Six months after opening the doors of her Cork clinic, one of Dublin’s best-known aesthetic practitioners is already building the same loyal following in the south. For Kerry Hanaphy, opening in Blackpool Shopping Centre is both professional and personal, as her partner Barry O’ Driscoll, a dentist originally from Bandon, is part of the story.
“We met ten years ago and he moved to Dublin about five years later. He works with me in the business now. Dentists are actually very good for Botox because they understand facial anatomy so well,” says Kerry.
The Blackpool Shopping Centre clinic opened last September and already has a full team in place. Kerry travels to Cork usually every second week, and says she is enjoying getting to know the city better.
“We had a huge following in the Leinster region and I’m really enjoying bringing that same awareness to Cork,” she says.
Kerry’s journey into aesthetics began in London in 2004 and, as she describes it, almost entirely by accident.
“At the time I was going through a tough divorce. I was living in London and I was in a salon one day when a beautician suggested I get into aesthetics as a way of making extra money. So I did a course in London that cost a thousand pounds sterling, which was huge money at the time. But I knew I would make it back.”
Not long after completing the training Kerry began performing lip fillers around London. “It was very new then, even in London, so I was one of the first doing it there.
When she returned to Ireland in 2007, the esthetics scene was even quieter.
“I remember going around salons asking if they wanted me to come in and do lip fillers, and most of them hadn’t a clue what I was talking about.”
Kerry picked up the occasional clinic and very slowly, it began to grow. At the same time she continued working as a nurse in Tallaght A and E. Her clinical background was in respiratory medicine, and she spent years running asthma clinics for GPs across the country while working with GlaxoSmithKline. During this time she was doing occasional lip filler at the weekends.
Kerry expanded her training as opportunities appeared, learning laser treatments, endomology and colonic irrigation. As her interest in aesthetics deepened, she moved into training other practitioners in injection techniques.
Her reputation grew quickly once people started to see the results. Then around 2010, a nickname grew up around her.
“When I would go into clinics, there would suddenly be lots of people waiting for me to do their lips.,” she explains. “That’s when people started calling me the Lip Queen.”
The title stuck and the philosophy behind her work has remained the same.
“I never overfilled a lip. I never made those big bulbous lips. It was always about balance and proportion.”
Kerry’s reputation has resulted in clients travelling significant distances to see her.
“People still come from all over the world to have their lips done. We have people flying in from the States or Dubai and a lot of Irish people who live abroad book in when they come home.”
At 56, she believes one of the most powerful advertisements for an aesthetic practitioner is their own face.
“For me, the secret is not to look done. When you are in aesthetics, you really don’t want to look like you are in aesthetics. Your face is your brand.”
Her approach centres on managing the ageing process rather than dramatically changing how someone looks.
“What I advise people to do is find a clinic that will bring you along your journey. It’s not about changing your face. It’s about managing how it ages.”
Experience, she says, matters enormously. “There are lots of people learning how to do injectables now. Inexperienced procedures can lead to eyebrow drops, asymmetry, nerve damage or that startled expression people talk about. We are quite strict on who we employ. It’s not enough just to be a doctor or dentist. Our doctors have been working in aesthetics for four or five years.”
So what does it feel like to be working alongside Barry, her partner? “ Working together is great and it’s not as if we are in the same office 24/7. When I met him he wasn’t interested in aesthetics at all. But he has perfected Botox to the point that he has become very well known for it.”
Botox, according to Kerry, is fabulously transformative but if it is administered incorrectly she says it can be counter productive. “There is nothing worse than Botox that looks like Botox. Done correctly it makes people just look fresh, Barry is well known for that. Everyone’s treatment has to be tailored to their muscle movement and that is a skill.”
One of the biggest challenges in the industry, she says, is that many clients simply do not know what they should be asking for and what they should be looking out for.
“People don’t realise there are huge differences in the strength of products. Polynucleotides are a good example. There are some products on the market that are only two milligrams. The ones we use are forty. That’s a massive difference.”
Consultation is therefore central to the clinic’s approach. “When people come in we can explain what treatments actually do and what will suit their skin, their age and their budget.”
Instead of encouraging one-off expensive procedures, the emphasis is on steady enhancements and maintenance. “I have always believed in doing small amounts over time rather than spending three or four thousand euro in one go. Everyone’s face ages differently so there is no one size fits all.”
Asked what treatments she personally relies on, she is refreshingly open.
“I always have Profhilo. Because I’m in my mid-fifties, I try to do it every three to four months.”
Profhilo stimulates collagen and hydrates the skin from within. “I introduced Profhilo to Ireland and trained people in it for the first four years so I understand how it works at a molecular level,” says Kerry. “A lot of people just do two doses and stop, but that’s really only the beginning. You need to repeat it three times a year to see the long-term benefits.”
She occasionally uses polynucleotides around the eye area and a newer version of Profhilo called Structura helps restore volume in areas such as the temples or jawline.
Skin clarity is just as important when it comes to feeling and looking fresher for longer, according to Kerry. “I’m prone to rosacea and red veins, so we use a Lumecca machine which is one of the best IPL systems. Once you have clear skin it doesn’t matter if you have a few lines or wrinkles. That glow makes a huge difference.”
Affordability is hugely important to Kerry, who realises that not everyone has big budgets to spend. Despite this, she is determined that aesthetics should remain accessible. “We try to create treatments that suit every budget. One example is mesotherapy, a vitamin-based treatment delivered through a handheld device. It contains vitamin C and hyaluronic acid and it gives the skin a real boost. We offer it for about one hundred euro.”
Combined packages allow people to layer treatments, depending on their needs.
“It allows people to get good results without spending huge amounts of money. Voucher offers around Black Friday or Mother’s Day allow regular clients to spread the cost, we do 20% discounts so clients can get €1,000 worth of treatments for €800. If someone comes to us today we want them to stay with us for the rest of their lives.”
Over twenty years, Kerry has treated thousands of people and the age range may surprise some.
“I did lip fillers for an 82-year-old woman recently and she looked incredible. The work at that stage is not about volume but gentle correction. It’s about repairing rather than enlarging.”
Her clients range from people in their early twenties to women in their seventies and beyond.
“I have women who have been coming to me for twenty years and now I’m treating their daughters too. When I was nursing, a person at 65 was considered old, now a person of 70 is considered to be in their prime ”
One of her earliest clients still visits three times a year.
“She started coming to me at fifty five and she’s seventy five now. She always jokes that I’m her antidepressant.”
Seeing the confidence people gain from small changes is one of the most satisfying parts of the job. “When someone leaves feeling happier and more content that is incredibly rewarding.”
Not every consultation ends with a treatment though. “There are times when someone comes in and I might say this isn’t the right thing for you right now. That honesty has helped build strong loyalty. We have a huge return customer base because people know we will only recommend what is right for them.”
After twenty years in business one moment stands out. “I won an award called The Power of Women last year and my daughter was with me at the ceremony. The recognition was deeply personal because I raised my children on my own without financial support so that moment meant a lot.”
One of her daughters Emily, 32, is operations manager in the business while Alana, 22, works as a graphic designer.
“They have seen me work very hard, but they have also learned that if you want something you go out and get it yourself.”
Opening in Cork at this stage of her career might seem like starting again, but Kerry, with her boundless energy, sees it differently.
“I just have a huge drive and I genuinely love what I do. I like driving so I don’t mind travelling between Cork and Dublin. I get so much enjoyment from the clients, from the team and from seeing the results.”
And if the first six months are anything to go by, the Cork chapter is only just getting started.
For more information see www.kerryhanaphy.com or check out @kerry.hanaphy on Instagram.
