We Asked Beauty Expert Anna Lahey To Debunk Popular Skincare Myths
mythbusters
By Victoria Lewis | 29th April 2026Is collagen just a buzzword? Does drinking more water really make your skin clearer? In amongst the barrage of beauty fads that infiltrate every corner of our IG feeds, it can be next to impossible to cut through the beauty myths to the tactics that actually work.
In an industry where everyone has an opinion, beauty myths and misinformation can spread like wildfire. Luckily for us, we have the knowledge and insight of skincare expert Anna Fahey on our side. She’s the co-founder of cult haircare brand TYPEBEA alongside Rita Ora, and the founder of ingestible beauty company Vida Glow, a venture born after experience treating her own hair loss with collagen supplements.
Building a beauty empire like hers is no small feat; she takes a science-first approach to everything she does, developing her products through years of research, testing, and validation before it ever reaches our shopping carts. The master at solving real-world beauty concerns through an innovative approach to skin and haircare, she delivers real, visible results (just ask her DMs from happy clients). So, if there is anyone whose opinion we trust, it’s hers.
We asked Anna to unpack the common beauty myths circulating on social media, as well as give us some insight into how she got into the beauty industry.
“Gua sha doesn’t actually do anything”
Not entirely true. While it won’t permanently change your skin or facial structure, gua sha can help stimulate circulation and support lymphatic drainage, which is why people often notice temporarily reduced puffiness and a slightly more lifted appearance.
For many people, it’s also about the ritual. Taking a few minutes to massage the skin can be relaxing and help you stay consistent with your skincare routine, which is often where the real benefits come from.
“Collagen is just a buzzword and isn’t necessary in skincare”
This is a big misconception. Collagen isn’t a buzzword at all; it’s one of the most important structural proteins in our skin. It’s what gives skin its firmness, elasticity, and overall strength.
What often confuses people is that applying collagen topically doesn’t replace the collagen our body naturally loses with age. Topical collagen can be a great moisturising ingredient, but the molecules are simply too large to penetrate deeply into the skin. That’s why collagen supplementation has become such an important part of skincare routines, because it supports collagen production from within the dermis, where these structural changes occur.
“Facial exercises can replace skincare or treatments for anti-ageing”
Wouldn’t that be great for our beauty budgets? Facial exercises can support circulation, but they can’t replace good skincare or clinically proven treatments. Skin ageing is largely driven by changes happening deeper within the skin, particularly the gradual loss of collagen and elastin. From our mid-twenties, collagen production naturally begins to decline, which is when we start to see fine lines and a loss of firmness.
Facial exercises can be a nice addition to a routine if you have the time, but preventing the appearance of skin ageing really comes down to SPF use, effective skincare ingredients, and supporting collagen production with a daily collagen supplement.
“Gut health doesn’t impact your skin”
We’re learning more and more about what’s called the gut-skin axis, which refers to the connection between gut health and skin health. The gut microbiome plays an important role in regulating inflammation and immune function in the body, and these processes can absolutely influence the skin. In certain cases, this can show up as acne, redness, or general skin sensitivity.
We also know that gut health is a key concern for many women and something that can cause a lot of daily discomfort. So, when we formulated our liquid collagen range at Vida Glow, we wanted to support both skin and gut health in one product, because we know there’s a real connection between the two. We’re hearing amazing customer feedback on our Liquid Collagen Skin + Gut.
“Beauty supplements don’t work”
I can confidently say that the evidence is very clear that collagen supplementation works. There are over 800 scientific research papers and trials on collagen supplementation. And over 20 double-blind placebo-controlled trials on hydrolysed collagen and its effect on skin alone. This is significant because double-blind placebo-controlled trials are the gold standard of clinical and scientific testing. They’re expensive, they’re time-consuming, yet they provide the most robust evidence.
“Drinking more water will fix your skin”
Hydration is important for overall health, but drinking more water isn’t going to magically fix your skin. Skin hydration has much more to do with the strength of your skin barrier and how well your skin holds onto moisture. If someone is already well hydrated, simply increasing water intake won’t dramatically change things like dryness or dehydration lines.
What can make a meaningful difference is supporting skin hydration from within. Clinical studies show that supplementing with hydrolysed marine collagen can improve skin hydration and elasticity in as little as four weeks. As we age, our natural collagen production begins to decline, which can contribute to drier, less firm skin. Supporting the skin’s collagen levels becomes increasingly important for maintaining plump, hydrated skin.
An easy way to boost water intake and skin hydration is with our ProCollagen+ formula, which pairs tripeptide marine collagen with hyaluronic acid. You simply add it to water or any drink you like. It’s the most advanced collagen supplement on the market and is proven to reduce wrinkle count by 42% in 21 days.
“Anti-ageing skincare isn’t necessary until the appearance of wrinkles”
Age-appropriate skincare is important, but taking a preventative approach to skin ageing is certainly helpful. Collagen production begins to decline from our mid-twenties, and cumulative sun exposure is one of the biggest contributors to visible skin ageing.
Simple habits like daily SPF and supporting collagen production with supplementation early can make a significant difference over time.
Behind the brand:
What was your experience with using beauty supplements before you started Vida Glow?
Before Vida Glow, I discovered collagen supplements while travelling overseas. At the time, I was experiencing hair loss and had tried just about every product on the market with very little success.
Collagen supplementation was the only thing that made a real difference. After taking marine collagen consistently, I started noticing improvements not only in my hair, but also in my skin and nails. That experience made me curious about the science behind it, so I invested in the research to understand what I was seeing with my personal results.
What I discovered was a growing body of research around hydrolysed collagen peptides. Once I understood the strength of the science, I knew this was something I wanted to bring to more people.
What was it that made you turn your personal experience into a business?
It really started from that personal experience. When I saw the results from collagen supplementation, I realised there was nothing like it available in Australia at the time.
When we launched Vida Glow in 2014, collagen certainly wasn’t known like it is today, and the ingestible beauty category didn’t really exist. We weren’t just building a brand – we were helping build an entirely new category. From the beginning, the goal was to create innovative ingestible solutions that were backed by strong science and delivered real, visible results.
Are there any client success stories you can share with us?
One of the most rewarding parts of building Vida Glow has been hearing from our community. I receive DMs every day from customers sharing the changes they’ve experienced after incorporating Vida Glow into their routine.
Recently, a customer sent me a before-and-after photo of her hairline after taking our tripeptide collagen, Pro Collagen+, alongside Hairology for six weeks. She was so excited about the results that she felt she had to share them with me.
Those stories mean a lot to me because Vida Glow really started from my own experience. Seeing our community achieve the same kinds of results is incredibly rewarding, and it reinforces why we focus so heavily on creating products that are backed by science and deliver tangible results.
What’s the most important thing for you when developing products?
The most important thing for me is credibility. At Vida Glow, we take a science-first approach to everything we do. We invest heavily in independent clinical trials and only formulate with ingredients that have been clinically studied. Developing a product takes years of research, testing, and validation before it ever reaches the market.
We’ve always focused on creating innovative, first-to-market products that solve real beauty concerns for our customers. For me, it’s never been about chasing trends – it’s about delivering solutions that fit easily into people’s routines and genuinely improve their skin, hair, and confidence.
Now that Anna has debunked and demystified those common beauty myths for you, if you’re keen on kickstarting your skincare journey, head to Vida Glow for all your scientifically-backed, collagen-boosting needs.
Imagery: @vida_glow / @anna.lahey
