A friend recently asked me whether I would recommend caffeine shampoos for his hair loss.   I was totally surprised and it even necessitated a subtle upward drift to my gaze to check out what the problem was. A particular brand of caffeine shampoo was already in mind and I was told that it was … [Read more...] about Caffeine shampoos for male pattern baldness

This month we are heading to São Paolo, Brazil for the 9th Georg Rajka International Symposium on Atopic Dermatitis. I must confess that I am rather excited as I have never been to South America but am also rather nervous, what with the Zika virus, protests and demonstrations that are riddling … [Read more...] about Boron-based creams for atopic dermatitis

Last month’s edition of the journal Clinical and Experimental Dermatology included a study looking at the active ingredients in internationally available skin lightening products in South Africa.   [Maneli MH, Wiesner L, Tinguely C et al. Combinations of potent topical steroids, mercury … [Read more...] about Skin lightening creams

I was at the hairdressers the other day, flicking through a magazine and noticed that one of the larger cosmetic companies had produced a probiotic cream. The blurb accompanying the cream said that the science behind the cream had been revealed at the American Academy of Dermatologist (AAD)’s Annual … [Read more...] about Probiotics for the skin

We are now into the second month of 2016 and hopefully, most of our New Year’s resolutions have not wilted away. This year, I am making plans to do some charity work, but not in the UK but in Myanmar, the country where my parents are from.   I have only been to Myanmar twice, the first … [Read more...] about Putting one’s best foot forwards

In an August edition of the British Medical journal, it was reported that there has been an increase in the uptake of temporary tattoos. [BMJ 2015;351:h4519]     Also, in one of the October issues of the British Medical Journal was a picture of ‘A pretty rash.’ This was a case … [Read more...] about The dangers of temporary tattoos

We met up with some good friends of ours recently who are frequent long-haul travellers. They had just renovated and extended their home and told us a story of how they had found, upon their return from a recent business trip away, that their youngest son was covered in a rash and they were going to … [Read more...] about This Christmas, don’t let the bedbugs bite!

Towards the end of May of this year, scores of patients started turning up to clinic clutching pages torn out of newspapers reporting the advent of a novel drug to successfully treat … [Read more...] about A new drug to treat melanoma!

On April 9th 2015, the Daily Mail published an article stating that £13 million of NHS prescriptions were for suncreams, implying that patients were abusing the system by obtaining prescriptions for household items and that these prescriptions were an unnecessary drain on the … [Read more...] about Prescription sunscreens

At the time of writing this blog, we’re having the first lovely bright, clear and sunny days of Spring and it feels absolutely wonderful after all the long, dark days of winter.   Traditionally, this time of year heralds the beginning of busy days for dermatologists. This is because everyone … [Read more...] about “Do you do mole mapping?”