On Thursday, March 11th, Paula Begoun, Founder of Paula’s Choice Skincare did a live Zoom event where she introduced her new product launches in Australia & New Zealand, busted common beauty myths, and discussed the latest skincare research.
Paula’s background: Paula struggled with acne when she was a teenager and no matter which products she tried, her acne never got better (in fact, many times it got worse). The cycle of getting her hopes up and then being disappointed was terribly frustrating, so she began to research and learn everything she could about skincare. Years of research led Paula to write 21 books on beauty. Her passion was to prevent people from ever having to go through what she went through. Her best-known book series was Don’t Go To The Cosmetics Counter Without Me. Paula then took her knowledge about skin and ingredients and began formulating Paula’s Choice Skincare which launched on the internet in 1995.
Beauty begins with truth: Paula built her brand on the tenets of truth, quality, facts, science, research, safety, and sustainability. Every product is developed only after Paula and her team has accumulated extensive peer-reviewed research along with clinical trials to determine what works (and what doesn’t), so you can have the best skin of your life now and in the future.
Paula comes to Australia & New Zealand: Paula made her first trip to Australia and New Zealand when her book Don’t Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me was published there in 1991 and quickly became a best-seller. Then in 1997 Paula’s Choice Skincare was launched down under and became Paula’s first international countries for her products. Paula fell in love with Australia and New Zealand, some of her most memorable moments have been her many visits to the Sydney Opera House, walking the Harbor Bridge, incredible seafood, snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef, and driving the New Zealand coastline.
Unparalleled formulas: Paula’s Choice Skincare focuses on the most effective ingredients proven to resolve skin problems. Paula is also vigilant about her formulas for different skin types because when people use the wrong products for their skin type, complications happen. When Paula invents products for oily skin, they always have a fluid texture and are exceptionally lightweight, so they don’t make skin oilier or clog pores. The products for dry skin are creamier and more emollient to smooth and soothe skin’s surface.
Radical and unapologetic: For over 40 years, Paula has been known for exposing the myths and misleading information so rampant in the world of skincare. The education she provides on her websites around the world reveal the truth about skincare, even when it isn’t popular.
What you need to know to achieve the best results for your skin.
Inflammaging, inflammacne, inflammdiscolorations: Over the past several years, research has proven without question that inflammation destroys skin health. Regardless of the source, inflammation is the primary cause of premature ageing, skin discolorations, dryness, increased breakouts, collagen/elastin degradation, and countless other skin issues. To have the best skin possible, you must stop inflammation from attacking your skin.
Sunscreen: The sun is a major source of skin inflammation and is damaging for everyone. Applying a sunscreen rated SPF 30 or greater, everyday rain or shine, is essential for having healthy, beautiful skin… and yes, even indoors because the sun’s harmful UVA rays come through windows.
Gentle: Everyone must treat their skin gently. Anything that causes skin irritation triggers inflammation starting a destructive cascade of damage. That means you must never use products or ingredients that irritate skin, such as harsh scrubs or cleansing brushes, soaps or drying cleansers, products that contain essential oils or fragrance of any kind, skin-sensitizing forms of alcohol, witch hazel, or citruses.
Antioxidants: Pollution is another significant cause of skin inflammation, and stable, potent antioxidants are the absolute best way to protect skin from pollution damage. Paula’s Choice is known for the powerful, research-backed antioxidants they select.
Give skin what it needs: Over time, with environmental damage, skin’s ability to produce the vital substances it needs to be young, hydrated, smooth, even toned, and glowing slows down. The best skincare products nourish and replenish skin with those important ingredients such as ceramides, hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, retinol, omega fatty acids, niacinamide, peptides, and on and on.
One ingredient can’t do it all: Skin is the largest organ of the body and has multifaceted needs. The truth it takes a combination of ingredients (including antioxidants, skin-repairing ingredients, hydrators, and skin-renewing substances) to meet those needs. Trying to rely on one “superhero” ingredient to do it all would be depriving your skin of the complete care it needs.
Stopping breakouts at any age: Acne is an inflammatory disorder so it’s crucial to only use gentle products. Shockingly, many anti-acne products on the market utilize harsh ingredients, which triggers more inflammation and inevitably makes breakouts worse. If you’re struggling with blemishes or clogged pores of any sort, start with a gentle cleanser, followed by a salicylic acid (BHA) exfoliant at a 2% concentration and azelaic acid at a 10% concentration. This combination is backed by research for the soothing way it targets breakouts, blackheads, and post-acne marks.
No jar packaging: Never buy products that come packaged in jars. Most of the best ingredients for skin don’t stay stable when exposed to air or light. When you take the lid off a jar, it allows air and light to get in and start degrading those important ingredients.
DIY skincare is rarely good for skin: Research has shown that Do It Yourself skincare recipes are more-often-than-not bad for skin or do nothing at all. In fact, many of the most common DIY recipes include ingredients like lemon or essential oils that produce significant irritation. Non-fragrant plant oils like jojoba seed, safflower, canola, apricot kernel, argon, or borage seed are the rare exception—all of these are great for dry skin.
Don’t steam skin or use hot water: Steaming or using hot water damages skin and causes irritation. It can even cause tiny capillaries near the surface of skin to break. As always, being gentle is the goal—use tepid (mildly warm) water when cleansing.
Facial massage and jade rollers are a no-no for skin: Facial massage, jade rollers, or anything else you do that pushes and pulls at the face will cause elastin fibers in skin to break which increases skin sagging! People also often don’t realize how aggressively they tug at their skin to remove eye makeup. The moral of the story? The more you avoid moving your skin around, the better.
Use a gentle leave on AHA (such as glycolic or lactic acid) or BHA (salicylic acid): AHAs and BHA can be incredibly helpful for all skin types. Because of environmental damage skin can’t shed (exfoliate) like it did when we were young. AHAs and BHA help skin exfoliate in a healthy natural way as it did when we were you. AHAs and BHA also have other beneficial properties such as improving hydration, skin tone, and skin smoothness!
All skin types need the following skincare essentials: A gentle cleanser, a leave-on AHA or BHA exfoliant, a serum, booster, or moisturizer loaded with antioxidants and skin-repairing ingredients, and sunscreen rated SPF 30 or greater. From there, you can customize your routine to include treatment products for your specific needs such as acne, redness, skin discolorations, advanced sun damage, rosacea, and so on.
These are some of the myths Paula busted during her presentation
(everyone was shocked, and you might be too)!
Myth: Skin repairs itself best at night.
Truth: Research shows just the opposite is true: Skin actually heals better during the day than it does at night because. During the day because you are moving around more, increasing blood flow and oxygen intake that stimulates healing far more than just lying still in bed does.
Myth: A cool, tingling sensation means a product is working.
Truth: A cooling or tingling sensation is your skin telling you it’s being sensitized, irritated, and inflamed and none of that is helpful. Even if you don’t see the irritation on the surface of skin, research has shown it is still happening below the surface destroying collagen, elastin, and other support components and increasing breakouts and other skin problems.
Myth: Your skin adapts to products you use so they eventually stop working.
Truth: Skin doesn’t adapt to skincare products any more than your body adapts to a healthy diet. Spinach and grapes are healthy for you today, and they’ll continue to be healthy for you months and years from now, even if you eat them every day. The same is true for your skin. As long as you are applying what’s beneficial for skin (and avoiding things that harm skin such as unprotected sun exposure) there is no reason to change.
Myth: Essential oils are great for treating many skin concerns.
Truth: Some components of essential oils are indeed beneficial for the skin, but unfortunately essential oils are also comprised of volatile, fragrant compounds that cause skin inflammation. Non-fragrant plant oils such as jojoba, sunflower, argon, acacia, and most berry oils are a far better choice as they impart skin benefits without the negative inflammatory impact.
Myth: Sheet masks help ingredients absorb.
Truth: Simply put, sheet masks are a waste of your time. There is no research showing they have any advantage over using well formulated skincare products and they don’t help ingredients absorb. Skincare ingredients absorb primarily based on their molecular size and the product’s delivery system. Plus, you don’t need every ingredient to absorb at the same level. The best products are formulated in a way that some ingredients remain on the surface to protect skin from environmental damage, others absorb a bit more to restore hydration and skin’s defence substances, and others penetrate even deeper where they can repair and renew living skin cells.
Myth: Natural ingredients are better for skin.
Truth: Research makes it abundantly clear that while there are lots of brilliant natural ingredients for the skin, there are also lots of natural ingredients that are irritating and damaging to the skin, and these show up in skincare products all the time. On the other hand, there are lots of lab-engineered ingredients that are brilliant for skin and work far better for skin than natural ones do. The best products contain a combination of both the best natural ingredient and best synthetic ingredients!
Myth: Scrubbing skin is great for exfoliation and unclogging pores.
Truth: Using an abrasive scrub, rough cleansing brush, or a loofah generates inflammation and causes micro-tears in the skin’s surface, leading to a litany of problems including collagen breakdown, redness, dehydration, increased breakouts, and a weakened outer barrier so skin becomes more susceptible to environmental damage. A gentle AHA or BHA exfoliant is the better way to go for healthy, resilient skin.
Paula loved talking about some of the new Paula’s Choice products
launched in Australia and New Zealand this year as well as some of her favourites
(all products are available on www.paulaschoice.com.au):
25% AHA + 2% BHA Exfoliant Peel: A multi-acid, rinse-off exfoliant peel that dramatically resurfaces skin to visibly smooth wrinkles and multiple signs of ageing, refine rough, bumpy texture, brighten tone & unclog pores in just 10 minutes! AHA, a water-soluble exfoliant, addresses wrinkles, fine lines and rough, crepey texture. Oil-soluble BHA penetrates pores to unclog, refine and soothe. The result after rinsing? Hydrated, supple, ultra-glowy skin. Price: A$52/ NZ $54.36
CLINICAL Niacinamide 20% Treatment: This innovative serum is the first ever to contain niacinamide (vitamin B3) at a safe, effective 20% concentration. It effectively tightens and minimises the look of sagging pores and rough bumps caused by age or sun damage and smooths out rough, orange-peel texture. Price: A$66/ NZ $69
CLINICAL 0.3% Retinol + 2% Bakuchiol Treatment: Triple-action retinol, bakuchiol and peptides support collagen-depleted skin to target fine lines, deep wrinkles, enlarged pores and loss of firmness. Research shows that bakuchiol and retinol work even better together! In this formula they work together with firming peptides to deliver multi-level repair and rejuvenation. Price: A$73.70/ NZ $77.05
CLINICAL Ceramide-Enriched Firming Eye Cream: A ceramide-rich blend of wrinkle-fighting ingredients including anti-ageing retinol, multiple forms of antioxidant vitamin C and targeted peptides, delivers visibly firmer, youthful-looking skin. Price: A$65/ NZ $67.95
CLINICAL Ceramide-Enriched Firming Moisturizer: An unprecedented combination of ceramides, plus retinol and vitamin C, in one moisturiser for dramatically younger-looking skin. This is the first formulation with our CollagenSupport Complex, which acts as a binding agent to keep the outer layers of skin hydrated and resilient. Price: A$79/ NZ $82.59
DEFENSE Essential Glow Moisturizer SPF 15: This illuminating moisturiser shields skin with all-mineral sun protection plus antioxidants to help protect against the effects of environmental damage and the harmful effects of blue light exposure. Price: A$33/ NZ $34.50
RESIST Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum: An extraordinary blend of antioxidants in a feather-light serum that gives skin a brighter, hydrated appearance while resisting environmental stress and promoting firmer-looking skin. Price: A$52/ NZ $54.36
Paula shared her personal skin care routine.
I have been using my Paula’s Choice Skincare products since we launched on the internet in 1995! Even though I am proud of all my Paula’s Choice products, I don’t use all of them as not every formula or texture is right for my skin type and skin concerns. Here is my current skin care routine that I’ve chosen to improve my tricky skin care needs. I have oily, blemish-prone skin, congested/enlarged pores, sun damage, brown spots, dehydration in some areas, and dry skin around my eyes. Yes, that’s a lot of issues but many people struggle with more than one skin concern, just as I do. Thankfully, I know my products live up to their claims and my skin reflects that guarantee.
My Morning Skincare Routine
I start by washing my face with my SKIN BALANCING Oil-Reducing Cleanser, and I always use it with a soft washcloth. From there, the products
I follow with are applied from the lightest, most liquid textures to the thicker, creamier textures (that’s a basic rule of skincare application for everyone).
After cleansing I follow with my SKIN BALANCING Pore-Reducing Toner, which refreshes, hydrate, and nourishes my skin.
Next, I apply my fluid but concentrated 10% Niacinamide Booster to shrink my pores, eliminate dehydration, improve my skin tone, and strengthen my skin’s barrier to better fight environmental damage.
After that, I apply a thin layer of my RESIST Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Serum. This step defends my skin from the visible effects of pollution and environmental damage—and works well under my makeup.
For the discolorations on my hands, chest, and face, I apply my C25 Super Booster with 25% vitamin C. It’s great along with the 10% Niacinamide Booster to provide so many benefits from reducing skin discolorations to anti-ageing and fighting environmental damage.
Next, I apply my RESIST Barrier Repair Moisturizer around my eye area.
Last, but not least, I apply my Defence Essential Glow Moisturizer SPF 15. I would NEVER leave the house without wearing a sunscreen with SPF 30 and is so light and soft on my skin but still offers incredible protection.
My Nightly Skincare Routine
Just like in the morning, I start by washing my face with my SKIN BALANCING Oil-Reducing Cleanser and I always use it with a soft washcloth.
The only difference is at night I wash my face twice to be sure all my makeup and sunscreen is removed.
Next, I smooth on my SKIN PERFECTING 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant. This is the product I formulated for myself, but it ended up being our global best-selling product. Practically overnight it improves skin texture, unclogs pores, minimizes bumps and breakouts, and increases hydration.
Once or twice a week, I apply the fluid 1% Retinol Booster to significantly improve wrinkles and other visible signs of ageing. Retinol is a superhero skincare ingredient.
Every other night I apply my Peptide Booster which is a new addition to my skin care routine to diminish wrinkles, sagging, and uneven skin tone.
Finally, I apply my RESIST Barrier Repair Moisturizer around my eye area.
Just as I have found the combination of products what work beautifully for my skin, I know you’ll find the ones that work brilliantly for you based on your skin type, skin care concerns, and personal preference.
For more information, visit: https://www.paulaschoice.com.au/
17 March 2021
Photos by Megan Robinson