PROJECT #BEYOUROWN BOSS:​ DR SHIRIN LAKHANI

Dr Shirin Lakhani (MBBS, MRCA, MRCGP, DRCOG, ACCMA) is a leading cosmetic doctor specialising in advanced aesthetic treatments. 

Dr Shirin has an extensive background in medicine having trained in the NHS and various hospital subspecialties, including anaesthetics where she became highly skilled in advanced injection techniques.

After moving into general practice due to circumstances surrounding her family’s health, Dr Shirin soon discovered the synergy between medicine and beauty as well as the current limitations of treatment of conditions in the field – such as acne. Most of all, Dr Shirin loved the positive impact that her work could have on her patient’s confidence and self-esteem.

In 2013 Dr Shirin founded her award-winning clinic, Elite Aesthetics in Kent and has since left general practice to pursue her passion full-time. Her discreet approach and fantastic, natural-looking results have seen her treating royalty, A-listers and celebrities alike. 

An influential voice within the industry, Dr Shirin has featured in a number of publications both in print, online and on television; more recently seeing her discussing intimate treatments on ITV’s This Morning and body dysmorphia on BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire and Sky News.

A note from Dr Shirin Lakhani

From a young age, I knew that I wanted to study medicine and that I wanted to be a doctor. I studied at guys and st Thomas’s and then went on to become an anaesthetist in the NHS working in theatres and ITU. It was a fast-paced, rewarding role and I loved it. Unfortunately, due to a change in family circumstances, it meant that I had to move to a role in general practice to be able to look after my family. While I still enjoyed being a doctor, I found that the treatments available didn’t necessarily give me the tools I needed to offer the best treatment plan for my patients. Patients with low self-esteem as a result of acne were left without effective treatment and referral, leading to scarring.

Women suffering symptoms of sexual dysfunction were not given any other options other than relationship counselling, and those undergoing the menopause were being actively discouraged from taking HRT and, instead of being prescribed antidepressants. It felt like the primary care sector was being buried in paperwork and targets were more important than individual patient outcomes. I often felt that I was no longer practising medicine but social work.

This led me to look at an alternative approach which saw me training in medical aesthetics. As word spread and my patient-list grew and grew, I naturally moved away from general practice and forged a career working full time within the medical aesthetics industry. I now run a leading clinic in Dartford, Kent and am an associate on Harley Street, London. I’m now in a position to offer a wide range of innovative treatments for various treatments that are often left with unsuitable and ineffective treatment options – for example, PRP therapy for Lichen Sclerosus, an eight-minute radiofrequency treatment for vaginal tightening (a condition often exacerbated by childbirth and after the menopause) as well as offering medical-grade facials and skincare to treat acne patients and injectable treatments such as non-surgical rhinoplasty.

As with any journey, there are highs and lows. The Coronavirus pandemic has changed the way that we do business and the clinic has had to close temporarily. However, we have moved and changed and been able to look at alternative ways to help our patients. We offer online consultations for everything related to skin and post our prescription treatment plans out to them and we offer Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT) treatment for patients suffering from symptoms of menopause all over the internet.

This time of quiet has been a perfect time to reflect on some of the highlights of the journey so far. Of course the countless patients I have been able to help; seeing their entire demeanour change as a result of successful treatment and watching them leave the clinic with their shoulders back and their head held high; has been the overriding highlight. Over the years I have worked as an ambassador for a number of leading brands within the industry which in turn has enabled me to start – and continue – a wider conversation surrounding female empowerment and women’s health. I was the first female doctor to offer the innovative O-Shot and P-Shot treatments (a treatment relying on blood plasma to promote healing and treat conditions such as erectile dysfunction in women and vaginal atrophy (dryness) in women among other things.  And I was the first doctor to offer the Ultra Femme 360, a leading radio frequency treatment for intimate tightening.

A significant amount of the work I do within the medical aesthetics industry is focused on women’s health and female empowerment. And so for me, being my own boss is about having the freedom and the tools to be able to enable other women to channel that energy too.

I have seen a significant increase in women coming to talk to me about vaginal rejuvenation procedures. I think that women now feel empowered to regain self-control, to be confident and to ultimately, be their own boss.