Not everything trending on your feed deserves a place in your routine. This week, we're sharing a conversation Dr. Portela had on the Derm It Trotter podcast, hosted by board-certified dermatologist Dr. Shannon Trotter, where the two broke down some of the biggest skincare trends circulating online right now and separated what's worth your attention from what isn't.
The conversation covers a lot of ground. Red light therapy gets a fair but nuanced take: there's real potential there, but the people most likely to benefit are also the ones already doing everything else right, which makes it hard to know what's actually driving results. Exosomes are generating enormous buzz, with search interest up thousands of percent in a matter of months, yet the science on sourcing, purity, and efficacy hasn't caught up. K-beauty earns some genuine praise for its innovative textures and formulations, though both doctors agree that 10 steps is a hard sell when two or three solid products do most of the work.
Dr. Portela also addresses the anti-sunscreen movement that reliably resurfaces every year on social media. He traces where it comes from, why the studies people cite don't hold up in real-world human use, and why sunscreen remains the most evidence-backed thing anyone can do for their skin. Supplements follow a similar thread: the industry is larger than pharma, largely unregulated, and too often marketed as a shortcut around the lifestyle changes that would actually help.
The episode closes with practical advice for anyone trying to find reliable skincare information online: cross-reference your sources, be skeptical of claims made on social media that the brand itself won't make on its own website, and when in doubt, get face time with a board-certified dermatologist.
Please support Dr. Trotter by subscribing to Derm It Trotter: Don't Swear About Skincare wherever you listen to podcasts.
Follow Us
Dr. Dustin Portela
TikTok | Instagram | YouTube (Reactions) | YouTube (Educational) | Pinterest
Skinfluence Podcast
Instagram: @skinfluence_pod
