Emma

July 1, 2026

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I initially met with Dr Riaz and she prescribed me biotin for my hair loss- i had felt this was definitely very odd given its a known thing that biotin does not work for hair loss unless you are deficient (i am not), she also did not know the name of a few common hair vitamins that i mentioned- i brushed this off as she said she could give me a biopsy to determine the root cause- which i felt was a good idea.

When i showed up for my scalp biopsy with Dr. Riaz in the Chelsea outpatients clinic on Kings Road- I asked if i could quickly call my father, who is a plastic surgeon, before we begun as he had a few questions about the procedure and my possible diagnosis that i wasnt able to answer- she obliged and i rang him.

My father asked about 3-4 innocuous questions, she was not terribly friendly, and then he asked her the size of stitch she was using- when she told him, he noted that he was surprised by the size and said he would have assumed it would be a smaller stitch. It was an innocuous comment made in conversation by two medical professionals, not a critique on her capabilities or a suggestion for her to change anything.

She then snaps and responds ‘why dont you come here and do it yourself!’ my jaw dropped- while i can completely appreciate that she may have found my request to call my dad a bit odd, it was simply to answer a handful of questions- i had already paid the hefty deposit and took time off from work to come in- i clearly intended to do the procedure with her!

I hung up and informed her that she had made me really really uncomfortable, to which she did not apologise, and asked me in a snarky voice ‘when was the last time your dad performed a biopsy’ – that was really not the point, he asked her a question and she responded unprofessionally and it made me uncomfortable- instead of apologising she doubled down and met me with impudence. I tried to tell her his intention was not to tell her what to do- he NEVER explicitly said ‘you should use this stitch’- which even if he had (which would have been rude), you dont need to respond that way! Be professional!

I was speechless, Dr. Riaz kept insisting that he was trying to tell her what to do, then waxes poetic about how she works with many ‘surgeons on Harley street’ and begins to take her gloves off and inform me that she’s ‘happy for me to go to another doctor that i find more competent.’ It was very clear to me that Dr Riaz is in fact entirely incompetent, which was my initial suspicion that i waved off- if she was confident in her abilities and a capable Dr there would have been no reason to get defensive and strangely aggressive.

I remained calm the whole interaction- I said okay, thanked her and got up to leave- to which she met me with complete silence. I am already extremely anxious about the hair loss i have been experiencing, i came to visit her for a really sensitive matter and i am really concerned that i was met with such aggressive and bizarre behaviour.

I have never experienced anger from a medical professional like this- I cant even understand how she escalated so quickly. Hair loss is really distressing- it really is not so hard to be kind.

Do not go to her- there are plenty of nice, competent dermatologists in the UK to work with. I like the professionals at No 23 Skin in Kensington, for a start.