When I speak to facialist Vaishaly Patel she waxes lyrical about the benefits of straightforward skincare, especially if you already have sensitive or problem-prone skin. “Imagine how many chemical ingredients are in just one product – the more products you use and layer, the more chemical overload on your skin. This could potentially cause major sensitivity and can also lead to breakouts,” Patel explains. According to Patel’s school of thought, it’s all about choosing fewer products, but ones that are of the highest quality and hardworking. She prescribes a morning routine consisting of cleanser, serum and moisturiser (with SPF), and an evening routine of just cleanser and an oil, plus a moisturiser if you really need it. Her biggest bugbear? Our obsession with daily exfoliating. “Time and time again I see clients that have ‘overdone it’ with an exfoliating scrub. A scrub should only be used ONCE a week! Over-exfoliating will dry and strip the skin on the surface, ultimately causing skin to produce more oil to compensate, and therefore causing one to have more spots,” Patel tells me. Yep, it seems our quest for that squeaky clean feeling could be having a detrimental effect.