“Its Not About Vanity”

For those that follow me on instagram and my many loyal clients you will already know this, but for those who don't, I have been on quite the journey over the past few months which I wanted to share with you. At the vibrant age of 35, an Aesthetics Nurse based in Christchurch, Dorset, happily married with a beautiful 18 month old daughter, I was blissfully flowing through life, unaware of the nightmare that was about to come. My aesthetics clinic was starting to thrive, with my diary filling up two months in advance, when I was devastatingly told I had breast cancer. To say it knocked the wind out of me would be an understatement. All appointments were cancelled and the Aesthetics Room doors were closed.

There are so many parts of your life that quickly become affected by cancer and how it effected my work life was something I really struggled with. I worked hard to build my business and reputation, I love my work and loved seeing how treatments such as anti wrinkle injections, dermal filler injectables and chemical skin peels helped my clients glow with confidence.

Now you may be thinking, if you've been told you've got cancer, a life threatening illness, how is aesthetics important. Surely it's just vanity, but as I said having this time out has given me time to explore all things that make me, me.  With the visible side effects that come with chemotherapy such as losing your hair and extreme acne reactions, to name but a few, it took me on a rollercoaster of self discovery.

Embracing the headscarf.

Losing your hair can have a huge impact on someone’s identity. And I know for some cancer patients it is something they really struggle with. However, luckily for me I learned quickly to live with it, embrace it even. I’ve enjoyed the wigs, the headscarves and even walking around as a baldy. I see photos of myself and I’m proud of the confident woman that shines through. But what gives me that confidence?  

Well,  I’m a self confessed shopaholic that loves fashion, Chemotherapy was not going to take my style. A lover of makeup and all things beauty, so on went the lipstick, cancer was not going to take my glam. I’ve always been an advocate for a good skin care routine, so I continued with my daily rituals of spf, vitamin C serums and eye creams. Chemotherapy was not going to take my youthful looking skin. (As hard as it has tried with all the steroids but I will discuss that in a later post).

So you see, you may initially think all this is vanity, and for some it is, but for me it’s part of the essence of me. It’s what makes me unique, makes me feel beautiful and spurs me to walk around glowing from the inside out. I couldn’t be more proud to know the treatments I delivered before all this cancer madness, were achieving the same for my clients. I’m not aiming to make everyone fit a mould, to try and achieve the unachievable. I'm offering safe and subtle aesthetic treatments to enhance your natural beauty and help you sparkle. Which is why I'm so incredibly happy to be able to sit here and write that The Aesthetics Room, Dorset will once again be opening its doors come September to do just that. Much love to you all.

Oh and remember to check your boobs, it might just save your life.