Dr. Ophelia

Has your scalp felt different after the summer?

Heat, UV exposure, salt water, chlorine and more frequent washing can leave the scalp feeling dry, irritated or unsettled. Persistent flaking, itching, inflammation or increased shedding should not simply be treated as the same problem.

If symptoms keep returning, assess the cause before adding more random products. A flaky or uncomfortable scalp can have several explanations, and the right plan depends on the diagnosis.

Thank you to HELLO! for including my advice in its summer scalp feature.

Educational information only. Persistent or concerning symptoms need individual medical assessment.

A few changes around here.

The first is simply that I am going to be posting regularly, properly, rather than in bursts.

The reason it matters to me is that good skin and hair advice is genuinely hard to find online. In a study of acne content on TikTok published this year, only about one in ten videos came from someone medically trained. The other nine were not necessarily malicious. They were just not clinical, and a fair amount of what they say is wrong.

That is how people end up spending a year and a lot of money treating something nobody has diagnosed.

So alongside my usual educational content, I am going to start answering more of your questions directly. Not individual diagnoses, which need a proper consultation, but the questions people actually ask and rarely get a straight answer to.

I would rather add to the good information out there than spend my time complaining about the bad.

What would you really like to ask a dermatologist? Leave it in the comments.

So many patients tell me they have had IPL before and it did nothing for them.

Most of the time the problem was not the treatment. It was the settings. We use the Lumenis M22, which is a great device, but a device only does what the person holding it tells it to do. Choosing the right settings for that particular skin and that particular concern is where the result actually comes from.

It also means being honest about what is working. We don't keep patients coming back for course after course without measurable change.

Claire came to me with facial redness and sun spots. She had three treatments between September 2025 and February 2026, both have cleared significantly, and she has held that clearance six months on from her last session.

IPL is not suitable for all skin types. But with the right assessment and careful patient selection, the results can be impressive.

Now that summer is nearing an end, it is a good time to plan a course.

Assessment and treatment planning at 130 Harley Street.

Device: M22 by .uk

I have some version of this conversation most weeks in clinic, and it goes one of two ways.

Either someone tells me they use a sunbed now and then and it is fine because it is controlled. Or they tell me they have quietly stopped wearing sunscreen because of something they read about the chemicals in it.

Both come from the same place, which is that nobody has ever sat down and explained it properly. So let me try.

On sunbeds, I wish the evidence were less stark than it is. The World Health Organization classifies them as a Group 1 carcinogen, the same category as ci******es. Using one before the age of 35 substantially increases the risk of melanoma. In January the British Association of Dermatologists said it would support a complete ban on commercial sunbeds in the UK.

The part that surprises people most is the tan itself. A tan is not protection. A tan is the damage. Skin darkens because it is defending itself against injury that has already happened, and what that offers is roughly an SPF of 3, when the sensible minimum is 30.

If it is vitamin D you are after, take a supplement. You need UVB to make it, and commercial sunbeds are largely UVA, in uncontrolled doses, with nobody medical anywhere near you.

On sunscreen, I understand the worry and I do not think anyone asking is being silly. Filters sold here are regulated and assessed, and while some are absorbed in small amounts, that is not the same thing as evidence of harm. What we do know with real certainty is what UV does. If the question still bothers you, use a mineral filter with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. The best sunscreen is the one you will actually put on.

I spoke to about this last month. The piece was written by , and with thanks to .

There are a lot of new faces here lately, so let me introduce myself properly.

I am Dr Ophelia Veraitch, a consultant dermatologist on the GMC specialist register, with a PhD in hair follicle bioengineering. My clinic is on Harley Street.

Most of what I see is the complicated end of dermatology. Complex hair loss, particularly in women. Pigmentation, especially in skin of colour. Acne that has not responded to everything already tried. Eczema. And the conditions that get dismissed as cosmetic when they are not.

It is a busy clinic, and I am in it Monday to Friday, with one Saturday a month. That means appointments are usually available quickly, that you can reach us in between them, and that I look after my own patients from the first consultation onwards rather than passing them along. In hair and pigmentation especially, the follow-up is where the result is made.

On insurance, since I am asked constantly. We do not deal with insurers directly, and it is not about money. They classify a great deal of dermatology as cosmetic, and the more advanced the treatment the more likely they are to take that view. Hair loss and pigmentation are not vanity problems. Many of my patients claim their treatment back afterwards, so it is worth asking your policy before you assume otherwise.

A lot of dermatology is consulting room only, with anything requiring equipment referred on elsewhere. That is a perfectly good way to practise. It is just not how this clinic is built. The lasers are here, I use them myself, and for hair loss that means the range of treatment open to you is wider than a referral based service can offer, with one person responsible for the whole of it.

There is also a hair transplant service launching in the next few weeks, which I will tell you about shortly.

The best part of this job is none of the above. It is that I get to know patients properly, over time, and that it so often grows to include their family and their friends.

If this sounds like what you have been looking for, the clinic is on [email protected] or 020 7022 9888.

You cannot walk in off the street and be treated on the same day at my clinic. That is deliberate, and there is one exception.

Delivering the treatment is the easy part. The consultation is where the work happens: making sure the diagnosis is correct, and that the treatment chosen is the right one for you rather than the one that happens to be available.

Then there is the cooling off period. You are given the information about the treatment, and you go away and think about it before anything is done. That follows GMC guidance on cosmetic interventions and JCCP standards, and it is our clinic policy. It exists so that nobody is making a decision about their face, body or scalp under pressure in a room.

The exception is medical urgency. If I see a mole that is suspicious for melanoma, it is dealt with the same day. Cosmetic decisions should never be rushed. A possible melanoma should never be delayed.

I know the wait is not what people want to hear when they have finally worked up the courage to book. But the patients who get the best results are almost always the ones who were assessed properly and had time to think.

Swipe for how a first appointment actually runs.

I’m delighted to share that Fraxel Laser has won Best Laser for Smoother Skin at the Woman & Home Skin Awards 2026.

I was honoured that my clinic was recognised for offering this award-winning treatment.

Fraxel is one of my favourite treatments for improving skin quality, stimulating collagen production to target pigmentation, fine lines, acne scarring and uneven texture.

I’m incredibly proud to offer this treatment and to help my patients achieve healthier, smoother, more radiant skin.

📞 020 7022 9888
📧 [email protected]
🌐 www.drophelia.com