Dr Shereene Idriss: The Mega Beauty Insider Who Still Feels Like an Outsider
Main Image – Dr Idriss
Sometimes you come across beauty experts who are so knowledgeable and brilliant at what they do, and then you meet them. And they turn out to be incredibly authentic too.
Dr Shereene Idriss is one of those experts, however. Despite her combined almost 5 million social media followers, she’s so down to earth that it almost seems like she feels undeserving of her success thanks to, as she puts it, “always feeling like the odd one out”.
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Having tried her skincare line, Dr Idriss, I can vouch for the fact that she is absolutely deserving of all her success. Her star range – Major Fade’ – treats discolouration, helping to even out the skin tone. She’s also launched The Depuffer (a roller serum aimed to, well, de-puff and wake up the skin), as well as a beautiful daily cleanser and even some merch too.
But her career really started to soar in 2018 when she started putting out expert skincare advice, via the powers of social media.
We sat down with her to discuss everything from the touching reason she started influencing and why she created her own skincare line, to her most treasured skincare advice that she wants everyone to know.
Connecting and educating
Isn’t it funny how the biggest ideas can start from the smallest of places? For Dr Idriss, the idea of connecting with and advising her followers on skincare through (what became known as) Pillow Talk Derm, all started in 2018 whilst lying in bed, after she had finally got her young daughter to sleep.
“It wasn’t a premeditated thought, there were hardly any dermatologists back then on social,” she says. And, thinking it would only last a few weeks, she didn’t do it for fame or money.
Image – Dr Idriss
“My agenda happened to be that I was depressed,” she explains. “I was fired while I was pregnant, and I’d just had my baby. And I was frustrated by patients coming in repeating a bunch of misinformation in my office.
And so I thought to myself, what if I go online and educate and help my patients understand what’s real, what’s not? I’ll do this for a couple of weeks and maybe I’ll feel better. All boats will rise with the tide. If I help them, I’ll help myself. And that was it.
I didn’t think of it as a money-making thing. I didn’t think of it as a fame-chasing thing. I didn’t think of it as an affiliate link thing. I was just coming at it from a place of, let me just help these people help themselves, so I don’t have to repeat myself, and maybe I’ll feel better in the process, because I’m giving back. So that is how Pillow Talk Derm started.”
The turning point
And then one day, someone writes about you and everything changes. At least, that’s what happened to Dr Idriss. “Harper’s Bazaar picked it up,” she says. “They wrote an article about it, and then I was highlighted in one of their day in the life videos. And then it started growing.” What happened next sounds like the definition of the snowball effect, and Dr Idriss agrees.
“I realised that a question would be asked in 100 different ways, but it was the same question,” she explains. “So how do you answer the same question in 100 different ways while still sticking to the point? It just started snowballing, and the follower numbers started going up, and what started with 500 people is now over 3 million across all platforms.”
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Everyone absorbs information differently, she says. “It’s amazing how much you need to constantly keep repeating information in different ways so that it can hit that person through a different lens so that they can finally get it. It’s what’s been the most rewarding.”
But what did her family think when she became insta-famous? “My parents were horrified for the longest time that I was answering questions from bed as a physician, in my PJs,” she says. “And I was like, ‘don’t worry about it. No one’s watching.’ But they were watching. They have finally come around to realizing what it is that I’m doing. It’s been a very interesting journey.”
Staying grounded on her voyage to fame was important to her as well. “I don’t feel like I struggled with it because I never tried to fit a persona,” she explains. “I wasn’t trying to act like something that I’m not, and I’ve always approached it as just show up as yourself, and those who are into me are going to subscribe, and those who aren’t, God bless because I’m not an actress. It’s way too exhausting to try to keep up the front.”
She never put pressure on herself to have a strict schedule either. “I would do a Pillow Talk on a Monday, maybe I’d do the next one on a Thursday, maybe I’d do the next one on a Saturday,” she says. “And it still happens that way. It’s very much based on my mood, and I don’t hold myself to that standard of having to do a Pillow Talk on stories every certain interval.”
She did have to have a strict timetable, however, when she introduced YouTube into her social media channels. “I had to understand that it was more of like a TV show. And that’s when it became more of a structured situation, whereas prior to that, it was very much unstructured.”
From feeling depressed to feeling validated
As she originally hoped, not only was Dr Idriss helping others with her knowledge and expertise, but connecting with her followers was making her feel happier too. “I genuinely felt better as I started getting messages from people,” she explains. “When you’re so low and you’re helping people who you have no attachment to, and to hear somebody message you a ‘thank you’ from a place of zero intent, it does give you a positive reinforcement.”
And for Dr Idriss, it’s now not just about how it makes her feel but how her patients and followers feel too. “The majority of my career has been to really empower people to feel better about themselves, without taking advantage of their insecurities or feeding into an insecurity,” she explains.
@shereeneidriss Aging is a blessing and SHOULD be embraced! Because if you’re not aging, you’re dead…and that’s simply the fact. This video is not meant to fear monger you, but to EMPOWER and prepare you for how to manage what’s to come. (Not just physically, but more important mentally.) Why? Because doing small tweaks to help yourself out will save you in the long run. ???? And the answer is NOT Botox and Filler. In fact if you’re in your 20s or even early 30s and haven’t started aging yet — you do not need it. Preventative Botox is a joke! So what is the answer? As I said simple things. Here’s a few tips: 1. Wear the damn sunscreen! Every. Single. Day. 2. Use a Vitamin C serum starting in your teens/early 20s (THD Ascorbate is the best form in my opinion) 3. Incorporate a Retinol in your mid 20s ?If you are in your 30s-60s, when it comes to cosmetic procedures my advice to you is this: Subtle changes can make a dramatic difference! Pace yourself. Aging is not a linear decline, and cosmetic procedures shouldn’t come in package deals. When done right, they are meant to support you and not change you completely. #20s #over30 #over40 #botox #filler #aginggracefully #jowls #dermatologist #shereeneidriss #dridriss @ShereeneIdriss
“And it’s a very hard line to thread, especially in today’s day and age with social media where everything is black and white. It’s a very hard balance to strike, helping somebody feel better about themselves in a body positive way, and not overstepping that boundary or hurting someone’s ego and confidence.
That’s what drives me. To see people feel empowered and confident, and to see them feel like they don’t need to be in a shitty work situation, which I was in for four years. It was the biggest blessing of my life that I got fired. So that is what truly pushes me.”
Image – Dr Idriss
Dr Idriss’ drive to please and help people seems to stem from past insecurities. “I have always felt like the odd one out,” she says. “I think being an immigrant, Lebanese, growing up in the US, our food was different. I was always kind of shy about eating what I was eating at school.
My name has so many E’s I was made fun of, and I was always very aware of being slightly the odd one out. And when it came to applying to dermatology, yes, you may look at me and think, blonde – check! Fair skin – check! Maybe pretty – check! But I never felt like I fit the mould. And I always felt unpolished. Call it imposter syndrome. Call it whatever it is, but I felt like I didn’t belong in that world.”
But things felt different on social media. “I had the liberty of just being me, and I didn’t have to show up in a professional setting, because – screw you. I’m doing this on my own terms. You’re not paying me. I’m going to give you the information I want to give it to you. If you don’t like it, leave!”
Amen, sister!
So, going forward, that was the attitude Dr Idriss adopted. “It has only benefited me in my life and my practice, because patients now come to me, trusting me and my opinion and not wanting a robot, not wanting what I thought was the mould that I needed to fit into,” she explains.
About her social media community, she adds, “They have enabled me to truly just show up as I am every day without having to feel like I need to wear high heels to go to work. Maybe I don’t cuss as much in the office as I maybe do online, but I’m still myself. I don’t have to put up a front, ever.”
The fame game
What I can’t help but notice by now is Dr Idriss’ authenticity. When asked if this has anything to do with being brought up in three different countries, Lebanon, Cyprus and the US, she replies, “You know, it’s fascinating. And I thank my family, I thank my husband, and I always tell the people who work with me, never ‘yes’ me. Always just make sure you’re true. If I’ve got something in my teeth, tell me. If I look like crap, just be honest. If I say something stupid or I did something wrong, don’t be scared to let me know.”
Relatable much?! “But we talk about this a lot, me and my husband because I know some people on social who have changed throughout the years, and it’s almost like when you go into an extreme on social and you become a different person,” she continues.
Image – @shereeneidriss/Instagram
“I’m the youngest of three. I’ve been beaten up a lot. My sisters never miss a moment to bring me back down to earth. It’s always been like that and I’ve always, again, felt very much like the odd one out. I’ve always lived in this double world, where I’ve understood people who have nothing, and I’ve seen riches to the imagination you can’t possibly imagine.
I’ve seen that side of the world, and I’ve seen this side of the world. And when you live in both and you’re able to understand both, you realise that easy come, easy go. And at the end of the day, all that matters is how you make people feel and how you treat others.
And if you’re somebody who’s easily impressed, or you’re searching for the wrong things to feel valid, it’s very easy to fall into traps. And I feel like I’ve been very fortunate to always live my life trying to be a better human, to look internally and not try to be validated by the glitz and the fame [because that is] never what drove me.”
The rise of social media scaremongering
Whilst social media obviously has its upsides for Dr Idriss, she agrees that there are some major downsides too. Most notably when it comes to fuelling trends for more injectables, as well as the doctors who provide them.
“The onus on brands, on people, on doctors, on anybody partaking in this industry is to do it in an ethical fashion,” she says. “And that, unfortunately, more often than not, falls short. For me, the challenge is constantly keeping that lens in focus and making sure that education is empowering the customers first. If it means not using our product but using something else, yeah. They’ll come back to us for something else.
If it means telling somebody no to Botox at 20, she’ll be back at 30. And it’s happened. I’ve been in practice for longer than 10 years. I think it’s just a matter of, ‘how do you go to sleep at night, and how do you feel about yourself?’”
Image – Dr Idriss
Skincare myths
With a lot of misinformation being thrown around, I wanted to know which beauty myths she has to tackle the most. “The whole sunscreen debate is one that has to be addressed very, very often, because if you’re going to invest the time and energy to take care of your skin, what are you doing if you’re not protecting it?”
Anything else? “I feel clean beauty is kind of fading away,” she says. “I think that’s the after-effect of brands thinking it’s not hot anymore, and so they’re not pushing that message so much in marketing. And I think it is finally being understood that hyaluronic acid is not the only humectant on the freaking market.”
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Interesting, tell me more. “Everybody had, like, 20 and they still have eight steps with hyaluronic acid, and they don’t realise that that’s all they’re using on their face. Why do you need eight hyaluronic acid products for your skin? Why?”
How does she think skincare routines should be approached? “I think teaching people that your skincare routine is not about your daily routine, but a weekly thing and getting to understand and listen to your skin,” she explains. “How do you piecemeal it? How do you attract it? How do you address it? How do you comfort it?”
Creating Dr Idriss Skincare
Having tried a few of Dr Idriss’s products myself, I wanted to know a bit of background on why Dr Idriss created it in the first place.
“It was purely out of frustration, and I had Covid, and there was a sunscreen drama happening in 2020 and I pulled the audience and asked, ‘should we start our own skincare brand? Because this is bullshit!’ 10,000 people voted yes.” Woah.
“From a cosmetic angle, when patients come in to see me, they’re oftentimes focusing on their jowls, their volume, their fine lines. But if you take a step back and look at their face, that wrinkle doesn’t even matter because you’re your skin is just messy. The colour is messy. If you want to get the biggest bang for your buck, it’s in evening out your skin tone. And that’s why people invest in foundations and concealers and all this crap, right? So how can you invest in your skin tone?”
The ‘purple’ line in Dr Idriss’ range is called Hyper Fade and aims to do just that – even out the skin tone. “The line is three products which are all geared towards discolouration and hyperpigmentation,” she explains. There’s an exfoliating, evening mask, a colour fading and illuminating serum (her personal favourite) and a brightening, hydrating moisturiser.
“When I was pregnant, I developed melasma, a huge packet on the right side of my cheek. And I remember my young, 24-year-old cousin was like, ‘What the f*ck happened to her face?’ I felt like the crypt keeper overnight, because it did pop up overnight, and so that always stung,” she explains.
“And so I was on this crazy routine while I was pregnant and breastfeeding. I thought to myself, ‘I want to create products that are going to simplify hyperpigmentation discolouration, that have the actives you need’. Because it’s not just about vitamin C or retinol, especially not if you’re pregnant at levels of efficacy that you need to use consistently over the course of a week – consistently being the keyword.”
Image – Dr Idriss
There’s also a roller-serum which aims to depuff and reduce redness. “In 2020 everyone was obsessed with face rollers,” Dr Idriss explains. “I was like, guys, great roll but your swelling will not go away just by rolling. So I thought, ‘How can I marry a syrup into a roller that mimics the effects of the roller after you’re done rolling?” Now that’s a mouthful!
I’ve personally used it and think it’s pretty special, but no one more so than Dr Idriss herself. “I use it on my lips for wind burns and on mosquito bites it minimises the swell. It’s amazing. It’s like my SOS product.”
The cleanser completes the range, which you initially apply to dry skin and Dr Idriss says it’s so gentle it can be used on your eyes. “It has the same ingredient as contact lens solution in it, so it’s very, very gentle, but it really takes off the makeup. Now, if I have professional makeup, I might use it twice to double cleanse with it, but for everyday makeup, with my little wet washcloth, nothing stays behind. It’s amazing.”
Did she enjoy formulating it behind the scenes? “I have learned to love the process,” she says. “When I first started, I didn’t know anything. I had no funding. I still have no funding. I didn’t have access to people with information. I didn’t know anything.” It turned out to be a long, learning process but it seems Dr Idriss is finally coming around to it.
“I love the idea of thinking about ingredients, and how you marry them, and what kind of textures you want, and what people like. And I have so much data from patients and questions that were coming in that I felt like I need to get this out. It was almost like baking the perfect cake.”
If you’re intrigued as to why you should try the products, Dr Idriss has some advice. “Don’t just trust me because it has ‘doctor’ in front of it. I think if you really want to know, watch my videos and learn alongside me, and then learn to trust my brand. But educate yourself to really empower yourself to make the changes in your skin, and I hope my products are used along the way.”
Image – Dr Idriss
The takeaway
We love Dr Idriss’ authenticity and relatability, plus having met her, I now know she’s one of the friendliest people in skincare. Her passion to help and advise her patients and followers, as well as anyone new who wants to join along the way, is palpable. And I love her honesty.
“Skin is not a trend, and your age is not a trend when it comes to skincare because if you just base your skincare off your age, you’re going to be missing the boat,” she warns.
Her main skincare advice? “Easy – consistency over intensity. I’m a cosmetic derm. I have over 10 lasers in my office. Lasers are not going to give you your dream skin. They’re not they’re going to serve as a boost.
And the way that you get to the skin that you want is to be consistent with your products and to make sure that you’re using them consistently over time, not to go for the highest percentage, not to go for the strongest products on the market.
That doesn’t work, because then you’re inducing inflammation, so you need to be on top of it, and you need to view your routine as a week-long thing. How do you view your skin over the course of the week? And how are you treating your skin over the course of the week? That matters.”
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Anonymous
Love You and your honesty…stay true to YOU?????
Sally Underwood
We love Dr Idriss too! x