Two things put Dr Sam Bunting, and her namesake skincare brand, on my radar a few years ago: her love for azelaic acid (an unsung hero skincare ingredient for tackling everything from pigmentation and redness to breakouts and bumpy texture), and her unapologetic stance against double cleansing at night.
“I’ve always been firmly in the single cleanse camp. I just think double cleansing takes too much from the skin barrier. At night, yes, I might spend a bit longer massaging it in, but it’s still just one cleanse,” says the dermatologist and in-demand skin expert, originally from Co Down.
She moved away from double cleansing after years of seeing what she calls “London skin” at her practice on Harley Street – dull, bumpy, congested complexions that weren’t responding to expensive skincare. “So many people were overloading on longwear make-up, setting sprays, oil cleansers, foam cleansers – it was too much. Their skin was overwhelmed.”
So, she started stripping things back. “We’d take away the make-up, the sprays, the heavy layers. We’d swap in a simple cleanser, a lightweight moisturiser, a non-comedogenic sunscreen – and within two weeks, their skin would be better. That happened again and again.”
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This “less is more” philosophy underpins her brand, Dr Sam’s, which launched in 2018 with just one product, Flawless Cleanser (€23 from drsambunting.com). “The less you degrade your barrier, the more room there is for the actives to work, and the more naturally beautiful your skin becomes. Then make-up becomes optional – not something you rely on to hide behind,” she says.
“It all happened from my livingroom,” she recalls of the launch. “We were bootstrapped, super lean. I invested my own money. But we were profitable from the first month, which gave us confidence that we were on to something.”
The decision to launch her own brand was personal, rooted in her own skin struggles as a junior doctor. “The clinic had become really popular, just through word of mouth, because of the results I was achieving with people dealing with breakouts,” she says. “At the same time, many of them were also trying to build routines that addressed ageing. But at that point, there wasn’t really a brand that straddled those two very common scenarios.”
At her clinic, Bunting’s patients weren’t just handed a prescription – they were given a complete toolkit. That meant a foundational skincare routine paired with explicit guidance on how to use it, cutting through the confusion and overwhelm that so often comes with skincare.
“It really was that complete approach that led to such great results, but not everyone could access it. There was only so much I could do from one room in London, and dermatology appointments are expensive. I wanted to offer this kind of service to everyone, so that was the mission with the brand. I felt very strongly that we could do something different.”
Visitors to Dr Sam’s website are guided to create a personalised skincare plan. “Most people have more than one concern,” she says. “We give step-by-step instructions. No ambiguity. No guesswork.” That clarity, she believes, is what keeps people consistent. “Skincare often derails when things get confusing.” And confusion, she says, often stems from trends – something she consciously avoids. “We’re an anti-trend brand. If I haven’t needed it in over two decades of clinical practice, why would we need it now?”
[ The six skincare products I always return to after trying everything elseOpens in new window ]
What she does want, however, is meaningful innovation, especially when it solves product-related problems. Take vitamin C, for example, an ingredient that never worked for her own redness-prone skin. “I’m Irish. I just couldn’t use L-ascorbic acid any more,” she explains. “And I kept seeing it in patients too – barrier issues, dermatitis, general skin unhappiness.”
So, she developed a gentler option - with a twist, Flawless Vitamin C NAD+ Serum (€75). Her formula includes NAD+, a molecule linked to skin energy and longevity. “By 40, your skin has half the energy it had at 20. It can’t respond the same way. NAD+ helps activate youthful pathways. I feel really proud of that formula,” she says.
Of course, it’s impossible to talk about Bunting without talking about azelaic acid. It’s everywhere now – on TikTok, in dermatology circles, in your friend’s bathroom cabinet – and Bunting’s name is often mentioned in the same breath. “I think we might be responsible for starting that conversation,” she says. “It was maybe seven or eight years ago. I’ve had a long-standing love affair with azelaic acid – both for my own skin, and for the patients I treat.”
Azelaic acid is effective for acne, pigmentation and redness, safe to use during pregnancy and unusually gentle. “It’s safe, multitasking, non-irritating. The challenge has always been formulation. It’s tricky to work with. It’s kept me up at night,” she says. “But when you get it right, it’s incredibly satisfying.”
The brand’s retail expansion has been slow, considered. It just launched in Sephora in the UK and is now coming to Ireland. “Ireland has always been really close to my heart, emotionally,” she says. “It just felt like the right time – not just to launch physically, but to actually come over and meet people, have conversations, shine a spotlight on what we do.”
This week I’m loving ... Trinny London Miracle Halo Complexion Illuminator
An excellent multitasking, glow-giving product (€38, from Brown Thomas) designed to be worn alone for instant luminosity, mixed with moisturiser or foundation for added radiance, or tapped on to the high points of the face to catch the light. Available in four shades.
