Pharrell Williams Reveals the Relatable Skincare Routine That Keeps Him Looking So Young at 51 (Exclusive)

The ageless music star has a new documentary, 'Piece by Piece,' which might not have existed without Lady Gaga and Mr. Rogers

Producer and recording artist Pharrell Williams has been cranking out big hits with superstars like Justin Timberlake and Gwen Stefani as well as on his own (2013's Oscar-nominated chart-topper "Happy") since the beginning of the century.

But while he's highly regarded as an innovative force in music, Pharrell, 51, is also well known for something more skin-deep: remaining eternally youthful. He's barely aged over the decades, and the secret to his youthful visage is a simple one. In other words, feel free to try it at home.

"Believe it or not, exfoliation, man," the 13-time Grammy winner tells PEOPLE. "Exfoliation is the key."

So is it really that simple? Well, not exactly. There's actually another ingredient that, for him, goes into looking forever young.

"Now, there is a routine, and you can find them online, but I think probably the most active portion of it all... No, it's two. It's exfoliating, but it's also in here," he says, pointing to his heart.

"It's literally in here. That inner child, don't ever silence it. Don't ever [go], 'Oh, I can't do this anymore.' No. That's why you should absolutely do it right now. The people who want to put you in a box? They tried to do that to me too, and here we are."

Related: See Piece by Piece Cast Side by Side with LEGO Versions: Pharrell Williams, Gwen Stefani, Justin Timberlake and More

Pharrell's acclaimed new documentary, Piece by Piece, which was directed by Morgan Neville (20 Feet from Stardom, Won't You Be My Neighbor?) and hit theaters Oct. 11, definitely doesn't fit into any existing box. Instead of making a standard Behind the Music-style film, he decided to build his documentary, as the title suggests, piece by piece, telling the entire story with animated LEGO characters.

Six or seven years ago when his agent suggested he do a documentary, Pharrell wasn't really interested. Then his agent had another idea: "He was like, 'Why don't you just look at the [Lady] Gaga one [2017's Gaga: Five Foot Two]? I mean, look how she did it.' I'm like, 'Okay, cool.' And I saw it, and that was one of the things I was most impressed with when I did see it. I was like, 'Oh, I saw her fingerprints all over this.'"

Pharrell just had two conditions. The first one: "I was like, 'But I want to do it with Morgan Neville,' because he had done 20 Feet from Stardom, and he had just done the Mr. Rogers [documentary], which was crazy," Pharrell recalls. "And I was like, 'Man, I can't believe I get to work with the same guy.' "

The second condition: "I said, 'But I want to do it in LEGO.' "

Instead of getting his A-list friends to simply sit and talk about how much he's influenced and changed the sonic landscape of the music industry, he conceived an animated documentary with everyone, including himself, represented by LEGO characters. Yes, Timberlake, Stefani, JAY-Z, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes and others all appear in the form of customized LEGOs.

Related: Pharrell Has Run-In with PETA Protester at His Film's TIFF Premiere

But why LEGOs? "Well, it's what I always played with when I was young," Pharrell explains. "It's what I would get for Christmas. And then when [he and wife Helen Lasichanh] had our first [child], Rocket, I would always send him little LEGO sets or whatever, and pick them up from different places around the world."

"And then right around that time [that he started thinking about the documentary], we had just had the triplets, and I knew that I wanted the triplets to hear and understand my story too. So, it just all made sense. You know what I mean? I wanted it so that they could see Dad tell his story."

Piece by Piece is now playing in theaters.

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