I have a friend who is one of the sweetest people you could ever hope to meet. She is successful, funny, pretty and has an enviable figure. Yet she is forever seeking out the darkest corner of the restaurant or the shadiest spot in the garden. Why? One word: acne.

I do have some experience of this kind of thing in relation to my sparse hair. I too avoid overhead lighting, and fear wind and rain most irrationally. I know that feeling of being stared at, of people’s guilty second glances. Naturally, you give yourself stern lectures about the absurdity of your vanity. You tell yourself that you are not, after all, a woman living in the Congo; that you have all your own arms and legs. Nevertheless, as superficial and ridiculous as it may sound, it takes its toll.

My friend’s acne began soon after she left university. Her GP gave her oxytetracycline and said she would get over it. After spending a year in Berlin, in a stressful job and eating a lot of cheese, she was prescribed the new “wonder drug”, Roaccutane. The results were extreme: her body dried up, her lips were permanently cracked, her limbs ached and her stomach was constantly upset. But it worked. For eight years, she was spot-free. Until, at the age of 30, she was struck by rosacea. Doctors put her on the combination pill, Dianette.

Again, the drugs worked – up to a point. But six months after her wedding, her GP told her that if she carried on with the Pill she could suffer a stroke. So, aged 36, her acne returned. In desperation, she turned to acupuncture and ayurvedic medicine. Against all expectations, eating ghee and cutting out dairy, chocolate, coffee and sweets had a positive effect. But still her skin looked itchy and raw, and still she suffered periodic debilitating break-outs. Then she discovered Cor.

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A natural sceptic, she wearily agreed to try out the Facial Soap (£55), along with the anytime moisturiser (£65) and the anti-wrinkle cream (£67, all available on www.glowgetter.co.uk). Neither of us had any great expectations, but within just a few days, her skin began to change. It was noticeably even-toned, fresh-looking – as though she were wearing a really good, natural foundation. And it felt much better: no sore spots under the skin, no tightness, no redness. She even confessed to looking at herself in the harsh light of a changing room and, for the first time in an age, not wanting to burst into tears.

According to the marketing blurb, the secret of Cor is colloidal silver, which is “one of the most effective anti-bacterial agents with cell-repairing properties available”. From my friend’s perspective, the plain fact is this: Cor is the first product she has ever tried that has worked to such a degree. Expensive it may be; but for once, for her, definitely worth it.

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