TV Transformations Mindset Manifestations

TV Transformations and Mindset Manifestations

Meet Cherry Healey – the star presenter of 10 Years Younger in 10 Days

Back in the noughties, UK-based makeover shows were all over our television screens. Trinny and Susannah were telling us what not to wear, Gok Wan was making us look good naked and a group of experts were doing everything they could to get us appearing 10 years younger.

While incredibly successful throughout the decade, certain episodes would draw criticism for a sometimes harsh assessment of participants’ appearances. 10 Years Younger, which originally aired on Channel 4, also got a fair amount of negative press for its coverage of cosmetic surgery procedures. By 2009 the show was off air, with other British transformation TV programmes coming to an end around the same time.

Now, however, a number of TV programmes are getting a reboot with a more sensitive and considerate approach. With a new name and host, 10 Years Younger in 10 Days relaunched in 2020 on Channel 5 and was back for its second series earlier this year, fronted by Cherry Healey.

The 40-year-old TV presenter and mum of two has built a successful career fronting thought-provoking BBC Three documentaries focused on pregnancy, drinking, dating and money, as well as co-hosting the hugely popular Inside the Factory on BBC Two. She also runs self-help course Manifest That Sh*t to empower people to create the life they want, while presenting The Hotbed Collective podcast and events – currently on a hiatus – focused on frank and funny conversations around sex and relationships.

While working on 10 Years Younger in 10 days, Cherry has met countless individuals who are unhappy with their appearance and has learnt a lot about non-surgical procedures; a key element of the reboot. Here she speaks to Beyond Beauty about feeling confident as you age and the power of manifestations…

Aesthetics on the tele

What’s 10 Years Younger in 10 Days all about?

In a nutshell, 10 Years Younger in 10 Days is a TV programme where we help people to remember who they are. They’re people who’ve lost their way – they haven’t looked after themselves because they have been busy giving themselves to other people – often carers, nurses and mums. They’ve given love to everyone around them and have forgotten themselves, so we have an amazing team who work to restore people to who they once were.

Compared to the original 10 Years Younger, the reboot has more emphasis on non-surgical treatments as opposed to surgery. What’s the benefit of this?

We wanted the process to be accessible for the people at home watching. Whilst non-surgical procedures and surgery must both be considered very carefully – having botulinum toxin, for example, is very different from a surgical facelift, both in terms of cost and risk. There is a real emphasis on the show on what’s going on both inside and outside – and non-surgical procedures have come a very long way and give amazing results – so we didn’t feel the need to include surgical procedures to help people transform.

Since working on the show, have you found there’s still a stigma around aesthetic treatment?

I think, classically, there has been a real taboo surrounding aesthetic treatments because the industry is very unregulated and we’ve all seen the disaster stories, which can be really scary. We’ve also witnessed a lot of people who’ve spent their hard-earned money and time on treatments without results. My experience of aesthetic procedures is not that. Most people do it really sensibly and having a little treatment can really give them a confidence boost. It doesn’t always have to be extreme – you can be a really lovely, ordinary person, just trying to restore yourself.

How have you seen people’s lives transform as a result of the TV makeovers?

People’s lives absolutely transform on 10 Years Younger in 10 Days. Some participants come to us with almost no teeth and skin that’s been really affected by their lifestyle. They may feel really self-conscious, have also experienced physical or emotional trauma and sometimes they don't even leave the house, impacting almost every area of their life. We very slowly and gently take participants through a holistic process – we hold their hand really tightly and ensure we look after them both emotionally and physically to allow them to feel as good as they once did. Our goal is not to change participants – we want them to be true to who they are and just remember who they used to be.

Cherry-picked advice

What advice would you give to those suffering from the signs of ageing and just feeling old in general?

If you are feeling old or tired it is almost always related to something on both the inside and out. There are lots of ways to restore yourself mentally, but there’s also so many ways you can restore yourself on the outside through a healthy lifestyle, good skincare and maybe some aesthetic treatment. If you decide to go down this route, do your research, see a trained practitioner, invest in good skincare and just enjoy the ride.

How do you take care of your skin?

I think I take care of my skin really well! I try not to drink too much coffee or alcohol, eat healthily, get good sleep and drink lots of water. I love aesthetic procedures but, really, those are the foundations. If you are not getting good enough sleep or drinking lots of water then you’re not doing yourself any favours. Really good skincare and a suitable skin routine will of course definitely help. And SPF! Never forget SPF as it will really help prevent the signs of ageing, as well as protecting your skin from sun damage!

Do you have a favourite skincare brand and why?

I love aesthetic practitioner Dr Sam Bunting’s range – The Dr Sam System – it’s just really no fuss and works well for my skin, particularly the Nightly Serum. Votary is a beautifully rich brand and the cleanser has changed my skin for the better. Medik8 is also a big favourite of mine, as I’ve found it’s really effective. A couple of products really helped reduce pigmentation on my forehead, so I’d definitely recommend.

Have you had any non-surgical or surgical treatment and is there anything you’d like to try?

I get introduced to so many things on the show and feel like a kid in a sweet shop! I’ve had Botox with Dr Tapan Patel, which I love; I had it done at a time in my life that was perfect for me. I’ve also tried Collagenwave on my face, which uses radiofrequency to tighten skin, and really loved that too! Next on my list is Morpheus8 – recent winner of Product Innovation of the Year at the Aesthetics Awards – which combines radiofrequency with microneedling for added benefit. Nilam Holmes at Derma Spa recommended I try this!

What advice would you give someone considering their first aesthetic treatment?

If you approach aesthetic treatment really sensibly, consider how you feel about it emotionally and make sure it’s something you can afford, then I think just go for it – enjoy these things! As long as you do your research and go to someone qualified, who will treat you brilliantly with the most suitable products, aesthetic treatments are generally safe and can really boost your confidence.

Do you think you can be a feminist and have treatment?

You can 100% be a feminist and have aesthetic treatment! If you can’t, then you could argue that you can’t really have your ears pierced, do your makeup or wear lovely clothes as, in my opinion, treatment is just an extension of things like that. I do think that the new narrative of feminism is that women are allowed to make up their own minds and it’s not our job to question other people’s decisions. You can read more about this subject on p.47.

Focusing your mindset

You’re a big advocate of creating manifestations to achieve your goals. What is manifesting and how do you get started?

I have been manifesting for 15 years and have almost never talked about it because I thought people may think I’m crazy! It’s defined as the practice of thinking aspirational thoughts with the purpose of making them real. I used to write loads of lists about what I wanted from my work and life, and a boss of mine – who was a real manifesting aficionado – saw them and said that’s not how you do it. He advised that you shouldn’t say ‘I want’, you should talk about it as though it’s happened or will happen. That can be really hard because you feel like an idiot when you’re doing it, but I tried it and, 15 years later, it still works!

How have you benefited from manifesting?

In terms of my career, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, I was flapping around in the wind doing all sorts of bits and bobs but hadn’t really asked myself what I wanted to achieve. When I started manifesting, I wrote that I wanted to do something creative, which involved people and lots of different subjects, where I could absorb others’ experience of life. I still didn’t know exactly what that meant but knew my dream career would involve these aspects. About two months later I met someone at a party who told me they were a TV director, and I was like, ‘This is it!’. Thanks to my manifestations, I had the impetus of knowing exactly what I wanted and a career in television fit; who knows if it was fate, God, coincidence or something else, but I jumped on it like a dog eating hot chips!

You’ve now set up manifestation courses to help other people. What do they involve?

Called Manifest That Sh*t, the seven-week courses, held by myself and digital creator Natalie Lee, are a wonderful way to allow people to really think about what they want from their future. Sometimes life gives you very little space to think about whether you’re going in the right direction, so the courses, which involve twice weekly exercises and videos, help you create manifestations focusing not only on the day-to-day, but also your life in the next week, month, year and decade. People are halfway through the first course at the moment and we’ve had amazing feedback so far. There’s nothing more I want in life than to be useful to others, so seeing people make positive changes in their life makes me really happy! The course finished recently, and the feedback has been amazing. We will be launching a new course in September and are hoping to do a retreat as well – we want every woman to feel confident and empowered to ask for what she deserves.

Tell us about your IGTV series Confessionals… what’s it about?

Over lockdown I desperately missed people, so I wanted to create a way to reconnect and have those deep and meaningful chats that I think a lot of us took for granted. They are such an important part of mental health and I think confessing, or offloading, our worries is as important as eating well. So, during the series I interviewed some wonderful people and heard their confession – and the confessions of the wider public which was pretty interesting! We've covered areas such as struggling with alcohol consumption over lockdown, the joyous side of divorce and one of my guests even admitted that she has experienced powerful premonitions since she was a child! Series 2 is on its way, and if you want to be involved you can email confessionalsofficial@gmail.com with your confession or problem and I'll read it out and hopefully help!

10 Years Younger in 10 Days airs Sundays at 8pm on Channel 5. To find out more about Cherry’s projects follow her on Instagram @cherryhealey

INTERVIEW: CHLOÉ GRONOW