Skincare
Why the right skincare ingredient matters more than the brand
Skin specialist Lisa Harris explains why a consultation, a simple routine and the right active ingredients do more for your skin than any famous label.
Lisa Harris on the Wonderbirds Show EP 373
Video from Wonderbirds.
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How do you choose skincare that actually works for your skin?
Start with your skin type, not a brand name. A professional consultation can identify concerns such as rosacea, acne, dehydration or pigmentation and flag allergies. From there, a simple routine works best: a light hydrating serum such as hyaluronic acid, a targeted active like vitamin C, then a moisturiser to seal it in, with time for each layer to absorb.
Walk into any chemist and the skincare aisle offers hundreds of serums, creams and sunscreens, each promising a visible change. Many shoppers pick a familiar brand, spend more than they planned and see little difference. On an episode of the Wonderbirds Show, the hosts asked a skin specialist where an ordinary person should even begin.
Lisa Harris has worked in skin therapy for around 30 years. Her career has taken her around the world, alongside doctors, nurses and holistic therapists, and she says she has worked with some 250 product lines. Her answer to the shopping problem is simple: stop choosing by label, and start choosing by what your own skin actually needs.
In the conversation, Harris covers why a consultation matters, how serums and moisturisers do different jobs, which ingredients deserve a place in a basic routine, and why collagen and clear skin depend as much on diet, sugar and stress as on anything applied to the face.
Key takeaways
- The ingredient matters more than the brand; a famous label cannot fix a product that is wrong for your skin type.
- A professional consultation should analyse your skin, record allergies and produce a tailored plan before you buy anything.
- Serums treat the skin and moisturisers seal it, so apply the serum first and give each layer time to absorb.
- Collagen cannot be pushed through the outer skin, so diet, supplements, movement and lower stress all help the body make its own.
1. Choose by ingredient, not by label
Harris sees the same mistake again and again: people buy a name they trust rather than a formula that suits them. Skin falls into different types and concerns, from rosacea and acne to dehydration and pigmentation. A product chosen for its packaging may simply be addressing the wrong problem, which is why so many expensive jars end up half used at the back of a bathroom cabinet.
Buying online is convenient, but Harris warns that convenience often means guessing. Without knowing which active ingredients a skin needs, a shopper can apply a product every day and see nothing at all. In her view, the ingredient list should guide the decision, and the person reading it should understand what each active is meant to do for that particular skin rather than for skin in general.
That is why Harris recommends booking a consultation with a qualified therapist before building a routine. A good consultation includes a form, a proper skin analysis and questions about allergies, since some people react to vitamin C, vitamin E or zinc. The aim is a tailored treatment plan and a short list of products that fit, rather than a basket of whatever is on promotion.
2. Serum first, moisturiser second
One of the most common points of confusion, Harris says, is the difference between a serum and a moisturiser. A serum is closer to a treatment, carrying active ingredients into the skin. A moisturiser has a different job: it seals the skin and locks in what sits underneath. Treating the two as interchangeable is one reason routines feel heavy, sticky or ineffective.
Serums also come in different bases. Some are oil based and some are water based, and vitamin C usually belongs to the second group, so it should absorb quickly. If a routine leaves the face feeling coated or starts to pill under make-up, Harris suggests using less product and experimenting with the amount before giving up on the category altogether.
For a beginner, Harris advises starting with something familiar. Hyaluronic acid is a humectant that draws moisture into the skin, so a small amount makes a sensible first layer. Vitamin C can follow, then the moisturiser. Leaving around 60 seconds between layers gives each one time to absorb, which helps the whole routine work as intended rather than sliding around on the surface.
3. Healthy skin is built from the inside as well
Collagen is the ingredient many people ask about first, and Harris is clear about its limits. Collagen cannot simply be pushed through the epidermis from a cream. Instead, treatments aim to trigger the body's own collagen and elastin. Harris also points out that collagen does more than plump the face; one of its main roles is helping the skin stay hydrated.
Vitamin C plays a supporting role here. Harris describes it as the nutrient that knits collagen together, and she notes that it also helps protect skin from UVA and UVB exposure. She calls it so important for the skin both as a serum and as a supplement. For collagen itself, she recommends combining supplements with in-clinic energy treatments to get the fullest result.
Lifestyle completes the picture. Harris links collagen production to feeling happy, meditating and walking, and she connects breakouts to hormones, diet, sugar and stress. Having struggled with acne herself, she favours gentle cleansing that never strips the skin. Her wider message is that clean food, clean living and a consistent routine matter as much as anything applied to the face.
