The beauty lesson Jessica Alba wants to pass on to her daughters

Jessica Alba launches a new skin care line to address millennial skin care concerns. (Photo: Getty Images)
Jessica Alba launches a new skin care line to address millennial skin care concerns. (Photo: Getty Images)

Jessica Alba is one of Hollywood’s most famous beauties and businesswomen, who went from acting to innovating in the realm of consumer goods. Through her billion-dollar business, the Honest Company, Alba has developed a number of household and beauty products while working to remain ethically conscious.

As a soon-to-be mom-of-three, Alba prides herself on identifying gaps in the market based on her experience as a woman and mother. Most recently, she tapped into an untouched space for millennials, who share concerns about both aging and acne.

The five newest products to the Honest Beauty Younger + Clearer line. (Photo: Honest Company)
The five newest products to the Honest Beauty Younger + Clearer line. (Photo: Honest Company)

Younger + Clearer is the brand’s latest skin care collection, and it includes five products to address these dual issues. From a cleanser to a “hero” night serum and a spot-on remedy, Honest Beauty has developed an ingredient that leads to results without sacrificing a clean regimen.

Yahoo Beauty spoke with Alba about her own skin care concerns that inspired the line, as well as the beauty lesson she hopes to pass on to her daughters.

Yahoo Beauty: Your new line puts an emphasis on anti-aging. What are your thoughts on the current debate surrounding that term? Should people strive to look younger or just be the best version of themselves?

Jessica Alba: In my opinion, the term “anti-aging” comes from people looking older than they feel and wanting to look as good on the outside as they feel on the inside. At Honest Beauty, we embrace all types of beauty — we are proud to offer skin care solutions for a wide variety of people with different needs and skin types.

I believe that your skin reflects how you are taking care of yourself. There are certain environmental triggers — such as poor nutrition, poor air quality, and lack of sleep — that can cause our skin to age prematurely. Before I got pregnant, I found that using an incredible retinol product, paired with self-care, helped me to look as young as I felt. Our Night Serum features Honestly Pure Retinol that is encapsulated with tapioca dextrin and made without the synthetic additives typically used to stabilize retinol. We are proud to offer skin care solutions that contain high-performance formulas made with clean ingredients.

Have you had any experiences with acne that inspired this line as well?

Of course, I have! The acne that I experience is usually related to hormones, or triggered by nutritional choices or lack of sleep. Before I got pregnant, I found that salicylic acid worked well for me in terms of fighting acne. Almost all of the products in the new line contain wintergreen-derived salicylic acid, meaning it comes from a natural source.

Over time, my acne subsided and I discovered retinol in my early 20s. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found that I don’t have as many fine lines and wrinkles as someone my age might, and I definitely credit this to my consistent use of retinol over time.

So you’ve discovered a way to formulate this Honestly Pure Retinol ingredient that maintains your brand’s promise of being clean. What’s another key component?

It’s extremely important to us to represent a modern brand that is indicative of real life. Beauty comes in all shades and I think that the best beauty campaigns that I’ve seen are the ones that proudly display diversity. I built this brand off of a genuine, personal experience that I had. There’s authenticity in what we do as we work to empower people to live happy, healthy lives. When you are genuine, it shows in everything that you do, whether male or female, and I think this has helped us to stand out over time and create a meaningful business.

You’ve successfully instilled these values into your brand. What do you hope your children learn from your work in this industry?

Your beauty is your own — don’t worry about trying to fit into someone else’s idea of beauty.

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