This is the time of year when I feel most toxic. Having spent much of December and the early part of January in varying states of intoxication - be it food, alcohol or Selfridges - I have no one to blame but myself for the state of my skin.

But there are a few saving graces, one being that, in general, I can get away with a lot more when it comes to burning both ends of the candle than my white friends. Sure, black skin feels as rough as everyone else's after too much partying but, thankfully, it needs a serious battering before it looks as rough.

Mind you, just because you can get away with murder is no reason to do so. The jury is still out on whether there is such a thing as detox - that is to say, anything more pertinent than just giving up stuff that's bad for you for a while. Having waxed lyrical last week on how a few changes to your diet can give dramatic results when it comes to problem skin, I thought I'd return swiftly to form and tell you the lazy way to give yourself a detox, ie, with a few products that do the hard work for you. There are plenty of "detox" tonics, tablets and creams and, having tried more than my fair share of all varieties, I can confidently tell you to save your money; goodness knows there's not enough of it to go around in January, never mind wasting it on foul-tasting drinks that do little more than make you need the toilet every five minutes.

All you really need for your at-home kit is a dry body brush (forget loofahs and gloves - both go mouldy and can break the skin); a mud or seaweed pack for the body (try the Sanctuary's Rasul Mud); at least one face pack (ideally two, one purifying followed by one moisturising - try Sisley's Radiant Glow Express Mask with red clay and Shiseido's The Skincare Moisture Relaxing Mask); some bath salts (whichever brand floats your boat) and a nourishing hair mask (maybe Iman Restructuring Creme Mask, or Phytospecific Intense Nutrition Mask), complete with plastic bag over the top to get it really going.