Please note: this transcript is not 100% accurate.
00:01
My goal is to turn people who have a fascination with beauty, but give them the intelligence side of things so they understand what’s happening to them and why they’re so attractive to it. A lot of things manifest on our skin. So our emotions show up on our face, hormone activity shows up on our face. Using these products, they are specifically formulated to meet the skin brain channels and they can calm our nervous system.
00:29
and they trigger feel-good responses in our skin.
00:37
Welcome to Uncover Your Eyes, the podcast where science meets self-awareness. Today, we’re gonna dive deep into neuro beauty. Yes, that’s a thing. What if the glow we chase in skincare actually starts in our brain? We’re unpacking how thoughts, mood, and neurochemicals shape not just how we feel, but how we look. From skincare ingredients that affect your mental state,
01:06
to cultural beauty myths that hijack your perception. This episode is about reclaiming beauty from the inside out with Melani Chong, a neuro beauty expert, cosmetic scientist, and the author of The Art of Cognitive Beauty. Welcome Melanie. Thank you so much for being on today. Hi, Meenal. Thank you so much for having me. This is pretty exciting.
01:30
Yeah. So you know what, neuro beauty, I like, I was in shock when I like even thought of that combination. Tell me what that means. Like, what is that all about? And how did that concept arise? Well, yes, it does appeal to the nerdiness within us, especially those who are beauty lovers. And I really believe it’s turning beauty junkies into beauty intelligence. So that’s really my goal is to turn people who have a
01:58
fascination with beauty, but give them the intelligence side of things so they understand what’s happening to them and why they’re so attractive to it. So neural beauty and cognitive beauty is the science of the brain, skin access and the nervous system and how they interact and their dynamic communication that shapes our perception of beauty. It affects not only our own perception of beauty, but how we perceive others as well.
02:25
Interestingly enough, I think you will find it interesting, neurobity connects our emotional well-being with our physical expression. And it’s leaning into the powerful abilities that lie deep within our neural pathways that ultimately manifests themselves on the surface of our skin. So is the skin and the brain connected in any way? Like, is there a pathway that connects the skin and the brain? Yes, our nervous system is the pathway from our skin
02:53
to our brain. So we have several nerve endings in our face and our face being our most expressive point that people see. A lot of things manifest on our skin. our emotions show up on our face, hormone activity shows up on our face, whether it be through the health of our skin or the manifestation of different results like acne, psoriasis or
03:23
hyperpigmentation or sensitivities. And I read somewhere something about the skin and the brain sharing the same embryonic layer. Does that play a factor and is that true? The skin and the brain do develop during our fetal stages from the same embryonic layer or ectoderm. So they’re very, very closely related from fetal stages all the way throughout our lives. So this means that they remain closely connected throughout
03:52
our lives via the nervous system, the endocrine and the immune systems. So this allows our emotional states to influence our facial expression, our skin tone and even our microbiome health. So, you know, when you talked about like skin tone, I was just thinking about like the glow, right? People talk about that radiance or the glow. I remember when I was pregnant, people would always say, oh, you have this glow. And I’m like, no, I don’t. Right. What does that mean? Like, I’m assuming that’s a connection to the brain, like because I’m maybe happy.
04:21
that they glow, like how does that work? It’s true. When we’re going through different phases in our lives, those effects do manifest in our skin. And luckily as women, we get to experience the miracles of hormonal changes. And whether we feel it or we’re cognizant of what’s happening within our bodies, when something is growing like a fetus within us, our body is reacting positively.
04:50
And I guess how we can explain that on any other level, whether it be pregnancy or just a phase in life, our radiance really does start with the autotomic nervous system. So when we’re regulated, our blood flow improves, inflammation is going to drop, and our skin just becomes visibly balanced and reflects how our health is manifesting on our skin. So then I guess the reverse is also true. So if I’m sad or stressed,
05:19
I want to say they might fall in the same category. How does that work that reflects on my skin as being not as hydrated looking or what? Well, definitely stress dysregulates our system and it can result in all kinds of results in our skin, whether it be dullness, unevenness and possibly oxidative aging. stress is…
05:45
Definitely a factor in our skin. And I think that’s something that we all realize at a very young age during the times during teen hood when our skin is changing and you might have breakouts or a higher level of sensitivity. Stress is absolutely a factor as it triggers the cortisol levels in our body. And when we’re speaking about our skin, this will degrade collagen. It will increase inflammation.
06:11
and just generally disrupt the skin’s natural repair cycle. And that can lead to premature aging and hypersensitivity. On a more technical level, I guess we can describe this as it impairing our skin’s barrier function. So it’s going to delay any possible healing in your skin. Daily skin cell turnover, which is…
06:36
Apoptosis is like the death of our skin cells, so it can increase and speed up the level of apoptosis. And this is really just going to manifest itself in accelerated and visible aging. Wow. So, I mean, I never even thought that the two were connected, right? Like the brain and the skin or like beauty. So how are we now perceiving others, right? You also talked about that a little bit at the beginning that, yeah.
07:02
I don’t know if I’m grasping this right, but how does this all tie into perceiving others? That’s really interesting. And I think that’s something that we really need to start to focus on in our lives because with social media these days, we start to look at ourselves in a very critical way. And this affects our self-esteem. How this system affects the way we see others is that
07:29
The brain uses pattern recognition and reward systems. There’s parts of our brain that evaluate the symmetry, the glow and emotional resonance in ourselves and in others. So this is something that’s called neuro aesthetic research and it looks at our face activations and how they respond to these symmetries, these emotional expressions from others when you get a glance from someone and it gives you a little burst of energy.
07:59
those are your hormones reacting to how you see other people. So self-perception plays a huge part in this and it literally shapes our own posture, our own self-expression and definitely our hormone levels. And so the way that we interact with other people is based on these systems speaking to each other and how they manifest and how, whether we know it or not purposefully, this is what we show to other people.
08:29
So our mindset affects our neural pathways, which then shows how we react to other people and how we perceive other people. The way our mood is, I want to say, or how we feel reflects on our skin and vice versa. So then…
08:46
Is there a point in using products? Like I want to say here, we are using all these night creams, day creams, eye gels, you know, this and that, you know, to make sure that our, you know, I want to hear the retinols and all of this to make sure, you know, the aging in our skin. Is there a point in all that? Like maybe we just need the basic cream and just to make our mood better and feel good and focus on that. Cause that will help with skin cell turnovers and things like that. So can you comment on that?
09:16
Well, there’s definitely historical evidence that shows that using skincare, triggers serotonin in our body. It makes us feel good. There’s clinical evidence that shows just from using a type of skincare, it’s self-care treatment. And so it improves our mood and it proves our sense of wellbeing. Now, how do ingredients truly influence our skin brain access? So there is truth in ingredients affecting our skin brain access.
09:45
The products that you were talking about, like the retinols, the niacinamides, the peptides, and even as of late CBDs and different botanicals, they activate our skin receptors using our endocannabinoid system. And everyone possesses this signaling phenomenon within their skin. Using these products, they are specifically formulated to meet the skin brain channels and they can calm our nervous system.
10:14
and they trigger feel-good responses in our skin. Wow. Okay. So are there products that are good versus bad? And what would be the better products? The products, and it’s difficult for me to really comment on whether they’re good or bad because everyone’s… Skin is different, I guess. Everyone’s skin is different, everyone’s perception, and sometimes there can be a placebo effect. I truly do not believe that
10:44
there are bad products on the market. We go through so much rigorous structure and regulation when it comes to skincare and especially in Canada, the restrictions are very high. So the quality of the products that we receive on the market are very high due to the rigorous clinical and stringent regulations that we have to achieve in order for things to make it to the market. So I don’t believe that there are bad products.
11:11
There may be products that may be ineffective based on their claims or based on what you believe that they are going to achieve for your skin. But I would say just because a product contains more ingredients, it doesn’t mean that it’s better. Sometimes pairing it back and using basic ingredients, using an olive oil or something very basic like a cocoa butter can solve
11:39
some basic skin solutions. They will not obviously heal the skin based on other pharmaceutical products as well. So every product has its own category. So I wouldn’t say that there’s bad products on the market. It’s just whether or not they’re right for you. Are there products that, okay, I want to say that you would use or that you would recommend to people because of such and such reason?
12:05
This is a great product to use, not a brand name, but mean an ingredient, sorry, to use because this makes your feel-good trigger-happy receptors happy. You know I want to say? Is there something like that? Well, I personally, I believe in peptides. I love the development of proteins and peptides in the scientific ingredient world. So I believe that there’s been great development in those products. I love the niacinamides.
12:34
They are great at helping slow oxidative aging. I love orchid extracts because number one, they are upcycled and fully circular in the market. I love adaptogens that come from either like an ashwagandha root or mushroom extracts. I love mushroom extracts. And I believe that there is some…
12:59
amazing and very effective ingredients coming from marine extracts as well. So when you see these terms and these ingredients on some of your products, depending on what their origins are and if they’re pure and clean and effective, I believe that they can solve some issues, skin issues for certain people. So you know the trend like the tween trend, you know, the teen trend of the Sephora beauty trend, I like to say,
13:28
where they’re just getting all these products, they’re not even looking at it. As long as it’s trendy, they’re getting it for their skin. Is that going to harm them in the future or their receptors or their skin receptors if they’re using on these types of products that may not be for their young skin in the future? I’m not quite sure the exact scientific results from overusing skincare. Our skin is a really powerful organ and it protects us.
13:57
and it filters products in our external environment and pollutants. I would say, mean, unless they’re using, you know, harsh reactants, like the acids and whatnot that they don’t need, it’s possible. It’s possible that you can age your skin by using products that are inappropriate for your age bracket. I would say, yes, I believe that using excessive products
14:26
And with combination of UVA and UVB rays, you know, and being out in the sun can promote oxidative aging. So I think if we’re not protecting our skin properly and we’re not creating the healthful barrier for our skin, it can probably have negative effects. I think so. And young skin, you know, is so self-regulating. You know, that’s our skin is in those developmental
14:56
stages are very powerful. So yeah, I would say that overuse of products and using the wrong products can definitely have an effect on your skin and sometimes less is more. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that’s my philosophy just cause it’s easier. In terms of, again, like the teen, the social media thing that you’ve touched on, right? There’s a lot of pressure even on us, like as adults and like on teens, like
15:25
what would you say to them, like they’re perceiving beauty in a different way because they’re looking at it on social media. Is there advice that you would give these people and women, men who are looking at these, I don’t want to say false images, but this done up image? Again, I think as consumers, it’s really important for us to develop our scientific literacy and our beauty intelligence. How are we affected by external
15:54
social media and marketing. Well, I think on a neuro level, it creates negative external neural loops. So, you we may see something and we compare ourselves to someone that is or something that is an unnatural standard out there and that does exist. And I think if anything, we need to reclaim our own narrative when it comes to the way we’re affected by social media and marketing.
16:23
You know, the algorithm doesn’t know who you are as an individual and doesn’t know your daily life and what you go through. So we cannot, you know, base our own self-perception based on external feedback. I think that mindfulness, staying true to your own narrative, maybe even media detox, I think those are things that can restore positive self-esteem.
16:52
healthy dopamine and oxytocin pathways and if we’re talking about on a neural sense. So I think, you know, really focusing on our own mental wellness is a very good place to start. Would you say that if we are mentally healthy, we will not only perceive ourselves as better looking, but we will perceive others as better looking? I really think that, yeah, I have this little
17:20
coin phrase that I said that I say, beauty in be beauty. So the more you start to see the beauty in things, expose yourself to new external environments, appreciate them for being different, challenging our, our sensory feedback, we start to see things as more naturally occurring. And that is seeing the beauty in things, you know, exposing ourselves to different, different cultural experiences.
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meeting people and speaking with people and learning about people who have different backgrounds that challenge your norms. Thank you so much, Melanie, for being on today and for really helping us understand the link between beauty, our brain and our skin and perceiving others and perceiving ourselves.
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So we are going to link all of Melani’s contact details and her link to her book in our show notes. Thank you so much everybody for being on today and for listening. Thank you listeners and viewers for tuning in. If you want to catch more episodes of Uncover Your Eyes, make sure to follow or subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and on YouTube. To learn more about me, follow me on Instagram @Dr.MeenalAgarwal Until next time, keep those eyes uncovered!
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