Welcome to Mirror Mirror with Amy Chang, where we dive deep into the cutting-edge science of beauty and the complex psychological and cultural reasons behind why we pursue it. Join me for honest, insightful conversations where science meets self-discovery. Together, we’ll ask the important questions—What does it really mean to be beautiful? How does science influence our ideals? And how can we cultivate authentic self-acceptance from the inside out? New episodes Wednesdays.
Dorothy Wang had the access, the doctors and the budget, but she still said no. In this candid conversation with Amy Chang, Dorothy discusses the pressure she felt during Rich Kids of Beverly Hills and Bling Empire, what happened when she no longer looked like the version of herself audiences expected, and why she eventually stopped trying to perfect every feature.Dorothy opens up about living with eczema, managing PCOS and insulin resistance, facing public criticism while filming Bling Empire, and learning that health and happiness matter more than chasing every beauty trend. Dorothy also discusses Botox, lip filler, Sofwave, beauty trends from Korea and why sharing the same aesthetic as your doctor may be more important than choosing the most famous name.→ Have a beauty question you want me to tackle on the next Inbox? DM @mirrormirrorwithamy on Instagram→ Subscribe so you don't miss next week's full Mirror Mirror episode.ABOUT MIRROR MIRRORMirror Mirror is a podcast that cuts through the noise and uncovers the science shaping beauty and the psychology driving our desire for it. Hosted by Amy Chang — LA Times contributing writer, Marie Claire 2024 Power Player, and a trusted authority in beauty, with over 2.4 million followers who turn to her for insights on cutting-edge treatments and science-backed skincare.Expect unfiltered conversations, expert insight, and the freedom to love your lipstick — while still questioning what perfection means.LISTEN ANYWHEREApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/bh/podcast/mirror-mirror-with-amy-chang/id1876357199#beautymyths #skincare #aesthetics
Five years ago I made a few TikToks where I leaned hard into self-deprecating humor — playing into every stereotype I thought my audience already had about me. Vain. Superficial. Not that smart. They went viral. Millions of views. So I did it again. And again. For four years. It worked. I built a large audience on it. And I was exhausted from shrinking myself into a box that had almost nothing to do with who I actually am. This week on Mirror Mirror, I sit down with Alison Fragale — organizational psychologist, professor, and author of Likable Badass — to unpack what's actually happening when women make themselves smaller to be liked, and what it costs them. This is the follow-up to my conversation with Vivian Tu about the "pretty premium" — the research showing attractive people earn 10 to 15% more over their careers. But looking the part only gets you in the room. What Alison studies is what happens next: how you're perceived, how much people respect you, and why two women with identical qualifications can walk into the same room and get completely different outcomes. We also get into the three verbal habits Alison says are quietly eroding women's credibility every day — and I admit to doing all three. → Have a beauty question you want me to tackle on the next Inbox? DM @mirrormirrorwithamy on Instagram→ Subscribe so you don't miss next week's full Mirror Mirror episode.ABOUT MIRROR MIRRORMirror Mirror is a podcast that cuts through the noise and uncovers the science shaping beauty and the psychology driving our desire for it. Hosted by Amy Chang — LA Times contributing writer, Marie Claire 2024 Power Player, and a trusted authority in beauty, with over 2.4 million followers who turn to her for insights on cutting-edge treatments and science-backed skincare.Expect unfiltered conversations, expert insight, and the freedom to love your lipstick — while still questioning what perfection means.LISTEN ANYWHEREApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/bh/podcast/mirror-mirror-with-amy-chang/id1876357199Instagram: @mirrormirrorwithamy#beautymyths #skincare #aesthetics
Christine Chu had so much hair she had standing salon appointments to thin it out. Her ponytails were too thick to manage. Hair loss was never on her radar. 1 Then in the fall, her hair started shedding like autumn leaves. By November, it was coming out in clumps. By December, bald spots. By New Year's — almost entirely gone. She was filming Bling Empire, Dancing With the Stars, and RuPaul's Drag Race at the same time. Getting glammed up to three times a day. And quietly going bald underneath it all. This week on Mirror Mirror, I sit down with Christine Chu for one of the most honest and detailed conversations about female hair loss we've had on the show. She walks through everything: what triggered it (a suspected inside-job home invasion attempt that sent her nervous system into chronic fight-or-flight), what the testing revealed (borderline anemia, low ferritin, low magnesium, nutrient deficiencies across the board), and every single thing she threw at it — prescription medications, PRP, steroid injections, LED caps, stem cells, exosomes, RF microneedling, diet overhauls, bone broth, and more. She also shares what nobody tells you about some of these treatments. Including that oral minoxidil at men's dosage levels gave her a full beard. While she was simultaneously wearing a wig at a friend's wedding in Hawaii, praying it wouldn't blow off in the wind or catch fire from a tiki torch. → Have a beauty question you want me to tackle on the next Inbox? DM @mirrormirrorwithamy on Instagram→ Subscribe so you don't miss next week's full Mirror Mirror episode.ABOUT MIRROR MIRRORMirror Mirror is a podcast that cuts through the noise and uncovers the science shaping beauty and the psychology driving our desire for it. Hosted by Amy Chang — LA Times contributing writer, Marie Claire 2024 Power Player, and a trusted authority in beauty, with over 2.4 million followers who turn to her for insights on cutting-edge treatments and science-backed skincare.Expect unfiltered conversations, expert insight, and the freedom to love your lipstick — while still questioning what perfection means.
Most clinics draw 10cc of blood, spin off 5cc, and call it PRP. According to Dr. Ben Talei, that's not PRP. It's plasma. Plasma, without a concentrated yield of platelets and signaling factors, doesn't do much for hair loss. The entire PRP industry, he says, is largely built on protocols borrowed from studies that weren't actually measuring what the industry claims to be selling. This week on Mirror Mirror, I sit down with Dr. Ben Talei — Beverly Hills-based facial plastic surgeon, founder of the Beverly Hills Hair Group, and the surgeon behind more than 3,000 lip lifts and the Cupid lip description system — for one of the most technically detailed and honest conversations about hair restoration, facial fat, lip surgery, and facelifts this show has produced. We also get personal: I had one round of Morpheus8 done. The heat melted the fat in my temporal region and left a visible vein at my temple. Dr. Talei explains exactly why that happened — and what can and can't be done about it.
Three weeks before the 2025 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, Jasmine Tookes got a call: they wanted her to open it. She was nine months pregnant. Her doctor said no.She begged him anyway. She flew from LA to New York with a private doctor monitoring her vitals the entire flight. She walked the runway in four-inch heels, praying her water wouldn't break under the lights — and became one of the most talked-about moments in the show's history: the first visibly pregnant model to ever open it.Ten days later, she went into labor on the steps of her own foyer. Alone. Her husband was out driving the neighborhood trying to get her older daughter to fall asleep. She called 911, got on all fours, felt the top of the baby's head, and started pushing. It happened in twenty minutes. She passed out right after.This week on Mirror Mirror, I sit down with Jasmine — Victoria's Secret Angel of over a decade, founder of body care brand Brunel, and mother of two — to talk about what it actually felt like inside her body walking that runway, the birth story that came right after, breastfeeding for three years, getting shingles from nutrient depletion, and what two decades in the fashion industry have taught her about confidence, beauty standards, and what she wants her kids to understand about how she sees herself.→ Have a beauty question you want me to tackle on the next Inbox? DM @mirrormirrorwithamy on Instagram→ Subscribe so you don't miss next week's full Mirror Mirror episode.ABOUT MIRROR MIRRORMirror Mirror is a podcast that cuts through the noise and uncovers the science shaping beauty and the psychology driving our desire for it. Hosted by Amy Chang — LA Times contributing writer, Marie Claire 2024 Power Player, and a trusted authority in beauty, with over 2.4 million followers who turn to her for insights on cutting-edge treatments and science-backed skincare.Expect unfiltered conversations, expert insight, and the freedom to love your lipstick — while still questioning what perfection means.LISTEN ANYWHEREApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/bh/podcast/mirror-mirror-with-amy-chang/id1876357199#beautymyths #skincare #aesthetics
After my first pregnancy, I followed Taiwanese postpartum confinement practices for 40 days — herbs, cooked meals, no leaving the house, a night nurse living with us. My milk came in immediately. I stopped bleeding in three weeks. I felt held. After my second pregnancy, I had none of that. COVID meant no in-person support, no family, no village. I took no maternity leave. Six months later, I got shingles. At 30-something. All over my hand. Studies now show it takes up to a year for a mother to fully recover from birth. American mothers get six weeks of leave — if they're lucky. This week on Mirror Mirror, I sit down with Esther Park, founder of Amma and Co. — a postpartum care retreat based at the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach in Orange County, modeled after the Korean postpartum retreat centers where 85% of Korean mothers spend one to two months after giving birth. Esther grew up in Seoul, competed on Korea's version of American Idol at 18, worked at L'Oréal, and went to business school during COVID before founding the first postpartum retreat on the West Coast. We talk about why Eastern cultures treat postpartum as a sacred recovery period while Western culture tells women to bounce back, what the research actually says about how long recovery takes, and what it looks like when a mother is truly supported from the start.
Marianne Fonseca has been a model for 20 years. She's lived in Brazil, China, Europe, and the US. She's getting married in six days. And this week, she's flying to Costa Rica for stem cells before the ceremony.She also founded Gente Beauty — a Brazilian body care brand built around at-home lymphatic drainage — when nobody in the US had heard of lymphatic drainage and investors didn't understand what she was building. Three years later, the category has exploded, and Gente is stocked at Nordstrom, Revolve, and Amazon.This week on Mirror Mirror, I sit down with Marianne to talk about the Brazilian body care culture she grew up in, the 20-year modeling career that took her across the world, the brand she built from scratch that investors initially didn't believe in, and what it actually looks like to bring at-home lymphatic drainage into a daily routine.We also get surprisingly personal — her upcoming wedding, her love story (they met at an Oscar after-party and her fiancé wrote a song about it), and why she's getting stem cells done abroad six days before saying yes.→ Have a beauty question you want me to tackle on the next Inbox? DM @mirrormirrorwithamy on Instagram→ Subscribe so you don't miss next week's full Mirror Mirror episode.ABOUT MIRROR MIRRORMirror Mirror is a podcast that cuts through the noise and uncovers the science shaping beauty and the psychology driving our desire for it. Hosted by Amy Chang — LA Times contributing writer, Marie Claire 2024 Power Player, and a trusted authority in beauty, with over 2.4 million followers who turn to her for insights on cutting-edge treatments and science-backed skincare.Expect unfiltered conversations, expert insight, and the freedom to love your lipstick — while still questioning what perfection means.LISTEN ANYWHEREApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/bh/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NcpTY7... Instagram: @mirrormirrorwithamy #beautymyths #skincare #aesthetics
I gained 70 pounds with each of my pregnancies. After two kids, I assumed the soft tissue around my abdomen and lower back was just what came with being a mom. After one session with Rebecca Faria, the pioneer of Brazilian lymphatic drainage in the US, those "pockets of fat" were gone — and a six-pack I had never seen on my own body appeared overnight.It wasn't fat. It was lymphatic fluid I had been holding onto for years.This week on Mirror Mirror, I sit down with Rebecca Faria — founder of Detox by Rebecca in Beverly Hills, and the practitioner behind some of the most talked-about lymphatic drainage results in LA — for the expert deep-dive on what the lymphatic system actually does, why our modern lifestyle keeps it stuck, and what every woman should know about how it changes after pregnancy, in perimenopause, and as muscle mass declines.We also get into the morning and night routines Rebecca swears by, what cupping marks actually mean (mine were dark over my kidneys — she explained exactly why), and the at-home techniques anyone can do without ever stepping into a clinic.→ Have a beauty question you want me to tackle on the next Inbox? DM @mirrormirrorwithamy on Instagram→ Subscribe so you don't miss next week's full Mirror Mirror episode.ABOUT MIRROR MIRRORMirror Mirror is a podcast that cuts through the noise and uncovers the science shaping beauty and the psychology driving our desire for it. Hosted by Amy Chang — LA Times contributing writer, Marie Claire 2024 Power Player, and a trusted authority in beauty, with over 2.4 million followers who turn to her for insights on cutting-edge treatments and science-backed skincare.Expect unfiltered conversations, expert insight, and the freedom to love your lipstick — while still questioning what perfection means.LISTEN ANYWHEREApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/bh/podcast/mirror-mirror-with-amy-chang/id1876357199YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0jhmgotD1awPuvobT7taFgInstagram: @mirrormirrorwithamy
The beauty industry spent $32 billion on influencer marketing in 2025 and 80% of brands increased their influencer spend last year. Priscilla Tsai, the founder of Coco Kind, went the other direction. In this week's Mirror Mirror, I sit down with Priscilla Tsai— who's been building Coco Kind for 11 years — to talk about the unconventional moves that have actually worked. We get into why she stopped spending on traditional influencer campaigns, why she replaced influencer trips with customer brand trips (eight superfans, not eight creators), what "ultra-transparency" looks like when you publicly break down what every product actually costs to make, and why she'd rather have a thousand obsessed customers than a million who sort of like the brand.→ Have a beauty question you want me to tackle on the next Inbox? DM @mirrormirrorwithamy on Instagram→ Subscribe so you don't miss next week's full Mirror Mirror episode.ABOUT MIRROR MIRRORMirror Mirror is a podcast that cuts through the noise and uncovers the science shaping beauty and the psychology driving our desire for it. Hosted by Amy Chang — LA Times contributing writer, Marie Claire 2024 Power Player, and a trusted authority in beauty, with over 2.4 million followers who turn to her for insights on cutting-edge treatments and science-backed skincare.Expect unfiltered conversations, expert insight, and the freedom to love your lipstick — while still questioning what perfection means.LISTEN ANYWHEREApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/bh/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NcpTY7... Instagram: @mirrormirrorwithamy #beautymyths #skincare #aesthetics
This week on Mirror Mirror, I'm joined by Camille Moore — brand strategist, founder of Third Eye Insights, and consultant to some of the largest beauty brands in the world — for the unfiltered breakdown of how beauty marketing actually works in 2026, who's winning, who's quietly dying, and how consumers can decode the difference. Pat McGrath Labs is reportedly up for sale to avoid bankruptcy. Rhode's mass-distribution deal may already be eroding its brand premium. Lululemon is committing what brand strategist Camille Moore calls "death by a thousand cuts." Augustinus Bader's Dua Lipa diffusion line was, in her view, a strategic mistake. And Summer Fridays stamping "Made in Korea" on the front of its packaging? That's where this conversation gets honest. → Have a beauty question you want me to tackle on the next Inbox? DM @mirrormirrorwithamy on Instagram→ Subscribe so you don't miss next week's full Mirror Mirror episode.ABOUT MIRROR MIRRORMirror Mirror is a podcast that cuts through the noise and uncovers the science shaping beauty and the psychology driving our desire for it. Hosted by Amy Chang — LA Times contributing writer, Marie Claire 2024 Power Player, and a trusted authority in beauty, with over 2.4 million followers who turn to her for insights on cutting-edge treatments and science-backed skincare.Expect unfiltered conversations, expert insight, and the freedom to love your lipstick — while still questioning what perfection means.LISTEN ANYWHEREApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/bh/podcast... Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m2XPnXRIag&t=1043s Instagram: @mirrormirrorwithamy #beautymyths #skincare #aesthetics #plasticsurgery #cosmeticsurgery
What actually happens when plastic surgery or cosmetic treatments go wrong? In this episode of Mirror Mirror, Amy Chang sits down with renowned plastic surgeon Dr. Terry Dubrow for an honest conversation about the side of aesthetic medicine most people do not want to talk about: complications. From filler emergencies and vascular occlusion to revision surgery, med spa red flags, surgical regret, and the emotional fallout of a procedure gone wrong, Dr. Dubrow explains what patients need to know before, during, and after cosmetic treatment.
What should you actually know before getting filler, Botox, blepharoplasty, or plastic surgery? In this episode of Mirror Mirror with Amy Chang, board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Prem Tripathi breaks down the hidden realities of the aesthetics industry, from unqualified injectors and filler migration to counterfeit Botox, overfilled faces, med spa red flags, and why “natural” cosmetic work is harder than ever. We also discuss why filler trends are collapsing, what procedures actually work, the future of aesthetics, and the risks most patients underestimate before going under the needle or knife.
Amy Chang breaks down the skincare and aesthetics myths people still believe, from “clean beauty” marketing to SPF misconceptions and in-office treatment expectations. If you’ve ever wondered whether expensive skincare actually works, if tingling means a product is effective, or whether one laser treatment is enough, this episode is for you. Amy shares the science behind skincare consistency, collagen loss, barrier damage, Botox timelines, lasers, microneedling, and the biggest misconceptions shaping the beauty industry right now.
Tennille Jenkins is a content creator and co-founder of the long-running blog The Tennille Life. In this intimate conversation with Amy Chang, Tennille shares her personal journey with going grey—from initially trying to fight it to ultimately embracing it. They discuss the message she hopes to pass on to her daughters and why self-acceptance and positivity are foundational to living a fulfilling life.
Jay Small is a celebrity hairstylist, trichologist, global educator, and founder of haircare brand Arey, with over 22 years of industry experience. He joins Amy Chang to break down the science of greying hair—why it happens, which lifestyle factors accelerate or slow the process, why you need different products when dealing with grey hair from a structural standpoint and why prevention and scalp health play such a critical role in long-term hair health.
Amy Chang shares her personal experience with perimenopause and the symptoms no one prepares you for.From waking up at 3AM every night to brain fog, fatigue, and memory lapses, this episode breaks down the early signs of hormonal change and why so many women are left confused, dismissed, or misdiagnosed.Amy walks through her journey of getting tested, starting hormone replacement therapy, and navigating the trial-and-error process of finding what actually works. She also dives into the impact perimenopause has on skin, including sensitivity, breakouts, and barrier disruption and the products that helped her stabilize it.
Sarah Creal is a beauty industry veteran, former CEO and co-founder of Victoria Beckham Beauty, longtime executive at Tom Ford Beauty, and founder of her eponymous makeup brand, Sarah Creal. In this intimate conversation with Amy Chang, they examine the myth of “aging gracefully,” what happens to women’s visibility as they age, how to navigate the tension between resistance and acceptance, and where the beauty industry still has room to evolve in serving women over time.
Jill Dunn & Carlene Higgins, two longtime beauty editors and hosts of the podcast Breaking Beauty , sit down with Amy Chang for an examination of the myth of “aging gracefully” and how this term has played out in the editorial world the past few decades, why women are punished for both aging naturally and trying to fight it, where the pressure to stay youthful really comes from, and why some women feel invisible after 40.
On this episode of The Inbox, Amy Chang breaks down how to approach anti-aging without needles. She walks through the lifestyle, skincare, supplement, and in-office options that actually make a difference, and the mindset shifts that can slow the visible signs of aging. From antioxidant serums and growth factors to non-ablative lasers, food choices, and why sleep and stress matter more than most people think, Amy shares her personal routines and the changes that had the biggest impact on her skin and overall wellbeing. If you’ve ever wondered how to look and feel better without injectables, this episode is a clear, actionable roadmap.
Judy Lim is a makeup artist, viral content creator, and recent medical tourist. She joins Amy Chang for an intimate conversation about her experience traveling to South Korea and beyond for plastic surgery. Together, they discuss the realities of medical tourism, the pros and cons of surgery and recovery abroad, the financial and emotional considerations involved in making such a decision, along with what Judy would change about her experience going to Korea for plastic surgery if she were to do it all over again.
