study because it's such a cheap fix. And here we are spending hundreds and thousands of dollars on supplements like collagen is. I mean, there is still huge question marks around it. There has never been such a landmark trial with collagen. So I can't stand by collagen with firm belief, like a lot of people online tend to push down your throats, quite literally. And so from my perspective, if you have a really healthy diet and you're getting all of that from your diet, great. But you want to be spending half your paycheck on a powder that makes your coffee a little bit slimy in my perspective. And I've tried it, and I've really tried it.
- [11:16]
Jill Dunn
It tastes gross.
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Dr. Sherene Idris
And I've tried it for six months. Not that an N of one makes any difference, but I did not notice a difference except that my bank account went down. And so this is a very easy way to help yourselves every single day. And quite frankly, you guys live in Canada, you're not getting nearly enough UV light, et cetera. So it's a great supplement to add to your routine because you're probably most vitamin D deficient.
- [11:39]
Jill Dunn
Right? So adding long telomeres to my vision board.
- [11:42]
Dr. Sherene Idris
A thousand percent. Yes, yes.
- [11:44]
Jill Dunn
I'm putting that on my vanity. Remember to take your vitamin D. Everyone but one caveat, Dr. Idris, that I have to say. When I read the study and then I saw your video, I was like, this is like the open door for the hubermans of the world to say, see, we don't need sunscreen. We need vitamin D. You need to be outside. You need to be getting the vitamin D from the sun. So what say you today? Because it's like they're gonna take it, run with it, right?
- [12:07]
Dr. Sherene Idris
It's like that subset of people who are like anal sunning, Remember? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, my gosh.
- [12:13]
Jill Dunn
It's like perennial.
- [12:17]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Okay, so yes, there is truth to that. We make vitamin D from the sun. That's how our bodies make it. Right? And of course, there is gonna be some truth to that as well. But vitamin D and the sun don't necessarily go hand in hand. The sun also causes degeneration and breakdown of your collagen. It's gonna quite literally fry your cells. It's gonna cause your telomeres to shorten. And so are you gonna be playing that game of gaining and losing and gaining and losing. And the other thing, fact of the matter is, none of you are using nearly enough sunscreen to protect your bodies fully a thousand percent from the sun. It's just not happening. And that's not a bad thing. That's not a bad thing because in my world, I'm a very much a moderate human being. Something is better than nothing and you're going to get vitamin D production anyway. So I don't believe in anything that is fear based. Like just go outside in the sun and don't spend the money on the vitamin D supplement, but hey, buy my collagen powder. And so I think you really have to have a critical mindset and really think through this because the world is not black and white and it's shades of nuance and you got to pick your poison at the end of the day and figure out how you want to proceed.
- [13:22]
Carlene Higgins
Yeah. Also you can probably ask like a nutritionist or a health food shop on how to increase absorption for vitamin D, because that's something I've been learning about too, so that it actually counts. Now, I wanted to ask you, speaking of spf, there's been a lot of SPF controversy recently in the headlines over the past few weeks, and I noticed that you did a Video as well. So tell us, what is the latest misinformation around mineral and chemical sunscreens that you'd like to clear up here and now?
- [13:54]
Dr. Sherene Idris
I mean, where do we start? I know how long we have.
- [13:57]
Carlene Higgins
Well, I feel like mineral sunscreens, to be honest, have been, first of all, a bazillion of them have come out this year. Everybody wanted to come out with a mineral sunscreen, and they also seem to be making the most headlines right now. So maybe we start.
- [14:10]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Yeah. I mean, first of all, mineral sunscreens are not better, and chemical sunscreens are not toxic. Okay? And had chemical sunscreens hired me as their publicist years ago, I would have never called them chemical sunscreens. I would have called them what they are, organic sunscreens because they utilize organic filters. And had they been called organic sunscreens, I bet you none of this BS would have been happening on the social waves as they are happening today. So that is something that I think you guys really have to understand. Mineral sunscreens are usually made up of zinc and titanium. Those are white powders. Regardless of how many white cast free claims a brand makes, it is never going to be white cast free. And my personal litmus test, even though I am pale as a ghost, if my teeth look slightly yellower, there's a white cast. And I've seen it with every single mineral tinted sunscreen. My teeth get a little bit yellower and I'm like, no. So that really has been my own personal litmus test or the white of my eyeballs, because I do not, hopefully, as long as I'm not jaundiced. But, yeah, there's going to be a white cast. And so you kind of have to understand that that is just not rooted in reality. Now, chemical sunscreens, the unfortunate part is, yes, we need better legislation, we need better filters, we need newer filters, we need newer options, right? But we have certain chemical sunscreens that have been on the market that work quite well. And they are more elegant, they are more stable in formulation, they will last longer and better. You can layer them underneath your makeup. And the best part is you will literally, no pun intended, not cast out any segment of the population. And nobody will be scared of sunscreens because it will blend seamlessly with their skin tones. And so chemical sunscreens have a lot of advantages to them as well. And the biggest myth is it's a neuroendocrine disruptor. But that was studied on tiny little animals in the lab, and they were given an amount Bigger than the size of this room for a tiny little being. What do you think is going to happen? If I put that much benign whatever water in that animal, it would become hyponatremic and die. And so the reality is the dose at the end of the day is what makes the poison that was not reproduced in human beings. There was some concern about it coming into your blood, but there has never been a correlation with any long term systemic disease in that sense. And although the FDA is not the holy grail yet, there's a lot of skepticism. Yours truly also sometimes wonders.
- [16:26]
Jill Dunn
Canada.
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Carlene Higgins
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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Dr. Sherene Idris
Even Europe has not banned them. So people tend to look towards Europe as a better sort of benchmark. They have not been banned. Those filters, they're still available at some of the levels that a lot of the brands are using here in the US and even in Canada.
- [16:39]
Carlene Higgins
Yeah.
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Dr. Sherene Idris
And so you guys really do have to take again, a bird's eye view at things, understanding what happens. Because as a brand founder now, I can understand why brands are leading into mineral sunscreens. I can understand why brands want to go into the clean movement because it costs a lot of money to fight misinformation. And when people get conditioned in a certain way, you're going against the stream to explain the reality of things. And that can be extremely costly financially, emotionally, through many different aspects of life. And so it's. People are like, I don't want to, I don't want to die on that hill. So I'm just going to kind of go with the wave. And the problem with that is it perpetuates that misinformation and it perpetuates those habits and that conditioning and we end up in a dark black hole of nothingness with no innovation.
- [17:30]
Jill Dunn
Yeah, well, yeah, that. It does stagnate innovation. And that's what we need. Like we need better and better. We need brands to be pushing each other. That's a great innovation.
- [17:38]
Dr. Sherene Idris
We need the l' oreals of the world listen to spend the money like they're also lazy. No offense, I'm not on their payroll. But they are. They could have been the ones who pushed forward newer filters, but they don't want to do it because they don't want the smaller brands to benefit. And guess what? They already have the market share. So why are they going to invest millions of dollars in your filters to pass legislation? But the reality is those multibillion dollar conglomerates need to pave the way for smaller brands to at least make a difference as well. Like, I can only make a difference by speaking. But I'm still very small and 99.999% of people don't know me and can't listen to me because they don't know to even listen.
- [18:12]
Jill Dunn
Right.
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Dr. Sherene Idris
So it's really an uphill battle.
- [18:14]
Jill Dunn
Yeah, yeah. And something else that's been making headlines, I'm sure many of you have seen it as well, is just like some sunscreens are being tested by like a Consumer Reports or Choice in Australia, which I guess is similar to Consumer Reports. And then in these tests, the sunscreen isn't matching up to the SPF number on the label. Can you speak to that?
- [18:34]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Yeah, for sure. I think so. Choice is a very respected group in Australia. They're not people who, like you, look at and go, oh, my God, what agenda do they have? So I'm not looking towards choices, like through a skeptical lens. And I think what they've done is really brought to the table this. This issue when it comes to sunscreen. And I think it's very good that it's being raised now because brands should be a little bit more transparent about how they're testing for their sunscreen. And when you're testing for sunscreen, it is a science, but it's also an art. And that art, unfortunately, is not always reproducible because there are so many variables that can happen. How much was placed, color was the room, how far was the UV light actually pushed on the skin? Because you're actually burning people to see, you know, the redness, what skin tone was it tested on? Does that person burn fast, burn slow? What's their normal average rate of burning? And so you have all of these different variables that you have to take into account. So there's always going to be a discrepancy of around 20 to 25 points. Let's say if you have an SPF 50 and you're testing at SPF 20 to 25, that's within the acceptable quote, unquote.
- [19:34]
Jill Dunn
Interesting.
- [19:35]
Dr. Sherene Idris
If you're like an SPF of 2 and you're labeled SPF 50, that's not necessarily acceptable and something must be happening and you must understand what's going on.
- [19:41]
Jill Dunn
Right.
- [19:42]
Dr. Sherene Idris
But there is going to be some level of variability. And it's funny because we had our sunscreen in production for a few years. It had been tested a few years ago in 23. I had been waiting to launch it for multiple reasons, rebranding, Sephora, lawsuits, money, whatever. And so I was just waiting on it because I needed to find the right time and we had done a small panel retest before launching because I wanted to make sure. Then the whole choice thing happened. I said, no, we're going to do another 10 panel again. And the president of my company is like, are you insane? We can't afford it. I'm like, well, it's my name and I'm a physician and I want to make sure like, you know, so we have the two sets of data that confirm it's an SPF 50, but again, you can still get that variability. And I want to make sure that as a brand you're putting the best product out there that you could stand by.
- [20:24]
Carlene Higgins
Yeah. And it's very expensive to run these tests, especially if you're a self funded company.
- [20:29]
Jill Dunn
Yeah.
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Dr. Sherene Idris
So that's why. Which I am.
- [20:31]
Jill Dunn
Yeah.
- [20:32]
Dr. Sherene Idris
I have zero investors. I had been practicing for over 12 years now. 13 years. And everything that I have made literally. And my husband has put some of his savings into it, but it's, it's a self funded venture. Venture.
- [20:45]
Jill Dunn
So ultimately, what's the takeaway here today? It's like we're still trusting sunscreens. We're still using them even though we're.
- [20:51]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Seeing all of these headlines again, something is better than nothing.
- [20:55]
Jill Dunn
Got it.
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Dr. Sherene Idris
And the reality is you would have read a million complaints about people burning with this SPF 50 if it really wasn't giving you some level of protection. So from my perspective, when it comes to sunscreen, yes, you want that, you know, 2 milligrams per centimeter square, quarter teaspoon, whatever it is, but no one's really adhering to that like a hundred percent and something is going to be better than nothing.
- [21:17]
Carlene Higgins
Yeah.
- [21:17]
Dr. Sherene Idris
And so I think the takeaway is sun smart behavior patterns, trying to incorporate it into your routine. You understanding that you're doing a good enough job just getting the minimum in and the rest will hopefully follow.
- [21:27]
Carlene Higgins
Yeah.
- [21:37]
Jill Dunn
Vegamore is one of our show partners this week. I think the biggest thing when you are struggling with hair thinning or hair shedding, you just want to do something about it. You want to take action. And that's why I'm excited to introduce you to Vegamore. Because Vegamore is the leader in plant powered science backed solutions for thinning hair. And their grow hair serum was recently named the number one one prestige hair serum. And that was based on unit sales in the US in 2024. And the hair serum is clinically proven to reduce shedding, leaving you with visibly fuller, healthier hair. And what sets Vegamore apart is the fact that their formulas are Vegan and cruelty free. And the Grow Hair serum is packed with peptides, plant stem cells and plant based phytoactives to deliver those results in as little as three months. And the best part, it's clinically tested. Percent of users experiencing less shedding and 90% seeing an improvement with overall appearance of their hair. And I think it's really easy to incorporate Vegamore Grow Hair Serum into your routine because you just add a few drops to your scalp, massage it in. This could be done on wet hair, on dry hair, you don't rinse it out. And consistency is key because if you do that every day you are going to see the results with less shedding and your hair is just going to feel a lot healthier and you know the results always come with consistency. So if you're tired of dealing with shedding and thinning, you can take back control of your hair with Vamore. For a limited time. Go to vegamore.com beauty and use code beauty to get 20% off your first order. That's V G A M O U R.com beauty use code beauty to save 20% on your first order. That's V g A M O U R.com Beauty with code beauty. We'll link to this offer in our show not and on our website. Now back to the show. Dr. Idris, I'll never forget when I interviewed you last time, which was 2023, I asked you what quote unquote medical grade means on a skincare label and you said, and I quote it means Jack Chateau.
- [23:54]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Yeah, you caught me on a good day. I'm trying to clean up my. That's probably the biggest complaint people have about me. So I'm not for everyone and my. I do have a sailor mouth, unfortunately, for better or for worse, but I'm trying to clean up that game.
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Jill Dunn
I love it. That's what sets you apart. But what else do you think in 2025 means jack shit on a label?
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Dr. Sherene Idris
There's still several that are trending. I'll start with the two that you maybe would probably expect and then I'll give you a third one which might be a curveball but obviously non toxic. Like what you're selling me toxicity in a bottle. Like what are you selling me if it's not non toxic? You know what I mean? And I especially recently there was this sunscreen brand that said our non toxic sunscreen, it's like what does that mean? Are you. I will not even give it the bandwidth on airtime.
- [24:38]
Carlene Higgins
Yeah, we'll bleep.
- [24:39]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Yeah Believe their name. They don't need advertisement. But I just thought that's such bullshit, you know? So I think people have to realize that it's enough. You know, like if people are trying to promote fear and they're not giving you the fear, you should probably run away from that person who's promoting, not giving you the fear. Number two, I think natural. Even though we're in a very beautiful natural space, I love it. But natural ingredients, I don't know. Asbestos can be natural. That's poison ivy is always the one they use. That's something that people have talked about for years. And again, natural does not mean better. And yeah, lab synthesized is great for a reason. Why you can reproduce results that can give consistency. You know what you're buying, you know what you're getting, and you know that it's going to deliver you something that has been proven time and time again. Now, the third one, which I think is maybe a curveball as a dermatologist. Actually there's two as a derm, but I'll just give one and then we'll talk about the other one maybe later is hypoallergenic.
- [25:35]
Carlene Higgins
Hmm. Okay, explain.
- [25:37]
Dr. Sherene Idris
I think it's. Listen, as a brand founder, I understand why brands use these terms because people are conditioned. It's almost like anti aging. And you only have so much time or space on a carton to explain what you're trying to set as a message. But hypoallergenic means nothing because you can be allergic to blue dye, you can be allergic to fragrance. I could be allergic to, I don't know, some sort of preservative. And the reality is the hypoallergenic statement doesn't address any of these things. And yet it has blue dye, it has a fragrance and it has something. So maybe I'm gonna react to it. So we all have our own allergies, we all have our own sensitivities. And those are my worst reviews that I hate reading. I reacted. I'm like, great, you didn't like chicken? Yeah, that's not gonna be something that's gonna help other people. Like, I try to approach everything I do by giving you information that's going to help you. And I think as consumers, you also have to talk through that lens. Like, how can this product help other people with the conditions that I have? I'm allergic to fragrance. I reacted to this product because there's fragrance in it. Do you know what I mean? And so with hypoallergenic claims, there's really no meaning to that. Because there's no standardized definition of what that actually means. But what the brand is trying to convey is that it's maybe better for, like, sensitive skin. But again, sensitive skin can be many things. And so I think it's like an umbrella term that is used for marketing and overused. But I can understand why it's used, but I don't really believe it.
- [27:00]
Carlene Higgins
Okay, now let's talk about TikTok trends a little bit. I know, I know you guys are skin savvy, so you're not out there following all the TikTok trends, but the. The trend of the moment seems to be this caveman skincare trend where people are not washing their face, not using skincare, the idea being that they're going to reset their skin. What. What do you have to say about that?
- [27:25]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Are you guys. Do you. Are you. How active is the audience on TikTok? I'm just curious. Show of hands.
- [27:30]
Carlene Higgins
Show of hands.
- [27:31]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Yeah. So you. Have you got. Okay. Show of hands. Who have heard of this caveman trend?
- [27:34]
Carlene Higgins
Okay.
- [27:35]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Oh, okay.
- [27:36]
Jill Dunn
Against your will. Yeah.
- [27:38]
Dr. Sherene Idris
So again, I believe in moderation, not elimination. Okay. I. I can't stand by a trend that is promoting unhygienic values. I just can't. Like, we don't live in caves. We don't sleep on the floor we live in. You know what I'm like, what is this? So I cannot possibly stand by those trends. I think then I try to dig a little further. Could there be some kind of truth to this? Maybe the truth is you could pare back what you're doing. And are we over consuming and overusing? Sure. Yes. But do we have to go from hero to zero all at once? No. And I think that is. It's one of those things that I think people just do for shock. Clickbait. But that person, I actually think probably has a medical condition of hyperkeratosis that needs to be addressed underneath the surface of her skin. And she ended up looking the way she did because she has something else going on. But I just would not promote you not being more hygienic in life and having a healthy routine.
- [28:34]
Jill Dunn
Somebody did this in the Daily Mail a few years ago, and they didn't wash their face for 28 days. And it's. They weren't. It wasn't a good result. I don't think they were not happy because they had a skin tone like, that was more like our. Ours, like, more like rosacea.
- [28:51]
Carlene Higgins
Right.
- [28:51]
Jill Dunn
Leaning. And it was like way more red and way more like irritated. Irritated.
- [28:56]
Dr. Sherene Idris
I'm 41 now.
- [28:58]
Jill Dunn
Yeah.
- [28:58]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Like I could get away without washing my face at 26, go to sleep, I went out fine. I woke up, my makeup's all over the place, but I still look fresh after I wash it. Right. At 41, it's different. Like if I forget to wash my face, which is very rare, but it still occasionally happens. Right. I wake up looking like a hot mess. And it takes forever to get back to some sort of baseline. And as you get older and wiser, hopefully like you realize that that breakdown in the day, living on your face can really cause damage even overnight. Like it's something that I've seen, I've lived. And you hear other patients especially, that's like, that's my litmus test is when patients kind of like agree with me or not. It's interesting. Like it really does happen.
- [29:36]
Jill Dunn
You have your own little focus group.
- [29:38]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Yeah, every day.
- [29:39]
Jill Dunn
And when it comes to buzzy ingredients like growth factors, exosomes, I mean, I feel like those are huge, especially post treatment, like in office. To borrow a tick tock verbiage, are we buying into this propaganda or not?
- [29:54]
Dr. Sherene Idris
I think when it comes to everyday skincare, rather I should say that's, that's an important distinction. I think the in office procedures is very different than what's being put in a bottle on a shelf. And I think when you're talking about over the counter skincare, you do have to be educated consumers because marketing can take you for a ride. Now, growth factors and exosomes. Growth factors have been around for much longer than exosomes and so they have a track record of being true and helping with your cellular regeneration, helping with your overall cell turnover and helping to kind of give you a better, you know, more useful looking skin in the long run. That being said, growth factors are very big. So on their own, do they make that much of a difference? Maybe not. But after a treatment they're excellent. After microneedling, fraxel, et cetera, they can really make a difference. But the reason I don't completely throw them out the window for most people who have never gotten microneedling is because a lot of people can't tolerate retinols and they're looking for a way to help themselves in terms of rejuvenating their skin. But growth factors and exosomes are not created equal. There is human derived, there's bioengineered and then there's stem, there's plant based, anything plant based for both, you're just getting antioxidants. It's not bad. Is it worth the price tag? That's a question you have to ask yourself. But it's not bad. Antioxidant production is great. So I'm not poo pooing it. But again, is the marketing misleading you to think that you're getting growth factors when it's from a plant and you're not an apple? Okay, so that's number one, bioengineered and human derived is interesting. Bioengineered is probably what has the less sort of gray zone over the counter. And you can get away with stuff, but they're expensive. They're usually 180 bucks, 200 bucks. Great. Human derived anything brings up ethics and legalities. Anybody putting a human derived product in an over the counter skin care makes me wonder, are they just trying to make a quick buck? How ethical are they? Because that has not gone through the regulations and the checkpoints that it needs to go through. Because last I checked, you cannot sell human derived by products on over the counter skin care. Unless I'm wrong and I'm happy to be corrected. But there is a really ethical question that comes to mind here. And there are certain exosome brands that are human derived on the market that have supposedly good studies backing them. And yes, I'm intrigued, but it makes me question the ethics of that brand. And because of that I don't talk about them. So when I don't talk about something or about a brand and you guys keep asking me about it, I'm just, there's a reason I don't talk about it. It's not to bash anyone because I don't believe in that. But I just want to wait and see what happens because there's a lot of people overstepping lines.
- [32:24]
Carlene Higgins
There's also a question from my understanding that of how, how stable they are in the bottle. Yes. For how long?
- [32:32]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Exactly. But that's again ethics, not just legality, but like what are you selling? How does it justify 1 ounce costing 300?
- [32:39]
Carlene Higgins
Yeah.
- [32:40]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Is it already dead by the time it comes to your vanity?
- [32:42]
Carlene Higgins
Yeah. And then you see the twenty dollar versions as well and you're like. And so that's confusing again to the consumer derived. Yeah, yeah.
- [32:50]
Dr. Sherene Idris
And then they're not giving you what you think they're giving you.
- [32:52]
Carlene Higgins
Yeah, yeah. And all the vegans are just scratching their head, should I be using human derived growth factors?
- [32:59]
Jill Dunn
I did use human derived exosomes and I highly recommend. Sorry.
- [33:02]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Yeah, I love people.
- [33:04]
Jill Dunn
Skincare after treatment. I love people. But I also, you know, why not?
- [33:10]
Dr. Sherene Idris
I believe in It. But I think you have to. We live in a system that unfortunately has good and bad. I think some of the claims that we have to abide by make no sense for the consumer and confuses consumers. Right. But at the end of the day, if you want to make sure that companies are really living up to a standard, the ones who are crossing those lines just completely with a disregard to sort of the rules that have been put into place, makes you wonder, what else are they going to try to sell you and are they going to take you for a ride? I do think exosomes, there is some benefit to them. I do think the science is there, but I think we can't put, you know, the. The. What is it? The carriage before the horse. Yes, exactly.
- [33:46]
Jill Dunn
Before the horse. Yes, exactly.
- [33:47]
Carlene Higgins
Yeah. Another fuzzy ingredient. I don't know if you guys have been hearing about this, but in the wellness space, certainly NAD seems to be huge. And now we're starting to see it in skincare. I literally just got a press release in my inbox about this whole NAD skincare line. So maybe you could explain what that is and what you think the merits would be. Like, people are putting transdermal patches on, but then in skin care, how that might apply.
- [34:16]
Dr. Sherene Idris
So nad, for those of you who don't know, is also NAD that people talk about and in the wellness space talking about oral NAD supplements, infusions, et cetera. NAD is a coenzyme, so you need it in your body and your cells to help with cellular energy production so that your cells stay alive and vibrant. And, you know, it helps to repair DNA damage. So that's really what NAD does. Yeah. The precursor to NAD is niacinamide. So niacinamide has two steps to get converted into NAD plus, which is the oxidized form in transdermal patches. NAD plus is a very large molecule. So if you're just putting, for example, which is not the case, Scotch tape, NAD plus, and sticking it on your body, it's not going to necessarily get absorbed. And so you need a very sophisticated technology through liposomes, maybe even micro needles, and I don't even know what else to get that absorption through your skin into your body. Now, most of the transdermal NAD or NAD patches on the market don't have that technology. So again, what are we buying in skincare? It's also highly unstable, so not to mention big. So what are we doing when we are applying it in skin care? Are we kind of tossing a coin, hoping that maybe we get some cellular regeneration and you know, energy production. Yeah, maybe. But should we just put our money in something that's been tried and true? Because everything great was once new, but not everything new is great. Niacinamide has been around. Niacinamide has been a track record proven to help with barrier function, ceramide production, et cetera. And so if I had to pick between the two, like vitamin D or collagen, vitamin D, niacinamide, or NAD in my skincare, I'd probably go for the niacinamide. Unless I don't tolerate niacinamide. Then maybe toss that coin and try the nad, But I don't have that much conviction yet.
- [35:56]
Carlene Higgins
Yeah, good to know.
- [35:57]
Jill Dunn
Good to know.
- [35:58]
Carlene Higgins
I feel like the other Buzzy one I'm just throwing this in here is the hydrochlorous acid. You know that we've seen a lot of these sprays.
- [36:05]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Hypochlorous.
- [36:06]
Jill Dunn
Hypochlorous.
- [36:07]
Carlene Higgins
Hypochlorous acid.
- [36:08]
Jill Dunn
I don't know what I. Skincare brands launching that are just that ingredient. So it's the one that smells like your pool.
- [36:14]
Carlene Higgins
Yeah.
- [36:14]
Jill Dunn
Yeah.
- [36:16]
Dr. Sherene Idris
I kind of feel like that's been dying out. No. Well, that was almost.
- [36:19]
Jill Dunn
There's, like, two new whole brands that are like. They're like, oh, we have an opportunity to make a whole brand around just this hero ingredient.
- [36:28]
Dr. Sherene Idris
That's the other thing. I don't believe in that. Like, there are very few brands, and there are brands that are aspirational. Like, I love Augustinus Butter. And I think the. I've met him. He's extremely smart and knowledgeable, and what he's created with his technology is incredible. But to just take an ingredient and make it your whole storyline for your whole skincare brand, like, here's this ingredient as a serum and as a mist and as a toner. Like, it doesn't make any sense. Like, when you think of my own earbuds. I know, but. No, but I don't. I love August. I love August. I absolutely love it.
- [36:57]
Jill Dunn
I hear what I'm saying.
- [36:58]
Dr. Sherene Idris
And I think there are some brands that are worth that merit, and that is a proprietary thing that he has created.
- [37:03]
Jill Dunn
Yeah.
- [37:03]
Dr. Sherene Idris
So more power to you. But to take something like hypochlorous acid, which is so available across the board, and to act like it's the next best thing since sliced bread that has zero proprietary anything to it, and then to make it the hero across everything, it's a different story.
- [37:17]
Carlene Higgins
Yeah.
- [37:18]
Dr. Sherene Idris
So that's what I was trying to say. So I wasn't at all talking bad. I Love Augustine's butter. So don't misunderstand.
- [37:23]
Carlene Higgins
No, but I understand. I understand what you're saying. I think that there are brands and we're talking about marketing now and, and marketing kind of scams, if you will, but that they see the excitement that people have or the efficacy in one product, one ingredient, and then it's just like, let's blow it up and do a whole.
- [37:41]
Jill Dunn
Let's ruin it.
- [37:42]
Carlene Higgins
And I.
- [37:45]
Dr. Sherene Idris
And I also.
- [37:46]
Carlene Higgins
That's also one of my pet peeves, like vitamin C, for example. It's like I am very sensitive to vitamin C, so I want to know when I'm using it in a serum. I don't want it to be hidden in a. In a cleanser. And I didn't realize it was there. And now I've, like, destroyed my face and I don't need it in my sunscreen. And I don't. You know what I mean? Like, when it's carried on and on, and especially if you're expected to use the whole range, it feels like a bit much.
- [38:12]
Dr. Sherene Idris
That's what I. That's. But that's what I'm saying. That's exactly what I'm saying.
- [38:15]
Carlene Higgins
Yeah.
- [38:15]
Dr. Sherene Idris
I think you don't necessarily need a hypochlorous acid in seven steps of your routine every day.
- [38:20]
Carlene Higgins
Exactly. It's a very specific use.
- [38:22]
Dr. Sherene Idris
It's a specific use.
- [38:24]
Carlene Higgins
And again, it's kind of bleachy.
- [38:25]
Dr. Sherene Idris
No, I mean, it's different than actual bleach, but it does have that similar scent profile to it.
- [38:30]
Carlene Higgins
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Well, there you have it.
- [38:41]
Jill Dunn
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- [40:40]
Dr. Sherene Idris
There's a few. There's a few.
- [40:42]
Jill Dunn
Okay.
- [40:43]
Dr. Sherene Idris
I think panthenol is one that has been underrated. It's pro vitamin B5. It helps to produce ceramides. It also helps with, you know, your whole skin barrier. I think azelaic acid is very misunderstood. Yeah. Even amongst germs. Dermatologists don't know exactly how it works and we prescribe it, but we know it helps with inflammation and pigmentation. And I think the two in combination works really well for people who break out. But that's why Shameless plug. I did put it in the pimple patch for a reason, because I wanted something calming and soothing versus irritating like sal acid under occlusion. But I think a dark horse is probably diglucosyl gallic acid.
- [41:15]
Carlene Higgins
Say what again?
- [41:16]
Dr. Sherene Idris
It's an ingredient that was actually. So if you think of drunk elephant, their bronze glowy drops, it's in that product.
- [41:23]
Carlene Higgins
Say it again.
- [41:24]
Dr. Sherene Idris
I glucosyl gallic acid.
- [41:26]
Carlene Higgins
Di glucosol.
- [41:27]
Dr. Sherene Idris
What it does is something acid. It's a tyrosinase inhibitor, a precursor and it minimizes hyperpigmentation, discoloration. But it also has anti inflammatory benefits. So when you think of inflammation, it causes redness and that redness becomes brown and lingers on your skin. And this ingredient can have like a double pronged approach. That's what I personally used it in my hyperscrum for that reason.
- [41:49]
Carlene Higgins
Okay.
- [41:49]
Dr. Sherene Idris
And I think it's one of those really underrated products that can really help the skin long term.
- [41:55]
Carlene Higgins
Okay. Okay. And what about spicule skincare? This is one of those Korean beauty trends that, you know, we've seen an office, but also in products you can buy, maybe on Amazon or whatnot. What do you make of this? Is this. Maybe you could explain what it is for people? And are you a fan?
- [42:14]
Dr. Sherene Idris
So specules, I don't know if you guys have heard of the Ridel shots, the. That Korean, you know, brand that went viral with the spicules. They're microscopic micro needles from marine sponges. Okay. And they are really elegantly formulated in these products to help with, to a certain extent, a physical exfoliation of your skin without being as abrasive with a traditional scrub, like with walnut pieces or apricot seeds or whatever people use. And I think there is some benefit to them because it's a nice innovation for a physical scrub in that sense, even though it is not technically a scrub. But the reality is, if you have rosacea, if you are somebody who has an inflamed skin barrier, if you are very prone to irritations, I would probably advise that you do not go in that direction because it can irritate people and it can inflame your skin. And it is not as benign as it. They make it seem through their own communication. I have tried it. It is spicy.
- [43:11]
Carlene Higgins
You definitely see it.
- [43:13]
Dr. Sherene Idris
You definitely feel it.
- [43:14]
Carlene Higgins
I've had a facial done before, and I do have rosacea. And I can tell you what's very unique about it, or at least the formula that I used is it starts out, it just looks like a cream, like a regular cream. And they put it on your face, then they start massaging it in, and it feels like thousands of tiny pieces of crushed glass being pressed into your skin. And so genuinely feels like crushed glass. So genuinely. I had this question because I feel like if it feels like crushed glass, is it.
- [43:51]
Dr. Sherene Idris
How did you get.
- [43:53]
Carlene Higgins
It was very red, after which I was told was normal. And, you know, that's a good thing. It's bringing the, you know, all the blood circulation and all of that. And I think it looked pretty good after. But on. I wouldn't do it again. It's just, I. You know, my gut. My gut says don't. Don't do that to my face.
- [44:13]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Okay?
- [44:14]
Carlene Higgins
That's what it says.
- [44:15]
Jill Dunn
Common sense does have to come in at some point. Now, of course, we mentioned at the beginning that you have your own practice in Manhattan called Idris Dermatology. And so what are your. Some of your favorite treatments of the moment? Like, what's got the phone ringing off the hook at your practice where people want to come in and get it done?
- [44:33]
Dr. Sherene Idris
I'm not going to be the first person who jumps on a trend. But I do think there has been a shift in the sense of social playing into fear and scaring people from fillers and Botox and all of that. And yes, to a certain extent it's right, because people have gone overboard and there are some very unethical people who just want to inject and there are some very pushy patients who just want a lot. And it's like, who's wrong here to put the blame on the pharmaceutical companies who's just selling everything to anyone who can inject? So there's the blame to be placed on many different components here. So we've all seen the people who look nuts. But that being said, there has been a shift towards what are more bioregenerative things that we could do for ourselves that's not necessarily fillers. And I think PRP and PRF have kind of like taken.
- [45:13]
Jill Dunn
What's the difference between the two?
- [45:14]
Dr. Sherene Idris
So platelet rich plasma versus platelet rich fibrin 1. The Plasma 1 is spun faster, so you have much more liquid. It's better for larger body surface areas. You release the growth factors faster. It's, you know, something that if you have losing hair, it's great for a scalp treatment. PRF is spun slower and so growth factors are released slower. It has more of a volumizing effect in the. Now, that doesn't mean that volumizing effect is going to stay, but it's a nice added bonus. But it's still inflammatory. Like I bruised with prf. I was hoping not to bruise, but I bruised as I did with PRP with prf. But it's a very nice way. And I say it's almost like a fertilizer of sorts that's going to strengthen your tissue. It's never going to replace your volume, but it's going to firm things up from within. So, like, think of it as like the natural Spanx for your face. And as to a certain extent, yeah. But I think that has definitely, you know, there has been an uptick in that domain as a treatment on its own. But also, and I love to use it as an adjunct to microneedling or fraxel or whenever you're inducing trauma to add it so your skin can heal better.
- [46:11]
Carlene Higgins
Yeah. And so everybody knows. Is this like the vampire facial where you're getting so you're using your own blood and they're spinning in.
- [46:21]
Dr. Sherene Idris
That was like PRP, like when that whole thing came up, like in 2018, I think, or whatever, it was more PRP PRF is more of a thicker material, like a gel. It looks a little thicker, it feels a little thicker. And so there is more consistency to it than just prp, which is truly liquidy y.
- [46:36]
Carlene Higgins
But you are taking your patient's blood and that's the magic, right?
- [46:41]
Dr. Sherene Idris
That is the magic.
- [46:42]
Carlene Higgins
Yeah. Okay.
- [46:43]
Jill Dunn
Okay, so that's good.
- [46:44]
Carlene Higgins
Where are we at with threads? Do we trust? I mean, you do it.
- [46:48]
Dr. Sherene Idris
So for me, I don't love them and I don't hate them. I think if you're somebody who never wants to get a facelift in your life, and that's your prerogative, but you're somebody who is sagging, will I use it maybe once every few years or once a year to help give you better definition or proportion? Yes. But I'll use it with something else. It will never replace the whole picture because no one treatment can replace the whole picture. And I think that's the biggest misunderstanding when it comes to cosmetics, beauty, skincare or procedures is people are looking for that magic silver bullet that doesn't exist. And no one wants to hear that they need to do a little bit of everything to maintain. And honestly, that's the goal. It's like, how do you do a little bit of everything over time where you don't get overwhelmed emotionally, time wise or financially? And when you look back, you find yourself looking at yourself looking more rested, slightly better if you're really lucky in five to 10 years. And so that's really the goal. And then once you want a facelift, we should not shame that either. There's only so much of what I could do that can minimize the sag. So if you need a facelift, I usually tell patients I will tell you if you want it when I think you need it. And so I always have a green or a red on a person's chart to know if it's a discussion point. And I'll tell them, I think now's the time. And then you come back in six to 10 months. And then let's come up with a plan on how do we maintain you. Because the reality is you're like a car that just left a parking lot. Once you bought it, you're getting devalued. The second you leave the OR you're aging, so you're going to have to maintain it. And people are shocked by that.
- [48:20]
Jill Dunn
Yeah. So it's, it's just a lot. They're very expensive too, right?
- [48:23]
Dr. Sherene Idris
They're expensive. And you have to figure out what's your budget.
- [48:26]
Jill Dunn
Yeah.
- [48:26]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Find someone who wants to work within your budget and do the little things that are going to give you the biggest bang for your buck that you can afford? If that's going to make you feel better and you're doing it in a body positive way. Yeah, right, yeah.
- [48:37]
Carlene Higgins
So we're going to switch gears a bit about your brand, Dr. Idris, because everybody's taking home these gorgeous gift bags. Oh, yeah, we're so excited about that. So what's been the biggest surprise to you since becoming a brand founder in terms of coming up with rock solid formulas, which you have done? Do you find it's easier or harder to formulate skincare that truly delivers than.
- [49:00]
Jill Dunn
Maybe you thought before you got into all of this?
- [49:02]
Dr. Sherene Idris
I mean, a thousand percent.
- [49:04]
Carlene Higgins
It's harder.
- [49:04]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Yeah, it's harder. It's harder when you care. It's very easy if you don't care to the point where you just throw an ingredient that's trending in every product and put it out into the ether. And it's much harder when you care. And I think the idea of in concept, in theory and in reality are two very different things. And it's not as streamlined as people believe it is. And there are so many things that can go wrong along the way and you have to be very patient for the long term gain. That's something that has been very surprising, I think, seeing it from the brand lens with the claims, for example, dermatologists tested means nothing. Who tested it? What did they test? How did they test it? What did they find? You know, and so I can understand why brands use certain language because you need to get that story out and explain things. That has been a very big eye opener. Like you cannot say helps pigmentation. You can say helps with the look of discoloration. It helps with the look of discoloration. But like that's confusing to a skincare dummy. What's this coloration? Brown, Red. Both, like, I get it. And you want to be able to like gear you in the right way, but as a brand you're not allowed to say it, which I also respect, because you need those guardrails because other people are going to just cross them. So it is very much like a bipolar relationship in terms of whiplash, but it has been very eye opening and people are very litigious and you have to have a good lawyer. I think that's probably. I think that is probably the most important thing I found is just hire someone you cannot afford from the get go. Yes.
- [50:24]
Jill Dunn
Wow. Okay. Good advice. Good advice for what it's Worth. I still call you a pillow talk derm anyway.
- [50:32]
Dr. Sherene Idris
I do too. I do too. And I have never said anything. And this could be a pillow talk. We're having a pillow talk session right now.
- [50:38]
Carlene Higgins
Absolutely. I actually secretly wanted to theme today's event where we're all wearing pajamas. Like daytime.
- [50:44]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Next time we'll do it in New York. Yes. Our flagship.
- [50:47]
Carlene Higgins
Yes. Or we could all welcome.
- [50:48]
Jill Dunn
Or we could all get rooms at upstairs. When I was like, it's not wedding season.
- [50:53]
Carlene Higgins
Let's bring our pajama snacks and do this.
- [50:56]
Jill Dunn
Put on face masks. All of it. Well, very exciting. You have a mystery product launching June 30th. It's already amassed a 10,000 person wait list in 36 hours. Can you give us any hints? We love a scoop. Let's hear it.
- [51:11]
Dr. Sherene Idris
So my work in practice, My work in practice is very subtle, but I'm not the most subtle human. So I've been very obvious as to what we're launching, but I'm very excited that is finally here after three years in formulation. But we are launching our first sunscreen and it has been very much. Thank you guys. It's very much a labor of love because it takes a lot to create an over the counter drug when you are not a drug company. A lot of funding, resources, cries, tears, blood, sweat, the whole thing. But we've gone over 50 different formulations. And from my perspective, when you think of every before I talk to you guys about the sunscreen itself and give you guys the name.
- [51:49]
Jill Dunn
Yeah.
- [51:49]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Every product that I create has a double benefit. The problem with sunscreen is that people, it's like diabetes. You don't want to tell someone you have diabetes. They don't believe it, they don't feel it, and they don't want to fix it. No one wants to wear sunscreen because they think they look fine. Why should I protect myself against something I'm not going to even see until 10 or 15 years from now? So everything I do helps with something else in the now. So this sunscreen is not just a sunscreen. It also helps to reverse the look of brown spots through an ingredient called hexylresorcinol. And therefore it is a continuation of the major fade line. It is.
- [52:24]
Jill Dunn
That's the one you guys are all going home with today.
- [52:26]
Dr. Sherene Idris
So I have three products within the major fade line that help with discoloration, the look of brown spots, et cetera. And the sunscreen helps to continue that story to protect from the brown spot that you have. So they're fixing the past Damage while protecting you from future damage. And it is an SPF 50. It has been tested now one and a half times. We're having our 10 panel retested to triple check before launch, and that's hopefully coming out by, I think, today. I have not checked my phone, but it's very, very exciting. It is a whipped sunscreen, and I wanted to make sure that I created a chemical sunscreen because I was sick of the conversation. Casting out a whole segment of the world population, leaving them with a white cast, and I did not want to think my teeth were getting yellower. So it is a chemical sunscreen, and it comes with a needle head nose so you can measure two full fingers when you are applying it to your face. But don't be stingy. It's about using a good, generous amount. And I've also talked about how do you measure two full fingers? On my social media, it's usually the length of your fingers, but also half the width is too generous. That will get you to about a quarter teaspoon for your face, and I use a third for my neck when I'm out and about. And if you cannot squeeze, if you have arthritis, you can actually pop the needle head nose off. So it's an easier squeeze if somebody cannot necessarily push it or get that squeeze of the sunscreen out. But very excited for you guys to see it and play with it and show you guys the texture. It's lavender in tone.
- [53:50]
Jill Dunn
Tell me about that.
- [53:51]
Dr. Sherene Idris
That took like seven iterations to get right. But to help to brighten the appearance of the skin when you use it, so it gives you that instant gratification.
- [53:57]
Jill Dunn
So sort of like color correction a little bit.
- [53:59]
Dr. Sherene Idris
A little bit. If you were really color correcting, it'd probably have to be more yellow, orange. And I didn't want to go into that, so I wanted more of a brightening undertone. But we went over 50 iterations. It's been three years in the making. I didn't want to start with it because it was too much of an investment.
- [54:12]
Carlene Higgins
Let me play with it. Let me play with it.
- [54:13]
Dr. Sherene Idris
There you go. Should I. I don't. Should I pass it around?
- [54:15]
Jill Dunn
Yeah.
- [54:16]
Dr. Sherene Idris
You guys share this now. I. I do two full fingers, so everyone can try it, but you guys can see it. Yeah, it's. It's really hard to make a sunscreen when you really care about it. And so it's very exciting. It's very, very.
- [54:29]
Jill Dunn
Well, congratulations. It's really exciting and the time is perfect.
- [54:33]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Oh, and it's the best part the best part, I didn't even tell you what it's called. Oh, yeah, it's called Disco Block because it is for discoloration, but it also gives you a little illuminating effect.
- [54:42]
Jill Dunn
Okay.
- [54:43]
Dr. Sherene Idris
And we're going to launch the whole Studio 50 theme.
- [54:46]
Jill Dunn
Okay.
- [54:47]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Of fabulousness, 70s parties, glitter.
- [54:50]
Jill Dunn
Okay.
- [54:51]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Big hair.
- [54:52]
Carlene Higgins
So it is an SPF 50, which is amazing. It's launching in the US first, because this is a big thing with Health Canada. With Health Canada is that it is. Sunscreens are considered a drug. So it will be launching June 30th in the US and then in Canada, it will need to go, like, six months. All of the tests and everything From Health Canada. Yeah, yeah.
- [55:14]
Dr. Sherene Idris
So in the US 38.
- [55:16]
Carlene Higgins
38. I thought $38 was a pretty good price, too.
- [55:20]
Dr. Sherene Idris
So my whole. It's funny, like, I've always thought my hypothesis was starting. My brand is if I create products at accessible price points, and I really stand by the formulations, by delivering efficacy.
- [55:29]
Carlene Higgins
Yeah.
- [55:29]
Dr. Sherene Idris
People will come back to buy it. Because brands usually have such a high margin. And I don't have such a high margin because I'm really, really believing and I'm really pushing forward with this hypothesis.
- [55:39]
Jill Dunn
Yeah.
- [55:40]
Dr. Sherene Idris
But again, you put something out that's good, people will want it back and back and back again.
- [55:44]
Carlene Higgins
Absolutely.
- [55:44]
Dr. Sherene Idris
And so I wanted it to be accessible, but still understand that it is not just a sunscreen. It's also helping with the damage that you already have within the whole major fade trio.
- [55:53]
Jill Dunn
Okay.
- [55:54]
Carlene Higgins
Love that. Because you want to be wearing it every day. It's the A to B. It's the A to B damage that you get versus being on the beach. That's what we got to wrap our heads around, you know.
- [56:04]
Jill Dunn
Thank you, Dr. Idris. I do think that we have to leave it there, unfortunately, because Dr. Idris has to head out and I want to leave a couple minutes for people to take pics with you and whatnot and say hello. And we really appreciate all of you joining us. This episode is going to be on our YouTube and on in our feed on July 2nd. And then we just really appreciate you spending time with us.
- [56:22]
Dr. Sherene Idris
So grateful.
- [56:23]
Jill Dunn
Dr. Adrian. Thank you so much. So thank you, guys. Happy summer. And thank you. One hotel. Thank you.
- [56:29]
Dr. Sherene Idris
Thank you.
- [56:29]
Jill Dunn
Thank you. Thank you so much.
- [56:36]
Carlene Higgins
Thanks for listening. You can find details on every product mentioned in today's episode, along with our exclusive promo codes on our blog@breakingbeautypodcast.com While.
- [56:46]
Jill Dunn
You'Re there, be sure to sign up for our newsletter. Every episode will be delivered directly to your inbox so you won't miss a.
- [56:52]
Carlene Higgins
Single thing and get social with us. Let us know what you think of the episode. You can follow us on Instagram at Breaking Beauty Podcast and did you know.
- [57:00]
Jill Dunn
We also have a private Facebook group? Just search Breaking Beauty Podcast chat room.
- [57:04]
Carlene Higgins
You can even leave us a voicemail at any time with questions or feedback at 1-844-227-0302.
- [57:12]
Jill Dunn
And don't forget to subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. Fix Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, and Apple Podcasts where you can show us some love by writing a review.
- [57:22]
Carlene Higgins
See you next Wednesday. Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.