The Skincare Bibile by Dr Anjali Mahoto

The skincare industry is booming. There are more products available than ever before, more information and with it more 'experts'. Bloggers doling out skincare advice who aren't qualified and who often have the beautiful skin of an early twenty-something. It's hard to know where to go for genuine knowledge and so The Skincare Bible: Your No-Nonsense Guide to Great Skin by Dr Anjali seems to have come at a wonderful time..

And indeed it is full of some great information. A lot of it is basic, which is great, often skincare advice can get a bit sciencey and then the majority lose interest. A lot of it I have covered in my skin science training but here it's laid out in an understandable and approachable way and some of it was new to me. All of this is great - all bases are covered, there is something for everyone here.

Now, I'm not sure if haven't had dubious reports from people who have been to see Dr Anjali in a professional capacity has slightly affected my opinion on this book but there are a few points that don't sit well with me. Of course, I'm not a dermatologist and a long way away from being a Dr. I am in no way qualified to be critical of her practise but I can have an opinion. For example, Dr Anjali says that you should never put cleanser directly onto dry skin. This is not only contrary to what I have been taught but from all my research, reading of dermatological magazines and other materials, speaking with dermatologists I have never heard of this. Does it means she's wrong, no but I personally don't think she's right.

And I think this is partly my problem with the book. I have been to a few dermatologists and skin specialists in my time and they have all said something different, all contradicted each other. And I think this is part of the problem - you can see your skin, you can see it's reactions to things, you can test products on yourself, therefore everyone things they know more than they do. But it is a hugely confusing technical organ and just like other specialisms Dr's and derms have different opinions, there are a few facts and then a lot of professional opinions. Which is as it should be. But for this book I agree with the facts, really like the way they are presented and love the concept of the book there are some opinions that I don't agree with.

The information on UV, hormones and jargon is really interesting and vital for anyone really as not taking care of your skin can have serious consequences for some. And with the amount of products available knowing what things on the label actually mean - 'clinically proven' for example - is really helpful. It's an incredibly useful book to read and then refer back to for you useful information. I think calling it a bible is perhaps a step too far.

As for the design, I love the cover (though I think possibly it completely rules out the majority of the male market for whom this could actually be very useful) and it's very easy to read, follow and find the bits relevant to you. However, for me it just wasn't as useful as Pretty Honest: The Straight-Talking Beauty Companion by Sali Hughes. Not as qualified perhaps but I just felt her advice sat better with me. Yes there was no science involved there and it covers make-up too - they are two very different books - but if you were only going to buy one then for me Pretty Honest wins by a mile.