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MANDY HAWTIN

Cosmetic Chemist, CEO, Speaker and Author

My Vlog

Podcasts & Keynotes

38:27

Mission Accepted Podcast Episode #351: How Self-love Leads to Better Business Results

50:15

Mission Accepted Podcast Episode #355: The Risks and Rewards of the Business Journey

20:22

A Cosmetic Chemist Reveals the Toxic Truth About Your Skincare | Mandy Hawtin

01:00

Skincare Detective Keynote Paris April 2026

My Story

ABOUT MANDY

Mandy Hawtin is a cosmetic chemist, founder of Seadragon Organic, speaker, author and passionate consumer educator.

After eight years as an entrepreneur, Mandy launched her first solopreneur venture in 2023: Seadragon Organic, an award-winning certified organic skincare brand created specifically for women navigating the changes of midlife skin.

Today, she combines scientific knowledge with a talent for clear communication, helping consumers look beyond marketing claims and make more informed skincare choices.

Through speaking engagements, media appearances, writing and educational content, Mandy is known for translating complex skincare science into practical, accessible information.

Mandy is the author of the upcoming book Skincare Detective, which encourages consumers to question, investigate and better understand the products they use every day. Her mission is simple: to help people see beyond skincare marketing and make informed choices through science, transparency and education.

My Life

SOCIAL MEDIA

I had so much fun earlier this week speaking with Nicoleta on her Blooming Business 50+ Podcast in Dusseldorf Germany.

Here is a teaser!

The full podcast will be released next week.

I can't wait to share it with you and enjoy your weekend.

Mandy x

Recently I saw an advertisement for a cleansing product claiming anti-ageing benefits.

As a cosmetic chemist, that immediately raised a question for me.

How is the ingredient supposed to work if the product is designed to be removed?

A cleanser is a wash-off product. You apply it, cleanse the skin, and rinse or wipe it away along with makeup, sunscreen, excess oil, and debris.

That does not automatically mean the product is ineffective.

A cleanser can absolutely support skin health by cleansing gently, helping maintain the skin barrier, and leaving the skin feeling comfortable and hydrated.

But when it comes to anti-ageing ingredients, I personally become more sceptical.

For an ingredient to deliver meaningful anti-ageing benefits, it generally needs time in contact with the skin.

That is why most evidence-based anti-ageing ingredients are found in leave-on products such as serums and moisturisers.

Takeaway
If anti-ageing is your goal, I would focus most of your skincare budget on leave-on products and sunscreen rather than wash-off products.

Sometimes the most important question is not:

“What ingredients are in the product?”

But:

“How long do those ingredients actually stay on my skin?”

Mandy x

I am not against Botox.

In fact, I have tried it myself.

I loved it for jaw clenching because it significantly reduced my headaches and facial pain.

But when I tried it in my forehead, I had a very different experience. I personally did not enjoy the feeling of having part of my face frozen, and I noticed it changed the way my eyes moved when I spoke.

That experience taught me something important.

More Botox is not always better Botox.

Botox works by temporarily reducing muscle movement, and over time those muscles may become weaker simply because they are being used less.

This is one reason some people find they can gradually extend the time between treatments or require smaller amounts of product over the years.

Takeaway
If Botox is something you choose, consider asking your practitioner:

* Is my dosage changing over time?
* Am I maintaining natural movement?
* Could the time between appointments be gradually extended?
* What is the long-term plan?

Because the best aesthetic treatments are not just about how you look next month. They are about how your face functions, communicates, and expresses emotion for years to come.

Mandy x

One of the most common skincare claims I see is “with collagen”.

It sounds impressive, doesn’t it?

The challenge is that applying collagen to the skin is very different from supporting your skin’s own collagen production.

Collagen molecules are generally too large to penetrate deeply into the skin. Instead, they sit on the surface, where they can provide a temporary moisturising and smoothing effect.

There is nothing wrong with that, but it is very different from helping your skin produce, protect, or preserve its own collagen.

When I assess a skincare product, I look for ingredients that support long-term skin health, such as:

✓ Vitamin C
✓ Peptides
✓ Retinoids
✓ Marine bio-actives
✓ Daily sun protection

These are the ingredients that are often associated with supporting your skin’s natural collagen production or helping to protect the collagen you already have.

The next time you see “with collagen” on the front of a label, ask yourself:

Is this product simply containing collagen, or is it helping support my skin’s own collagen production?

That single question can make you a much better skincare detective.

Mandy x

One of the simplest ways to become a skincare detective is to look for measurable claims.

The beauty industry loves emotional language.

Words like:

* youthful
* age-defying
* radiant
* glow-up
* rejuvenating

sound wonderful, but they do not actually tell us what changed or by how much.

Whenever possible, look for specific performance indicators instead.

For example, one of the marine actives I use in my Day Cream demonstrated:

* a 16% increase in brightness
* a 20% reduction in pigmentation and spot intensity
* and a 16% improvement in skin gloss

after 60 days of use.

Those are measurable outcomes.

It does not mean the ingredient will work exactly the same way for everyone, but it does provide far more information than vague marketing language alone.

Takeaway
The next time you are shopping for skincare, ask yourself:

Am I reading a promise… or am I looking at evidence?

Mandy x

Preventative Botox has become one of the biggest trends in beauty.

The idea sounds logical. If wrinkles form because muscles repeatedly contract, then reducing that movement earlier in life should mean fewer wrinkles later.

And there is some truth to that.

But here is the part that is often left out of the conversation.

Preventing a few expression lines is not the same thing as preventing ageing.

Your skin is still changing.

Collagen production continues to decline.

Elastin continues to decline.

Cell turnover slows.

Hormonal changes affect hydration, skin thickness, and barrier function.

And years of sun exposure continue to accumulate.

Botox addresses one pathway of ageing. Skin ageing involves many.

Takeaway
If your goal is to support your skin long term, reducing cumulative sun exposure remains one of the most powerful things you can do.

After that, focus on protecting your skin barrier, maintaining hydration, and using evidence-based skincare consistently.

Mandy x

One of the most common beauty myths is that a skincare product can work like Botox.

It cannot.

And that does not mean the product is ineffective.

Botox is injected into muscle, where it temporarily reduces movement and softens expression lines.

Skincare works in the upper layers of the skin. It can improve hydration, support collagen production, strengthen the skin barrier, improve elasticity, and reduce the appearance of fine lines, but it cannot reach the muscle underneath.

That is why Botox and skincare are not competitors.

They simply work in different ways.

The problem is not skincare.

The problem is when marketing blurs the line between what a skincare product can realistically achieve and what only an injectable treatment can do.

Takeaway
The next time you see a product described as “Botox-like” or “Botox in a jar”, ask yourself whether it is improving the appearance of your skin or claiming to do something only a muscle-relaxing injectable can achieve.

Mandy x

Today I am sharing the first part of my author interview for Resilience & Reinvention.

In this segment, I talk about why I chose the title The Girl At The Fence and the confusing experience that shaped it.

What fascinates me is how the decisions we make as children, often without fully understanding why, can influence the way we see ourselves and interact with the world for decades afterwards.

This chapter is ultimately a story about reflection, resilience, and understanding how our past can shape us without having to define us.

I hope you enjoy this small glimpse into the story behind the story.

Mandy x

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