Dr Rabia Malik, 37
Your personal treatment list is fairly short – why is that? My area of expertise is skin resurfacing and rejuvenation, mainly through peels. I have never needed Botox or fillers, mainly due to a healthy lifestyle, regular peels, wearing SPF and good genes! And if I’m not convinced about a treatment for myself, I won’t do it for a patient either. A big part of my practice is looking at things holistically, rather than just treating skin issues topically. With all of my clients, I look at diet, lifestyle and hormone imbalances. Peels fit with my holistic approach because they stimulate a person’s own collagen, so work well within my prevention and maintenance approach.
How long have you been having peels? I tried a glycolic-acid peel belonging to my mother as a spotty teenager, but got a really bad reaction [glycolic acid is a very small molecule, which means it enters the skin rapidly and can potentially irritate certain skin types], so it put me off for years.
Not a good start… No. But when I went to medical school in my twenties, I became interested in dermatology, and realised there were lots of peels that weren’t glycolic-acid based. The one I love the most is lactic acid. It’s a larger molecule, so penetrates slowly, with less potential for irritation. It doesn’t dry out the skin or cause shedding, so I do it every two weeks. Then, every three to four months, I do a stronger combination peel made up of lactic acid, malic acid [derived
from apples] and mandelic acid [from almonds]. I’ve been having regular peels since the age of 30. And you’re a platelet-rich plasma fan, too?
Yes, but I do it in a slightly different way to most, by applying the extracted growth factors to the skin and then microneedling, rather than injecting it back in. The main reason for this is to avoid bruising, because the women I see are very busy and don’t want the down time. I can’t take my own blood, obviously, but
I do the rest on myself once a year. I would do it more if I had the time, because it gives immediate brightness, as well as long-term skin-tone and texture improvement. What else?
I do a course of radiofrequency once a year – it’s great for skin-tightening. But I don’t offer or use lasers for skin rejuvenation, the main reason being, a lot of my clients aren’t Caucasian, and lasers are not always the right treatment for people who have pigment in their skin, including me.
“With all my clients, I look at diet and lifestyle”