Lauren Fornes looks like she belongs in the beauty industry. An all-American blonde blessed with both stature and good bone structure, she’s the face behind Face Parlour, a blog that she bills as “Wine Spectator for skincare products.” In an industry that pumps out a new product every hour, Fornes, an aesthetician, sorts through the onslaught—with the help of an advisory board that includes doctors, surgeons, dermatologists, and local sustainability prodigy Erin Schrode—and selects only those products that work and are safe and sustainable (no gratuitous plastic-wrapped boxes here). From her Pacific Heights apartment, she also reports on the latest beauty topics, from “skincare for cougars” to “green makeovers,” reads scientific journals, and consults medical experts. Here, she tells us how the latest organic alternatives measure up. faceparlour.com

You wouldn’t sip a blush wine with a hearty stew. How should your beauty regime change in winter? Most people start by adding a moisturizer, but often the best thing you can do is change your cleanser.

When should you do that? If your skin feels tight after cleansing, then you’ve disrupted its pH balance and should switch to a richer formula. If you normally use a foaming cleanser, try a gel. If you swear by a gel, try a milky cleanser. And if you’re using milk, then try a cleansing lotion or cream.

The skincare mantra used to be “cleanse, tone, moisturize.” Is that still true? I recommend “cleanse, exfoliate, treat, prevent, hydrate, and protect.” Toning is optional, if you get the right cleanser. Gentle exfoliation evens out skin texture and increases the penetration of active ingredients. Follow with antioxidant serums to prevent free-radical damage: a series of reactions that result in cell damage. Finally, there are many great moisturizers with SPF protection, so the last two steps are easily combined.

You founded Face Parlour because you had problem skin yourself. I had severe cystic acne. When I started dating my husband, his first gift was an acne wash, a facial, and a headset for my cell phone, because he thought my phone was aggravating my acne.

And you married this guy? He’s very sweet. The last part of the gift was oil for the back massage he was going to give me in case I got upset. But I didn’t.

You could have taken care of your acne and been done with it. Why start a website? Originally, I wanted to open a spa where you could get a $35 facial. I did a lot of research on product lines and had a space picked out on Fillmore, but realized that what people needed more than another spa or product line was the information to sort them out.

How did you eventually cure your acne? I used MD Skincare Alpha Beta Daily Face Peel pads every other day. I also got a series of 5% salicylic acid peels from my dermatologist.

That doesn’t sound very holistic. It wasn’t, but I made an educated decision. I understood the health risks and determined that the emotional stress of living with acne overshadowed those risks.

Do you evaluate products in a scientific manner? With my advisory panel, I compiled an extensive database of ingredients that is constantly updated as new research is published. We’ve given those ingredients various scores that we plug into an algorithm, along with other information. We use a 100-point rating system and only publish products that score 80 or higher.

How do you determine if products are effective? Currently, we rely on medical research, but we’re launching our Beta Face program soon—it’ll allow our loyal guests to test products and offer feedback.

After reading a piece on your website, I was horrified to discover that the 60 SPF sunscreen I put on my son contains oxybenzone, an ingredient suspected of being carcinogenic. We try to focus on products that are effective, safe, and, when possible, sustainable. The key with sunscreen is to select physical, not chemical, sunscreens. Physical sunscreens sit on the skin’s surface and prevent the sun’s rays from penetrating the skin. Chemical sunscreens are absorbed into the bloodstream.

Which sunscreen ingredients are best? Micronized zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. Thankfully, sunscreen technology has advanced since the days when lifeguards wore zinc oxide on their noses. Now there are lightweight formulas that go on virtually clear.

I’m almost 50. I didn’t start using sunscreen daily until my late 40s, and I smoked for 10 years. Is there any hope for me? It’s never too late. To minimize future damage, I recommend a high-potency serum packed with peptides—protein fragments that counter a variety of skin conditions. Argireline is one of my favorites. I call it the “cougar peptide” because of its benefits for maturing skin. It can reduce wrinkles by 30 percent.

’Tis the season. What’s one of your favorite products that makes a terrific holiday gift? I don’t rate body products, but I’m obsessed with International Orange’s Enrich Body Cream. It’s organic and gender-neutral, with a subtle scent and a luxurious texture.

Do you have a favorite bargain product? Coconut butter. It is about $12 for 10 ounces and can serve as a cleanser, a moisturizer, and a mask, but doesn’t clog your pores. It’s as natural and easy as you can get.

Main photo: Aesthetician and blogger Lauren Fornes puts her best face forward as she steps out into the world.