SKIN NERD

By Louise May

Michelle Doolan’s love of skin and being a skin nerd has really been a development over time. Michelle began her career in beauty over 20 years ago, starting as a student of a French-based skincare company that held their own beauty school. This involved an education at a high level of knowledge of ingredients, skin science and patient care.

Michelle was lucky enough to find herself working for a clinic in Geelong that replicated that concept which further advanced her passion for skincare. Her success as a skin therapist has been both because of the people she has worked for in her career as well as her desire to try and be the best skin specialist that she can possibly be.

We caught up with Michelle to learn more about her career to date, and what inspired her to take the plunge with creating her new Cleansing Cloth.

As a facialist and skin coach, can you tell us about your approach to providing professional treatments?

The key to my treatments is the understanding that no one way works for everyone. In order to offer the most impactful treatments, it is a combination of keeping up with the most current machinery as my tools paired with my knowledge of the skin and how it functions to ensure a targeted and effective treatment and result.

How do you ensure each treatment is customised to achieve the best results for your client’s skin?

There’s a couple of ways in which I make sure that the treatments I deliver are specific and personal to each customer.

I’ve made a conscious effort to equip the clinic with many modalities of machinery, giving me the ability to treat my client’s skin needs with diverse treatments.

The skin can quite easily segregate into zones of many concerns and with such machinery, it allows me time to be more efficient and focused with my treatments, covering off different areas of the skin in a single session.

It’s also imperative for me to understand what my client’s Wishlist is so I can ensure that as part of the treatment the client undergoes, we’re always prioritising their skin’s health and what goals they’re wanting to reach.

How do you build such a strong level of trust and rapport with your clients?

The majority of my client base have been seeing me for more than five years some even ten. I put my loyal client base down to two things; the value I place on building a connection with my clients beyond their skin needs as well as the trust they have in me to achieve results. I am a perfectionist that wants each person who walks into my treatment room to immediately feel comfortable but ensure I will do my very best to achieve the results they are seeking.

Skin Nerd offers a variety of services, can you tell us about the treatments and the benefits they offer?

All the treatments and machinery found at Skin Nerd HQ have been personally selected to ensure maximum results and quality. Each laser device that I have access to, treats a specific concern to its highest level whilst also ensuring skin health at the same time and a ‘less is more’ approach, minimising harm done to the skin.

Laser Genesis is a trademarked style of laser marked by the machine I use called Cutera, also known as ‘the red-carpet facial’. Using a wavelength 1064nm warped from its original delivery system, it flashes over the skin targeting’ the superficial redness and imperfection held in the very surface of the skin. Working on texture and tone it heals, supports and revitalising any skin type whilst allowing you to walk out feeling and looking amazing.

LED is my favourite post treatment “moment” with all the goodness it provides it also gives a moment of calm after all the serious, noisy machines.

My most popular service would be what many of my clients nickname ‘the Hour of Power with Michelle’. It’s essentially a multimodality-based treatment which addresses each individual client with their concerns and developing a treatment to suit. This often involves a capillary and pigmentation focus, anti-ageing, and skin health.

The Cleansing Cloth seems like an exciting addition to your brand. What inspired you to create this product?

My mission at Skin Nerd is to keep it simple – and the Cleansing Cloth fits this ethos exactly. It’s about the education of cleansing and skincare use and making it as easy for people to do at home, as possible.

As part of many of my clients’ first appointment, I would teach them the art of cleansing correctly. As a result, I recognised I had an opportunity to improve a gap in the market and create a brand that could be used by everyone.

How does The Cleansing Cloth stand out from other cleansing products?

It is the largest cleansing cloth of its type ensuring there is plenty of options to double cleanse your skin effectively. I wanted to make a product that was easily accessible to all skincare consumers and that hopefully it will be a bathroom must-have for all.

There are several benefits to The Cleansing Cloth. The high-performance PVA cleansing cloth material ensures you cleanse your skin correctly by effectively removing all traces of makeup without stripping the skin of its barrier service and prevention of bacteria buildup that can’t be found in other cleansing removal products such as face washers. It also reduces waste eliminating the need for single-use makeup wipes or pads and makes it ideal for travel as it dries quickly and hardens when dry but regains its silky soft texture when wet.

How did your expertise in medical science and advanced skincare products contribute to the development of The Cleansing Cloth?

I focus all my treatment services on the first question – is this skin strong enough to withstand a medically and advanced skincare treatment? Followed by, does this skin need it?

If the answer was NO – then what was it that needed to change to repair that and often it was how they cleansed. Focusing on repairing this was key and The Cleansing Cloth was the answer. I wanted all skincare and skin treatment enthusiasts to have the ability to access a simple cost-effective tool that makes cleansing a no-fuss step in their routine.

How did you ensure the Cleansing Cloth remains durable and effective for up to four months of use?

The ability to ensure it gets cleaned correctly ensures its durability. The biodegradable component is over a long time although like all continued but long-term use products, they have a recommended used-by date.

I often explain to my clients it’s like a toothbrush – you can choose to have it for life, but its recommended best hygiene practice is three to four months. Over time, the cloth starts to show wear and tear. These are clear indicators that are a part of the product’s function to encourage you to recognise its time to change. With a common face washer, you don’t see this as the fabrics and colours hide the true story going on underneath.

How has your extensive experience influenced the creation of The Cleansing Cloth and your overall approach to skincare?

In 24 years, I’ve seen skincare fads come and go but the art of effective and efficient cleansing has never changed. Being educated with an underlying French basis of ‘the key is gentle, luxury and barrier function as a primary focus’ has cemented the foundation of my approach to skincare treatment.

People can now get access to ingredients we would have only ever used in our back bar treatment rooms, these create very polished and clean looking skin, but at the detriment of truly healthy skin. I wanted to ensure with The Cleansing Cloth, that my contribution to it would support people nurturing their skin and ensuring skin health. This starts with our skin cleanse. If you don’t have this right, then how can you expect anything else that follows to work correctly.

Do you have any plans to expand your product line or introduce new innovative treatments in the future?

I am always reading, watching, and learning about the new and amazing world of skincare and skin treatments. Adaptability to an ever-evolving world of cosmetics and aesthetics requires you to generate new services with the most important basis – that it achieves the results.

I would love to create a skincare range that is affordable, and result driven in the near future –especially a cleanser that ties into The Cleansing Cloth ethos. Watch this space!