How to Separate Fact from Fiction in Beauty, According to PDS President Dr. Jasmin Jamora

Let’s face it. We live so much of our lives online. It has its benefits, like having access to a wealth of information, available in a click or with a swipe of a finger.

But with an influx of information also comes the problem of misinformation—something that is so rife that it has sunk its claws into almost every facet of society, including in beauty and health. 

With all the trends, new practices, products, and techniques just waiting to be tried, how do we sift through the noise, to arrive at options that actually work, and are medically sound? 

Especially in the realms of beauty and health, where products and practices are applied to your own body, the consequences can be very real—and very dangerous.

On Day 3 of the Allure Beauty Congress, Allure Conversations tackled this very issue, in Fact or Fiction: Fighting Misinformation in Beauty and Health—and with no less than the president of the Philippine Dermatological Society on hand to dispel falsehoods. 

Betty Uy Chan

Betty Uy Chan

Board-certified dermatologist Jasmin Jamora, MD, FPDS, explained how to navigate the bottomless pits of information, including key concepts related to medical practices, that everyone should know.

Here are our 10 takeaways from the highly-informative session, including Dr. Jamora’s top tips on how to maneuver through the noise, and establish our own guardrails to protect ourselves from misinformation and its consequences. 

1. Consumers—and patients—are more informed nowadays.

“A lot of our patients come in really smart,” Dr. Jamora says, “because people have the world at their fingertips. There’s so much information available.”

The problem, Dr. Jamora explains, is that there’s a difference between plain knowledge and wisdom. “Wisdom is knowledge applied correctly,” she clarifies. That said, the information at our fingertips still needs to be applied correctly to avoid problems, complications, and side effects.

2. Misinformation is a huge issue, even in the spheres of beauty and health.

“There are many beauty trends that need to be engaged with,” Dr. Jamora admits. And these beauty trends usually spread on social media—a space that’s vulnerable to misinformation. She quotes journalist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa, saying, “Lies spread six times faster than the truth.” That means, “we really need to make sure that what we’re saying is correct, that there is integrity of facts,” Dr. Jamora explains. 

3. Exercise caution when relying on online recommendations and trying viral trends.

Many of the personal recommendations out there for products, techniques, or practices may not be the right fit for you—because they are not the right fit for your skin type. 

“Trends may not be appropriate for your skin,” Dr. Jamora explains. “For some people who do not have sensitive skin, they may be able to tolerate the 10-step program, and it can work for them. But for some people, maybe they have skin asthma, or super sensitive skin, or dry skin, they may get triggered. Or if they have oily skin, and they start putting [on] a lot of moisturizers, or let’s say, hyaluronic acid-based products, it can clog their pores, and they can get breakouts.”

4. Always double check the source of the information.

There are ways to evaluate the information that’s coming at us from all sides. “Look at the sources, and the person who’s saying it,” Dr. Jamora says. “I’ll check their profile.” 

If you can’t find their profile, she says, try LinkedIn, or even just Google. Dr. Jamora says to ask these questions: “Have they had the background knowledge, the experience, the training? Are they doctors? Are they physicians? Especially if things are going against mainstream information, that’s when you really want to check the source [and] where they got that information.”

Dr. Jamora also adds that the Philippine Dermatological Society has a database on their website (pds.org.ph), where you can check if a doctor is a board-certified dermatologist.

Another website you can utilize is the website of the Professional Regulations Commission, where you can check if the source is really a physician or doctor. For foreign sources, you can check the websites of the American Academy of Dermatology or the  European Academy of Dermatology. “Check mainstream websites and see if these [medical professionals] are actual, credible experts and physicians.”

Dr. Jamora also shares that her number one nemesis is “Dr. Google,” or when patients tend to “Google” their symptoms or concerns instead of going straight to a licensed doctor. Consulting “Dr. Google” is never the best idea, because not only may the answers you find turn out to be inaccurate, but they may also not be tailored to your dilemma.

5. Misinformation is not limited to what we read or see online—it’s also spread by word of mouth.

“You know, who else my nemesis is? ‘Yung kapitbahay,” Dr. Jamora quips. “’Yung, ‘Doc, sabi ng kapitbahay dapat hindi ko daw [dapat] inumin ‘yung gamot na ‘to kasi nakakalason.’” 

Filipinos, according to Dr. Jamora, tend to listen to hearsay or well-meaning, but baseless advice from friends and families, as well as adhere to cultural beauty rituals or myths—all of which are another form of misinformation. 

“I really have to stop myself from saying, ‘Does she have a medical degree and 10 years of medical school training?’ Instead, I’ll just show the studies and journals [of] what is effective. We have to be respectful, reflective, and, you know, relate with [them] as well.”

6. Consume content critically.

When it comes to sources that aren’t medical professionals, background checking may be harder to do. But simple searches can actually go the distance. Dr. Jamora mentions websites such as PubMed or Google Scholar, which you can use to check facts or source material. “And be mindful about how you consume social media. Once you start comparing yourself and asking yourself, ‘Why don’t I look like this? Why don’t I have this?’ Then you should stop scrolling. Monitor yourself, too, when you consume social media.”

7. Don’t discount traditional media.

Traditional media, such as TV or newspapers, is still nothing to scoff at. “They may be old school, but as I said, there’s a lot of guardrails. They have ethics codes that bind them to only report what is fact. We’re talking about magazines like Allure, broadsheets, newspapers, radio, TV.”

Any content out there, Dr. Jamora says, needs to be based on facts. “There has to be integrity in facts, right? You have to make sure that what is being said is a fact and not opinion.”

8. Make sure medical procedures are administered by a licensed medical doctor.

In the Philippines, Dr. Jamora explains, the Medical Act of 1959 states that medical procedures should only be done by licensed physicians. She recommends that for any procedure that will be done, a licensed doctor needs to be consulted. “If something is piercing your skin, if something is being put inside your bloodstream, it should be done by a doctor, or a nurse accompanied by a doctor.” One of the advocacies of the Philippine Dermatological Society, Dr. Jamora says, is public safety, especially about the illegal practice of aesthetic medicine. “Make sure that the medical professional has a license from the Professional Regulation Commission.”

9. Certain aesthetic procedures should be administered only by a doctor. Not a nurse, not a technician.

According to Dr. Jamora, regulations for aesthetics in the Philippines, such as laser regulations, are not very clear. But, she says, “if it’s your face and if it’s something that pierces your skin or applies a lot of heat or can have side effects like blistering, scarring, please ask your doctor to either do it or at least be there. Misinformation also encapsulates this, because you don’t know that these procedures are supposed to be administered by a doctor.”

10.  When trying new things, be wary of red flags.

With the avalanche of information, products, treatments, and practices, Dr. Jamora advises to just be wary of red flags. “Some red flags are miracles, cures, and guarantees,” she clarifies. “Be careful. False claims, promises, guarantees— there’s no such thing, As doctors, we always under-promise and over-deliver. We’ll never say ‘I guarantee this.’”