Can a £750 face cream really do more for ageing skin than one costing £25? I look beyond the luxury packaging at what we are actually paying for.

I've been taking collagen supplements for years now. Powders stirred into my morning coffee, the odd course of capsules, and a liquid shot when I fancied a change. Do I know, hand on heart, that it's "working"? No. But here's the thing that keeps me buying it: the times I've stopped taking collagen, I've noticed it. My skin seems to feel thinner and drier, my nails don't grow as quickly and tend to break more easily, and my hair seems to lose some of its fullness and look thi

I’ve worn sunscreen on my face for as long as I can remember. And during the summer, if I’m outside for any length of time, I’m one of those people who actually reapplies it. It’s a habit that’s been drummed into most of us interested in skincare for decades: Wear sunscreen. Protect your skin. Prevent premature ageing. Simple. Except, as I’ve discovered while researching other areas of anti-ageing, skincare rarely remains simple once you start looking properly at the science.

Your skin isn't just what you see in the mirror -it's your body's largest organ, protecting you from germs, regulating your temperature and allowing you to feel the world around you. Understanding how your skin works is the fist step to ageing well and making informed choices that help you feel confident at every stage of life. The layers of Your Skin Epidermis (top layer) Acts as a protective barrier, keeping out bacteria and environmental stressors like sun and pollution. C