Christy Turlington Is Noble Panacea’s New Fundamental Changemaker in Residence

By Celia Ellenberg

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Somewhat reluctantly, Christy Turlington traces the origins of her self-care routine back to the first boyfriend she had at 18. "We grew up in northern California and he was a big yogi and a meditator. That was the only good thing about him," she says with a laugh. "But it did introduce me to the discipline of yoga, which is probably the most consistent practice I’ve ever had. With that comes an understanding about your body—and about your skin, and about how to care for yourself." Turlington, now 54, still manages to prioritize good skin-care habits and a steady yoga practice, despite her full-time jobs of running the nonprofit Every Mother Counts, being a mother herself, and remaining an in-demand presence on the catwalk—and in campaigns. Today, she adds to her multi-hyphenate status by becoming the newest face of Noble Panacea. But don't call her a brand ambassador. Instead, Turlington will be the skin-care brand's "Fundamental Changemaker in Residence" as it rolls out the first products in its new The Elemental collection.

It's a mouthful. But the title is fitting for Turlington who is a "self-optimizer," according to Céline Talabaza, the CEO of the four-year-old brand that launched on the back of Organic Super Molecular Vessels (OSMV)–an encapsulation method that allows for the time-released delivery and high absorption of active ingredients. "I'm always interested in learning about new technologies and ideas that are just a little bit outside of the box," Turlington says of a curiosity that has helped expand her mind and her career, on the runway and off. (At 40, she notably stepped away from modeling to attend Columbia University, where she earned a masters degree in public health before starting her essential platform that focuses on maternal health advocacy in the U.S.and abroad).

The term applies to Turlington's beauty routine as well, insofar as she is always looking for better versions of the simple steps she has stuck to for decades. Describing herself as "no fuss" when it comes to skin care, Turlignton is very particular when it comes to texture, which, in addition to its recyclable single-use pods, made Noble Panacea an easy sell. Their vitamin C serum "isn't sticky or tacky"—and their new exfoliating lotion "doesn't feel like an exfoliator," she says. Part of The Elemental's debut two-part system, the Exfoliating Refiner slowly releases powerful AHAs and polyhydroxy acid (PHA), the big-in-Korea ingredient that powers Seoul's popular water peels and delivers deep but gentle resurfacing. Used after the nourishing Cleansing Balm, which includes eight different oils—including skin tone-evening rosehip and soothing camellia oil—it's the perfect way to prep skin for additional steps, like Noble Panacea's Overnight Recharge Cream, which Turlington calls "really emulsive and creamy." Here, the original supermodel elaborates on how she has self-optimized other facets of her life, from finding balance in the day-to-day to learning to be comfortable in her own skin.

Be Gentle to Your Face

I feel like I’ve earned and deserve better care when it comes to my skin, so everything is about bringing back moisture and treating myself well. Simplicity was really always my way, although I definitely used things as a teenager—remember that awful, cheap, and drying mud mask that everyone used?!—probably before I started to be aware that there was better stuff out there. But to this day, I’m not into facials that are extracting or scrubbing, or peels. None of that has ever been my way. I like massage and lymphatic drainage—that kind of thing. It has to really feel good, for me to take the time to do it.

Make Time for Yourself Spiritually

There's nothing better than being able to sort of self-soothe in this world, and learning that the postures of yoga were really more about getting yourself prepared for a seated meditation practice has always served me when it comes to my health. I learned that very early and even though I was traveling a lot in my 20s and my career as a model was very fast-paced, I always had those tools that I could go back to—that I could use if I was jet lagged, if I was lonely, or if I was out of sync in any other way. I haven't gone to a yoga class since the pandemic because I started this virtual class that I do with a group of friends that are in California. It's so nice. And even after coming back to the office, I still make sure to plan my day around that class. I love it so much and I}m so grateful for it. Because Every Mother Counts is really like a 24/7 job. You can't turn it off, unfortunately. And I can't really imagine being able to do that work, or sustain that work, without a spiritual practice. I can change the trajectory of my day in so many ways just by prioritizing this class for an hour.

Embrace Additive Experiences

When you’re doing things that give you as much as you are putting in, it doesn't feel like something is being taken away, even if it's hard work. It feels much more additive. I feel that way about motherhood, and I feel the same way about travel. It doesn't really matter where I go, but any kind of change of scenery, change of energy, change of perspective, just feeds me in a really deep way. I think especially after the pandemic, I appreciate all of those opportunities even more. I’m not a fan of the word balance, but I do feel that some sort of integration of things, and understanding how to prioritize things is really important. And the more connected you are to your body, the more you know intrinsically what makes sense in any given moment. And by doing what makes sense in the moment, you're taking care of yourself.

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Age Gracefully

I will never alter or augment my face. Never. I’ve always been consistent about my thoughts on this, and I think because I’ve said it so many times, I still believe it. But also those are my values. Maybe it comes from having a mom that has also been very comfortable in her own skin her whole life. And it's just such a good example. My mom is in her eighties and she looks so good and I think she looks so good because she has allowed herself to look like she's in her eighties. I hope that my daughter can take that from me, too. I’m not preoccupied with how I look. I’m not vain. I know that might sound surprising to hear from someone who has been in the career that I was in for so many years. But the truth is, other people were always worried about what I looked like, so I didn't have to worry about it. I can't imagine changing that, no matter how old I am.