Q.  I am 44 with slightly sensitive dry skin.   When I cleanse with a hot cloth cleanser, the pores at the side of my nose look stretched and my skin looks crêpey.  But if I don’t cleanse, the skin at the side of my nostrils is uncomfortable. I do also need deeper exfoliation weekly but worry that this may cause broken capillaries.  Can you advise? A It sounds to us as if you should give your complexion a rest.  We wonder if perhaps you are just giving it too much to cope with, especially in the winter months.  So we are going to suggest a few things that might help keep your skin calm as well as super-clean.

Firstly, we suggest switching to a very gentle natural cleanser such as Essential Care Creamy Coconut Cleanser.  This plant-based, organically-certified product from a pioneering mother/daughter brand based in Suffolk has always scored highly with our Beauty Bible testers.

One tester commented: ‘works quickly and removes all traces of make-up, grease and grime – skin felt mega-clean after this, and I’d switch brands in a minute’.  Another said: ‘does what it says, leaving skin soft, clean and moisturised’.

We both have sensitive skins and almost never exfoliate, except with a soft muslin cloth after cleansing.  In fact, most facial exfoliators do warn you not to use them if you have sensitive skin.  If you do decide you need a scrub, we recommend something incredibly gentle once a fortnight only:  use the lightest circular movements (applying pressure using ringer fingers means you can't overdo it).  Those which we resort to very occasionally - only when skin's looking really dingy - are Liz Earle Gentle Face Exfoliator, This Works Clean Skin Moisture Scrub (you can read our review of it on the site here) and Origins Modern Friction.

Finish off with a calming mask (do this weekly): Elemis Pro-Collagen Quartz Lift Mask, is a creamy rich miracle-worker, according to our testers for The Anti-Ageing Beauty Bible (new edition now available from www.victoriahealth.com).  One tester raved: ‘Instantly lifted and tone my skin, revealing a more radiant complexion, felt glorious and beautiful smell; left with such a soft, glowing skin and fine lines smoothed out, really hydrated and plumped out skin’.

• Essential Care Creamy Coconut Cleanser/£6 for a try-out 30ml at www.essential-care.co.uk - buy here

• Liz Earle Gentle Face Exfoliator/£14 for 70 ml at www.uk.lizearle.com - buy here

• This Works Clean Skin Moisture Scrub/£17 for 75 ml at www.thisworks.com - buy here

• Origins Modern Friction/£33 for 125 ml at www.boots.com - buy here

• Elemis Pro-Collagen Quartz Lift Mask/£16.60 for 15ml sampler at www.timetospa.co.uk - buy here