Ask Alice

Home microneedling creates tiny punctures in the skin, so any products you use afterwards will sink in more deeply, and if this is something like skin-strengthening peptides or a retinoid, they will hit home rather harder. So it may help. My issue with home needling is that it is very easy to get overenthusiastic and overdo it; to do it patchily; to scratch up and damage the surface of the skin, and you need to be really scrupulous about cleaning the needling device afterwards (to prevent infection), and changing the head regularly. Also, home needling doesn’t go deep enough to stimulate collagen production in the skin – for that you need clinical microneedling, and yes that absolutely works on the decolletage as well as anywhere else on the skin. One last thing – don’t forget daily sunscreen on your neck and decolletage. It really helps preserve your skin for the future.

Hi, yes, here are three hair transplant specialists who are all great.

Mr Chris D’Souza thedsouzaclinic.com

Dr Greg Williams farjo.com

Dr Raghu Reddy drraghureggy.com

Hi, no I haven’t reviewed the Lyma Pro – the PR asked me if I was interested in it, and I said yes, only to be told they suddenly had no samples available.

Here’s what I’ve said before about the Lyma before:

Both NeoGen and Sofwave can be useful for tightening loose skin, I would recommend finding a great practitioner and asking them which of these devices would be more appropriate for your skin, take a look at the Find a Practitioner section to find a recommended practitioner in your area.

The tricky thing with identifying rosacea is that it shows up in many different forms. Apart from making the face look flushed, rosacea can show up as tiny raised red bumps or acne-type pustules, or an increased number of thread veins on the face. Add to that the way it tends to come and go, and you can see why it is tricky to spot, and why it isn’t diagnosed as quickly or as often as it should be.

Rosacea can be very mild, where your skin just has the odd tendency to flush — or it can be very obvious and persistent. It tends not to be obvious before the age of 30, and it tends to get worse the older you get. If rosacea is left untreated, it can thicken the skin, particularly on the nose, a condition called rhinophyma.

One of the odd things about rosacea is that it can make the skin feel rough and dry, rather than oily — people tend to expect the latter when they see spots. Rosacea is widely under-diagnosed, not least because not all rosacea looks the same.

We have a dedicated page about rosacea where you can read more information including FAQs and Alice’s handy e-book.

Hello! You can find Alice’s thoughts on the Lyma Laser via Ask Alice linked here

Hi yes these are brilliant and the science is solid, they enhance the skin’s defences against UV damage. They’re not an alternative to sunscreen, I would always recommend using sunscreen and so would Heliocare, but if, say, you have someone who simply won’t (or can’t) use sunscreen but is prepared to take a tablet, they’re really useful.

Hi, yes, the Manta brushes are super-gentle and designed for delicate hair

There was a result, but it was minimal – I’d check with your practitioner whether you’re a good candidate before committing to a treatment like this.

Hi, you’re right, cosmetic surgeons dislike patients having energy-based treatments (eg ultrasound, or RF needling) in the year or two before surgery because the way the treatment contracts and tightens up the collagen makes it trickier for them to do their job when it comes to separating the layers of the face or neck. Check this with your surgeon, but I’d hold off and wait for the surgery. I hear that you are finding your neck hard to live with but if you are looking at a surgical neck lift, you will find RF needling doesn’t give you the result you are looking for.

If you’ve got a Dermalux, I’d stick with that. Home-use lasers tend not to be very high-powered or effective.

Ask Dr Shotter or her team to take you through any potential side effects, risks,  complications or contraindications, these will be listed on the consent form. Also, if it’s any reassurance for your husband, Dr Shotter’s staff are well trained in the procedures they offer, like Sofwave, so you will be in good hands.

Hi, Profound RF (which I wrote about here) gave me the most definitive result of these – but it’s an intense procedure that left me bruised and swollen for the best part of a week.  I’ve haven’t tried ultraformer but most ultrasound-based treatments hardly need any downtime.

Hi, that’s a question for the practitioner with whom you are thinking of having the treatment. It depends on your autoimmune condition and how you are doing with it, to work out whether any treatment is advisable.

Hi, I’m sorry to hear this – there’s not much advice I can give. I am sure you have already considered fillers for restoring volume to your face. If you decide to move ahead with a face lift, go and have consultations with at least two surgeons, and then take time to assess their advice before booking anything.