Have you ever wondered about the science behind the ambitious claims of beauty products? Is that expensive face cream really any more effective than cheap own-brand basics? And what are the secrets of healthy skin? Our panel of experts takes you behind the hype and answers your burning questions - from how to avoid premature wrinkles to the facts behind skin conditions such as eczema, acne and psoriasis.

Listen to a recording of this event using the media player, above.

To accompany the skin exhibition.

Speakers

Mike Bell, Skincare Scientific Advisor at Boots
Tamara Griffiths, Consultant Dermatologist and Honorary Lecturer, University of Manchester
Sarah Wakelin, Consultant Dermatologist, St Mary’s Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare Trust
Ed Yong, award-winning science writer

Mike Bell is Skincare Scientific Advisor at Boots, where he works in a team of scientists to develop beauty products including No7 Protect and Perfect Intense and the most recent No7 Lift and Luminate range. Mike holds a doctorate (DPhil) in neurobiology from Oxford University and worked with Proctor and Gamble Research and Development on Olay, before joining Boots in 2007.

Tamara Griffiths is Consultant Dermatologist and Honorary Lecturer at the University of Manchester. Her main area of specialist interest is in cosmetic dermatology. She is Trustee for the research charity the British Skin Foundation and regularly acts as spokesperson on issues relating to cosmetic dermatology. She is a regular contributor to broadcast and print media including the BBC and broadsheets such as the Times, Daily Telegraph and the Guardian. Dr Griffiths has a successful cosmetic dermatology private practice in Wilmslow, Cheshire and in 2007 Tatler magazine named her as one of the top 250 doctors in Britain.  

Sarah Wakelin is a consultant Dermatologist at St Mary's Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare Trust in London with a special interest in eczema and allergic skin diseases. Dr Wakelin supervises the dermatology department's patch test clinic for investigation of patients with suspected contact allergies. She treats adults with a range of skin complaints in her general dermatology outpatient clinic. She is a member of the British Association of Dermatologists, the National Eczema Society and the European Society for Contact Dermatitis and the Royal Society of Medicine, has written two dermatology text books and a hand book on eczema for the lay public.

Ed Yong is an award-winning science writer. He works at Cancer Research UK and ensures that the charity's information on cancer prevention and early detection (including its SunSmart campaign) is based on scientific evidence. He has freelanced for various newspapers and magazines and writes for the blog 'Not Exactly Rocket Science'.