Skincare Ingredient Decoder: Honest and Professional Intel on Over 150 Acids, Serums, Retinols and More

The skincare world is bewildering and complex - with more cutting-edge ingredients than ever before, all promising to make you look glowy, fresh and young. This book aims to decode the science so you can identify what will work for your unique skin type.

From bakuchiol and collagen to retinol and sea moss, this guide demystifies the most popular and effective skincare ingredients, helping you understand the properties and benefits of each one, what it is used for, how to use it, possible reactions and results.

The first section, The Science, discusses skin and skincare basics, and explains groups of products, such as alpha-hydroxy acids and emoillents. The second section, The A-Z of Key Ingredients, decodes over 150 ingredients. The third section Skin Problems + Solutions, explores common conditions, how to identify them and a ’recipe’ of the A-Z ingredients to use to remedy them.

Emma Bannister has worked in the beauty industry in London for over 25 years. She was the beauty director for British Marie Claire, where she wrote the book Marie Claire Real Beauty. As a journalist, she has contributed to The Sydney Times, M Magazine, The Evening Standard and Grazia and was weekly beauty columnist for the Mirror. She now consults and art directs for beauty brands, including Pantene, Crabtree & Evelyn, Boots No7, Aromatherapy Associates, Skinbrands and Wella Professionals. She also lectures in communications and marketing at Regents University London.