Do You Need A Skin Doctor?

More women than ever are booking in to see a dermatologist. Should you join the queue?

- Sarah-Jane Corfield-Smith

We’re used to dealing with supply and demand problems in this country. However,there’s a new, slightly surprising, issue to add to the list, alongside lack of affordable housing and job shortages. We have a dermatologist shortfall, with the British Association of Dermatology reporting that no region of the UK has enough dermatologist consultants. This isn’t because fewer people are opting for a career in good skin health. No, it’s because the demand for dermatologists has risen so quickly that the industry can’t keep up.

Once upon a time, dermatologists (medical doctors who specialise in the skin) were reserved for those with skin conditions. But now, as celebrities share the glowing results of their skin doctor appointments on social media (on Instagram alone, there are more than quarter of a million posts with #dermatologist attached) and celeb skin doctors, such as Dr Nick Lowe and Dr Howard Murad, launch their own skincare lines on the high street, more and more women are booking in.

And it’s not just about Botox and fillers. Women are now seeking out advice and treatments to achieve healthier, more glowing skin without having surgery. ‘I can fill wrinkles and lift faces, but you don’t get the same wow factor or feelings of happiness as you do with improved skin quality,’ says Dr Ravi Jain, cosmetic physician at RiverBanks Clinic (riverbanksclinic.co.uk). It’s this quest for skin that looks the best it’s ever been without having gone anywhere near a knife or needle that’s fuelling this new wave of skin treatments and causing dermatologists to be in big demand.

Instant gratification