Read, learn, do.

CAROLINE’S SKIN COMMANDMENTS

Cleanse every night before bed without fail. I’m obsessed with people washing their faces – so many people don’t.

Don’t sunbathe. It’s one form of premature ageing you can actively avoid, and the pigmentation is an absolute bugger to get rid of.

Vitamin A (aka retinoids, such as retinol) works. It stimulates collagen production, it resurfaces and it helps with acne. It’s one ingredient that ticks many, many boxes.

Formula is king. If a brand has blended active ingredients in one product, they’re doing the thinking for you and making them work together. If you were to layer them on separately yourself – retinol and vitamin C is a combination I’m often asked about – I’d say no.

Use products that are appropriate for you. Don’t use products that are too heavy or too greasy, and don’t use too much.

Treat spots with acid, then put oil on them – it’s the ‘nuke and comfort’ approach and the opposite to what many brands would have you believe. Teenagers can use drying lotions because their skin is probably a tad oilier. Do the same to older skin and you’ll have more chance of scarring.

Don’t sit and suffer. I have bad skin days, don’t we all? I don’t stress about it as I know it will pass, but people can be miserable with acne for years and never see a dermatologist, either because they think it would be vain, or because no one’s ever taken them seriously.

My advice to parents is to listen to your child and take their skin needs seriously. Adults with acneic skin still remember being called names in school, even when the acne’s cleared.

Social media has opened up a world of information, good and bad. Instagram is great for following US dermatologists and aestheticians, such as @the.master.aesthetician and @shereeneiddriss.

If you look in the mirror and think you need a little tweak, then get a tweak – it’s your face!