Dr Rabia Malik MRCGP is a Private Holistic Aesthetic Doctor and General practitioner. After qualifying from Guy’s, King’s and St Thomas’ Medical School in 2004, she worked at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington and in General Practice in Notting Hill. Dr. Malik has a special interest in skin and completed an attachment in dermatology at the prestigious Johns Hopkins Hospital, in the USA. This led her to established her Aesthetic Medicine Practice.
Dr Rabia Malik has clinics at The Harrods Wellness Clinic and at The Lanserhof at The Arts Club; where she specialises in skin peels and offers an alternative non-injectable approach to ageing well, enhancing your natural beauty. Additionally she is a mother of three and the founder of Skin W1, collagen-boosting skincare for women of all ages.
At The Legacy Globe, we are collectively working alongside each other to leave lasting legacies which will empower future generations. How do you feel that your upbringing has shaped you?
I feel privileged to have had a great education and opportunities that have allowed me to pursue my career, start a business and raise a family. I have also had strong female role models in my life, as well as considerable family support, that have enabled me to make choices at different stages of my career. Having choices is a huge luxury that I do not take for granted. I also feel blessed to be doing something I love doing every day for work. So many people have inspired me and supported me in my journey so far - from my parents to school teachers to University lecturers and fellow doctors - that I hope I can do the same for others.
You are a renowned holistics aesthetic doctor. What led you to specialise in skin after practicing general medicine?
I have always had an interest in skin, but I chose to specialise in General Practice in the UK because I enjoyed the breadth of the training and liked the idea of being a ‘family doctor’, as my mother was. However I soon realised the world had changed and in the context of the NHS, I was not able to practice medicine in the way that I had hoped. This was primarily because of restraints on time as I wanted more than 10 minutes for patient consultations and resources. I also felt passionate about preventative medicine, lifestyle changes and a holistic approach to health, as I could see these were things that led to the best outcomes for patients. All of this led me to setting up my own very niche private practice, specialising in skin health and no injectables. This enabled me to spend more time with my patients, discuss lifestyle changes, and recommend skincare products, nutraceuticals and treatments that could be of benefit, all of which I assessed from a medical viewpoint for efficacy and results.
Tell us about your skincare line SKIN W1 and the innovation behind it?
Skin W1 has been a passion project that I started working on in 2017. For a number of years prior to that, I had been asked about developing skincare products but had resisted. It felt like there was already too much product in the world, and a lot of it was very similar, just with different packaging! The reason for developing Skin W1 was really to create something that did not already exist in a retail product - a few simple, well formulated products that combined the right active ingredients at the right percentages to deliver results - particularly when it came to stimulating one’s own collagen - and at a reasonable price point. This was what my patients were asking for. When I could not find products to recommend that ticked all these boxes, I decided it was time to get to work on something myself.
You are famous for your flawless and luminous skin. Please share with us your top tips for a glowing complextion?
That is very kind! I do try to practice what I preach and glowing skin has always been my own personal quest. To achieve this, I recommend starting from the inside out. Ensuring adequate hydration by drinking enough water, taking a high quality omega-3/fatty acid supplement and eating nutrient dense food, while avoiding too much sugar, is the best starting point. After that, it is about using the right products. I believe less is more, and of course I am completely biased but currently I am using my Skin W1 cleanser, serum and facial oil daily, with SPF on top every morning. I top this off with some regular treatments - I do my own mesopeel treatment, combining microneedling with lactic acid and/or growth factors, every 3-4 months and try to do a course of radio frequency skin tightening once a year.
What does the word Legacy mean to you and what legacy do you want to leave?
To me, legacy means one’s impact on the world and it can encompass so many different things. I have always wanted to help people and I think that is fundamentally why I became a doctor. When I think about the legacy I hope to leave, I want it to be about being true to oneself, sticking to one’s ideals even in the face of opposition, and being a source of positivity. On a personal note, I just hope to raise good children with strong values who make a positive contribution to society.
