What does your typical day look like?

I go to the office here in Stockholm most days but, since the coronavirus pandemic, I don’t take public transport. I go by bike or I walk. I’m a morning person, so if I need to do something that really uses my brain, I make sure I get it done between 8am and 11am. That’s my prime time.

I recently developed some new routines too, as the last year has been very intense. Now, I meditate every morning, and every evening too if I can manage it. Having spent a lifetime working well into the night, I now make sure that I log off at 5pm. At the weekends, I try to go out to the forest with family and friends. The forest is located just 20 minutes from the city.

What does health mean to you?

It’s so much about mental wellbeing. This plays out in skin disorders too: I’ve seen many patients whose skin disorder (vitiligo, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, rosacea) got worse after a difficult period, such as a divorce, high-stress levels at work or school, or loss of someone they love. But it can also go the other way.

That’s something I’ve really taken with me: how happy states positively influence not only our skin, but also our general health.

What do you think are the biggest misperceptions about health today?

Most people think about health only in terms of what they eat and how they exercise. I used to think it was all about physical health too—but now I realise it’s more about mental wellbeing.

It’s important to understand that, just as we need to work on our physical health, we need to work with our brains to support our mental health. You can be selective about what you eat, and selective about what you think. It’s so common in our world for people to be hard on themselves. Health and mental wellbeing start with showing yourself and others compassion.

How do you look after your skin?

I’m very careful about what I put on my skin. Most of us see our skin as a mere cover, but it’s so much more than that. If you look at skin under a microscope, you can see it’s bursting with life. There are millions of cells moving every millisecond, and there are also trillions of bacteria and microorganisms there to protect us.

During the last 10–20 years, there’s been a trend for multi-step skincare routines. There’s been the presumption that more products and more ingredients are better. But that’s not the case.

You have so many immune cells in your skin, and the more products you use, the higher the likelihood that your immune cells will react to any of the substances you apply to your skin. A woman who uses skincare and wears make-up can easily apply more than 500 different ingredients to her face every day.

I use just one skincare product, and I use the same thing on my body. If I’ve been wearing make-up, I use the product to clean my face in the evening, otherwise I just use water.

If you could give just one piece of advice concerning skin, what would it be and why?

Start to look after your skin as you would the rest of your body. As a health-conscious person, you wouldn’t eat foods with lots of colourants, preservatives or other additives—so why would you put them on your skin?

We’ve created the Skinome Project to provide an alternative to what’s on the market. We wanted to investigate whether we could impact people’s mindset about skincare. The way I describe it is that most skincare products out there are like canned food—they have long shelf lives, and most of the time you have no idea how and when they were produced or how they’re stored. The Skinome Project skincare is like fresh food. It has no unnecessary ingredients, very few additives and a shorter shelf life (which is a good thing)! It is also stored cool.

Whom do you look up to, and why?

The first person who comes to my mind is Karin Schallreuter (Prof, MD). She really is the mother of vitiligo and did so much in the field from a scientific point on view.  She has devoted major parts of her life to research related to this depigmentation disorder.

Another amazing, inspirational person is the Polish scientist Marie Curie. She lived from 1867–1934 and is probably one of the most famous scientists of all time. Thanks to her research, which made her the first woman to earn the Nobel Prize, we have both radiotherapy and X-ray technology. These are invaluable tools for treatment and diagnostics within the healthcare system.

Tell us something about you that people wouldn’t expect.

I absolutely love Yorkshire pudding! I really miss that and the lovely pubs in Yorkshire. Having Sunday roast in the Blue Lion in Leyburn or The Devonshire in Grassington was our weekend treat when I lived in Leeds.

Aside from good health, family and friends, what do you cherish in your life?

I really value the nature here in Sweden—I missed it when I lived abroad. I also love animals. I go horseback-riding (though not as much as I would like) and it’s amazing just being there with the horse. It’s a very special connection.

The Scandinavian Skincare Bible is available on Amazon.

To find out more about Johanna and her skincare, head to Skinome Project.