“My practice has become almost a go-to place for everyone in beauty and fashion who has a problem with their skin, in terms of breaking out but also worrying about how things are looking for the future. It’s that sort of sweet spot between anti-ageing and medical. The brand is like my diffusion line and the clinic is my ready-to-wear.”
What about the brand?
“I wanted to do a brand, I always knew it was in the pipeline. I wanted something much more democratic, not just for those who can afford to come and see me in person. We have the routine finder – it’s diagnostic – it helps you tackle common concerns.
“The formulas are so complicated and sophisticated but the end users’ experience is very simple: multitasking ingredients at the right concentration in the right combination to solve problems.”
Four face cleansers for all skin types
What’s the routine like?
“The routine is anchored in four steps. I don’t believe in having 17 cleansers in the range. We made one really good one that I would say suits 90 per cent of the people I see. It was our first product. If you get cleansing wrong, it’s hard to get skincare right so I made the perfect cleanser, in some ways for myself but it’s been a runaway success.
“Then you have the hydrate pillar. For me, the Flawless Moisturiser is honestly the best moisturiser. It has such a gorgeous, pillowy texture. We only have two moisturisers in the range.
“Our Flawless Brightly Serum is the only product on the market with that degree of complexity at that level of activity. Brightly is, by far, my favourite acid. It’s so much more effective than AHAs or even BHAs.
“That’s Brightly in the morning and then, probably, if you’re just starting out with the retinoid, I would either go with Flawless Nightly or, if you’re more experienced, Flawless Nightly Pro. They both are anchored by granactive retinoids.
A photo showing 40 years of sun damage on 92-year-old’s neck went viral
“A retinoid should be the same as brushing your teeth. Unless there’s a really good reason not to use one every single day, that’s the ingredient that should take priority in anyone’s routine, because it will deliver not only problem-solving sorts of things but also that beautiful glow that no other active ingredient can deliver.”What are the key misconceptions about skincare?
“I don’t believe in exfoliation. You should use nothing rougher than your fingertips for cleansing. No friction on your skin anywhere other than skin-on-skin. That’s No 1.
“No 2 – I don’t believe in double cleansing. You should adjust what you’re putting on your skin if a single cleanse isn’t getting your make-up and sunscreen off.
“People like double cleansing, they like the ritual but, at the end of the day, every time you cleanse you deplete your barrier a little more. If you want to support your skin with the right active ingredients, you need to create enough space for those ingredients to work and if you’re already taking out some of your skin’s capacity by doing a cleanse, it actually doesn’t really solve anything.
“You’re doing yourself a disservice.”
Dr Sam’s is available at Lane Crawford, tel: 2118 2288.
