Caroline Hirons has been dubbed “the most powerful voice in the British beauty industry” and “the queen of skincare”. She started out as a qualified beauty therapist, training in Paris, before becoming a YouTuber and blogger. She then went on to publish the bestselling book Skincare and later Teen Skincare. She is also the founder of skincare brand SkinRocks.
For our weekly series Life Lessons, she shares her own daily habits and the common mistakes we all make.
I always take my makeup off as soon as I get home
My earliest memories of my grandmother are watching her get ready for bed. She worked in the beauty industry as a fragrance specialist, and she always took her makeup off as soon as she walked through the door. I do that to this day. If you get home at 5/6pm and go to bed at 10/11pm, that time is being wasted; your skin is being harmed by the dirt and makeup sitting on your face. You could have spent that time letting skincare seep into your skin. I genuinely can’t remember the last time I slept in makeup. It was probably when I was a drunk teenager.
I developed acne for the first time during perimenopause
When I turned 40, I developed a shellfish allergy out of nowhere, and then acne arrived as well. Women entering perimenopause often experience major skin changes. I panicked and went to the GP. They put me on antibiotics, but I didn’t want to be on medication. I treated it myself – I used more acids, fewer rich products, and more water-based formulas – and eventually my skin improved. Once I started HRT, my skin was good again.
I would never buy an expensive body wash
The cheapest product to make on the market is a body wash, because it’s mostly water and surfactants. Yet people will still spend £20 to £30 on one. I always say: tits and below is cheap pharmacy, tits and above is Space NK. I’ll be putting Garnier or Original Source on my body until I’m dead. Having said that, micellar water is another product you can buy cheaply. They are all basically the same. I once bought a Chanel micellar water, and it was lovely, but there’s not much point. I also wouldn’t spend extra money on body deodorant or body cream.
I’ve never made a skin mistake – my only regret was expensive tweakments
I have had a bit of Botox here and there but I wouldn’t say I’m at the Kris Jenner facelift stage yet. I’m in a different position than most people because a lot of things are gifted to me, but I’ve had expensive treatments I would never recommend: Ultherapy and CoolSculpting (the treatment Linda Evangelista blames for harming her face). Other people have had results, but I have to say it didn’t work for me. I was gutted that nothing changed. I would never suggest someone spend £1,500 on a treatment if you aren’t sure you will get results.
The biggest skincare myth is that ‘stronger is always better’ – it isn’t
People increasingly think they are chemists and chase higher percentages in their skincare products without understanding what they mean. Unless you’re a cosmetic scientist, do not do this. I see this a lot on TikTok, and it makes me want to close my phone.
There are some outliers when it comes to social media trends: red light masks do work, but only decent ones. Clinical LED treatments are much stronger. Primark is selling one, and I definitely wouldn’t put that near my face. You also have to use them consistently. Each machine is different: ethical companies provide clear timings or automatic shut-off. If a mask just switches on and off, that’s a red flag. You’re probably just putting a light bulb on your face.
Every year, I change to a winter skin routine as soon as I change my coat
When you get your winter coat out, add a facial oil and richer moisturiser. The key is also to avoid stripping cleansers. In the morning, I cleanse, and use a gentle acid once or twice a week, then an essence, pigmentation serum, antioxidant serum, moisturiser, SPF and eye cream. In the evening, I use a cleansing balm, essence, retinoid and eye cream. In winter, I use facial oil more because the cold causes flakiness. It’s possible to use too much moisturiser in the winter – your skin will feel greasy, and makeup won’t sit properly. If that happens, it’s the wrong product for you, and you need something lighter.
I have four children – I started them on skincare as soon as their hormones kicked in
As soon as they start to sleep in longer and grow body hair, it’s time to introduce skincare. I present it more as ‘self-care’; I explained that they needed to start taking more care of themselves. They have to wash their face. Shower more frequently, and they have to use more body wash.
The most important thing you can do is take your teenager seriously. If your teen is open enough to say “I’ve got spots”, the worst thing you can do is dismiss it. I know you’re thinking you’re doing them a favour by encouraging them to ignore it, but they won’t, and their friends won’t let them either.
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You don’t have to spend a fortune – a gentle cleanser, toner and moisturiser will do. But most importantly, your kid needs to be more influenced by you than their friends. You have to be the one to teach them about skincare and cleanliness; otherwise, they will follow their friends and trends.
If you don’t have a lot of money, buy products from brands that do
Brands like L’Oréal, The Ordinary, and The Inkey List all have massive parent companies, which means they can afford to make things cheaper because they produce at scale. They can manufacture hundreds of thousands of units, whereas I, as an independent seller, can only sell a few units. It’s a bit like Amazon versus an independent bookstore. This means, thanks to the big brands, you can find an affordable cleanser, an affordable moisturiser, and an affordable SPF almost anywhere. They might not be world-class, but they will do.
Skincare can be expensive because some ingredients are extremely expensive, even when you’re using them at low percentages. The most expensive ingredients are things like peptides. Vitamin A derivatives can be very expensive, too. Retinol itself is cheap – that’s the budget version – but retinoids more broadly, like retinal, are far more costly.
Manufacturing alone is expensive, and the clinical testing costs a fortune, too. We’ve spent around £800,000 on clinical trials for my brand SkinRocks. A lot of people distrust skincare brands because they think the industry is trying to rip you off. Some brands are just selling you a dream, and are extraordinarily expensive. I’d never recommend them. But there are a lot of brands in the middle that care passionately about skin. Some are made in Britain. These brands cost way more than making it in China and getting it shipped over. Supporting British industry costs money.
If you don’t know where to start, start French
I always carry my skincare with me, but if I lost my luggage and had to start over with only a pharmacy available, I’d stick to French brands like Avène or La Roche-Posay. The French take skincare seriously; they always have. I did a lot of my facial training in Paris, and their approach is very hands-on.
If you’ve ever had facials in different countries, you’ll notice that facials in the US tend to be more mechanical: practitioners often wear gloves and use machines. In Europe, the idea of wearing gloves is almost horrifying because touch is so important; you want to feel the skin. Facials there focus much more on massage and hands-on techniques. They have a deep respect for the skin.
That said, some French pharmacy products can be a bit too strong or stripping. Very foamy cleansers, for example, often cater more to oily, typically male skin. But for the essentials, like cleansers, moisturisers, and SPF, they are great.
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