THEY MIGHT NOT HAVE THE SAME GLOSSY LIFE, STYLISH INSTAGRAM CONTENT AND RABID FOLLOWING AS THE LIKES OF MICHELLE PHAN AND HUDA KATTAN, BUT A BAND OF MYTH-BUSTING, INFO-WIELDING SCIENTISTS ARE FAST RAKING UP THE “HEARTS” ON SOCIAL MEDIA PARTICULARLY DURING THESE TROUBLING TIMES. AILEEN LALOR EXPLORES THE RISE OF THESE ALTERNATIVE BEAUTY INFLUENCERS – AND WHAT IT COULD MEAN FOR THE INDUSTRY.
The beauty influencer world can sometimes appear shallow and superficial – pretty faces with not much to say, some might state – but there’s an alternative group fast gaining traction and their style is more white coat than designer jacket. Identifying themselves more as dermatologists, cosmetic formulators and educators than selfie-snapping, Tiktok-dancing beauty fiends, they boast impressive qualifications, highly specialised knowledge and an insatiable curiosity even about the technical side of the beauty business – and they want to share it.
Michelle Wong, a Sydney-based PhD chemist and science educator, started blogging almost a decade ago when she realised that there was a dearth of reliable information about beauty products – and a whole lot of misinformation. She says things really started to explode though three to four years ago at the start of the so-called skintellectual trend, when brands like Deciem came on the scene and began to speak overtly about the ingredients in their products. “The fact that chemical names were front and centre in marketing led people to wonder what they were. Because they were so accessibly priced, people became more curious,” Wong (aka @Labmuffin) explains.
There was also the rise of the clean beauty movement with – as Erica Douglas, the US cosmetic chemist known as Sister Scientist on Instagram, puts it – “people wanting to know what they’re putting on and in their bodies”. It didn’t help that information about beauty can often come across as woolly and emotion-based or extremely complex.
Enter these influencers who aim to help consumers sort myths from facts so that they can make informed choices about what they buy. Mostly their focus is on education, not selling products or their personal brands. “It feels organic. With traditional influencers, it’s not that they’re trying to trick people, but they are trying to convince people to follow them,” says Dr Aegean Chan, a US-based dermatologist who doles out skincare tips and truths via humorous memes and vlog-style videos on her namesake Instagram account. “We are just interested in sharing knowledge. It seems – I don’t want to say pure – but it does feel like that. Pointing out that one of her bugbears is the idea that commercial beauty products are toxic, she adds that it’s her way of responding to misinformation – “when people try to sell things based on myths or scaring customers” – and offering her knowledge on a platform accessible to all.
“A lot of people maybe haven’t thought of visiting a dermatologist or don’t have one,” she elaborates. “There is a void for scientific and common-sense information about skincare and a lot of sponsored reviews that don’t focus on how to take care of your skin based on biology. It’s nice to be a source of information, highlighting diseases that aren’t talked about that may be isolating and helping to educate people and maybe make them feel less alone.”
For Douglas, it’s also about inspiring young women through something that they love and use daily: beauty products. “I want to be a representative of what the new woman scientist looks like – get rid of the stereotypes and change the narratives,” she says. “I’m showing people that science is a superpower to break down the problems of everyday life.”
Science-based influencers don’t just come from the beauty world though. Nowadays there are experts in everything from women’s health to epidemiology sharing their wisdom on different platforms. And with the Covid-19 pandemic leading to a greater interest in science in general, these accidental beauty influencers have only found their follower counts going up.
“It’s exposed the need for true experts and we’re also seeing what happens when we deny and look past science,” says Douglas. “There’s this yearning for people to be informed, and a need or desire for a deeper understanding of things and how science affects your everyday life.”
The community is a supportive one and Dr Chan says she and her fellow social-media-friendly scientists share knowledge with one another. They also repost one another’s content to spread the word further and make it a must to engage with their followers, who often see them as trusted and impartial guides to the beauty world.
In fact they’re influencing whom audiences and beauty brands have more traditionally regarded as influencers.
High-profile bloggers such as Caroline Hirons, beauty editors like Cheryl Wischhover and makeup artists including home-grown name Larry Yeo regularly share science-based content and use their platforms to debunk pseudo-science and misinformation. “It’s been nice to see people from the traditional influencer world cross over and use their platforms to amplify science,” says Dr Chan.
Which means that the only way to go, it seems, is full throttle forward. Michelle Wong of @labmuffinbeautyscience, an Instagram account with a 192k-strong following, says universities and governments now understand that scientific communication is important and are investing more in it. But her great hope – one shared by Chan – is that the beauty industry starts to share more about the science behind its products.
That and – as Douglas points out – getting more women into the profession. “We need more women on this side of the lab bench.
Join me, please! It’s lonely! I’m excited to see more women using this skillset for good and applying it to a lot of different industries. At one time being a nerd was considered a bad thing. Now we run the world!”
THE DOCS/SCIENTISTS/LEGIT “BEAUTY GEEKS” TO FOLLOW
SAM BUNTING (@DRSAMBUNTING, 83.8K FOLLOWERS)
A London-based dermatologist with a Harley Street practice and one of the best-known science-based influencers on Instagram and Youtube. Her focus: teaching followers basic skincare rules like how much of each product to use or whether we should avoid retinol if we’re going to be in the sun. She also has her own product line, Dr Sam’s.
AEGEAN CHAN (@DRAEGEANCHAN, 5,342 FOLLOWERS)
A relative newbie to the influencer world (she’s been blogging for only a year at aegeanmd.com), this US-based dermatologist loves the way her patients can see the benefits to their treatment. Using memes and videos, she educates followers on everything from how to pop a pimple to why you get a tan even if you’re wearing sunscreen.
CLAUDIA CHRISTIN (@FUNSKINCARE, 65.8K FOLLOWERS)
Originally from Indonesia, she’s now based in Seoul where she has just received her PhD in dermatology. She writes mostly about products – how to use them in combination and why they’re not working – and is also a long-term acne sufferer so a lot of her content is aimed at helping people understand the condition.
JEN NOVAKOVICH (@THEECOWELL, 40K FOLLOWERS)
Based in Canada, this independent cosmetic formulator and podcaster focuses on myth busting and explaining sustainability and whether certain products can harm you (they probably can’t). Her podcast provides a platform to experts who discuss everything from product safety to packaging.
ERICA DOUGLAS (@SISTERSCIENTIST, 27.5K FOLLOWERS)
A US-based independent cosmetic formulator who makes products for more than 100 brands. Her feel-good IG feed is all about information on how products are formulated – and inspiring posts showcasing the work of other black women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
MICHELLE WONG (@LABMUFFINBEAUTYSCIENCE, 192K FOLLOWERS)
A PhD chemist who now works full-time as a science educator – on top of blogging and posting on Instagram and Youtube. Her goal is to make science digestible and interesting to people who might not usually engage – and to tear down myths, one by one.
LINDA JAKUBUS (@LEPAMPEREDPIG, 4,702 FOLLOWERS)
The US-based chemist and retired physician assistant has her own brand, also called Le Pampered Pig, but her IG content is mostly focused on debunking. She often shares examples of marketing material from brands and picks apart claims and terminology. Her pet peeve? The word “chemical” used as if it’s a bad thing.
