Skincare Clinic

Every spring, readers ask how to solve skin problems before the start of summer revelries. So I asked leading facialist Sarah Chapman (www. sarahchapman.net) and clinical pharmacist Shabir Daya, who has a special interest in skin (www.victoriahealth.com), to suggest simple ways to get the glow back. Often, you will see a difference within days but skin cell turnover takes about four weeks so keep on with the TLC. In fact, make it a daily habit: look after your skin and it will reward you bountifully.

PROBLEM: Breakouts, oily or combination skin

SOLUTION: Focus on deep cleansing and decongesting

• Use gentle exfoliants or peeling pads to reveal a fresher, brighter complexion. Avoid products containing benzoyl peroxide or mineral oil (paraffinum liquidum), which will clog pores, dry skin, then send it into oily overdrive.

• Twice a week, steam your face over a bowl of very hot water with a towel over your head to warm sebum and draw out toxins.

• Massage breakout-prone areas daily, working out towards the lymph nodes and down the sides of the face – use fingertips or Sarah Chapman Facialist massager (see below).

• Apply a clay-based mask twice weekly to help draw out blockages and blackheads and absorb excess oil production.

• Avoid bacterial build-up in your bathroom: wipe surfaces and basin with a solution of tea tree oil; use a fresh face cloth and face towel daily.

• Keep skin well hydrated with humectants (water-attracting ingredients in moisturisers such as hyaluronic acid, algae extract, aloe vera, honey, lactic acid, glycerine).

• Dairy foods may influence breakouts so swap cow’s milk for almond, rice, coconut or oat milk for 30 days. Avoid spicy foods, which may trigger oil production.

BEAUTY HEROES FOR OILY AND TROUBLED SKIN

• Sarah Chapman Facialift Massager/£25 at www.sarahchapman.net

• Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser/£8.99 at www.victoriahealth.com

• Origins Brighter By Nature High Potency Brightening Peel/£31 at www.johnlewis.com

• Liz Earle Gentle Face Exfoliator/from £5.50 at www.lizearle.co.uk

• A’kin Kaolin Clay & Lemongrass Purifying Facial Masque/£12 at www.akinbeauty.co.uk 

• Elemental Herbology Perfect Clarity Blemish Minimiser/£25 at www.elementalherbology.com

• Melvita Mattifying Balancing Fluid/£26 at www.uk.melvita.com

Green People Multi-Active Pencil Concealer/£14 at www.greenpeople.co.uk

Supplement - Viridian Clear Skin Complex with zinc, probiotics and herbs helps balance hormones and protect against inflammation and remove waste from the liver for a clearer complexion/ £22.20 for 60 capsules at www.victoriahealth.com

Naturopathic doctor Nigma Talib (www.healthydoc.com) advises magnesium to help dry skin retain water. It’s a multitasker, relaxing muscles and mind, too – and most of us are magnesium deficient. Try Dyno-Mins, £14.95 for 90 tablets, www.victoriahealth.com

To sparkle like a summer day, try Gwyneth Paltrow’s favourite Altrient Vitamin C gel (£22.95, www.victoriahealth.com), with Teapigs Organic Matcha Green Tea powder (£26.60, www.teapigs.co.uk) in a little apple juice.

PROBLEM: Dry, dull, droopy skin

SOLUTION; Correct dehydration with intensive moisturising agents

• Massage in an oil-based cleanser twice daily and/or use gentle peeling pads (see left).

• Use a nutrient-charged serum twice daily under your moisturiser and night product: the moisturiser forms a film to prevent water loss.

• Exfoliate twice weekly to removedulling surface dead cells.

• Boost skin glow with hydrating masks.

• At night, massage in a facial oil with fingertips or Facialift (see left).

• Breathe! Do yoga, walk, run, play tennis – dance around the garden!

• Eat omega-3 rich oily fish, eggs, nuts and seeds and dark green vegetables (also consider a supplement, below).

• Avoid alcohol in all forms – both the drink and alcohol based toners – and don’t wash/ shower in very hot water.

DRY COMPLEXION PERFECTORS

• AD Skin Synergy Essential Cleansing Balm/£26 at www.adskinsynergy.com

• Sarah Chapman Age-Repair Serum/£47 at www.sarahchapman.net

• L’Occitane Divine Cream/£72, www.uk.loccitane.com.

• ESPA Replenishing Face Treatment Oil/£53 at www.espaskincare.com

• Liz Earle Intensive Nourishing Treatment Mask/from £5.50 at www.uk.lizearle.co.uk

• Darphin Youthful Radiance Camellia Mask anti -ageing treatment/£45 at www.johnlewis.com

Supplements - Hyaluronic Acid by NHS Labs/£35. HA holds hundreds of times its weight in water inside skin cells, helping to hydrate. Also try omega-3 essential fatty acids: pharmepae-epa 90 restore, £29.99. Both from www.victoriahealth.com.

It’s simple (and cheap) to make your own facial oils: find recipes in our new book The Ultimate Natural Beauty Bible, £14.95, www.victoriahealth.com