In a conversational interview on WMag’s Skin Talk, dermatologist Dr. Shereene Idriss walks host Laura Love through her complete daily beauty bag and routine. She explains her preference for a non‑oil first cleanse using Bioderma micellar water, followed by her own Dr. Idriss Soft Wash, which can be used on dry skin and with eyes open, and notes that she double‑cleanses about 90% of the time. Idriss highlights her exfoliating Flash Mask and then moves to actives: the Dr. Idriss Naturfate Hyper Serum (a hydrating serum targeting brown spots, sunspots, and post‑acne discoloration), a retinal product (Paula’s Choice Pro Retinaldehyde) chosen for its strength yet lower irritation compared with prescription retinoids, and the Allies of Skin Growth Factor Serum, a peptide‑rich overnight treatment that tightens skin. She finishes with her Dr. Idriss Major Fade Active Seal, a vitamin C moisturizer used both morning and night. Throughout she emphasizes consistency, gentle formulations, and avoiding inflammation for her sensitive skin.
Chapters
So let's get into your beauty bag because you're the only doctor that we've had on the show. I'm honored. I brought a lot of stuff. Okay. So if I get my makeup done professionally or if I am at the beach and I reapply sunscreen a lot throughout the day, my first cleanse, I never use an oil cleanser. I'll use micellar water and this is by Bioderma. Otherwise, I use my Soft Wash, which is a gentle daily cleanser. And the beautiful part of this cleanser and the reason why I'm I made it is because you can use it on dry skin and you can open your eyes when you wash your face. And then most days, like 90% of the time, I'll cleanse twice with this. I won't necessarily go in with a micellar water, I'll just go in one time, wash, maybe go in with a second time. And then I love to exfoliate. I have an exfoliating mask called the Flash Mask. After we exfoliate, I will go in with my serums. So first off is my hyper serum. This is the Dr. Idriss Naturfate Hyper Serum. So this is a hydrating serum, but it's targeting brown spots, discoloration, sunspots. If you have acne scars that are red turning brown, or even if you have acne scars that are brown, this is what you want to be using. And in the morning, I will put that underneath my— do eye masks. And so I'll apply the mask on top of my hyper serum, do my eye makeup, do my eyebrows, and at the end, do anything for my skin. After the serum, I'll use a retinol. I've been playing with Paula's Choice Pro Retinaldehyde, which is not a retinol, it's a retinal. So it's slightly stronger but less intense than prescription. Do you use a prescription one also? I do, but I've been playing around. And so I've been wanting to also see how your skin responds without getting inflamed because I am a little bit sensitive and I get flaky, especially here. So do I. So I'd rather use something consistently in the long run than use a strong one once and blow my face off. At the end, this I use at night. Not in the morning because it peels, but I do love it. It's the Allies of Skin Growth Factor Serum. And so this has peptides that allows your skin to renew itself better and to repair itself better. And it gives this sort of immediate tightening effect that's always nice to have and see. Even though you're going to bed, you're like, "Oh, I'm going to bed hot." You know what I mean? I'm going to look snatched by the morning time. And then after we're done with our serums, right, we go into our moisturizers. And this is where I use the Dr. Idriss Major Fade Active Seal. It's a vitamin C moisturizer that I use in the morning and at night.
