The Mel Robbins Podcast
#1 Dermatologist: The Ultimate Skincare Routine for Amazing Skin
26 Feb 2026
Chapter 1: What skincare issues does Dr. Shereene Idriss address?
Hey, it's your friend Mel, and welcome to the Mel Robbins Podcast. So the other day, I was scrolling through social media, and I'm not even kidding you. Within three minutes, I saw 17 different skincare products being marketed to me, red light therapy masks, anti-aging serum, some under ice roller thingy mid-job masks that promise to reverse aging, clear your skin, make you glow.
I mean, one video, I don't even want to admit this to you. even made me feel like maybe it's time for a facelift. I feel so overwhelmed about what to do, the way my skin is sagging, what products to buy, what not. And I know you do too, because I have been receiving thousands and thousands of questions from you from around the world on the topic of skin and skincare.
Questions like, what do you do about adult acne? How do you get rid of sagging jowls? What skincare do you need to throw out? How do you wash your face correctly? What ingredients in skincare actually work? How do you take care of aging skin?
Today, Dr. Shereen Idris, one of the most trusted board-certified dermatologists in the world, is here with the science, the answers, the three specific steps, and the no BS truth on what works and what doesn't. What helps your skin and what hurts it? What's worth your money and what isn't?
So whether you're dealing with acne, aging skin, or you're just overwhelmed and you don't know what to do with the products that are clogging your bathroom drawers, or if you're in a moment in your life where your skin is just out of control, and when you look in the mirror, you don't look like yourself, you don't feel like yourself, and you're scared, there's nothing you can do,
Dr. Shireen Idris is going to assure you that there is always something you can do. She says your skin is not a problem to solve. It's a relationship to build because ultimately, if you follow everything that she's going to teach to you today, you will begin to feel comfortable and confident in your own skin. Hey, it's your friend Mel, and welcome to the Mel Robbins Podcast.
I am so excited that you're here. It is always an honor to spend time together and to be with you. And if you're a new listener, or you're here because somebody shared this episode with you, I just want to take a moment and personally welcome you to the Mel Robbins Podcast family. I cannot wait for you to meet today's guest, Dr. Shireen Idris.
She's here to tell you exactly what to do, what to eat, and what to avoid if you want healthier skin. Dr. Idris is a world-renowned board-certified dermatologist with 17 years of clinical experience treating patients, studying skin, and cutting through the noise with evidence-based advice.
She earned her degree in biology and her medical degree from George Washington University, completed a research fellowship at Harvard University, and did her dermatology training at Tufts Medical Center. She's been a clinical assistant professor at NYU and is currently a clinical instructor at Mount Sinai in New York City.
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Chapter 2: How can I effectively manage adult acne?
You said that only 20% is determined by genetics. I've never heard anybody say that.
Yeah.
So 80% has to do with cumulative sun exposure. Are we living a rockstar lifestyle? Are we consuming alcohol to no end? Are we not focusing on the overall aspects of our lifestyle and diet? Are we actually washing our faces? Are we using the things? And that I think is a reflection of everything else.
When all of it comes together, your skincare is that reflection of how you view yourself and how you take care of yourself overall. So to be able to put a little bit of emphasis, a little change every single day will amount to bigger changes in the long run. And I think the most dramatic one is truly how you feel about yourself. And that's why I went into dermatology.
I never liked convincing people that they had a problem. And so because they could see their problem, they're already more motivated to help themselves. But to be able to see somebody's confidence be restored after we've helped them go through whatever it is they're going through, there's no feeling that compares. Well, it's true.
Most of us don't go to the dermatologist unless we hate something about the way we look or if there's something on our skin that's scaring us. And this is going to sound really dumb to admit, but when I listen to what you're already saying, I realize that I've been so focused on the outside and what I'm putting on my skin.
that I haven't really considered all of the things that you're also going to talk about that are part of your lifestyle that go from the inside out.
A thousand percent.
Wow. Why is skin health so important for overall health? And what does the state of your skin reveal about what's going on inside your body?
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Chapter 3: What are the essential steps in a skincare routine?
And so you are chasing a never-ending nothingness because it's just not something that's achievable, right? Whereas a healthy dose of vanity is like caring enough to show up and wear an iron shirt instead of a wrinkled shirt. You know, caring enough to brush your hair, caring enough to show up in a way where it's still a positive reflection of who you are, but it's not consuming who you are.
Your confidence is not dependent on how you look, but it's the cherry on top and it allows you to feel more confident. And so that I think is the difference between unhealthy vanity and healthy vanity.
What I kept thinking about as I was listening to the way that you were talking about self-criticism and never being enough is that there's also that relationship between unhealthy being the constant pursuit of hoping other people think you look a certain way versus the ability to look in the mirror and care about how you feel about yourself.
I mean, newsflash, you've always looked like you. So if you're always pursuing other people's approval of how you look, you're pursuing something that doesn't exist. And I've been in practice for over 10 years. I see nearly 100 patients a week. And more often than not, it's a much deeper rooted issue that you're trying to get to.
And that's where it's such a vulnerable state where you have to find someone that you know you trust, who's not going to feed off these insecurities or vulnerabilities or take advantage of. And I've seen it through every angle. And cosmetics is not just skin deep. It's deeper.
I've never heard anybody explain it like that. And I can give you an example because I feel like I'm in the exam room with you right now. And I have come in because I hate at the age of 57, I've got these like jowls. And when you just said that it's never really about the thing you're complaining about, You're right.
For me, it's that I feel old when I see my skin sagging and it scares me to think that I'm 57 and that that much of my life has just flown by and that somehow if I... Get rid of these things that are hanging down like meat purses on my face that I will feel different about myself. But, you know, maybe there's something to do that we can and we'll talk about all that.
But I love that we're also saying that it's really about how you feel and the deeper things that are going on. Yeah, a thousand percent. Wow. Let's talk about how your lifestyle and habits impact your skin. What are the specific lifestyle habits that positively affect your skin?
The most important habits that I think are underspoken of, right, Number one, and I used to roll my eyes in my 20s and even in my 30s at this one, but it's true, sleep. You cannot underestimate the value of sleep. And the reason beauty sleep exists is for a reason, but I think it's misunderstood. It's not because you slept eight hours last night that you look good today.
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Chapter 4: How should I properly wash my face?
That's number one. The second thing, SPF 30. People don't really know. It's just a number. Should I guess what I think it is?
Yeah. I kind of believed that, like, the 15 is only going so deep in terms of the barrier. The 30 is maybe going a little deep in terms of the... It's like, you know, kind of the thickness... Of the cream or the invisible shield. Of the invisible shield and... Is it actually about the number of minutes that it's helping?
Yes. It is? It's minutes. So it's not 15 minutes or 30 minutes, but it roughly means how much longer you can stay out of the sun without burning compared to no sunscreen. So let's say... This is a lot of math. It takes 10 minutes for you to burn. Okay. With an SPF of 30, it should technically take you 300 minutes. So that's what SPF stands for.
And so it's something that most people don't even know. Dr. Idris, what's the biggest myth about getting a safe tan? There is no safe tan. A tan and any form of pigment that gets produced because of the sun, even a freckle, is a sign of DNA damage. And so anybody who says, oh, but I get a base tan is just telling me that their skin is already reacting to the UV rays that it got.
And it has internally damaged the DNA of their cells. Whoa. So there is no safe tan.
Okay. So for somebody like me who really blew this. child of the late 70s and the 80s who would lather up with band of soleil tanning oil yeah and then i would lay on my driveway with my friend jody of course i had the foil of course i was going for that copper tan pull the bikini down i have so much skin damage but i got the tan line Can you reverse that damage?
What do I like? It's never too late to help yourself. Number one, I think if you are somebody who's done that, make sure you go in for a yearly skin exam because yes, it's already DNA damage and you don't want to get skin cancer and you may develop skin cancer. But the good news with skin cancer is it's highly treatable when caught early.
So don't let fear get in the way of you getting checked and just go in for a yearly skin exam. The same way you go in for dental cleaning, get your skin checked. But you can, of course, help yourself, at least from a cosmetic standpoint, because how does that damage usually show up first? It shows up in the form of brown spots, sunspots. hyperpigmentation, discoloration.
And so understanding how to use skincare over the counter as a baseline routine married to prescription is going to give you a very solid way to help your skin to look fresher and better.
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Chapter 5: What lifestyle habits can improve skin health?
And she's reminding you and me that your skin is not a problem to solve. It's a relationship to build. And today, she's breaking down what to eat, what to do, what not to do if you want healthier skin that not only looks better, but that you feel good into. All right, Dr. Idris. Now let's talk about the things that you should skip because they are a waste of money.
And to just think of this conceptually, anything that is promising instant results, it's probably not going to be for the best of your long-term benefit. Anything that is breaking your skin barrier, it's not going to be for the best of your long-term benefit.
And anything that is irritating or inflaming your skin, similar to breaking your skin barrier, it's not going to be for the best of your long-term benefit. So... Number one, right? It's not sheet masks as a whole category, but when the format doesn't match what the product is trying to give you, it's a red flag.
So you're holding these masks that I see at every checkout now. that have all, like my daughters wear these like crazy. I typically will put one on on a plane, but I don't know what I'm buying. This is where you have to understand what an active is.
Okay. So the point of a sheet mask is to calm your skin down, to hold onto that hydration, to keep that gunk in, right? Okay. When you find a sheet mask with an active, like a retinol, this is a red flag because the format of the product doesn't match the ingredient. The last thing I would want to do is put a retinol under occlusion in a sensitive area. It's like a recipe for chaos and disaster.
So understanding what you're purchasing is very important for you. That's why I think it's important to have a basic understanding of what are ingredients, What are we trying to achieve with them? And then what are the different formats that exist that I can layer into my skincare once I have my foundation in place? You know, if you were to buy a mask, what are you looking for?
Just like cooling, moisturizing? Honestly, really just hydrating, moisturizing, because I'm looking for that instant kind of plumping glow, and then I'm done. Got it. I'm not looking for long-term gains with it. Okay, what is the next product we should not waste money on? All right, here goes. Ready? Uh-oh. It's a little controversial, but like a loofah. Okay? Why should I not have a loofah?
Number one, what worries me a bit about loofahs is people use this on their face. And I've seen this time and time again. If it's not a loofah that looks like this, like a synthetic one, the traditional natural loofahs, people have used them on their faces. And I've seen this in my practice. It is a physical exfoliant that's getting rid of dead skin cells physically, right?
But the skin of your face is much thinner and it can be extremely irritating and aggressive. Not to mention the fact that many people don't clean this. And bacteria can build up, water can be stuck in there, it can get moldy, gross, and just not necessarily the best thing. Number three, now this is not the complete devil.
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Chapter 6: What ingredients should I look for in skincare products?
Yes. And then there's a fourth peak that happens in our early 60s, where at this point, I think we've come to a better understanding of who we are and how we're aging. It's something that's not as dramatic because it's not so sudden as at 44, but you have your bones, you have your volume, you have your skin quality. All three of them are kind of shifting at the same time.
And there's another little accelerated change burst in the aging process.
You know, as a dermatologist, I want to know, because I've had this conversation with so many friends, you know, one day you look in the mirror and you think, oh my God, who is that? How do you best deal with the emotional sign of aging? Sagging, texture changes, and this recognition that it just feels like it's out of your control.
This is probably for me the I think one of the most important questions that you ask, because hopefully we all have long lives and our skin is so tied to our visible identity. that we don't often think of the opposite of how our skin affects our mental health. And as we get older, things shift relatively fast. Give yourself some grace. It's not because you didn't do.
It's not because you didn't use. It's not because you did binge. Life was going to happen, but what can we do now to support ourselves? Having that sort of understanding really does lower that sort of energy around the aging process.
And then just being open to learning about what is at your disposal from over-the-counter skincare to maybe prescription to maybe something minimally invasive to maybe something more extreme. And what is it that you want to do to help support yourself? Because when you help yourself, it's not like you need this to be confident.
The goal is hopefully you're confident with yourself and this is a cherry on top. But when you support yourself, it makes you feel better in how you show up for the world and taking away that judgment, even though you had that judgment prior.
But once you live through something, you see it through a different lens and you realize that there are ways that you can help yourself without changing who you are and still be who you are. I love that.
What do we do about these sagging jowls? Why do we develop them? And what the heck can we do about them? The dreaded jowls. I hate these things. Even the word sucks. I hate them. It's like skin purses hanging off. It's like, where did these pockets come from? I'm not a squirrel that needs to store nuts in the winter, so I don't need this extra skin. I want to get rid of it.
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