If Caroline Hirons isn’t on your radar, she should be. Dubbed the UK’s ‘queen of skincare’, she’s built an impressive empire.
Hirons began blogging in 2010 at the age of 40, never imagining that what started as honest product recommendations would grow into television appearances, a devoted global following, two bestselling beauty books, and a skincare brand, Skin Rocks. Her influence is so great that she can make or break a product, including allegedly preventing a Clinique product – Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm – from being discontinued.
Hirons has built her reputation on saying exactly what she thinks – she’s dragged Gwyneth Paltrow over the coals for her incorrect suncream application and called on Boris Johnson to reopen beauty clinics during the pandemic.
Her no-nonsense honesty about beauty products has earned her fierce loyalty, but it also means she has little time for fleeting skincare fads. “I’d much rather make solid, science-backed skincare that helps people have better skin. That’s the goal,” she tells me as part of Yahoo’s Unapologetically series.
Engulfed in a world of beauty, it might come as a surprise that Hirons has never been afraid of ageing. In fact, the mother of four and grandmother of two says the confidence she feels now, at 56, is “almost scary”.
“This is why people describe older women as ‘fierce,’” Hirons says. “You just think, ‘F*** it, what’s the worst that can happen?’ I’m no longer worried about upsetting people – if anything, they need to be careful about upsetting me.”
Despite continuing to hit career milestones, Hirons admits it’s “a miracle I still have a career” after more than a decade online – particularly after documenting perimenopause so publicly. Now on the other side, she feels, in her words, “unstoppable.”
“If I’d felt like this as a teenager or in my 20s, I’d have burned out by 30,” she shares. “My message to anyone going through post-menopause is this: when you come out the other side, life is golden. It’s so different. No periods, no pregnancy worries, no hormonal chaos. I’ve never felt more comfortable in my own skin.”
Unapologetically is dedicated to conversations with women who continue to evolve in the public eye. How do you live unapologetically?
The truth is, I’ve never really thought about it – I just do. As I’ve gotten older, I don’t feel like I should ever apologise for taking up space. Why would I?
I think a lot of women still do – right down to things like manspreading on the tube. If I’m walking down the pavement and a man’s coming towards me, he can move; I’m not going to. Why would I move?
That said, there’s more fear around being outspoken now. Let’s not beat around the bush; being too outspoken can provoke a very negative, sometimes dangerous response. I’m not stupid about it, but I have the confidence to be myself. Why wouldn’t I? Everyone else is.
‘I don’t feel like I should ever apologise for taking up space,’ Caroline Hirons says.
(Caroline Hirons/Skin Rocks)
What have you learned about yourself in your 50s?
The amount of confidence you have as you get older is almost scary. My mum passed away in 2023. When she died, it felt untethering, but also untethering in a certain freedom.
Her passing took away the last person who could tell me off, the last person whose approval I sought. She didn’t read my stuff online, but she hated swearing. I’d think, “Mum wouldn’t like that.” Now, that voice is gone.
I talk about my deathbed people – and it’s not morbid. As long as you have a great relationship with your deathbed people, no one else matters. My children, my grandchildren, my brother, my nephew, that’s it. My immediate blood family.
If they thought I was a s***** mum and I didn’t have a relationship with them, I would be devastated. But anyone else’s opinion of me is none of my business.
At 56, skincare expert Caroline Hirons is more confident than she ever has been before.
(Dave Benett via Getty Images)
Ageing, menopause and hormonal change are still oddly taboo. How have those experiences impacted you?
I had a horrible perimenopause. It’s honestly a miracle I have a career because I went through it online. I’m 56 years old, I’ve had an online presence since I was 40, so I went through perimenopause on Instagram, on my blog and on YouTube. You can literally see the changes in my body and mood.
When I used to do vlogs, people used to comment that I was always complaining about being tired. I watched it back, and I was. That’s what led me to HRT, because no one was talking about menopause back then.
I didn’t get my HRT sorted until I was 50, when my periods ended, and honestly, it should be called the Golden Age for women. You could not pay me to be in my 20s and 30s again. The 40s were great, 50s are excellent. Don’t get me wrong, I have a creaky hip, I’ve got two arthritic fingers, but that’s from the work that I do. That’s ageing. It’s going to happen to all of us. I just try and take care of myself.
Caroline Hirons’ definition of beauty is now more character-driven, rather than looks-driven.
(Dave Benett via Getty Images)Women face enormous pressure around body image and weight. You’ve spoken openly about losing weight and taking Mounjaro. What led you to that decision?
I lost the weight first. My mum died, and she was so frail, and it really triggered me. I vividly remember looking after her and bathing her at the end, and thinking, “I never want this for my kids. I’ve got to be able to carry my own shopping at my mum’s age. I don’t want to be this frail.”
There’s no blame on my mum – she was dealt the hand she was dealt, she had lupus – but I remember bathing her and saying to myself, “I’ve got to get my s*** together.”
I joined the gym, and I went three mornings a week at 7am, like clockwork. The weight fell off, I stopped drinking, I fine-lined my HRT [hormone replacement therapy] and I got myself into a position where I felt so good and healthy. Then, 18 months later, I went to the doctor, and she demanded I take winter off, and I slept, I ate, and I recovered differently.
The Mounjaro came about because I’d lost about three stone, and my doctor said, “You can run away from your grief, but you can’t run away from your genetics.” My blood work wasn’t changing enough, so she tried me on a low dose of Ozempic, but it made me nauseous, I was sick, I didn’t like it. My weight is stabilised now…. I still eat, I love food, I just don’t eat as much as I used to, and I still drink, I just don’t get drunk.
Honestly, if you’re perimenopausal, the best thing you can do is give up alcohol. Smoking goes without saying – if you’re still smoking, you need to be slapped; you’re shortening your lifespan. All the research says the same about alcohol during perimenopause, and that was a big wake-up call for me.
How has your definition of beauty evolved as you’ve aged?
It’s far more character-driven now than looks-driven. You can be outwardly beautiful and still be an absolute n*b. I’d rather be a good person than obsessed with how I look.
It’s not just “Beauty comes from within,” but it kind of does. If you give off horrible energy but you’re gorgeous, what’s the value? “She’s very pretty, but no one wants to deal with her.” Who wants that?
What products do you recommend that everyone over 50 should use?
Retinoids – vitamin A – because you need something to take your face to the gym. We’ve recently launched our strongest one, I call it CPR for your skin. You can be on HRT, but there’s only so much you can do to replace lost collagen and speed up cell turnover. Retinoids do what your body no longer does for itself.
We’ve numbered our skincare one to five, because after decades in the industry, blogging, and shop-floor experience, I wanted skincare to make sense.
Caroline Hirons launched her skincare brand, Skin Rocks, in November 2022.
(Dave Benett via Getty Images)Which viral beauty trends can you not stand?
All of them. I don’t follow any trends… I’m not interested. There are brands that do dupes and they can jump on the trend bandwagon. I think by the time you’ve done it, the trend has already moved on and you’re left with a load of stock.
I make people laugh on Instagram live when they say they’re doing a 12-step skincare routine – I’m like, “How much time do you have on your hands? Buy some house plants.” You get to a point where your skin can only absorb so much.
Caroline Hirons has often shared her skincare wisdom on This Morning.
(Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)What do you wish men knew about skincare?
You need more than one shower gel to wash yourself top to toe. Just taking a shower gel into the shower and washing your hair, your face and your bits with it is not going to do it.
I imagine being a mum to four – Ben, 34, Dan, 31, Ava, 24, and Max, 21 – is both joyous and intense at times. Which stage of parenting have you found the most challenging so far?
Teenagers. There’s no competition. When you see people online, and they’ve got newborns – obviously, I’m excluding anyone who has a child who’s unwell – but the average person, they have a baby and then everyone says, “This is the worst part.” And I think, “Oh, good God. At least you know where the kid is.”
When they hit 14, 15, 16, they come home smelling of smoke, [sometimes] they don’t come home at all, and you’re trying to track them down. Then there are boyfriends, girlfriends, bullying… teenagers.
When I had a daughter, my mum said, “Hallelujah. Now you’re going to know what it’s like.” And she was right. I found out very quickly.
At what age did you have them following a skincare regimen?
When the hormones kick in – whether they’re female or male – that’s the start…. That’s also when you should be talking to them about self-care – and skincare is part of that. They don’t need a five-step routine at 11, but if they’re smelly, it’s time for a conversation.
Your platform extends far beyond beauty – you’ve spoken out on politics, criticised anti-vaxxers, and raised significant funds during lockdown. Have you got any regrets?
No. I have friends in the industry who could never speak the way I do because they never have. But I always have. By the time I entered the industry, I was a mum of two and the main breadwinner. Now I’m a mum of four and a grandmother of two, but I’ve always been me. Nothing’s changed.
When they say “Social media has changed us”, I don’t think it has; I think it’s exposed us to how some people are, which is hideous. Some people are amazing, empathetic, giving and loving. I choose to focus on the positive.
I’m good at clapping back at the negativity when I think it’s necessary, but it’s rarely about me. It’s usually when it’s about my team, my kids, or people I don’t even know. I’ll defend them. I don’t know how to be anything other than myself… with me, people know exactly what they’re getting.
This has been edited for length and clarity.
