Q&A with The Good Skin Guru

If one of your new year resolutions is to finally make that aesthetics appointment you have been promising yourself for AGES, then this is your sign!

A few weeks ago, I met up with Cheryl, aka The Good Skin Guru, an advanced nurse practitioner who has turned her 15 years’ experience into a business offering a whole range of skincare and aesthetic treatments.

Here Cheryl talks through all she offers and why doing your research before booking any treatments should always be high on your agenda. Having seen firsthand how thorough Cheryl is I know I wouldn’t go anywhere else.

Tell us a bit about yourself, how did you end up with the concept behind your business?

I run a medical aesthetics & skincare clinic, I am an advanced nurse practitioner by background and have always been obsessed with skincare and beauty. I’ve wanted to get involved in medical skin treatments and Aesthetics from the age of 22 but honestly thought nobody would trust a 22-year-old with these types of procedures so wanted to build my clinical skills, knowledge, and experience before I began helping people with their aesthetic concerns.

I spent 15 years in NHS training first as a nurse, then doing my Masters degree to become an advanced nurse practitioner, during this time I began to pursue my passion alongside my NHS career as a hobby initially, I absolutely loved it and get so much out of transforming peoples skin and confidence, fortunately, I became very busy so in July 2021 I decided to take the plunge and pursue The Good Skin Guru full-time! I haven’t looked back!

The main concept for The Good Skin Guru is to provide a high-quality, bespoke service for my clients to enhance their confidence and provide natural-looking aesthetic treatments and skincare treatment plans, it’s really as much about an internal transformation as the external. I absolutely love it.

What do you offer?

I offer a totally bespoke service for my patients, initially, we will do a full thorough medical consultation where we discuss their concerns, their ideal outcomes, and discuss their medical history, from here I can tailor make a holistic treatment plan for them, this may include injectable treatments, in-clinic skincare treatments, an at-home medical-grade skincare program, nutritional and supplementary support or it may be to discuss why they’re sought after treatment isn’t best suited to them.

My aim is always to get the best results in the safest manner for my patients looking at their skin as a whole in a multi-layered approach. My aim is for my clients to feel more comfortable, knowledgeable, confident, and happy in their skin whilst giving them lovely natural results!

What would you say to someone worried about trying out botox/fillers?

To those who are worried about having botulinum toxin injections or dermal fillers but are wanting treatment, I would really recommend speaking to an aesthetic medical professional for a thorough consultation.

Your medical professional will be able to answer all of your queries and concerns, talk you through the procedure including its benefits and potential complications, discuss any individual risk factors for yourself and come up with a treatment plan for you that may or may not include injectables, they can really put your mind at ease and help you decide what’s best for you.

Having all of the information so you can make an informed decision is absolutely the best way to start.

What advice would you give to someone looking to book in for botox/fillers?

My advice to anyone looking to book in for aesthetic treatment is to seek out a qualified medical professional, I believe that these treatments should be treated as a medical procedure, they do carry risks and can have an impact on your health so a medical consultation is essential to maintaining your safety.

There are many organisations that can help you find a nearby medical professional, the one I am linked to is called Glowday, they ensure all of the practitioners they host are medically qualified, are a member of a governing body are fully trained to deliver your treatment and are also fully insured.

All of these things are checked to make sure you’re seeing someone who will not only do the best job they can but are also going to keep you safe during any medical aesthetic treatment.

What is your greatest achievement? What are you most proud of?

I think my proudest achievement so far is building The Good Skin Guru to a point where it has been able to become my full-time job. Leaving the security and comfort of the NHS in July this year was a huge step for me and I knew it was going to be a big risk but as soon as I opened my diary I was fully booked for three months, knowing my patients trust me with their concerns and building a loyal client base which has enabled me to pursue my passion long-term still amazes me and I’m incredibly grateful to my lovely patients for allowing me to do a job a truly love.

What are your ‘daily struggles’ and how do you overcome them?

I think business strategizing and getting my name out there in Manchester has probably been my biggest struggle so far. I am a medical professional through and through, I’ve had no formal business training whatsoever and no experience working within this kind of environment.

I now operate two clinics in Cumbria and Manchester, I was able to grow organically through word-of-mouth in Cumbria so I think I’ve tackled this really by just replicating what I already know, starting off small building trust with my patients and allowing word-of-mouth to spread naturally, but this is something I am continuously learning and improving on and m think a business course is in my near future now this is my full time job!

What is next for you?

I’ve had some amazing news this week, I’ve just found out I’m going to be the resident injector at a very exclusive development within Manchester City centre so I’m really excited to get started there.

I’m also continuously adding new treatments to the clinic and have some really exciting premium skincare treatments being launched early next year as well. Becoming established in Manchester will hopefully lead to me opening the flagship Good Skin Guru Clinic here!

Check out Cheryl’s Instagram here.