Healthy skin is increasingly recognised as a reflection of wellbeing and self-investment that is essential not just for appearances but for all-around wellness and vitality.
The 2025 edition of the Spear’s Dermatologists Index highlights leading doctors and renowned skincare specialists in both medical and cosmetic practices. These elite specialists offer cutting-edge treatments and personalised care, whether it’s state-of-the-art anti-ageing procedures, bespoke skincare regimens or the latest in cosmetic innovations. From tackling stress-induced hair loss to treating hyperpigmentation with Korean-inspired techniques, these top-tier physicians provide the highest level of care.
There has been a cultural shift in recent years, with people approaching skin care with the same seriousness as cancer screenings or annual health checks. Spearheading this approach is Cadogan Clinic founder Dr Susan Mayou, who has cultivated a practice that prioritises early detection of skin cancers and regular skin assessments, particularly important for clients who split their time between London, the Mediterranean and the Gulf, where sun exposure is intense.
The skin is the body’s largest organ and, as such, is sensitive to internal and external factors. Stress, for example, manifests itself not only in mental health but also in physical form, particularly in the hair and skin, and is linked to conditions including inflammatory skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, rosacea and hair loss.
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With a background in psychodermatology, Dr Alia Ahmed of London Hair and Skin Clinic, is highly regarded for her expertise in hair and scalp conditions linked to stress. Dr Ahmed’s patients often include entrepreneurs, executives and creatives balancing high-pressure lifestyles.
Innovations are having an impact on the treatments clients are coming to address, leading dermatologists in the Spear’s index note. Consultant dermatologist Dr Anjali Mahto, founder of Self London, says one of 2025’s most striking trends is the dermatological side effects of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic. While ‘skinny jabs’ are effective at helping patients shed weight, people can be left with sagging skin, a loss of jawline definition and premature signs of ageing. Dr Mahto has developed tailored strategies to address these concerns, combining aesthetic procedures with regenerative medicine to restore tone and structure.
Steeped in centuries-old traditions combined with state-of-the-art ingredients and technologies, Korean skincare has revolutionised the beauty industry, an approach perfected by Dr Jinah Yoo, founder of Dr Jinah Yoo Dermatology. Combining Western medicine with advanced Korean skincare principles, Dr Yoo brings unique expertise in hyperpigmentation, melasma and acne scarring. Her approach often combines prescription treatments with precision laser procedures, ensuring comprehensive and lasting results.
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- Methodology
- The best dermatologists: some names to know
- The best dermatologists: the complete list
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Methodology
Each year, the Spear’s Research Unit reassesses and refreshes its rankings of the leading providers in each sector by gathering data from and about the advisers and firms themselves, assessing submission forms, collating nominations, carrying out peer reviews, reviewing data from third-party sources, gathering references and recommendations, canvassing experts and conducting hundreds of interviews.
Advisers are evaluated using a proprietary scoring system that assigns different weightings to certain attributes. These scores feed directly into each new set of rankings in the Spear’s Indices. Each of these indices are published first online (according to the research calendar) and then in print. Print publication takes the form of the annual Spear’s 500 directory, which includes the top advisers in every index.
[See also: A guide to The Spear’s 500: Everything you need to know]
Each featured adviser is profiled on spears500.com. The site allows users to search the Spear’s database of more than 4,000 entities to find one (or more) to meet their specific requirements by filtering for specific attributes such as an adviser’s location, their specialist expertise and information about their client base.
The best dermatologists: some names to know
Anjali Mahto
- Focus: Skin health and well-being
- Position: Founder
- Firm: Self London
Author of The Skincare Bible, Dr Anjali Mahto is a medical and cosmetic dermatologist. Her Harley Street clinic, Self London, specialises in acne and acne scarring but also treats other skin conditions such as rosacea.
She also addresses her patients’ numerous aesthetic, nutritional and general well-being concerns and is well regarded for the level of client care she provides. Indeed, the clinic is equipped to provide advice relating to psychodermatology, which explains the intrinsic relationship between skin health and mental health, and provides patients with a personalised array of treatments.
Read Anjali Mahto’s full profile on Spears500.com
Susan Mayou
- Focus: Mole monitoring and skin cancer screening
- Position: Founder
- Firm: Cadogan Clinic
A founder of the Chelsea-based Cadogan Clinic, Dr Susan Mayou has worked in the dermatological field for more than 40 years. She consults on a wide range of issues, from mole monitoring and skin cancer to acne and eczema.
Mayou has a particular interest in skin cancer screening and created the clinic’s ‘mole mapping’ screening tool, which the clinic says is the only mole check facility to be approved by the British Skin Foundation.
She tells Spear’s that a growing number of her patients are becoming aware of the importance of preventative medicine, and increasingly get their skin regularly checked for issues ‘the same way they would do it for other organs of the body’.
Read Susan Mayou’s full profile on Spears500.com
Nilesh Morar
- Focus: Complex skin issues
- Position: Founder
- Firm: Dermatology Treatment Centre
A consultant dermatologist and founder of the Dermatology Treatment Centre, Dr Nilesh Morar practises at a number of private clinics around London.
As part of his work, he sees general adult and paediatric dermatology patients, as well as those with more complex conditions, such as psoriasis, HIV-related skin disease and male genital skin disease. His philosophy is to use the best evidence-based medicine to treat skin conditions, operating on the understanding that, for the patient, no condition is too trivial.
Read Nilesh Morar’s full profile on Spears500.com
The best dermatologists: the complete list
Click on the individual names to be directed to more detailed profiles of each adviser on The Spear’s 500 website. The table is ordered by ranking and then alphabetically by surname.
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