1 00:00:02,280 --> 00:00:04,200 I'm Cherry Healey. 2 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:07,520 I'm a journalist and a self-confessed beauty addict. 3 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:14,720 Like many of us, I spend a lot of time and money on my appearance. 4 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:18,640 If a product or a beauty treatment tells me it's going to help me to 5 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:21,960 look closer to how I ideally want to look, 6 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:24,000 then I am going to try it. 7 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:27,240 MUSIC: The Look by Roxette 8 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:28,920 And I'm not alone. 9 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:33,360 In the UK, we spend over £9 billion a year on cosmetics that promise to 10 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:36,560 improve and transform us. 11 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:41,200 But how much of what beauty products promise is simply marketing 12 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:45,800 manipulation, and how much is based on science and evidence? 13 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:52,840 So I've teamed up with independent scientists to test our everyday 14 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:56,200 beauty products like never before. 15 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:57,960 I felt it blip. 16 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:02,320 We carry out a ground-breaking study to uncover why there might be little 17 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:05,440 point in wearing moisturiser every day. 18 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:07,080 I'm really surprised that there's 19 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:09,040 no anti-ageing properties in the cream. 20 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:13,240 We reveal the only over-the-counter product scientists would use on 21 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:15,400 their own wrinkles. 22 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:18,320 You can see the improvement round here. 23 00:01:18,320 --> 00:01:19,760 It is quite striking. 24 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:22,560 Right, if I could just ask you to spin over on your front and I'm 25 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:23,960 going to go into the right leg. 26 00:01:24,960 --> 00:01:29,120 We test cellulite treatments for ourselves to find an easy fix that 27 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:30,480 actually works. 28 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:32,840 CHEERING 29 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:38,360 And I learn some shocking home truths about how I should have been 30 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:41,120 looking after my own skin. 31 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:44,560 It is worse than one would expect from your age. It is bad! 32 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:54,160 I'm going to put the claims on cosmetics to the test. 33 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:57,200 I want to find out the truth about looking good. 34 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:11,960 Beauty products can make some pretty bold claims. 35 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:14,920 Talk me through the bee venom and sheep's placenta, 36 00:02:14,920 --> 00:02:16,960 24-carat gold. LAUGHTER 37 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:19,320 So it's lifting, firming, hydrating. 38 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:21,800 We seem to buy the sales pitch. 39 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:25,920 We spend over £2 billion a year on our skin alone. 40 00:02:25,920 --> 00:02:27,320 How much is this? 41 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:30,200 That is, I believe, just around 700. 42 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:33,000 £700 for this pot? 43 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:36,760 And there's one skin care product we use more than any other. 44 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:40,160 Three quarters of women and half of all men moisturise. 45 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:43,360 This is, like, routine. 46 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:46,760 It's like having food every day. So moisturiser is my best friend. 47 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:50,120 I just find it stops the... my skin drying out. 48 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:53,160 I've been using it for many, many years. 49 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:55,880 I always make sure I have my moisturiser with me. 50 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:59,360 I feel that, now I've hit my 30s, you do have to look after your skin. 51 00:03:00,640 --> 00:03:05,400 The majority of us use moisturiser every day because we think it will 52 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:08,560 keep our skin hydrated, healthy and young. 53 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:11,160 But what do they really do for us? 54 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:18,400 Scientific research on moisturisers tends to focus on people with 55 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:22,120 clinical skin conditions, not on people with healthy skin, 56 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:24,960 and not on high street products. 57 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:28,480 So we're running an experiment that, to our knowledge, 58 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:30,800 has never been done before. 59 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:37,840 I've come to the University of Sheffield, 60 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:42,080 where we're going to scientifically put moisturisers to the test, 61 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:45,080 with the help of 25 volunteers, 62 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:49,800 to see whether people with healthy skin need to use moisturiser, 63 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:54,080 and whether how much money you spend on it has any impact on your skin. 64 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:59,640 Thank you. Doctor Simon Danby is running the experiment. 65 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:01,840 So, Simon, what are we testing? 66 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:03,520 We've got three different creams here 67 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:05,280 from three different price brackets, 68 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:07,000 each the bestselling in that range. 69 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:11,280 We've taken the top-selling basic moisturisers from the UK's biggest 70 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:13,920 health and beauty retailer. 71 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:18,200 Under £5 per 100ml, it's Nivea Soft. 72 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:22,080 In the £5-£25 per 100ml bracket 73 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:24,040 is Clinique Dramatically Different. 74 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:28,680 And bestselling over £25 per 100ml 75 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:30,920 is Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre. 76 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:35,640 So, what are you testing for? We've got our equipment here. 77 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:38,160 The first thing we're going to look for is skin hydration, 78 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:41,240 so for that we've got the corneometer probe here. 79 00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:44,360 So that's going to see how much water there is in my skin and how 80 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:46,600 well hydrated it is. Ooh, I felt it blip. 81 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:49,640 What else are you testing for? 82 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:51,920 We're going to be testing skin health as well. 83 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:54,000 How well the skin functions as a barrier. 84 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:57,880 So this is actually measuring the water that's lost from your skin, 85 00:04:57,880 --> 00:04:59,720 and the more water you're losing, 86 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:02,800 the less well your skin's working as a barrier. 87 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:05,560 If the skin's barrier is less effective, 88 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:09,440 then we become susceptible to irritation and dryness. 89 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:14,360 And you're testing this with all of the volunteers before and after. 90 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:15,440 Yeah. 91 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:19,720 That's you all finished. Thank you very much. 92 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:25,560 For the next three weeks, every volunteer has to apply moisturiser 93 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:28,520 to just one side of their face, twice a day, 94 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:31,200 leaving the other side bare. 95 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:34,720 And Simon will assess whether the moisturiser makes any difference 96 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:37,080 to the skin's appearance. 97 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:40,520 No-one is told which cream they've been given. 98 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:44,280 The brand has been disguised as A, B or C. 99 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:50,160 Getting into the swing of having to do moisturising 100 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:52,200 is very, very strange. 101 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:55,160 It's quite gloopy and it does take quite a long time 102 00:05:55,160 --> 00:05:57,680 to absorb into my skin. 103 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:01,080 I got this spot in the right part of my face, as you can see. 104 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:07,520 After three weeks, our volunteers are back at the 105 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:09,960 University of Sheffield for their final tests. 106 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:15,800 So, the million-dollar question - 107 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:19,600 do people with healthy skin need to moisturise? 108 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:23,440 Thank you all for taking part in our experiment. 109 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:26,640 Half of your faces look great. LAUGHTER 110 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:28,000 I'm joking, obviously. 111 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:32,240 Time to reveal to the groups which cream they've been using. 112 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:36,360 With the low-priced Nivea Soft was Group C. 113 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:38,680 Which is you. Yeah. 114 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:42,120 Using the mid-priced Clinique were Group A. 115 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:46,680 Which leaves the premium product, Embryolisse, with Group B. 116 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:50,920 I'm slightly disappointed that I gave the tub back now. LAUGHTER 117 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:57,520 So, what were the results of the lab tests, starting with hydration? 118 00:06:57,520 --> 00:06:59,440 After using the moisturisers, 119 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:03,480 we did see an increase in the level of water in their skin. 120 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:05,440 You would expect them all to have done that, 121 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:07,560 but we only found that with two of them, 122 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:11,080 and you might be surprised to find out that the two that hydrated the 123 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:14,200 skin was the low-priced Nivea Soft 124 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:16,880 and the Clinique product. 125 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:19,000 LAUGHTER 126 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:21,840 So not the most expensive one. Yeah, yeah. 127 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:26,360 I can't believe this. That's extraordinary! That is crazy. 128 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:30,840 Surprisingly, the most expensive cream turned out to be the least 129 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:33,040 hydrating by far. 130 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:36,920 The cheaper creams, Nivea and Clinique, performed best, 131 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:40,360 adding moisture to the skin and improving the way it felt. 132 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:45,280 So, is there an ingredient in the cheap and the mid-range that we 133 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:47,760 should be looking for, that was important for moisturising, 134 00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:50,120 that maybe wasn't there in the more expensive one? 135 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:53,360 Those two products contain high levels of humectants in them, 136 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:56,600 so humectants are the chemicals that actually hold 137 00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:58,840 on to water in our skin. 138 00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:03,840 One of the most common humectants in cosmetic moisturisers is glycerin, 139 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:07,480 and the higher it is on the ingredients list suggests the more 140 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:09,640 of it there is in the product. 141 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:13,520 So you can bypass the price tag and look at the ingredients list? 142 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:19,360 Absolutely. So, how did the creams do on the second test - skin health? 143 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:22,120 Did they make the skin a stronger protective barrier, 144 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:24,160 preventing dryness and irritation? 145 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:28,840 What we found at the end of the study after three weeks was that 146 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:31,840 there was no difference at all. 147 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:34,200 Skin health hadn't increased. 148 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:39,680 So none of the creams improved the health of the skin at all! 149 00:08:39,680 --> 00:08:42,480 In the final test, an expert panel 150 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:46,080 judged the appearance of the volunteers' faces at the end 151 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:47,600 of the experiment. 152 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:52,000 They didn't see any improvement to appearance from using any of the 153 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:54,040 creams in our study. 154 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:58,160 So a crucial question for me is whether they improve the 155 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:01,000 skin's appearance in the long term. 156 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:05,400 So if there are two people, and one uses moisturiser their whole life 157 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:08,440 and the other does not, when they're both 80, 158 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:11,840 will they look the same or will the person who's moisturised look a 159 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:14,960 bit better? Yeah, that's an interesting question, 160 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:18,240 and I think we've got to remember we focused on moisturisers here, and 161 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:22,600 these products that we've looked at only claim to be moisturisers. 162 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:26,880 And as far as I'm aware, there's no evidence that using a moisturiser is 163 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:29,880 going to have that long-term anti-ageing effect. 164 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:34,080 We saw no change in the health or appearance of the skin over our 165 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:35,920 three-week study, 166 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:39,400 and any benefit we saw to hydration was temporary. 167 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:43,200 We haven't found any scientific evidence that using a basic 168 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:47,560 moisturiser on healthy skin will improve it in the long term. 169 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:52,560 I'm really surprised that there's no anti-ageing properties in the cream. 170 00:09:52,560 --> 00:09:54,480 It's one of the main reasons I use moisturiser, 171 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:56,400 so for me that's quite disappointing. 172 00:09:56,400 --> 00:09:59,960 I'll probably still continue using it, but... Why? It just feels nice. 173 00:09:59,960 --> 00:10:02,680 It makes me feel better. 174 00:10:02,680 --> 00:10:05,360 It seems like there is a short-term gain, 175 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:09,040 but it is useful to know that if you miss a couple of days, 176 00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:11,920 it's not going to affect you long-term. 177 00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:14,360 I approached Embryolisse, Nivea and Clinique 178 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:16,680 with the results of our experiment. 179 00:10:16,680 --> 00:10:20,160 Embryolisse point out that our study was conducted on a small number of 180 00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:22,080 people over three weeks. 181 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:25,240 They claim that Embryolisse has performed well in many independent 182 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:28,800 tests where there were statistically significant improvements 183 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:30,720 in skin hydration. 184 00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:33,960 They say Embryolisse contains film-forming active ingredients, 185 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:36,320 such as Shea butter, beeswax and oil, 186 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:39,600 which will achieve a balanced level of hydration without the need for a 187 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:41,560 humectant like glycerin. 188 00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:46,760 Nivea say they are pleased that the BBC study found a positive 189 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:50,160 moisturising effect of their cream, and that they always recommend 190 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:53,560 moisturising as a preventative measure against dryness. 191 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:58,560 Clinique say they support all their product performance claims with the 192 00:10:58,560 --> 00:11:00,920 use of clinical and consumer testing. 193 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:13,760 Despite what the companies said, I still don't think that 194 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:17,760 moisturising is the secret to keeping my skin looking good. 195 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:21,400 Hi, there. Can I get a cappuccino, please? Yep. Thank you. 196 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:26,440 So I want to know if any products will help my skin in the future. 197 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:29,680 Because, er, I'm not getting any younger. 198 00:11:29,680 --> 00:11:34,200 So I'm 36, and I'm definitely starting to see the signs of ageing. 199 00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:38,160 And whilst I'd love to say that I'm very accepting of it and it's a 200 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:41,920 natural part of getting older, which of course it is... 201 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:46,320 if there WAS something that could help me not get more lines or 202 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:48,720 crow's feet, that would be great. 203 00:11:49,800 --> 00:11:53,440 I want to know, how can I keep those lines at bay? 204 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:58,120 First, I'm meeting someone who's lived a bit longer in their skin 205 00:11:58,120 --> 00:11:59,920 than I have. 206 00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:02,920 Jill Lillis is a coach driver in Manchester. 207 00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:06,080 Room for one more? Oh, I think so. Come on up. Woohoo! 208 00:12:06,080 --> 00:12:09,240 She feels that her skin could possibly be ageing better, 209 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:11,200 and she wants to know why. 210 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:17,400 I've been driving a coach for 40 years this September. 40 years?! 211 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:21,320 That is a long old time. Mmm. 212 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:23,280 How do you feel about getting older 213 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:25,480 and your face changing and more lines? 214 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:31,280 Well, I don't think anybody wants to grow old, but I'd like to grow old 215 00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:34,920 gracefully, and I'd like to think to myself, well, if there is something 216 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:38,440 out there to help my skin, you know, 217 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:40,600 I'd...I'd have a go. 218 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:44,520 If there's something out there that's going to help it slow down... 219 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:45,960 Yeah. ..yes, please! 220 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:55,760 Jill and I have come to Salford Royal Hospital to see 221 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:59,120 top dermatologist Professor Chris Griffiths. 222 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:03,200 He's going to show us just how well we're really ageing. 223 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:04,720 Ooh! 224 00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:10,400 So this is the Vicia machine. It's a sophisticated camera, really, 225 00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:13,320 which is going to give us a lot of information about the state of your 226 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:16,960 skin, on your face. It's Jill's turn first. 227 00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:21,680 That's good. 228 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:27,080 So, this is the left side of the face. 229 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:29,000 These green lines are the wrinkles. 230 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:31,480 You can see that mainly they're just under the eye. 231 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:34,280 They don't extend out beyond the eye, so hold that in your mind, 232 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:36,520 and we'll now look at the other side, 233 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:37,880 the right side of the face. 234 00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:42,120 Ooh! OK. A lot more there. 235 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:43,840 So you can see... 236 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:48,320 Gone walkies! Yeah. ..they've spread a little bit out beyond the side of 237 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:51,560 the eye, into the crow's foot area. Mm-hmm. 238 00:13:51,560 --> 00:13:55,560 ..and the main culprit for that, by a long way, is sunlight. 239 00:13:55,560 --> 00:13:59,600 Sun exposure is the key cause of wrinkles. 240 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:03,840 What I don't understand is that Jill doesn't work outside. 241 00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:07,280 Why is there more damage on the right side of Jill's face? 242 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:11,280 So, that's a very good question, but Jill is a coach driver, so, yes, 243 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:13,520 she's working indoors, 244 00:14:13,520 --> 00:14:18,120 but the main component of sunlight that causes the wrinkles is longer 245 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:21,440 wavelength ultraviolet light, ultraviolet A. 246 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:24,200 Ultraviolet A penetrates glass. 247 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:25,800 CHERRY GASPS 248 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:27,640 Would you ever have known that 249 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:30,440 you could get sun damage at work in your coach? 250 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:33,120 No, because you... 251 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:35,920 ..you know, because you're behind the screen, 252 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:40,120 you're thinking that's protecting you as well. Yeah. 253 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:41,760 But obviously not. 254 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:45,440 The Sun's UVB rays cause burning, 255 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:49,760 but it's the UVA rays that cause most skin ageing, 256 00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:51,600 and they've taken their toll. 257 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:55,160 For 40 years, the right side of Jill's face has been exposed to 258 00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:58,920 these UVA rays streaming through her driver's window. 259 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:05,520 How much is sun responsible for ageing? 260 00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:09,520 Sun exposure is responsible for most of the clinical features, 261 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:12,000 the features that we can see, in skin ageing. 262 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:15,440 What's the percentage of how much it's responsible for? 263 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:17,880 I should think it would be in the order of about 75%. 264 00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:21,160 75%. It's a lot. 265 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:25,080 I'm shocked that a huge three quarters of lines and wrinkles are 266 00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:27,200 caused by sun damage. 267 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:31,160 Apparently, the rest is due to other outside factors like pollution and 268 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:36,840 smoking, with just a small amount due to simply getting older. 269 00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:42,880 So if somebody of, say, around 60 years old had never been in the sun, 270 00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:46,120 what kind of difference would you see? 271 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:49,520 The skin would look great. Really? And it may take many, many years, 272 00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:52,560 maybe to the age of 80 before you actually start to see changes in the 273 00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:55,400 skin which you can say, that's due to the passage of time. 274 00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:02,120 Now it's my turn for this rather unflattering selfie. 275 00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:04,920 I really hope you're not going to put these on Instagram. 276 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:07,680 So, tell me, how bad is it? 277 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:09,160 Well, let's have a look. 278 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:13,440 And you can see you do have a few crow's foot wrinkles. 279 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:17,200 Is that too many sunny holidays? 280 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:20,280 Most likely. It is worse than one would expect for your age. 281 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:24,280 It is bad! I knew that sun played a role in skin ageing, 282 00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:28,440 but I definitely didn't appreciate the extent of the damage that my 283 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:31,080 sunbathing and Jill's driving had caused. 284 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:36,520 To understand exactly how the sun has caused my wrinkles, 285 00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:39,760 I'm meeting Chris's colleague, Professor Rachel Watson. 286 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:43,840 What are we looking at? That's an interesting screensaver. 287 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:46,280 This is actually an image of skin. 288 00:16:46,280 --> 00:16:49,440 So what you can see here is, we have our outer layer of skin, 289 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:52,600 the epidermis, which is the pink-stained region, 290 00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:54,720 and then below that we have our dermis, 291 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:56,920 which is really the workhorse of the skin. 292 00:16:56,920 --> 00:17:00,400 This is the bit which gives it its strength and its elasticity. 293 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:03,640 And the black picked out here is an elastic fibre protein called 294 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:06,840 fibrillin. Fibrillin is very special. 295 00:17:06,840 --> 00:17:11,760 If you can imagine you need to support the outside of your skin, 296 00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:14,120 then fibrillin in this region here, 297 00:17:14,120 --> 00:17:16,720 very close to the epidermis, does that. 298 00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:20,280 So fibrillin is absolutely key... 299 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:24,360 Yes. ..in terms of keeping our skin nice and tight. 300 00:17:24,360 --> 00:17:27,520 Indeed. It's analogous to, sort of, tent pegs. 301 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:32,400 So if your tent pegs that are holding and stretching your skin 302 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:35,520 tight have gone... Mm-hmm. 303 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:37,960 ..then your tent's going to be flapping about in the wind? 304 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:40,160 Exactly. Then you're going to get wrinkles. 305 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:43,880 That's the consequence of having long-term exposure to sunlight. 306 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:47,720 You don't have to have had much sun damage to lose that fibrillin. 307 00:17:49,360 --> 00:17:54,120 This image shows the fibres of fibrillin acting as anchor points in 308 00:17:54,120 --> 00:17:58,120 a sample of skin that hasn't been exposed to sunlight. 309 00:17:58,120 --> 00:18:02,280 But this sample of skin has had a lot of sun exposure, 310 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:06,680 and the supporting fibres of fibrillin have been destroyed, 311 00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:09,520 which makes the skin sag and wrinkle. 312 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:15,080 So I clearly have sun-damaged skin. 313 00:18:15,080 --> 00:18:17,400 How do I stop that from happening, 314 00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:20,040 or at least prevent it from getting too much worse? 315 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:24,200 So what's really important is that you use sun protection and that you 316 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:28,440 use sun protection daily, even when it's the middle of winter in the UK. 317 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:31,000 But look. There's a huge range. 318 00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:34,080 Can you break it down? What do I need to know about sun cream? 319 00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:36,840 So what you want to do is make sure that your sunscreen, 320 00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:38,760 whichever type that you buy, 321 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:41,840 has a high enough SPF to counteract 322 00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:44,840 the UVB, and also a 5-star rating to 323 00:18:44,840 --> 00:18:49,240 protect against UVA. You need to have the best of both, really? 324 00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:52,400 In an ideal world, that's exactly what you should go for. 325 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:56,640 We do need a small amount of sun exposure for our bodies to make 326 00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:00,280 enough vitamin D, but if you want to protect your skin, 327 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:03,160 wear a sun cream most of the time. 328 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:05,120 A high sun protection factor, 329 00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:08,960 or SPF, to protect from UVB rays and burning, 330 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:13,400 and at least a four-star UVA rating to protect from ageing. 331 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:20,320 It's never nice to see your flaws that close up and have someone tell 332 00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:24,720 you that you are above averagely wrinkled for your age group, 333 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:30,800 but I was very surprised to learn that the sun is such a big cause of 334 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:34,120 that damage, and I find that actually really empowering, 335 00:19:34,120 --> 00:19:36,720 because there is something I can do about it. 336 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:39,760 I love fake tan, I don't mind wearing a hat, 337 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:44,640 and I'm happy to put sun cream on, so it's not going to get rid of 338 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:48,240 them, but I do feel like it's quite an easy way 339 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:50,920 to make sure they don't get too much worse. 340 00:19:54,120 --> 00:19:58,680 So I now know what to do to prevent more wrinkles, 341 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:02,320 but what if I want to get rid of the wrinkles I've already got? 342 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:07,520 Do any anti-wrinkle creams out there actually work? 343 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:13,200 I've come to the upmarket Cadogan Clinic in Chelsea to meet a 344 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:16,320 consultant dermatologist Doctor Anjali Mahto. 345 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:19,680 Perfect. 346 00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:23,480 The rich and famous pay a lot of money for her to treat their ageing 347 00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:27,360 skin with anti-wrinkle treatments like Botox. 348 00:20:27,360 --> 00:20:31,080 Nervous? Happy? Ready? Happy and ready. Happy and ready. 349 00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:33,440 Not nervous at all? No. 350 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:36,520 Alex, what I want you to do is just frown as hard as you can. 351 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:39,800 Keep frowning, keep frowning, keep frowning. And relax. 352 00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:43,080 Is it wrong that I'm so tempted? 353 00:20:43,080 --> 00:20:46,200 I'm hoping that Anjali can prescribe me something that actually 354 00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:48,880 works but that doesn't involve needles. 355 00:20:50,120 --> 00:20:53,920 And that's it. I would love to live in a world where it doesn't matter, 356 00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:57,400 but, you know, when it comes to the crunch and I look in the mirror and 357 00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:02,200 I see those lines and wrinkles, I do mind and I do want them to be gone. 358 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:04,680 If I'm not quite ready for injectables, 359 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:08,360 is there anything else that works, that's a little less extreme? 360 00:21:08,360 --> 00:21:11,440 Yeah, so if you actually go away and you look at the scientific evidence, 361 00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:14,560 there are only a handful of things that will help things like fine 362 00:21:14,560 --> 00:21:16,960 lines, wrinkles, pigmentation - 363 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:19,440 the sorts of things that you think about with skin ageing. 364 00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:23,280 The most important one, probably, is a prescription-strength product like 365 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:27,560 tretinoin. And this can improve fine lines, 366 00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:29,360 it can improve wrinkles, 367 00:21:29,360 --> 00:21:32,640 and it can improve age spots and pigmentation as well. 368 00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:34,240 What's the catch? 369 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:37,480 There are a couple of downsides. It is a strong product, 370 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:41,280 and it can cause redness and it can cause irritation and it can cause 371 00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:44,560 some stinging and burning the first few times that you use it. 372 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:46,480 Well, that doesn't sound good. 373 00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:50,240 These potentially nasty side-effects are one of the reasons that this 374 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:54,320 anti-wrinkle ingredient is only available on private prescription 375 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:56,120 from a skin care clinic. 376 00:21:56,120 --> 00:22:00,240 So is there anything that I can buy over the counter that works? 377 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:01,640 Retinol products, 378 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:04,840 which are slightly weaker than this prescription-strength product, 379 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:06,120 do work. 380 00:22:06,120 --> 00:22:08,280 So if we have a look at this study 381 00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:10,200 by the Amway Corporation and the 382 00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:15,960 University of Michigan, what they used here was 0.1% retinol, 383 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:18,400 and if you look at these two pictures side-by-side, 384 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:20,480 at the end of the four weeks of treatment, 385 00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:23,840 I think you can appreciate there is an improvement in fine lines and 386 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:26,920 wrinkles, and some pigmentation to a degree as well. 387 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:33,400 There is some evidence for other over-the-counter anti-wrinkle 388 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:35,720 ingredients, such as peptides, 389 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:39,440 but the strongest body of proof by far is for retinols, 390 00:22:39,440 --> 00:22:43,280 a weaker form of prescription-strength tretinoin. 391 00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:45,880 It is quite striking. Mmm, absolutely. 392 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:48,720 Only after a month, you can see the improvement around here. 393 00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:51,600 Yeah, and that improvement would be sustained over months 394 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:53,000 with continued use. 395 00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:58,760 So if I'm going to spend my money on a product, over-the-counter... Yep. 396 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:00,680 ..what am I going for? 397 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:04,160 So I would say, look for a product that has got a minimum 398 00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:07,920 of 0.1% retinol in it. Gradually build up its use, 399 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:10,880 and if it's not causing too many problems with irritation, 400 00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:16,560 after a few months of use, upgrade to maybe a 0.3 or a 0.5%. 401 00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:20,480 Let your skin get used to that and then build up to a 1% retinol. 402 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:25,320 Products containing retinol range in price from £6 to over £60, 403 00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:28,680 but the price doesn't always reflect the concentration, 404 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:32,360 so look for the percentage of retinol on the package. 405 00:23:32,360 --> 00:23:35,120 And since they can still cause irritation, 406 00:23:35,120 --> 00:23:38,840 you do need to approach with some caution. 407 00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:41,040 I think if you really want something that works, 408 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:46,280 that tackles wrinkles and ageing, it's sun cream and retinol. 409 00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:47,880 That's it. 410 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:52,840 For the next part of my investigation 411 00:23:52,840 --> 00:23:54,760 into the cosmetic industry, 412 00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:58,400 I've set up my very own pop-up beauty shop. 413 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:01,920 Here I can carry out tests 414 00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:05,640 they wouldn't let me do in high street stores, 415 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:07,400 and I'm starting with make-up. 416 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:17,400 We're spending more on it than ever before - £1.6 billion a year - 417 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:22,800 but do we really need to break the bank to get the look we want? 418 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:24,920 This is my own make-up bag. 419 00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:31,320 So I've just totted up how much all of this costs, 420 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:34,800 and it's over £450! 421 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:39,680 I had no idea I'd spent that much on make-up. 422 00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:42,200 Is there a smarter way to shop? 423 00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:45,480 Are some things really worth spending money on? 424 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:48,480 Can I get away with some budget basics? 425 00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:55,400 I've invited beauty journalist and author Sally Hughes to my beauty lab 426 00:24:55,400 --> 00:24:59,760 for some insider top tips on all things war paint that could help us 427 00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:02,760 spend our make-up money more wisely. 428 00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:08,240 We're spending more than ever before. 429 00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:10,440 Why? The sort of Instagram generation, 430 00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:12,600 the selfie generation, in particular, 431 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:14,440 is really driving beauty sales. 432 00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:17,200 People want things that will make them look better in a picture, 433 00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:20,360 instantly better in a picture, without filters and retouching. 434 00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:26,640 So, to test whether we'd notice the difference between expensive and 435 00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:31,120 cheaper make-up, we've invited make-up mad sisters Katie and Ellie, 436 00:25:31,120 --> 00:25:34,280 and their mum Sue, to the beauty lab. 437 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:36,400 How much, do you think, in the past year, 438 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:38,480 do you think you've spent on make-up? 439 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:40,440 Probably about 200. 440 00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:43,280 I think 500-600. 441 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:46,160 At a guess. I'm just being honest. LAUGHTER 442 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:48,720 A lot less than that. How much do you think? 443 00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:51,560 50. 50 quid? Yeah. 444 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:55,200 That's all you need. And I feel bad about that. LAUGHTER 445 00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:58,880 Meanwhile in the shop, Sally is setting up a challenge. 446 00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:02,280 She's hidden the branding on products and wants to know whether 447 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:05,320 we prefer the cheap or expensive ones. 448 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:12,320 So what I want you to do is take the lids off, roll your sleeves up, 449 00:26:12,320 --> 00:26:15,480 have a play, and choose the one that appeals to you most and pop it in 450 00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:18,000 your bag. I'm just hoping one of these is a really expensive 451 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:20,800 foundation. Let's do it. LAUGHTER 452 00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:22,240 This is a fun game. 453 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:24,520 First up is foundation. 454 00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:27,360 Our mystery make-up is cheaper Rimmel, 455 00:26:27,360 --> 00:26:32,440 costing £7.99, and pricier Mac, costing £29.99. 456 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:35,320 I really like the first one. 457 00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:38,200 The texture of the second one feels different. 458 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:40,000 How so? It feels thicker. 459 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:45,880 More luxurious. I feel like one is a bit more moisturising, less cakey. 460 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:48,680 We've made our selections, so what's the verdict? 461 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:54,080 Every single one of you chose Rimmel over Mac. 462 00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:57,200 Oh! Aaah! What?! Really?! Yes. 463 00:26:57,200 --> 00:27:01,320 Now, this is of particular interest to me, because until about two years 464 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:04,480 ago, I don't think I had ever once recommended a high-street 465 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:08,120 foundation, and then something changed and I began to notice the 466 00:27:08,120 --> 00:27:11,800 cheaper foundations had really, really raised their game. 467 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:18,040 Our next make-up bag staple is eye shadow. 468 00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:21,800 Will we go for the Illamasqua at £17.50, 469 00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:25,960 or this palette of eight by MUA at just £4? 470 00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:32,280 This, to me, is the most obvious round. 471 00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:35,480 I mean, I just feel like one of my eyes is magical. 472 00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:37,760 LAUGHTER 473 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:39,880 I had to put a load more of that one on. 474 00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:47,120 All of you chose the expensive Illamasqua. 475 00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:50,720 Typically, you will see more pigment in an expensive eye shadow, 476 00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:53,600 and I did notice when you were putting on the other one, it was 477 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:56,640 kind of flying off your lids, and so this stuck more to the lids. 478 00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:01,400 Next up is lip gloss. 479 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:04,880 This time Sally is pitching Collection at £2.99 480 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:08,000 against Christian Dior at £24. 481 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:15,240 They look exactly the same. 482 00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:17,320 I can't tell the difference. 483 00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:19,880 One was really dry and then the other one, my lips were sticking 484 00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:23,080 together on that side. Any of you lip gloss wearers? 485 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:25,840 No. No, but I'm quite enjoying it. 486 00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:28,640 I never wear lip gloss, but that...that is quite fun. 487 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:34,920 Lip gloss, every single one of you 488 00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:39,080 chose the cheap Collection lip gloss. Yes! Yes! Yes! 489 00:28:39,080 --> 00:28:41,200 Thank God. They were quite similar. 490 00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:44,200 Even I struggle to identify an expensive lip gloss 491 00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:46,680 over a cheap one. They are much of a muchness. 492 00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:50,560 If something is £2 versus £20, I would say go for the two quid. 493 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:57,880 And finally, it's mascara. 494 00:28:57,880 --> 00:29:01,280 We're testing L'Oreal, costing £9, 495 00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:03,920 and Lancome, costing £24.50. 496 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:12,120 Give it a good wiggle, so you get it from root to tip. 497 00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:14,920 Oh, that looks so good! LAUGHTER 498 00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:20,280 Right, whatever this mascara is, I want it now. LAUGHTER 499 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:22,040 The second one looks better on you. 500 00:29:22,040 --> 00:29:24,960 They both look better than whatever mascara you wear normally, though. 501 00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:27,640 LAUGHTER The honesty of family. 502 00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:29,320 Breaks my heart. 503 00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:36,080 So have we worked out which one was worth an extra £15? 504 00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:40,320 Every single one of you chose the 505 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:43,920 expensive Lancome mascara... Oh! O-o-oh... Oh, really?! 506 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:49,000 ..over the more affordable L'Oreal Voluminous mascara. 507 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:52,040 Which, interestingly, are both made by the same company, L'Oreal. Oh! 508 00:29:56,440 --> 00:30:00,160 Our test has shown that what we save on foundation and lip gloss 509 00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:03,440 we can use to invest on our lids and lashes. 510 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:08,320 So if you do have a very set make-up budget, 511 00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:12,720 you can be a bit savvy with where you put that. 512 00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:15,160 Yes. If you want a big bang for your buck, 513 00:30:15,160 --> 00:30:17,720 then I do think with things like eye shadow and lipstick, 514 00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:20,360 you're going to fare better with more expensive things, 515 00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:23,560 but if you want quite a sheer colour like lip gloss or a blusher 516 00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:26,240 or a bronzer, you're perfectly fine to get something cheaper 517 00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:28,280 because you're just looking for a hint of colour, 518 00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:30,520 you're not looking for impact. 519 00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:33,680 There really are cheap and effective products out there 520 00:30:33,680 --> 00:30:35,840 if you shop wisely. 521 00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:49,760 When it comes to looking good, 522 00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:52,440 our faces aren't the only part of our bodies 523 00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:55,320 that women rank as a top concern. 524 00:30:57,400 --> 00:31:00,160 Some people call it orange peel. 525 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:03,160 Some people call it cottage cheese thighs. 526 00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:08,440 Whatever you like to name it, 90% of women have cellulite. 527 00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:11,440 So what is it and can we get rid of it? 528 00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:21,920 I'm joining some cellulite sufferers from Sunderland 529 00:31:21,920 --> 00:31:25,200 to find out what methods they have tried and tested. 530 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:28,000 Who has cellulite? 531 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:29,680 ALL: Me! 532 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:33,720 Mine is there. Round this area. All around here. 533 00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:35,880 Have you tried anything to get rid of it? 534 00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:39,000 I've tried creams, I've tried scrubs, I've tried... 535 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:40,480 You name it, I've done it. 536 00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:43,280 Thermogenic pills that are meant to literally 537 00:31:43,280 --> 00:31:46,640 melt the fat when you take them. 538 00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:48,200 Didn't give good results. 539 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:51,440 Yeah. Everybody wants the quick fix. I want the quick fix. 540 00:31:51,440 --> 00:31:54,080 If they say that it gets rid of cellulite, 541 00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:58,000 you just drop this bit of cream on and there you go, it's an easy sell. 542 00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:00,200 Hallelujah. Yeah. 543 00:32:00,200 --> 00:32:03,560 So would you be up for a bit of an experiment? 544 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:05,000 ALL: Yeah. 545 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:07,520 I mean, what's to lose? Yeah! 546 00:32:07,520 --> 00:32:09,080 Other than a bit of cellulite! 547 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:15,040 There are plenty of treatments available 548 00:32:15,040 --> 00:32:18,760 on the high street and online that promise to banish 549 00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:20,280 our lumps and bumps. 550 00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:24,960 They make great claims, but do any of them actually work? 551 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:31,040 With the help of our ladies and the University of Sunderland... 552 00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:33,000 Nine medial lateral. 553 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:35,920 ..we're running an experiment to put some of the leading treatments 554 00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:37,560 to the test. 555 00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:39,040 Spin over on your front. 556 00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:40,880 First, the scientists are carrying out 557 00:32:40,880 --> 00:32:44,200 a thorough assessment of everyone's thighs and buttocks. 558 00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:46,600 It might be a little bit cold just to start with. 559 00:32:46,600 --> 00:32:49,280 And they're using ultrasound to look at the structure 560 00:32:49,280 --> 00:32:51,960 of the fat under the skin. OK, freeze. 561 00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:55,120 So what is cellulite anyway? 562 00:32:56,360 --> 00:33:00,480 Skin has three layers, epidermis, dermis and fat, 563 00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:05,000 which is held in compartments of connective tissue called septa. 564 00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:09,040 In cellulite, this fat pushes up out of the compartment, 565 00:33:09,040 --> 00:33:11,200 giving the skin that bumpy mattress effect. 566 00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:15,240 It's thought that the reason men don't get cellulite 567 00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:18,560 is because their fat compartments are in a crisscross shape, 568 00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:21,400 which holds the fat in place under the skin. 569 00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:28,520 Crucially, the scientists are also taking clinical photographs of our 570 00:33:28,520 --> 00:33:31,120 ladies' thighs and bums to enable them 571 00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:33,480 to grade their cellulite and compare 572 00:33:33,480 --> 00:33:36,040 its appearance before and after. 573 00:33:39,080 --> 00:33:42,400 We're putting three of the most popular cellulite solutions 574 00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:43,600 to the test. 575 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:46,040 So for the next five weeks, our volunteers 576 00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:48,320 will use one of them daily. 577 00:33:48,320 --> 00:33:50,840 Enjoy. Thank you. 578 00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:55,920 Squeeze a small amount on my hand. 579 00:33:55,920 --> 00:33:59,120 The first group are using a caffeine cream that 580 00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:01,560 promises to burn fat cells. 581 00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:04,920 I would like to think that it is working. 582 00:34:04,920 --> 00:34:09,800 I feel as though my skin has a little bit of a smoother appearance. 583 00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:13,160 The second group are trying dry brushing... 584 00:34:13,160 --> 00:34:16,160 Circular movement. Lightly at first. 585 00:34:16,160 --> 00:34:18,640 ..which is meant to increase circulation 586 00:34:18,640 --> 00:34:21,600 and remove excess fluid and toxins. 587 00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:24,520 I can honestly say so far I have noticed no change 588 00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:27,120 whatsoever to my cellulite. 589 00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:30,440 And the third group have been given a daily set 590 00:34:30,440 --> 00:34:33,200 of toning exercises for their thighs and buttocks. 591 00:34:40,360 --> 00:34:44,040 Five weeks later and cosmetic scientist Dr Kalli Dodou 592 00:34:44,040 --> 00:34:47,920 and clinical dermatologist Dr Raj Natarajan 593 00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:52,680 are meeting us with some answers to our cellulite questions. 594 00:34:52,680 --> 00:34:57,160 Is there a way to cure yourself of cellulite? 595 00:34:57,160 --> 00:35:00,280 We don't aim for cure because there's no disease 596 00:35:00,280 --> 00:35:01,760 or condition to cure. 597 00:35:01,760 --> 00:35:04,000 So we don't need to cure it because it's not a disease. 598 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:06,640 It's not a disease. It's a normal part of being woman. 599 00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:09,400 Nine out of ten women have cellulite, 600 00:35:09,400 --> 00:35:12,440 but lots of us still want to get rid of it. 601 00:35:12,440 --> 00:35:15,160 So if we want to reduce its appearance, 602 00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:19,680 do any of these popular cellulite solutions actually work? 603 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:22,920 Kalli and Raj have the results of our experiment, 604 00:35:22,920 --> 00:35:27,480 starting with the group in third place, exercise. 605 00:35:27,480 --> 00:35:34,480 The exercise group saw an improvement in cellulite of 11%. 606 00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:38,720 So the effort that you put in in terms of cellulite 607 00:35:38,720 --> 00:35:40,920 is a bit disappointing. Yeah. 608 00:35:40,920 --> 00:35:45,920 But what about the results that were nothing to do with cellulite, 609 00:35:45,920 --> 00:35:48,800 like feeling firmer? Everything. More energy. 610 00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:52,200 Feeling good about myself more to the point of where 611 00:35:52,200 --> 00:35:54,760 I didn't care about looking at it. 612 00:35:54,760 --> 00:35:57,960 Just ahead of the exercise group in second place, 613 00:35:57,960 --> 00:36:01,280 it's the fat melting cream group. 614 00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:06,040 The cream group saw an average improvement of 15%. 615 00:36:06,040 --> 00:36:07,680 Yeah! 616 00:36:07,680 --> 00:36:12,800 I was completely convinced that was going to have no effect whatsoever. 617 00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:14,520 It just feels too easy. 618 00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:18,760 The claim of the cream is that it's going to destroy fat cells. 619 00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:21,200 However, from the ultrasound measurements, 620 00:36:21,200 --> 00:36:25,360 we didn't notice any change in the fat content. 621 00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:30,520 So what we think happened is that the cream had a hydrating effect, 622 00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:32,040 a moisturising effect. 623 00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:35,520 The cream may have hydrated dry skin on the leg, 624 00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:37,840 giving it a smoother appearance. 625 00:36:37,840 --> 00:36:42,160 Which means that in first place, it's the dry brushes. 626 00:36:42,160 --> 00:36:46,600 The dry brush group saw an average improvement of 26%. 627 00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:48,320 THEY CHEER 628 00:36:50,560 --> 00:36:53,320 It's all about the brush! 629 00:36:53,320 --> 00:36:55,320 That's amazing. 630 00:36:55,320 --> 00:36:57,440 I didn't think it was going to be that. 631 00:36:57,440 --> 00:37:00,600 We were very surprised as well with the findings. 632 00:37:00,600 --> 00:37:03,120 So something works! 633 00:37:03,120 --> 00:37:05,720 Oh, my God! It's such a great day. 634 00:37:05,720 --> 00:37:07,120 In our small study, 635 00:37:07,120 --> 00:37:11,360 dry brushing was by far the most effective treatment for cellulite, 636 00:37:11,360 --> 00:37:14,000 and one of our volunteers saw an 637 00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:16,440 astonishing improvement of 35%. 638 00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:17,640 And your cellulite 639 00:37:17,640 --> 00:37:20,240 was the most affected. 640 00:37:21,520 --> 00:37:24,240 35%! 641 00:37:24,240 --> 00:37:26,160 So, Raj, what do you think about the result? 642 00:37:26,160 --> 00:37:28,640 I'm a bit surprised as well, but it's a definite change, 643 00:37:28,640 --> 00:37:30,840 so I think it's probably redistributing the fat 644 00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:32,160 and pushing the fat around. 645 00:37:32,160 --> 00:37:34,120 I mean, it's not an elegant thing, is it? 646 00:37:34,120 --> 00:37:36,680 Basically, you just push the fat back in, 647 00:37:36,680 --> 00:37:38,560 away from the surface of the skin. 648 00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:41,000 I'm never going to stop. Never going to stop! 649 00:37:41,000 --> 00:37:43,040 I'm just going to constantly brush. 650 00:37:43,040 --> 00:37:45,960 We want the brush. We want the brush! Yeah. 651 00:37:52,160 --> 00:37:55,480 So far, we've tested some of our favourite cosmetics, 652 00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:57,040 and with the help of experts, 653 00:37:57,040 --> 00:38:00,680 we found that some work and many don't, 654 00:38:00,680 --> 00:38:03,480 no matter how seductive the promises they make. 655 00:38:06,240 --> 00:38:10,400 So back at the beauty lab, I want to investigate how much 656 00:38:10,400 --> 00:38:14,520 we can actually trust the claims used by cosmetic companies 657 00:38:14,520 --> 00:38:17,160 in their marketing and on their labels. 658 00:38:18,280 --> 00:38:20,520 "Active ingredients." 659 00:38:20,520 --> 00:38:23,200 "Reduces the appearance of wrinkles." 660 00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:25,600 "Clinically proven." 661 00:38:25,600 --> 00:38:30,320 I am such a sucker for those kind of claims, and the longer the list, 662 00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:32,840 the more I think I'm getting for my money. 663 00:38:32,840 --> 00:38:36,800 But how do we really know what those claims mean, 664 00:38:36,800 --> 00:38:40,120 and how much evidence do these companies have to have 665 00:38:40,120 --> 00:38:42,520 before they go on the product? 666 00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:48,000 To find out, I've invited Colin Sanders to my beauty lab. 667 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:52,520 He's a cosmetic chemist and something of an industry insider. 668 00:38:52,520 --> 00:38:55,720 So who is checking these claims? 669 00:38:55,720 --> 00:38:58,440 Well, they can't make any claims that are untrue. 670 00:38:58,440 --> 00:39:01,760 The general consumer protection regulations 671 00:39:01,760 --> 00:39:04,960 don't allow you to make blatant lies. 672 00:39:04,960 --> 00:39:06,760 But most of the time, 673 00:39:06,760 --> 00:39:09,160 if nobody complains about what you're doing, 674 00:39:09,160 --> 00:39:12,360 there's very little in the way of enforcement 675 00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:16,080 from the authorities to make sure you're doing it correctly. 676 00:39:17,320 --> 00:39:19,680 If a product's claims are investigated, 677 00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:23,480 then a company must provide a certain level of proof. 678 00:39:23,480 --> 00:39:25,000 But how much? 679 00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:27,480 I want to look at what evidence is required 680 00:39:27,480 --> 00:39:31,960 to make some of the most common claims on cosmetics. 681 00:39:31,960 --> 00:39:34,800 First on my list of confusing cosmetic jargon 682 00:39:34,800 --> 00:39:37,680 is "clinically proven". 683 00:39:37,680 --> 00:39:40,000 My assumption is if it says clinically proven, 684 00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:45,720 I think a scientist has proven that it is effective and it works. 685 00:39:45,720 --> 00:39:47,720 Does that mean that when I take it home and I use it 686 00:39:47,720 --> 00:39:50,800 in my everyday life, it's going to do what I hope it does? 687 00:39:50,800 --> 00:39:52,040 Not necessarily. 688 00:39:52,040 --> 00:39:58,520 So, for example, if it did reduce wrinkles by 10% in size, 689 00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:02,320 that would definitely be a clinically proven claim. 690 00:40:02,320 --> 00:40:04,760 However, it's probably not going to be noticeable 691 00:40:04,760 --> 00:40:06,440 without a magnifying glass. 692 00:40:06,440 --> 00:40:10,320 So if I want my wrinkles to go and this says 693 00:40:10,320 --> 00:40:13,640 that it is clinically proven to lessen wrinkles, 694 00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:16,680 it may not be something I can even see at home. 695 00:40:16,680 --> 00:40:18,680 That would be a fairly common experience 696 00:40:18,680 --> 00:40:21,040 of many consumers, I think. 697 00:40:21,040 --> 00:40:25,520 So what about our next claim, "active ingredients". 698 00:40:25,520 --> 00:40:27,760 So what would I need to do to be able to say 699 00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:30,800 that I had active ingredients in a product? 700 00:40:30,800 --> 00:40:33,160 What tests, what proof? 701 00:40:33,160 --> 00:40:36,000 The level of testing that is often done 702 00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:39,920 is simply to run it through what's called in vitro testing, 703 00:40:39,920 --> 00:40:42,480 where you test it in equipment in a laboratory 704 00:40:42,480 --> 00:40:45,600 and doesn't go anywhere near a human being. 705 00:40:47,280 --> 00:40:51,200 There aren't set regulations for the level of testing required 706 00:40:51,200 --> 00:40:53,240 to call something an "active ingredient", 707 00:40:53,240 --> 00:40:55,880 and the same applies to our next common claim. 708 00:40:57,120 --> 00:41:01,240 We have "dermatologically tested". 709 00:41:01,240 --> 00:41:02,760 What does it mean? 710 00:41:02,760 --> 00:41:06,480 All dermatologically tested means is it's been tested on the skin. 711 00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:08,440 So if I was bringing a product to market, 712 00:41:08,440 --> 00:41:12,920 how many people would I have had to test it on to make this claim? 713 00:41:12,920 --> 00:41:15,320 Well, in theory, one. 714 00:41:15,320 --> 00:41:17,160 One? One person? 715 00:41:17,160 --> 00:41:19,880 They could have tested it on their mate Sue 716 00:41:19,880 --> 00:41:22,040 and then put that on the bottle. 717 00:41:22,040 --> 00:41:24,200 Yes, and it would still be an accurate claim 718 00:41:24,200 --> 00:41:25,840 because Sue has got skin 719 00:41:25,840 --> 00:41:28,400 and dermatologically tested means tested on skin, 720 00:41:28,400 --> 00:41:31,600 so that is a reasonable claim. 721 00:41:31,600 --> 00:41:34,560 Since there are currently no rules and regulations 722 00:41:34,560 --> 00:41:38,240 for how something should be dermatologically tested on skin, 723 00:41:38,240 --> 00:41:41,120 it doesn't tell you whether a product is safe 724 00:41:41,120 --> 00:41:42,520 for your skin or not. 725 00:41:42,520 --> 00:41:45,440 And finally, some of the most seductive claims 726 00:41:45,440 --> 00:41:48,480 would be difficult to prove scientifically 727 00:41:48,480 --> 00:41:50,400 even if a company tried. 728 00:41:50,400 --> 00:41:52,640 I'm a real sucker for these - 729 00:41:52,640 --> 00:41:55,720 "Leaves skin looking rested and radiant." 730 00:41:55,720 --> 00:42:00,200 Rested and radiant - I don't think either of those are adjectives 731 00:42:00,200 --> 00:42:03,560 that really apply to skin in normal, everyday life. 732 00:42:03,560 --> 00:42:07,000 If it was literally radiant, it would be emitting light. 733 00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:10,720 Even though companies are not allowed to lie in their claims, 734 00:42:10,720 --> 00:42:15,200 they don't necessarily mean what we as consumers think they do. 735 00:42:15,200 --> 00:42:18,360 So do you think the power of suggestion 736 00:42:18,360 --> 00:42:22,040 is probably the most effective thing when it comes to products, 737 00:42:22,040 --> 00:42:23,960 rather than the science? 738 00:42:23,960 --> 00:42:26,120 The founder of Revlon famously said, 739 00:42:26,120 --> 00:42:28,840 "We are not selling lipstick, we're selling dreams." 740 00:42:28,840 --> 00:42:31,680 I think that's what a lot of purchasing decisions 741 00:42:31,680 --> 00:42:35,080 in the cosmetic area are driven by. 742 00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:41,800 I approached the representatives for the industry, 743 00:42:41,800 --> 00:42:44,800 the Cosmetics, Toiletries and Perfumery Association, 744 00:42:44,800 --> 00:42:47,120 with details from my interview with Colin. 745 00:42:47,120 --> 00:42:50,520 They said that a report by the European Commission found that 746 00:42:50,520 --> 00:42:54,960 "90% of cosmetic claims were compliant with the current criteria. 747 00:42:54,960 --> 00:42:58,320 "The stringent laws regulating the manufacturer and supply 748 00:42:58,320 --> 00:43:00,560 "of cosmetic products ensure that they are safe 749 00:43:00,560 --> 00:43:02,040 "and will perform as claimed. 750 00:43:02,040 --> 00:43:04,240 "Successful products are bought again and again 751 00:43:04,240 --> 00:43:06,440 "because people are happy with their purchases." 752 00:43:09,840 --> 00:43:14,240 But the marketing and branding of these products clearly also play 753 00:43:14,240 --> 00:43:17,000 a powerful role in why we buy them. 754 00:43:18,360 --> 00:43:20,520 So to find out more about how these factors 755 00:43:20,520 --> 00:43:22,720 influence our shopping decisions, 756 00:43:22,720 --> 00:43:24,880 I've invited consumer psychologist 757 00:43:24,880 --> 00:43:28,120 Dr Omar Yousaf from the University of Bath. 758 00:43:29,520 --> 00:43:31,640 So often there's a discrepancy between 759 00:43:31,640 --> 00:43:34,800 why we think we buy a product and why we actually buy it. 760 00:43:34,800 --> 00:43:36,560 There are other forces at play. 761 00:43:36,560 --> 00:43:38,440 Because there are other factors at play, 762 00:43:38,440 --> 00:43:40,520 does that leave us, as the consumers, 763 00:43:40,520 --> 00:43:42,520 very vulnerable to manipulation? 764 00:43:42,520 --> 00:43:45,280 Yeah. Our vulnerabilities as consumers 765 00:43:45,280 --> 00:43:47,720 are not always evident to ourselves. 766 00:43:47,720 --> 00:43:53,080 So the question is what's driving your decision-making process? 767 00:43:53,080 --> 00:43:55,920 To look at what factors affect our shopping decisions, 768 00:43:55,920 --> 00:43:58,360 we're setting up a little experiment. 769 00:44:00,520 --> 00:44:05,200 We're going to sell our very own face cleanser called Face 770 00:44:05,200 --> 00:44:07,160 in two very different ways. 771 00:44:07,160 --> 00:44:11,400 We want to see how packaging and the sales assistant's appearance 772 00:44:11,400 --> 00:44:15,080 affect what our beauty lab customers buy. 773 00:44:15,080 --> 00:44:18,640 First up, we've put the cleanser in a no-frills packaging 774 00:44:18,640 --> 00:44:20,880 and sales assistant Joe is in casual clothes 775 00:44:20,880 --> 00:44:24,440 to welcome our first group of customers through the door. 776 00:44:24,440 --> 00:44:29,200 Hi. Hello. Would you like to take a look at our new cleansing product? 777 00:44:29,200 --> 00:44:32,280 Yeah. If a customer says they would buy the product, 778 00:44:32,280 --> 00:44:33,920 it goes in the basket. 779 00:44:33,920 --> 00:44:37,240 It smells nice. Would you buy this product? 780 00:44:37,240 --> 00:44:38,920 I'm very about packaging. 781 00:44:38,920 --> 00:44:41,720 It doesn't really fill me with confidence. 782 00:44:41,720 --> 00:44:44,080 Would you buy this product? 783 00:44:44,080 --> 00:44:45,320 Erm, no. 784 00:44:45,320 --> 00:44:47,480 Probably not. 785 00:44:47,480 --> 00:44:50,400 I kind of probably wouldn't. 786 00:44:50,400 --> 00:44:53,800 After two hours and 18 customers through the door, 787 00:44:53,800 --> 00:44:56,000 just three said they would buy it. 788 00:44:57,760 --> 00:45:01,440 Time for stage two of the experiment. 789 00:45:01,440 --> 00:45:04,040 The product has been given a makeover... 790 00:45:05,640 --> 00:45:08,360 ..and so has sales assistant Jo. 791 00:45:08,360 --> 00:45:12,280 Both have been made to look more scientific and more glamorous. 792 00:45:15,520 --> 00:45:18,560 So what will our next group of customers think? 793 00:45:18,560 --> 00:45:23,360 Hiya. Hi. Hi. Would you like to take a look at our new cleansing product? 794 00:45:23,360 --> 00:45:24,920 It smells minty. 795 00:45:24,920 --> 00:45:27,320 I like the smell. Yes, maybe, no? 796 00:45:27,320 --> 00:45:31,280 Definitely. Looking at it, yeah, I would. 797 00:45:31,280 --> 00:45:32,880 It smells lovely. 798 00:45:32,880 --> 00:45:34,280 I'd probably try it. 799 00:45:35,760 --> 00:45:38,080 After the last customers have visited the counter... 800 00:45:38,080 --> 00:45:39,800 It makes you want to find out more about it. 801 00:45:39,800 --> 00:45:42,440 ..Omar has the results. 802 00:45:42,440 --> 00:45:44,960 So how much effect did the different look 803 00:45:44,960 --> 00:45:48,640 of the identical product really have? 804 00:45:48,640 --> 00:45:51,200 Right, so with the first product we had three people 805 00:45:51,200 --> 00:45:53,400 who were actually willing to buy that straightaway. 806 00:45:53,400 --> 00:45:55,120 Whereas, the other one we had eight. 807 00:45:55,120 --> 00:45:57,840 Same product... Yes. ..just a different bottle. 808 00:45:57,840 --> 00:45:59,480 That's it. 809 00:45:59,480 --> 00:46:03,800 When the face cleanser looked more luxurious and scientific, 810 00:46:03,800 --> 00:46:07,760 our customers were more than twice as likely to buy it. 811 00:46:07,760 --> 00:46:11,800 What we tried to do was to make this product a status product, 812 00:46:11,800 --> 00:46:14,080 giving it this sense of quality. 813 00:46:14,080 --> 00:46:18,680 The other element was we had the seller wear a lab coat, 814 00:46:18,680 --> 00:46:23,480 so it just gives it this aura of credibility, confidence. 815 00:46:23,480 --> 00:46:27,880 The effect of packaging and science on sales is interesting, 816 00:46:27,880 --> 00:46:30,920 but it wasn't actually the main thing that Omar was testing. 817 00:46:33,560 --> 00:46:36,840 Would you be willing to do a survey about this product? 818 00:46:36,840 --> 00:46:38,280 Yeah. Yeah? Yeah. 819 00:46:38,280 --> 00:46:42,840 Our beauty lab customers were also asked to complete a questionnaire. 820 00:46:42,840 --> 00:46:45,320 That would be really helpful. Thank you. 821 00:46:45,320 --> 00:46:48,240 They thought this was simply market research. 822 00:46:48,240 --> 00:46:51,400 But Omar was really looking at how the product affected 823 00:46:51,400 --> 00:46:54,120 the way they feel about themselves. 824 00:46:54,120 --> 00:46:56,360 He measured each customer's self-esteem 825 00:46:56,360 --> 00:46:59,960 at the point of making their purchasing decision. 826 00:46:59,960 --> 00:47:03,040 What we found was that self-esteem was higher 827 00:47:03,040 --> 00:47:06,080 for the cheap product, or the more basic one, 828 00:47:06,080 --> 00:47:08,000 compared to the higher one. 829 00:47:08,000 --> 00:47:11,080 So what happens is that when you observe the luxury products, 830 00:47:11,080 --> 00:47:15,040 it is likely to drop your self-esteem, and as a result, 831 00:47:15,040 --> 00:47:16,800 you're more likely to then compensate 832 00:47:16,800 --> 00:47:20,040 for that by buying the product, to elevate the self-esteem. 833 00:47:20,040 --> 00:47:21,960 What?! 834 00:47:21,960 --> 00:47:25,360 Omar found that our customers actually felt worse 835 00:47:25,360 --> 00:47:29,200 about themselves when shopping for the luxury-looking products 836 00:47:29,200 --> 00:47:32,520 compared to the ones that looked more basic. 837 00:47:32,520 --> 00:47:35,600 And this makes us more likely to buy them. 838 00:47:38,200 --> 00:47:40,600 A very interesting theory we have in psychology 839 00:47:40,600 --> 00:47:42,520 is self-discrepancy theory. 840 00:47:42,520 --> 00:47:45,440 It proposes that we have an actual self 841 00:47:45,440 --> 00:47:47,400 and we have an ideal self. 842 00:47:47,400 --> 00:47:49,800 Sometimes there's gap between the two 843 00:47:49,800 --> 00:47:54,200 and what happens then is we feel a drive to reduce that gap. 844 00:47:54,200 --> 00:47:58,640 It creates an ideal, something to be aspiring towards. 845 00:47:58,640 --> 00:48:01,240 Because, look, here are these gorgeous people 846 00:48:01,240 --> 00:48:04,440 and here is an aspirational product. That's it. 847 00:48:04,440 --> 00:48:08,520 So it creates the insecurity and then it takes it away. 848 00:48:08,520 --> 00:48:11,800 It takes it away. In my mind. In your mind. 849 00:48:14,200 --> 00:48:19,320 So it seems like the luxury-looking products and the sales tactics 850 00:48:19,320 --> 00:48:21,520 can give us lower self-esteem, 851 00:48:21,520 --> 00:48:25,160 which is exactly why they can be so tempting to buy. 852 00:48:28,920 --> 00:48:34,040 So the psychology of the way we feel about ourselves can play a big role 853 00:48:34,040 --> 00:48:36,720 in why we choose certain products. 854 00:48:36,720 --> 00:48:40,880 And our self-esteem obviously has a lot to do with why we want to change 855 00:48:40,880 --> 00:48:43,520 our appearance in the first place. 856 00:48:43,520 --> 00:48:46,560 I used to feel really insecure about how I looked, 857 00:48:46,560 --> 00:48:49,560 and I've wasted a lot of time worrying about 858 00:48:49,560 --> 00:48:53,640 how attractive people thought I was. 859 00:48:53,640 --> 00:48:58,800 Thankfully, I've learnt to worry a lot less about that now. 860 00:48:58,800 --> 00:49:02,960 But I do still wonder how good are we 861 00:49:02,960 --> 00:49:05,800 at judging our own attractiveness? 862 00:49:07,040 --> 00:49:10,320 I've come to Cambridge to meet Professor Viren Swami, 863 00:49:10,320 --> 00:49:14,400 a social psychologist at Anglia Ruskin University. 864 00:49:14,400 --> 00:49:18,320 His research focuses on human appearance and body image. 865 00:49:18,320 --> 00:49:21,520 And today, he's running an experiment. 866 00:49:21,520 --> 00:49:23,600 So, Viren, what is the plan today? 867 00:49:23,600 --> 00:49:25,080 What are we trying to find out? 868 00:49:25,080 --> 00:49:27,600 So we've invited a group of people to come into a lab. 869 00:49:27,600 --> 00:49:29,480 Now, they've never met each other before, 870 00:49:29,480 --> 00:49:30,840 so they don't know each other. 871 00:49:30,840 --> 00:49:32,960 We're going to get them to take part in an experiment 872 00:49:32,960 --> 00:49:34,720 where they rate their own attractiveness 873 00:49:34,720 --> 00:49:38,640 and they rate other people's attractiveness as well. 874 00:49:38,640 --> 00:49:43,440 So we're going to see if we find ourselves more or less attractive 875 00:49:43,440 --> 00:49:45,240 than other people do. 876 00:49:45,240 --> 00:49:47,080 First, the strangers meet face-to-face 877 00:49:47,080 --> 00:49:50,520 and are given a chance to get to know each other. 878 00:49:50,520 --> 00:49:53,280 THEY CHAT OVER EACH OTHER 879 00:49:54,680 --> 00:49:57,120 Meanwhile, Viren has set up a gallery 880 00:49:57,120 --> 00:50:02,000 which will measure how attractive the volunteers find each other. 881 00:50:02,000 --> 00:50:05,240 OK, so what is going on in these pictures? 882 00:50:05,240 --> 00:50:08,600 So here we have seven photographs of the same individual. 883 00:50:08,600 --> 00:50:10,920 This is the original image, the un-altered face. 884 00:50:10,920 --> 00:50:13,480 This is the actual face of what they look like. 885 00:50:13,480 --> 00:50:16,600 And the other images have been digitally manipulated 886 00:50:16,600 --> 00:50:19,720 to seem less attractive or more attractive. 887 00:50:19,720 --> 00:50:23,400 So this is the lesser attractive face, 888 00:50:23,400 --> 00:50:25,720 and this is the most attractive face. 889 00:50:25,720 --> 00:50:29,480 Exactly. But attractiveness is subjective. 890 00:50:29,480 --> 00:50:32,560 Is it? There is a degree of subjectivity to it, 891 00:50:32,560 --> 00:50:35,520 but as a culture, we have certain things that most people 892 00:50:35,520 --> 00:50:37,080 will find attractive. 893 00:50:37,080 --> 00:50:40,320 With male faces, they tend to have a larger jawline, 894 00:50:40,320 --> 00:50:42,720 a more angular jawline, a longer nose, 895 00:50:42,720 --> 00:50:46,120 and the larger brow ridge, which makes them more masculine. 896 00:50:46,120 --> 00:50:49,160 And I feel like they've got a bit of a tan. 897 00:50:49,160 --> 00:50:51,200 Indeed, so they have a skin tan. 898 00:50:51,200 --> 00:50:54,240 In our culture, it's associated with both health and wealth. 899 00:50:54,240 --> 00:50:55,840 What about the women? 900 00:50:55,840 --> 00:50:58,760 They've been made to look more feminine to be more attractive, 901 00:50:58,760 --> 00:51:01,360 so they've got a smaller nose, a smaller brow ridge, 902 00:51:01,360 --> 00:51:03,080 but also larger lips. 903 00:51:03,080 --> 00:51:06,080 I mean, the change is very subtle, but then when you actually 904 00:51:06,080 --> 00:51:08,360 put the first and the last next to each other, 905 00:51:08,360 --> 00:51:10,840 you can really the difference. 906 00:51:10,840 --> 00:51:12,960 So in the less attractive face, 907 00:51:12,960 --> 00:51:16,480 there's a less defined bone structure, 908 00:51:16,480 --> 00:51:20,520 less high cheekbones, the colour is noticeable. 909 00:51:20,520 --> 00:51:24,560 The lips are fuller and more red in this one. 910 00:51:24,560 --> 00:51:28,280 So I can see the difference, absolutely. 911 00:51:33,080 --> 00:51:36,120 Viren mixes up the order of attractiveness 912 00:51:36,120 --> 00:51:40,160 in each set of photos to disguise which is the original image 913 00:51:40,160 --> 00:51:41,800 and which has been transformed. 914 00:51:45,920 --> 00:51:49,160 Then each volunteer is invited into the studio. 915 00:51:52,720 --> 00:51:54,920 Out of the seven images of themselves, 916 00:51:54,920 --> 00:51:58,800 each person has to select the one that they think best represents 917 00:51:58,800 --> 00:52:00,760 how they really look. 918 00:52:00,760 --> 00:52:03,200 I would like to think that that's what I look like. 919 00:52:05,000 --> 00:52:06,960 I feel like I look best in this picture, 920 00:52:06,960 --> 00:52:09,440 but that's maybe not quite how I normally look. 921 00:52:09,440 --> 00:52:12,120 They then have to find the images of everyone else 922 00:52:12,120 --> 00:52:14,760 they have just met. 923 00:52:14,760 --> 00:52:16,640 With big, engaging eyes. Yes. 924 00:52:16,640 --> 00:52:18,360 So those were the key characteristics 925 00:52:18,360 --> 00:52:21,720 you noticed when you met her? Yeah, big, open eyes. 926 00:52:21,720 --> 00:52:23,840 So why did you choose this one? 927 00:52:23,840 --> 00:52:26,600 Why does that look like the person you just met? 928 00:52:26,600 --> 00:52:28,800 It's just sort of seems a little bit brighter. 929 00:52:28,800 --> 00:52:31,760 Yeah, she's quite a talkative, open person. 930 00:52:35,320 --> 00:52:38,120 Her face is smiling more in that one. 931 00:52:38,120 --> 00:52:42,680 So did people select more or less attractive images? 932 00:52:46,640 --> 00:52:49,760 I bet you are wondering what on earth is going on. 933 00:52:49,760 --> 00:52:54,960 Why have we made you look at your hairless, necklace faces this much? 934 00:52:54,960 --> 00:52:57,600 Well, Viren is going to explain all. 935 00:52:58,920 --> 00:53:01,840 So today we asked you to come in and we had to go around and select the 936 00:53:01,840 --> 00:53:05,000 faces of your new friends that most accurately represented 937 00:53:05,000 --> 00:53:07,440 the face that you thought they looked like. 938 00:53:07,440 --> 00:53:10,480 We also had to do the same for yourself. 939 00:53:10,480 --> 00:53:11,880 So what did we find? 940 00:53:11,880 --> 00:53:15,520 Well, our main finding was that most of you selected a face for yourself 941 00:53:15,520 --> 00:53:18,400 that was actually less attractive than what everyone else 942 00:53:18,400 --> 00:53:21,000 selected for you. 943 00:53:21,000 --> 00:53:23,360 More than 70% of the time, 944 00:53:23,360 --> 00:53:26,920 people chose images of other people that had been enhanced 945 00:53:26,920 --> 00:53:28,560 to look more attractive. 946 00:53:28,560 --> 00:53:31,440 But when it came to choosing for themselves, 947 00:53:31,440 --> 00:53:37,200 some people chose images that had been made to look more unattractive. 948 00:53:38,760 --> 00:53:42,880 You selected an image of yourself that was less attractive 949 00:53:42,880 --> 00:53:46,680 than the original image, the one on the left. 950 00:53:46,680 --> 00:53:49,040 Whereas, everyone else selected the image on the right 951 00:53:49,040 --> 00:53:51,800 as being the more accurate representation of her. 952 00:53:51,800 --> 00:53:53,480 Is that quite nice to know? 953 00:53:53,480 --> 00:53:55,960 Yes, thank you! 954 00:53:57,440 --> 00:53:59,320 So, Viren, what is going on? 955 00:53:59,320 --> 00:54:03,760 Why do we think, I suppose, more harshly of ourselves 956 00:54:03,760 --> 00:54:05,240 than other people? 957 00:54:05,240 --> 00:54:08,360 There is pressure on us to enhance our appearance 958 00:54:08,360 --> 00:54:12,200 all the time and so we end up focusing on the flaws in our faces, 959 00:54:12,200 --> 00:54:14,920 so we focus on all the things we don't like about ourselves, 960 00:54:14,920 --> 00:54:16,800 we focus on the things we dislike, 961 00:54:16,800 --> 00:54:18,800 the things we really hate about ourselves. 962 00:54:21,280 --> 00:54:25,000 So what does influence the way we perceive someone's attractiveness? 963 00:54:26,760 --> 00:54:28,840 Do you think meeting each other first 964 00:54:28,840 --> 00:54:31,200 helped when choosing the picture? 965 00:54:31,200 --> 00:54:32,800 Yes. Why? Very much so. 966 00:54:32,800 --> 00:54:37,040 Because you bring the person's personality into their picture - 967 00:54:37,040 --> 00:54:40,800 so because everyone sees each other as being a person 968 00:54:40,800 --> 00:54:42,720 rather than just a face. 969 00:54:42,720 --> 00:54:45,360 You're working out whether that person has a sense of humour, 970 00:54:45,360 --> 00:54:48,480 you're working out whether that person has shared values with you, 971 00:54:48,480 --> 00:54:50,760 and in psychology we call these halo effects. 972 00:54:50,760 --> 00:54:52,800 A halo effect is simply where one quality 973 00:54:52,800 --> 00:54:56,040 has an effect on our perception of a different quality. 974 00:54:56,040 --> 00:54:58,600 So if we perceive someone as being warm and friendly 975 00:54:58,600 --> 00:55:00,840 and kind and loyal, we can also perceive them 976 00:55:00,840 --> 00:55:04,240 as being more physically attractive in the long-term. 977 00:55:04,240 --> 00:55:07,840 So Viren believes that the group chose more attractive images 978 00:55:07,840 --> 00:55:11,200 of each other because they met first... 979 00:55:11,200 --> 00:55:13,160 We'll have you, if you want? 980 00:55:14,560 --> 00:55:18,280 ..and so were influenced by personality. 981 00:55:18,280 --> 00:55:21,120 Viren, I really want to live in a world where it matters 982 00:55:21,120 --> 00:55:24,080 how you behave with people and how much you invest in people 983 00:55:24,080 --> 00:55:27,040 and how kind you are and how thoughtful you are. 984 00:55:27,040 --> 00:55:30,160 It feels like it does matter. 985 00:55:30,160 --> 00:55:33,360 So, of course it does. We know this from what we've done today and we've 986 00:55:33,360 --> 00:55:35,920 shown that even just a brief interaction with someone 987 00:55:35,920 --> 00:55:38,400 can have a huge impact on how they're perceived. 988 00:55:38,400 --> 00:55:40,280 Which is such great news! 989 00:55:40,280 --> 00:55:43,880 And it makes me so happy that we've done an experiment 990 00:55:43,880 --> 00:55:47,520 that proves something really, really fabulous. 991 00:55:51,320 --> 00:55:54,760 So, just as much as the creams and the make-up, 992 00:55:54,760 --> 00:55:57,520 it's our outlook and the way we act with people 993 00:55:57,520 --> 00:55:59,720 that affects how attractive we are. 994 00:56:02,920 --> 00:56:06,080 I've spent so much of my life feeling really insecure 995 00:56:06,080 --> 00:56:07,720 about how I look. 996 00:56:09,320 --> 00:56:15,840 It's really comforting to know that actually personality does count 997 00:56:15,840 --> 00:56:18,880 and part of your attractiveness is about how comfortable 998 00:56:18,880 --> 00:56:20,920 you are in your own skin. 999 00:56:24,600 --> 00:56:26,800 I've come to the end of my investigation 1000 00:56:26,800 --> 00:56:29,600 into the science behind the beauty industry. 1001 00:56:32,240 --> 00:56:35,720 I've learned that moisturiser doesn't have the long-term effects 1002 00:56:35,720 --> 00:56:38,760 on our skin that we might think it does... 1003 00:56:40,240 --> 00:56:44,840 ..but that sun cream and retinol will keep our skin looking younger. 1004 00:56:44,840 --> 00:56:48,080 I'll also be more savvy to some of those marketing tricks 1005 00:56:48,080 --> 00:56:52,360 of the trade and I'll be saving some money on my make-up bag. 1006 00:56:52,360 --> 00:56:55,640 It turns out that whether a product works or not 1007 00:56:55,640 --> 00:57:00,320 isn't down to the claims on the label or the money we spend, 1008 00:57:00,320 --> 00:57:05,600 it's more about the ingredients list and reliable evidence. 1009 00:57:05,600 --> 00:57:09,760 I've definitely changed the way that I shop for beauty products 1010 00:57:09,760 --> 00:57:12,440 and the products that I use every. 1011 00:57:12,440 --> 00:57:14,800 What I've learned about the beauty industry 1012 00:57:14,800 --> 00:57:18,320 is that there are some things that really work, 1013 00:57:18,320 --> 00:57:24,480 but you've got to look past the promises and the price. 1014 00:57:24,480 --> 00:57:27,080 # Na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na 1015 00:57:27,080 --> 00:57:30,240 # Na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na-na 1016 00:57:30,240 --> 00:57:32,560 # She's got the look 1017 00:57:32,560 --> 00:57:35,840 # She goes Na-na-na-na-na-na-na 1018 00:57:35,840 --> 00:57:39,920 # Na-na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na 1019 00:57:39,920 --> 00:57:41,680 # She's got the look 1020 00:57:41,680 --> 00:57:43,840 # She's got the look She goes 1021 00:57:43,840 --> 00:57:48,200 # Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na-na 1022 00:57:48,200 --> 00:57:50,400 # Na-na-na-na-na-na 1023 00:57:50,400 --> 00:57:51,880 # She's got the look 1024 00:57:51,880 --> 00:57:53,680 # She's got the look. #