Beauty Clinic: Haircare advice (and more) for my disabled mum

Q. My disabled mother has fine dry hair and suffers with a sensitive itchy flaky scalp. Can you recommend hair care and also hair colouring products we can use? She also has swollen puffy eyes plus osteoarthritis in both knees, which causes aching and pain. A. You mention in your longer e-mail that you are your mother’s carer – so we imagine your life is pretty busy. We thought it would be easier to recommend a one-stop mail order shop for all three questions. So we asked pharmacist Shabir Daya at Victoria Health for his expert advice.

He recommends Phylia de M hair products with Clean (Shampoo)/£30 for a generous 265 ml, and Condition (Conditioner)/£32 for 265ml, to help with fine, dry and flaky hair. ‘Leave the conditioner on for a few minutes to ensure the actives work to tackle dry hair and scalp.’

As far as hair colour is concerned, Shabir says ‘your mother may wish to consider the Naturtint range. This is free from ammonia which can be an allergen to the scalp.’ Naturtint Permanent Hair Colour/£9.99.

For your mother’s eyes, Shabir advises applying Derma E Soothing Eye Gel, which helps with under-eye puffiness and is suitable for sensitive skin/£21.50 for 14g.

Thirdly, Kneipp Arnica Massage Oil helps soothe tired or aching joints; simply massage this oil twice a day/£10.95 for 100 ml.