S1E126: The difference between Asian and Caucasian skin

The Straits Times Podcasts

How effective are your skincare products?

Synopsis: Every first Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you.

We all want to look as young and as healthy as possible, and one way to do so is to have healthy skin. But, as we age, our skin becomes thinner, less elastic and more dry and sensitive. There’s also a difference between Asian and Caucasian skin, but most dermatological research has focused on Caucasian populations.

How can we then delay the skin ageing process?

To find out more, ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo speaks to an expert on ageing skin - Professor Rachel Watson - who had spent 30 years in the United Kingdom studying what exactly changes in the skin as we age and how the environment accelerates skin ageing.

She has come to Singapore to study Asian skin, and has just started a new research project looking at Asian skin ageing and the possible interventions that can be used to improve skin health and prevent skin diseases.

Prof Watson is the executive director of the Skin Research Institute of Singapore and the A*STAR Skin Research Labs.

Highlights (click/tap above):

2:04 Difference between Asian and Caucasian skin

6:48 Prof Watson’s new four-year study on ageing in Asian skin.

17:38 Ingredients to look out for in your skincare products

22:29 Protect the health of all your skin, and not just the skin on your face

31:20 The myth of collagen drinks

Produced by: Joyce Teo ([e-mail]), Amirul Karim and Eden Soh

Edited by: Eden Soh

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