Barbie has perfect skin. Which is smart when you concentrate on the undeniable fact that, like all dolls, she is indeed made out of plastic. Meaning none of those pesky “flaws” that include having living, respiration human skin: no pores, no texture, no redness or shine. In fact, these are all just natural features of skin, and sometimes don’t have any bearing on how healthy or functional it’s, but once you’re portraying a doll it helps to have that flawless silky-smooth complexion.

For the human actors of Barbie, the best movie of our time, this perfectly plastic look was achieved with help from skincare expert Jasmina Vico, who was brought in by lead hair and make-up artist on the film, Ivana Primorac. From Anya Taylor Joy to Jodie Comer, Vico has been working with actors on sets for years but Barbie was the primary time she’s been hired as a part of the broader hair and make-up team. Tasked by Primorac to attain the “healthiest, most perfect skin,” she created skin protocols including weekly treatments, supplements and products for solid members including Margot Robbie, America Ferrera, Hari Nef and Mette Towley.

The duty was not a simple or straightforward one. “I all the time say there isn’t any such thing as a fast fix,” she says. “Advancements in camera technology mean that they pick up minutiae within the skin so we have to be ready!” There was also the added complication of busy filming schedules, with treatments that require downtime reminiscent of microneedling needing to be slot in around breaks in filming. “It’s definitely a balance meeting schedules and the demands of filming,” she says.

Vico’s approach goes beyond just the external, with a robust emphasis on working on internal health which is eventually reflected on the surface. “The skin is the biggest organ. My skin health approach is all the time connected with the gut,” she explains. What’s happening within the body shows up on the skin. For this reason, Vico included supplements, teas and probiotics within the protocol in addition to the treatments and products. “Our lifestyles, weight-reduction plan, lack of or poor quality of sleep and stress can all cause inflammation in our body, which is going on in our gut after which affects our skin.”

Each long-term, weekly treatment was customised to suit each actor’s individual skin needs, but there have been key steps she stuck with through the process. Here is the protocol she created for Margot Robbie and Barbies including Nef and Towley with a step-by-step guide to achieving your best Barbie doll skin.

GET REGULAR TREATMENTS

Keeping a deal with a healthy skin barrier, Vico used treatments like lymphatic drainage, LED and cold laser to support the general health of the skin. Several types of laser were used to focus on the deep connective tissue and strengthen the barrier, while cold lasers worked to cut back inflammation. “Alongside the lasers, we also targeted skin lifting and depuffing with lymphatic drainage, ice balls and pressure point massage, which all help to actually open up the face. We also incorporated LED, one other way of targeting skin inflammation and peels to support skin texture and radiance,” she says. Micro-needling was used to assist with luminosity and skin texture.

VITAMIN C IS YOUR FRIEND

The Barbies were also given an at-home routine of skincare products including ones that Vico might be launching in September, “alongside specifically chosen skincare actives including peptides, Vitamin C, Hydration Mask, Growth Aspects and Oligoelements that each one support skin health and strengthen the skin barrier.”

USE VITAMINS AND SUPPLEMENTS 

Alongside the external treatments and products, to maintain the skin strong and healthy Vico also provided supplements plans and dietary recommendations to assist support the liver. This included organic milk thistle tea, native to Vico’s home in Croatia and shipped to the UK by her mother. Milk thistle helps cleanse your liver and encourage it to supply more glutathione which helps with skin radiance. Make sure that to brew it for 20 minutes to make sure it’s bitter.

Other recommendations included vitamin C and glutathione, together with gut-supporting foods reminiscent of ferments, kefir, goat milk and sauerkraut.

THIS BARBIE NEEDS TO RELAX

One other trick to assist support skin health from inside was a tool called Sensate which emits infrasonic frequencies and sound and was placed on the chests of the Barbies during every facial treatment. “Reducing stress within the body as much as possible was key, within the clinic we use stress-reducing tech Sensate, which helps to stimulate the vagus nerve, reduces inflammation, improves stress resilience and supports sleep,” says Vico, “all essential roles within the gut-brain-skin connection.”

POP AN ASPIRIN WITH WATER ON YOUR BREAKOUT

Finally, regardless of how well you handle your skin and body sometimes a blemish will pop up. When this happened, Vico had a special trick up her sleeve. “For any blemishes that the solid experienced, I shared my top trick with hair and make-up artist Ivana Primorac which mixes salicylic acid, to unclog pores and ice to cut back the warmth. My other go-to is crushing an aspirin and mixing with water to make a paste and applying it to the spot to cut back redness and irritation fast.”