Meder Beauty

Dr. Tiina Meder

You want healthy, glowing skin—but with all the products, trends, and conflicting advice, it’s hard to know what actually works.  Welcome to the Meder Beauty Podcast, hosted by Dr. Tiina Meder, a former cardiologist and board-certified dermatologist. In each episode, we uncover what really matters, break down the science, and give you real, expert-backed skincare advice. Whether you’re looking to achieve radiant healthy skin, curious about anti-aging, or want to understand what’s really in your products, you’re in the right place. Rooted in science and the truth about what your skin actually needs, we’ll have in-depth conversations with leading dermatologists, medical experts, and skincare brand founders to bring you the latest innovations, evidence-based insights, and industry secrets that truly make a difference.

  1. 3d ago

    Emulsifiers, Stabilisers and Thickeners: The Invisible Architecture

    Send us Fan Mail A few days ago, a lovely, thoughtful client asked to return an unopened product. She'd spotted a "cross polymer" on the ingredient list, read that it might be a microplastic, and didn't want to harm the environment. Her heart was in exactly the right place, and yet almost everything the internet had told her was misleading. That message is why I made this episode. Today I want to talk about the ingredients that never make the front of the bottle: emulsifiers, stabilisers and thickeners. They're not glamorous and don't promise glow or collagen, but without them, your favourite cream would separate, turn grainy, or fall apart on the shelf within weeks. I'll explain what each of these three groups actually does, why "polymer" doesn't automatically mean "microplastic," why a fatty alcohol isn't ethanol, and why the natural-versus-synthetic argument is largely a false one. The ingredient list isn't a shopping list. It's an engineering plan, and I'll teach you to read it like one. Learn more from the previous episodes:  The Most Misunderstood Ingredient in Skincare: Water Creams and Emulsions (Pt.1): From Galen to Nivea and The Surprising History of Cream Inside a Cream: The Science of Emulsions (Pt. 2) Connect with us: Meder by Dr. Tiina Meder Meder Beauty Instagram Meder Beauty Facebook Meder Beauty TikTok Meder Beauty LinkedIn Meder Beauty YouTube Listen to the Meder Beauty Podcast on Apple Podcasts

  2. Sep 29

    Inside a Cream: The Science of Emulsions (Pt. 2)

    Send us Fan Mail In Part 1, I told you the story of the cream, 2,000 years of history from Galen's rose water and beeswax to the jars on our shelves today. Now let's open the jar and look inside. In this second part, I walk you through how creams and emulsions are actually built: the water phase, the oil phase, and the clever ingredient that holds them together, the emulsifier. Think salad dressing versus mayonnaise. One splits in minutes; the other stays perfectly stable, thanks to a little lecithin from an egg yolk. Along the way, I'll gently retire a few of skincare's most stubborn fears about "alcohols" and emulsifiers on the label. We'll talk about lamellar emulsions that mirror your skin's own "brick and mortar" structure, why lightweight textures matter for healthy skin, and how the right cream can genuinely support your microbiome and active longevity. A cream may look simple, but technically, it never is. Learn more from the previous episodes:  Creams and Emulsions (Pt.1): From Galen to Nivea and The Surprising History of Cream The Most Misunderstood Ingredient in Skincare: Water Your Skin’s Hidden Ecosystem: Why the Microbiome Matters More Than You Think Shop the skincare we talked about today: Vita-Long Advanced skin longevity care. Connect with us: Meder by Dr. Tiina Meder Meder Beauty Instagram Meder Beauty Facebook Meder Beauty TikTok Meder Beauty LinkedIn Meder Beauty YouTube Listen to the Meder Beauty Podcast on Apple Podcasts

  3. Sep 22

    Creams and Emulsions (Pt.1): From Galen to Nivea and The Surprising History of Cream

    Send us Fan Mail A cream looks like the most ordinary thing in your bathroom: white, soft, familiar, a little boring. But I'm here to tell you it's the single most sophisticated structure in all of skincare, and the hardest thing a formulator can make. Why? Because a cream persuades two ingredients that genuinely refuse to coexist — oil and water — to live together, stay stable, feel beautiful, resist microbes, and keep working from the first pump to the last. In Part 1 of this two-part episode, I take you all the way back to Galen of Pergamon, the Greek physician who created the very first cream 2,000 years ago, through medieval cooling creams, to the industrial revolution of Nivea and Pond's. I explain what an emulsion actually is (think salad dressing that refuses to separate), why "oil in water" versus "water in oil" matters, why a cream can contain 70% water and still be rich, and why your lightweight cream might protect you in winter just as well as a heavy one. Myths busted, history told, and science made simple. Episode resources: The oldest cold cream: A skincare formula that survived for more than 2000 years An old eponym honoring Galen and his cold cream Cold protecting ointments and frostbite. A questionnaire study of 830 conscripts in Finland Learn more from the previous episodes:  The Most Misunderstood Ingredient in Skincare: Water Shop the skincare we talked about today: Derma-Fill - Prebiotic moisturizer for all skin types Lumino-Derm - Skin brightening cream Blepharo-Light - Eye cream for dark circles and puffiness Connect with us: Meder by Dr. Tiina Meder Meder Beauty Instagram Meder Beauty Facebook Meder Beauty TikTok Meder Beauty LinkedIn Meder Beauty YouTube Listen to the Meder Beauty Podcast on Apple Podcasts

  4. Sep 15

    The Most Misunderstood Ingredient in Skincare: Water

    Send us Fan Mail "It's mostly water, I'm not paying for that." If you've ever thought about a skincare product, this episode is for you, because water might be the most underestimated, misunderstood ingredient in your bathroom. Water is extraordinary. It's the best solvent on Earth, one of the finest penetration enhancers we have, and the connecting medium that lets almost every active ingredient actually reach your skin. When I see aqua at the top of an ingredient list, I don't roll my eyes, I see life in a bottle. In this episode, I explain what water really does in a formula, why different waters (alpine, thermal, even the sacred Zamzam) carry different stories and mineral signatures, and the honest truth about toners, essences, serums, and gels (names that aren't scientific categories at all). I also explain why water alone never truly hydrates, why misting thermal water on a plane can backfire (and annoy your neighbor), and why the word on the front of the bottle matters far less than the formula behind it. In the next episode, I bring water and oil together at last, and turn to creams and emulsions. Shop the skincare we talked about today:  Soin-Apax Sensitive skin serum with Alpine Water Best Antioxidant Face Serum for Dry Skin Meder Beauty Face Sheet Masks Connect with us: Meder by Dr. Tiina Meder Meder Beauty Instagram Meder Beauty Facebook Meder Beauty TikTok Meder Beauty LinkedIn Meder Beauty YouTube Listen to the Meder Beauty Podcast on Apple Podcasts

  5. Sep 8

    Oil-Free, Silicones, and the Myths in Between

    Send us Fan Mail Oil-free might be the most misunderstood claim in all of skincare. For years, if you had oily, acne-prone, or teenage skin, you were told to look for it, as if oil-free automatically meant lighter, cleaner, and safer. But it's not that simple. In this episode, I look beyond the label. Oil-free doesn't mean empty, weightless, hydrating, non-comedogenic, or automatically better (even for oily skin). It simply describes the absence of one category of ingredients, while the formula may still be full of humectants, silicones, esters, hydrocarbons, and clever polymers doing all the jobs we usually credit to oils. I explain what actually replaces oil in a modern formula, why your simple hyaluronic acid serum can betray you the moment you change climates, and the honest truth about silicones, including which ones Europe restricted and why it has nothing to do with your skin. Most importantly, I answer the real question: who genuinely needs oil-free skincare, and when is it just a marketing shortcut? Episode resources: EU 2020 & 2024 regulations on D4, D5, D6 silicones Learn more from the previous episodes:  Oils in Skincare: Why the Same Oil Can Help or Harm Shop the skincare we talked about today:  Meder Face Sheet Masks Meder Skincare Routine For Redness, Rosacea & Sensitive Skin Derma-Fill - Prebiotic moisturizer for all skin types Connect with us: Meder by Dr. Tiina Meder Meder Beauty Instagram Meder Beauty Facebook Meder Beauty TikTok Meder Beauty LinkedIn Meder Beauty YouTube Listen to the Meder Beauty Podcast on Apple Podcasts

  6. Sep 1

    Oils in Skincare: Why the Same Oil Can Help or Harm

    Send us Fan Mail Welcome to a new season. This time, I'm taking you inside the science of skincare ingredients, and I'm starting with one of the oldest, richest, and most misunderstood categories of all: OILS. For decades, we were told oily skin should fear oils. Then the pendulum swung, and suddenly oil became a synonym for nourishment, longevity, and natural beauty. As with most things, the truth is somewhere in between. Oil is not automatically a problem, even for oily skin, and it's not automatically a magic treatment, even for dry skin. In this episode, I debunk my favorite oil myths, explain the chemistry of fatty acids in plain language, and reveal why the same oil can soothe your skin in one climate and inflame it in another. I will walk you through five of my favorite oils, the honest truth about coconut oil and rosacea, why jojoba oil literally helped save the whales, and the human story behind shea butter. And I explain why the best oil is never the most expensive or the most fashionable; it's simply the right one for your skin, here and now. Next episode, I turn the story on its head and explore the opposite: oil-free skincare, and what goes inside instead. So stay tuned! Learn more from the previous episodes:  Understanding Wrinkles: Types, Causes & What Actually Works Shop the skincare that contains oils I talked about today: Shea butter: Circa-Night Biohacking restorative night cream and Lumino-Derm Skin brightening cream Jojoba oil: Vita-Long Advanced skin longevity care Macadamia oil: Salva-Derm Prebiotic moisturizing cream for sensitive skin Almond oil: Arma-Derm Face cream for dry, aging and mature skin Avocado oil: Equa-Derm Mattifying cream for oily and problem skin Connect with us: Meder by Dr. Tiina Meder Meder Beauty Instagram Meder Beauty Facebook Meder Beauty TikTok Meder Beauty LinkedIn Meder Beauty YouTube Listen to the Meder Beauty Podcast on Apple Podcasts

  7. Aug 25

    Beyond Dry, Oily, Normal: How to Really Diagnose Skin

    Send us Fan Mail The old "dry, oily, or normal" skin classification is over 100 years old. Even astrology is more complicated. In this episode, I share the full professional skin diagnostic I've taught to practitioners in more than 30 countries, a precise, 7-step algorithm for building what I call a skin passport. I walk through the whole process: how to use Dr. Leslie Baumann's 16 skin types, how to grade dryness and oiliness, how to score acne, sensitivity, and redness objectively, how to identify the different types of wrinkles (and why treating the wrong type wastes your time and money), and how to properly assess pigmentation with a real clinical index rather than a photo. Whether you're a beautician, esthetic nurse, or simply someone who wants to understand their own skin and have smarter conversations with professionals, this episode gives you the tools to diagnose skin with nothing more than your knowledge and your eyes, no expensive machines required. Episode resources: Dr. Leslie Baumann Skin Types The Melasma Area and Severity Index (MASI) Proposal for Cut-off Scores for Sensitive Skin on Sensitive Scale-10 in a Group of Adult Women by Professor Laurent Misery Standard Evaluation of the Patient: The Merz Scale The Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA) - Acne Grading Scale The Skin Type Solution: A Revolutionary Guide to Your Best Skin Ever by Leslie S. Baumann Learn more from the previous episodes:  Understanding Wrinkles: Types, Causes & What Actually Works Understanding & Treating Pigmentation Naturally with Sarah Drew Skin Pigmentation: Causes, Triggers, and Treatments That Work Understanding Acne: Myths vs. Science Shop the skincare we talked about today: Energy-Soin Revitalizing antioxidant serum Red-Apax Active care serum for redness and rosacea Hydra-Fill Mask Deeply moisturizing sheet mask Myo-Fix Active care cream for mimic wrinkle control Connect with us: Meder by Dr. Tiina Meder Meder Beauty Instagram Meder Beauty Facebook Meder Beauty TikTok Meder Beauty LinkedIn Meder Beauty YouTube Listen to the Meder Beauty Podcast on Apple Podcasts

  8. Aug 18

    What GLP-1 Drugs Really Do to Your Skin

    Send us Fan Mail GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro are transforming medicine, and increasingly, aesthetics. But behind the "magic pill" headlines is a powerful systemic drug with complex effects on your metabolism, your brain, and very visibly, your face and skin. In this episode, I unpack what GLP-1 actually is, why these drugs became so popular, and what they really do to the skin, not just through rapid weight loss and "Ozempic face," but through deeper cellular mechanisms involving fibroblasts, fat cells, stem cells, and even local estrogen. I'm honest about the paradox: for people with obesity, diabetes, or cardiovascular risk, these drugs can genuinely extend life and improve skin health. But for healthy people chasing a smaller dress size, they can accelerate skin aging with little cellular benefit in return. Most importantly, I share a complete, practical skin-support strategy: how to plan your weight loss pace, protect muscle, and build a skincare and treatment plan that helps your skin adapt gracefully rather than collapse. Because this is never only about weight; it's about how you want to live in your body and your skin for the next 20 or 30 years. Episode resources: Microcurrent Therapy and Facials: New Partnership with 7E Wellness — MyoLift™ Learn more from the previous episodes: The Truth About Injectables and Skincare w/ Dr. Anna Kantser The Hidden Inflammation Accelerating Your Skin Aging Your Skin's Renewal System: The Real Science of Stem Cells Vita-Long 2.0: Addressing 8 Hallmarks of Aging in One Formula Shop the skincare we talked about today: Net-Apax Prebiotic cleansing mask Soin-Apax Sensitive skin serum Arma-Lift Age-well active care serum Vita-Long Advanced skin longevity care Hydra-Fill Deeply moisturising active serum Arma-Lift Mask Age-well firming mask for mature and aging skin Myo-Fix Active care cream for mimic wrinkle control Connect with us: Meder by Dr. Tiina Meder Meder Beauty Instagram Meder Beauty Facebook Meder Beauty TikTok Meder Beauty LinkedIn Meder Beauty YouTube Listen to the Meder Beauty Podcast on Apple Podcasts

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About

You want healthy, glowing skin—but with all the products, trends, and conflicting advice, it’s hard to know what actually works.  Welcome to the Meder Beauty Podcast, hosted by Dr. Tiina Meder, a former cardiologist and board-certified dermatologist. In each episode, we uncover what really matters, break down the science, and give you real, expert-backed skincare advice. Whether you’re looking to achieve radiant healthy skin, curious about anti-aging, or want to understand what’s really in your products, you’re in the right place. Rooted in science and the truth about what your skin actually needs, we’ll have in-depth conversations with leading dermatologists, medical experts, and skincare brand founders to bring you the latest innovations, evidence-based insights, and industry secrets that truly make a difference.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Tiina Meder
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    84
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Meder Beauty
  • Show Website
    Meder Beauty