“He’s not a bloodsucker!”: Pharrell’s dermatologist on his miraculous routine

There is perhaps only one person in the world who has better skin than Pharrell and it is, unsurprisingly, his board-certified dermatologist and the co-founder of his skincare brand, Humanrace: Dr Elena Jones.

Born and raised in New York, where she still runs her private practice, Dr Elena first met Pharrell 23 years ago when he came to see her as a patient; he was 25 at the time and rocked up with an entourage. ​“I was like, who is this kid?” she laughs. ​“But what fascinated me about him was that from the very beginning, he really wanted to know about skin. He wanted to know the science behind products, why something would work for him and his overall wellbeing.”

In 2017, Pharrell approached Dr Elena about starting a skincare line: the pair launched Humanrace together in 2020, with three products aimed at anyone who wanted a simple approach to taking care of their skin. Now, Dr Elena is Humanrace’s chief dermatologist and is always the first person to try out their products. ​“We really try to make sure that [they] are clean, effective and easy for people to use,” she says.

Most recently, Humanrace collaborated with Evian to launch two limited edition water bottles in blue and green to celebrate good old H2O as a symbol of youth, alongside a campaign that features people raising a glass to the tune of Pharrell’s track Joy.

Obviously, staying well-hydrated is vital, and there’s no doubt Pharrell keeps on top of his water consumption. We gave Dr Elena a ring to find out about all the other stuff that makes his skin so unbelievably smooth.

Hi, Dr Elena! What does a typical day look like for you?

A typical day is spent in my practice seeing patients daily. In the evening, I test products when necessary and jump on planes for events when I need to.

Are you finding that your patients have gotten younger over the last few years?

Not necessarily, but younger patients are more interested in skincare now – and some are being led astray. Here in the States, a lot of kids are going to Sephora and spending inordinate amounts of money on things they don’t need. I’m talking about 11 and 12-year-olds. They don’t need those vitamin C serums or the hyaluronic acids.

What would be your advice to those trying to navigate skincare advice online?

Stay offline. If you have the privilege of being able to come to a dermatologist, you certainly should try and see a dermatologist. But If you’re going to follow dermatologists on Instagram, then you need to follow the board-certified ones.

What’s your morning routine?

I use the Humanrace rice powder cleanser, which I love, and lately I’ve been loving our 7D moisturising gel so I use that every morning with a sunscreen on top. If I exfoliate, I exfoliate every one to two weeks. That’s about it.

I don’t use serums but I did add a retinoid recently around the eyes and on the neck. I’m starting to worry about that now – start early with the eyes, neck and hands, because those will truly tell your age. Put sunscreen on those hands!

Okay, so… What is Pharrell’s secret?

He’s not a blood sucker! For him, it really has been a journey of taking care of himself holistically, emotionally, mentally and physically. I don’t know if he gets the proper amount of sleep but over the years he has made a concerted effort to really look at what ingredients and supplements he puts into his body. He loves humidity and the glow it brings – that’s one of the reasons why he moved to Florida.

Now we’ve got some myth-busting questions for you. Where do you stand on physical exfoliant scrubs?

I think there’s a place for both chemical and physical exfoliants. The key with physical exfoliants is really particle size. Something with apricot particles in it can be really abrasive to the skin; it can cause micro tears which can lead to inflammation. A lot of products now use rice powder, which is amazing. It’s a great natural product which, based on particle size, gently exfoliates.

Is sleeping with your make-up on really that bad?

Yes. We really should all try to take off our make-up at night because it really is going to clog up your pores.

It’s been said that lip balms can be addictive. Is that true?

Lip balms can be addictive and I don’t have a problem with certain ones, but I think you have to be careful of those with [lots of] different ingredients. There’s lots of beeswax going around with fragrance that can cause allergies to the skin. So if you’re going to use a lip balm, you need to use one that’s pretty basic, like Vaseline, Cerave healing ointment, Aquaphor…

What would you say is better: micellar or oil based cleanser?

I’m a micellar fan myself. As a person who had acne growing up, I’ve steered away from oil based cleansers because some of them can clog the pores.

Red light therapy or blood facial?

Red light therapy. There’s science behind red light therapy, and I would certainly get yourself an LED red light that helps with collagen stimulation. If you’re going to do a blood facial in a doctor’s office with your own platelets then that’s what I would do but other than that, no.

Expensive moisturiser or expensive cleanser?

Expensive moisturiser. The moisturiser is going to stay on you, the cleanser you’re going to wash off.

What’s one thing everyone should start doing for the sake of their skin?

Everyone should start paying attention to sun [exposure], so wearing an SPF on their face, neck, and hands is very important. Once people reach their twenties, I also think retinoids are important. They’re just amazing in terms of helping with texture, tone and fine wrinkling.

If you don’t fancy moving to Florida for your hydration, you can find the evian x Humanrace by Pharrell Williams limited-edition bottles at select retailers worldwide from November.