significant and radical an event that was. The United States passed this regulation in 1977; the next country to mandate cosmetic ingredient labeling (Australia) didn’t enact it until 1995! Other countries didn’t follow suit until 2000 through 2009.
Needless to say, I was very pleased to finally know what was in a cosmetic, but, at the same time, it was a disappointment because so many of the ingredient names were indecipherable (and they still are to this day). Here was this amazing information on the label, but I had no idea what I was reading and, on top of that, there were (and are) thousands of different ingredients that a cosmetics chemist can use to make a product. It made my head spin, but it also spurred the beginning of my quest to learn what it all meant and to then spread the word—that is where my books and, eventually, Paula’s Choice would play a critical role.
With a background in science from my university days and access to scientific journals (all in hard copy in libraries, as there was no Google back then), my search began. I immersed myself in biology and physiology books and the scientific and medical journals on skin (something I still do with my team today, albeit with much easier access).
Just Knowing Ingredients Isn’t Enough
As fascinating as it was to finally know what products actually contain, whether those ingredients were actually effective or beneficial (or how problematic they were), it wasn’t enough. In other words, although I now knew the function of an ingredient in a formula, fundamental and complicated questions remained. I still needed to know which ingredients, in what amounts, and in what types of products they would work best for which skin type and which skin concerns, from acne to wrinkles, dry skin, rosacea, oily skin, combination skin, sun damage, loss of firmness, blackheads, and on and on. Moreover, what should be done if someone had multiple problems, like oily skin and wrinkles with occasional breakouts, or dry skin with rosacea and sun damage? Many people, including me, deal with frustrating combinations like this, and it can be incredibly confusing to know how to treat seemingly contradictory skin concerns.
It was overwhelming, just imagining the vast amount of scientific and medical literature I would have to tackle to accomplish what I’d set out to do. There were myriad questions that needed answers.
The most basic question of all, however, was what kinds of products, among other elements of a skincare routine, could be combined into a cohesive routine that takes into account everything someone needs—and that excludes what is absolutely not needed—to have beautiful, healthy skin?
An even more complex problem is that most ingredients have nuances that affect their degree of benefit (or their potential for damage) to skin. For example, not all ingredients can be stable in the same formula, but those same ingredients can sometimes be combined with the right formulary considerations. There’s also the issue of how much of any specific ingredient is needed to get the best results.
When it comes to plant extracts, it gets even more complicated because different parts of a plant can have different attributes. Take green tea for example, which would be listed on a product as Camellia sinensis. Research is clear that green tea is a good skincare ingredient, but which part of the plant is the best? Do you want the leaves, flower, roots, or stem of the plant? Eventually, I was to learn that this nuance applied to most ingredients.
I went back to the library, spending endless days searching for answers to these questions. Over a period of five years, I assembled enough data and details to realize what formulations would be best for skin, for different skin types, different skin concerns, and perhaps most importantly, which ones would present a serious risk of irritation to skin.
All this culminated in my first book, Blue Eyeshadow Should Be Illegal, which was published in 1985. Two years later I appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show for the first time and would go on to make 14 more appearances on her show during the years it aired.
Ancient Wisdom Was Not Very Wise
…At least not when it came to skincare! With each book I wrote, I thought I had really, this time, finally said it all, and that now people would find their way, as I had, to having the best skin possible and I would never have to write another book. Obviously, that wasn’t the case, as I went on to write many more books and articles. I would have loved it if my first book could have covered everything, but as countless new studies were conducted and scientific discoveries were published, knowledge about skincare progressed and changed, and so did our conclusions and recommendations about what would (and wouldn’t) work for skin.
As the research evolved, so did our work, as we needed to incorporate what the most current research demonstrated to be true for skin. Each new book reflected the recent significant and meaningful information so you would stay informed and be able to take the best care of your skin. And, as with every book before it, beautiful skin is what this book (and Paula’s Choice Skincare) is all about!
Many people ask us: Why does skincare have to be so complicated? Believe us, we wish it weren’t, but it is, although some people understandably still doubt us. Women sometimes tell us, “Well, my grandmother just used bar soap and she looked great!” We have no doubt grandma was a beautiful woman, but we would no sooner expect you to use a typewriter rather than your laptop computer—or a hard-wired landline rather than a smart phone—just because that worked well for your grandmother. Like laptops and smart phones, advances in skincare reflect the same concept in terms of the innovative and cutting-edge technology used to develop today’s best products.
Taking care of your skin can seem as complicated as rocket science, but as multifaceted and complex as skincare is, we can bring it down to earth for you so you can make the best decisions for your skin.
With all due respect to previous generations and ancient cultures, the often-disastrous skincare routines and products used throughout history were not necessarily beautiful, and they certainly were not solutions. Don’t cheat your skin by accepting myths about skincare. Even as little as 20 years ago, there was little to no information about sun protection, antioxidants, increasing collagen production, preventing environmental damage, and so on.
It’s also important to remember that there are no miraculous ingredients when it comes to skincare. This is one of the more difficult facts to get across in this book, and you may find it hard to accept because cosmetics companies endlessly parade new ingredients with elaborate and enticing fabricated stories about their amazing effects on skin. It is not easy to ignore that barrage of inducements. Please try to resist being seduced by yet another rare plant extract, exotic plant oil, or some scientifically manufactured ingredient because, without exception, this belief will be a disaster for your skin. It’s not that new ingredients are not interesting and potentially beneficial for skin, but skin is too complicated for any single ingredient to be enough. If anything, just the opposite is true: Skin needs a vast array of substances to be healthy, to heal, to stay young looking, to feel smoother, and to look flawless.
The Genesis of Paula’s Choice
Paula’s Choice Skincare was launched in 1995 and I am very proud of the products we’ve created. That was almost ten years to the day from when my first book was published. What a remarkable journey it has been and continues to be!
Creating my own line of skincare products was controversial given that I had been such a strong and vocal critic of the cosmetics industry. Wasn’t I sleeping with the enemy and going over to the dark side? How could I ever be impartial again? Anyone who is familiar with my work over the years knows that I haven’t compromised my principles or integrity for one moment—you will find just the opposite is true. The more my team and I learned by formulating products and working with brilliant cosmetics chemists, the more in-depth knowledge we gained about skincare and skincare products. All this reinforced my drive to not just create great products but also to put forth reliable, research-supported information.
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