Beauty Clinic: Advice for combination skin

Q My combination skin is very dry and tight on the cheeks and still shiny on the T-zone.  What can I do? A This is a common problem, according to Dr Rabia Malik, who specialises in treating skin problems with natural products (www.skinw1.com).  ‘It is often exacerbated in cold weather when skin on the cheeks can feel more dry and tight than usual,’ she explains.

Firstly, Dr Malik says, ‘it is important to use a gentle cleanser all over the face, which is not overly drying, but still removes dirt and sebum from pores. I like the MV Organic Skincare Gentle Cream Cleanser from www.cultbeauty.co.uk.

(If you are in the USA, Dr Malik recommends looking for a range by Dr Julia T. Hunter MD, particularly her Skin Therapy foaming cleanser, www.juliathuntermd.com)

Your skin needs to be hydrated as well, and Dr Malik’s top recommendation is MV Organic Skincare Pure Jojoba, £26 for 35ml from www.cultbeauty.co.uk, which she calls ‘a brilliant product for combination/oily skin. You can apply this all over the face, and then add some additional moisturiser to the cheeks if necessary.’

Sharon McGlinchey, founder of MV Organic Skincare, told us that jojoba oil closely resembles the same composition of sebum (the skin’s natural oil) so it is well adapted to use with any skin type, including oily and acnegeic, because it balances the skin so effectively.

As a moisturizer, Dr Malik recommends patients with dry and/or tight skin to try Cosmedix Rescue Healing Balm, ‘a great product as it really maintains and repairs skin barrier function’.

• MV Organic Skincare Gentle Cream Cleanser/£32 for 70 ml at www.cultbeauty.co.uk - buy here

• Cosmedix Rescue Healing Balm/£38.28 for 30ml at www.medicobeauty.com - buy here