Skin health expert Louise Thomas-Minns launches her signature skin care range this week, at Jarrold department store in Norwich. Here she explains that getting to this point has been a rollercoaster ride – and why she takes a thoroughly holistic approach to skincare
I have always been in the business of skin although there was a moment when I was a teenager when dancing was my future. I trained as a beauty and skin therapist straight from school during a time when I was also plagued with acne. Little did I know that this skin battle would lead me to what I am doing today. My career has spanned some 26 years and has been built from my passion for skin health. Since I was 15, I had an interest in beauty and wellness starting my work life as a Saturday girl at a local beauty salon. I own and work as a skin health therapist at my first business, Louise Thomas Skin Therapy (which has been 15 years in operation); I act as an advisor to brands as well as sitting on boards as CEO and director.
How important to you to take 3D approach to skincare?
This is the signature facial approach I developed some 15 years ago. It’s so important to understand it’s not a ‘one size fits all approach’ when you’re nurturing skin back to health. Everyone needs individual attention. The 3D facial treatment philosophy is built around science, nutrition and the holistic and by that last part I mean treating all aspects of you not just what we see on the surface.
How was everything looking for you at the start of the pandemic?
As for everybody it was a time of being scared and worried. Louise Thomas Skin Therapy had to close its doors every time we went into lockdown so for a period of 10 months in total. We were heading into an unknown: would the business survive? Would we be able to reopen and practice in the same way ever again? 2020 was a time where I lost my mojo and my motivation – and I had to dig deep to find that again to reopen after the first lockdown wearing full PPE. I am also oddly thankful for that time, though, as it’s allowed me to ‘just be’ and focus on what was in front of me, which was my immediate family and their needs. It was looking like, once again, my dream of launching Louise Thomas Skin Care was going to be affected, but I found my focus again, come 2021, regained my drive and found a way to get at least one of the five products manufactured.
Louise Thomas Skin Therapy survived and continues to thrive and, on top of that, I’ve also launched my Podcast this past month, ‘The Skin Pod’, so out of an awful period there have been those high moments.
Has the stress of living through a pandemic wreaked havoc on our skin? And what can we do about it?
For sure. At Louise Thomas Skin Therapy we have spent a lot of time helping clients who have suffered with ‘MaskNe’ as well as other skin issues all of which may have been caused by the stress of the pandemic or made worse. Again, it needs to be that 3D, bespoke approach to skin wellness.
How excited are you to be launching The Cleanser, the first product in your Louise Thomas Skin Care range, at Jarrold department store this week?
Oh my goodness, off the scale! This has been a dream of mine for 18-plus years and has been a rollercoaster of six and a half years to get to this point! As I said above, we have hit a lot of challenges that we could never have predicted when we started this project. It’s not sinking in that this is my brand yet!
Are there four more products to come?
Yes! We have four more products waiting in the wings which we will launch as we start to be able to finance the manufacturing of them. In the short term we will be online for sales and in house at Louise Thomas Skin Therapy, too. I am hopeful for a series two of The Skin Pod podcast and there are also some exciting developments with Juni cosmetics too, which is a Vegan brand that I am on the board of.
Find the first product in the Louise Thomas Skin Care, ‘The Cleanser’, in the StoreFolk area on the ground floor of Jarrold department store until April 3. The website launches on March 31. Also, visit Louise Thomas Skin Therapy.
Featured image of Louise Thomas-Minns – picture credit: Fiona Burrage
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