Here I’m reporting back from the Glow event, put on by women’s networking organisation Flock. We heard from speakers- Sam Bunting, Benji Dhillon, Ann Marie (Really Ree) Lodge and Grace Fodor.

You know when you have an evening or an occasion when you feel like you’ve really got out of your box. The Glow with Flock event was one of those nights. Everyone was sparkly and interesting, and we spent the evening talking about my favourite- skincare! It was wonderful. It was held in Aquavit restaurant, central London.

After a bit of general chatting we settled down to hear from the speakers. There was Benji Dhillon- plastic surgeon, aesthetitian, ex medical director for Allergen; Really Ree- top British beauty blogger; Grace Fodor- entrepreneur and founder of Studio 10; and Sam Bunting- doctor with specialist interest in cosmetic dermatology and founder of her own skincare brand. The talk was informal and free flowing, guided by our host Ria.

We spoke about many things- our attitudes towards aging, whether there should be mandatory psychological testing before cosmetic treatments (yes we should!)… In all frankness I was mainly interested in one thing- the skincare. Sam Bunting was the skincare expert on the panel so I had my ears pointed towards her. Here are the main learning points from the evening. Some of them were a bit of a surprise to be honest, I really felt educated. I have also shared the facts in my podcast, Skincare with Friends if you prefer listening to reading.

Dr Sam Bunting’s Skincare Tips

• SPF is the most important part of caring for your skin- Use a high spf product that works for you and that you enjoy wearing. Make sure that you have used the correct amount- which is approximately half a teaspoon for the face and neck. This will see you adequately protected for two hours in the sun. Dr Sam advises bouncing on makeup with a beauty blender type sponge to avoid disturbing the makeup layer. There is no easy way to top up sunscreen if you’re wearing makeup. I asked her, you will either have to avoid the sun or reapply spf and makeup to do it properly. Powder spf is not recommended- there’s no way you could apply enough without looking terribly powdery. Here is a link to my fave sunscreens, there are some great products out there that really make wearing high spf a joy.
• Visible light can also damage skin- Find skincare, spf or makeup that contains iron and or zinc oxide. Visible light can aggravate melasma.
• Melasma can be activated by heat- Avoid heat, sun and visible light- things aren’t much fun for us melasma sufferers are they? stay indoors in a cool dark room basically. Cheers! we’ll enjoy that. Is melasma sensitive to noise too? Do we need to be quiet as well??? And if you try and cure your melasma with laser you could make it worse, because laser generates heat.
• Niacinamide and vitamin C are actually fine together- Apparently this caution is based on old evidence and there is no need to be cautious with the to ingredients.
• There is no need for separate skincare for men and women- Which I think we already knew.
• Everyone benefits from a moisturiser- All skin types, including the most oily will improve with a moisturiser according to Dr Sam. There is no need to be nervous if you’re acne prone. Try and find one that contains ceramides to help support the skin barrier, such as Cerave.
• Avoid oils- Surprisingly, she said that it’s known among dermatologist circles that people who use plant oils in their skincare demonstrate blocked pores. I’ve knocked the oils on the head since the Flock event to see if this is really the case- I get terrible blocked pores. I’ll let you know if it makes a difference.
• On acne treatment– Firstly strip back your skincare to the basics. Use a non foaming cleanser (such as Sam’s own brand, though I have not tried it personally), here is my cleansing master post if you need product tips. There is no need to double cleanse, apparently, this one is also a bit of a surprise to me as double cleansing is so talked about in skincare circles. I sort of think that if you have a lot of makeup on, then going in twice with a very gentle cleanser can’t be a bad thing, surely?
• Skincare ingredients with Dr Sam Bunting’s seal of approval- Retinoids and physical sunscreen of course, niacinamide over 5% and antioxidants are the best choices for healthy young looking skin. The Ordinary is a good place to look for these sort of high concentration actives.
• Take it slow with the retinoids- Introducing retinoids can be a tricky process. It causes dryness and peeling but they really are the most reliable antiaging ingredients. Start slowly with low concentrations. Take breaks, buffer by using a moisturiser before your retinoid. If needs be, take a break and reduce the percentage if your skin is rebelling. I find tretinoin particularly tricky to get on with, this is great advice.
• Sam Bunting recommends microneedling- Microneedling involves using a series of tiny needles in a pen or roller to make very tiny holes in the superficial skin. The controlled damage triggers collagen production and allows products to penetrate into the skin. Make sure you’re either getting it done professionally or sanitising your home roller thoroughly.
• Give skincare a good chance- Dr Bunting recommends giving the skin two skin cell cycles to see how it is responding to an ingredient. This equates to about three months.

As if the evening could get no better, I was given a goody bag with a selection of skincare minis from Skinceuticals, Medik-8, 111 Skin, Teoxane and Goldfaden, collagen supplements from Perfectil, a numeric blend from Wunder Workshop, some beautiful makeup from Studio 10 and the fantastic Massive Fan Wide Eyes mascara from Beauty Pie.

Stand out products are the Perfectil– a really nice blend of collagen, vitamins and minerals in a handy drink, the Beauty Pie mascara is beautiful, the Skinceuticals Ultra Facial Defense spf 50 has a lovely finish. I really like the Studio 10 Glow To Go, it’s a lovely natural looking liquid highlight.

I’m really happy to say that I got to go to the Glow with Flock event, thank you so much to Ria for having me. I’m duty bound to tell you that this post is an advert. I was paid to attend and promote the event which has in no way affected my brain into lying about anything. Affiliate links are present in the post.

Thanks for reading Dr Sam Bunting’s skincare tips courtesy of Flock. I really learnt from the evening, I hope you found out something new. To read more about Flock’s endeavours head to Thisisflock.co.uk