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!

Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune condition which presents with well-demarcated areas of hair loss. It can present at any time of life but usually presents in the younger age groups, usually before the age of 30 years. The condition is sporadic or affected individuals will develop one or several … [Read more...] about New drugs in the treatment of alopecia areata

Towards the end of July, the British Medical Journal published an educational article on Body Dysmorphic disorder. [BMJ 2015; 350: h2278]   What is this? The article was written by Dr David Veale, a Consultant Psychiatrist in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy at the South London and … [Read more...] about Body Dysmorphic Disorder

At the time of writing this blog, the family has just returned from its first ever camping trip (outside of the back garden!). On one of the obligatory dog walks by a river near the campsite, we noticed we were surrounded by triffid-like cow parsley, towering over us to over two metres in height. My … [Read more...] about Seen the giant cow parsley?