Beauty Clinic: Help for super-sensitive skin, please!

Q. I am in my early 20s and have super sensitive skin on my face, which gets very dry and prone to flake. I tried a cleansing wash and tonic for sensitive skin but my face went red and irritated, so much that I just use water now. I never wear make-up so do I need to use a cleanser or would water and moisturiser be OK? A. In a word, no. Firstly, hard water may be a culprit in your skin problems and secondly, water alone will not remove the natural build up of dead skin cells and daily grime (even without make-up)

So we suggest cleansing with a dedicated soap-free product such as A-Derma Exomega Cleansing Oil for dry to very dry, red, itchy skin, which is based on a soothing oat extract with essential fatty acids and glycerine. To follow up, there is an Emollient Balm/£13 for 200 ml, for very dry skin, and an Emollient Cream/£10.50 for dry skin.

Pharmacist Shabir Daya at Victoria Health recommends you also consider Trilogy Very Gentle Cleansing Cream, £22.50 for 150ml, with pure plant oils and chamomile. We are great fans of this range, too, in particular the Very Gentle Calming Serum/£28.50 for 30 ml, and Moisturising Cream/£24.50 for 50 ml, too.

Another option is Derma E Soothing range, also from Victoria Health, which includes a Soothing Cleanser/£15 for 175 ml and Facial Treatment Oil/£20 for 30ml, especially for redness and blotchiness. The Soothing formula includes Anti-Ageing Pycnogenol (but this may not be so relevant to your age group).

Just a final thought: skin is literally your gut on the outside so you do need to make sure you are eating well (plenty of vegetables, salads and fruits), with protein (to help build your skin), oily fish, /nuts and seeds, and possibly an Omega-3 supplement, such as Power of Krill/£25 for 60 soft gels. And, of course, sipping plenty of still filtered water through the day and going light on sugary and/or caffeinated drinks.