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A skincare specialist has spoken of how she turned her own "acne nightmare" into a multi-award winning business to help others like herself.
Kelly Chaplin runs her own beauty clinic, Kelly Rose Skincare & Aesthetics, based in Little Queen Street in East Hill, Dartford.
The centre offers treatments ranging from chemical peels to micro-needling and advanced facials and was inspired by the 29-year-old's own struggles.
During her early 20's Kelly suffered inflammatory cystic acne, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation and post-acne scarring.
“I never had acne growing up, but when I was 21 I had a stressful job and I just broke out as a result,” she said.
“It was completely new to me, and I didn’t know how to deal with it – so I took on the advice of my doctor who prescribed lotions and antibiotics.
“The acne was positioned on my lower face and neck and it quickly got worse."
Kelly's own skills at make-up application meant doctors didn't detect she had acne until she took it off in front of them.
But her personal struggles would eventually lead to Kelly pursuing laser treatments in 2013.
The beauty business owner said: “I visited a clinic in London but when I walked in I had a face full of acne and was surrounded by beautiful women – it made me feel so self-conscious," she said.
"The laser treatment was horrible, it hurt and didn’t seem to do anything. I felt like I’d tried everything.”
Kelly was on the verge of giving up when she heard from a friend about an aesthetic clinic in Surrey offering chemical peels as a solution.
A chemical peel is applied to the face to remove dead skin cells and promote the growth of new ones.
The aim is to improve the appearance of the skin, for example, by reducing age spots and evening out skin tone.
It comes in threes types of peels depending on the severity, called superficial, medium and deep, and medical advice should be undertaken beforehand.
“I figured I’d go for a consultation,” explains Kelly, “The initial meeting went great, I was given products and had three sessions of peels and could see that it really helped - my skin was transformed."
Kelly, who studied natural sciences at university was so pleased at the results she decided to delve deeper into the research behind it.
"I naturally grew curious as to why it worked so well when all the treatments I tried in the past didn’t," she said.
"So, I decided to train in beauty and skincare treatments in 2018, and I realised I had a passion for helping others to look and feel their best.
“I spent countless hours researching and trying different products to bring my clients the most innovative and advanced treatments, diving into the different peels used."
Like many other small and independent businesses the lockdown provided more than its share of challenges.
Kelly had to quickly adapt to survive as the salon was temporarily forced to close its doors for treatments.
That's when she decided to create her own skincare product range to sell online before being able to reopen to customers once again.
“I think because I had such a personal experience, my clients understand that I was once in their shoes and they know I can provide the most in-depth service," she said.
“I want them to feel the relief I felt after my treatments – not worrying about putting layers of make-up to cover up and instead, loving the skin they’re in.”
