Lesley Reynolds The Harley Street Beauty Queen

Lesley Reynolds, has always been involved in beauty. From a young age, she would watch her mother mix lotions and potions into new beauty products, engendering a fascination with beauty and the skin. Her training has taken her from Aromatherapy, Indian head massage and Reflexology right through to anti-ageing and acne treatments, which have become her specialty.

A keen advocate of the power of advanced technology, Lesley is always alert to the latest ingredients in the beauty world, and is one of the pioneers of cosmeceutical products in the UK. This is something seen frequently, as Lesley regularly writes for Best magazine and The Daily Express – giving her advice on must-have ingredients.

Established in 2004, The Harley Street Skin Clinic is known for its high standard service and utmost discretion towards clients. They wholeheartedly believe in doing what is best for their client and have left the ideals of conventional “beauty” with reckless abandon. With soap stars and TV influencers alike, amongst their ever growing 25,000 plus client base, Lesley credits a lot of the business’ clients through word-of-mouth marketing. She works alongside her husband, Dr. Aamer Khan with whom she “eats, sleeps and breathes the business with”.

In this interview we get to know a little bit more of the Harley Street Beauty Queen…

Who or what inspired you to start the Harley Street Skin Clinic?

I had been working with skincare and beauty treatments for a long time and could see that for a lot of people facials and skincare treatments would not address their concerns, for instance deep nose to mouth lines and crow’s feet. There’s no such thing, even today, as a ‘facelift in a jar’. I became aware of dermal fillers in the late 80’s and Botox in the 90’s and I felt there was a market for more than I was offering, so I decided to include and offer these treatments in my clinic alongside skincare, that everyone would benefit from and results driven and relaxing facials. As time went I laser treatments also became an important extension of the business.

 What goals did you set when starting your business?

I wanted a clinic in the world’s leading medical street, Harley Street!

Have you had any setbacks?

There are always setbacks in business, and generally, I find, make you aware of the changes you may need to make.

How did you overcome these setbacks and did you learn any lessons?

It can be very stressful, and business for me is a constant learning curve.

 If you were to do it all over, what would you do differently?

I’d be a bit tougher with some people, however, I’ve loved every minute of it and had a ball along the way. I’ve met and continue to meet a lot of lovely and interesting people. People from all walks of life, and learn from them lessons of life and how to develop myself into, I hope, a better person. My father told me everyone can teach you something, and he was so right.

Do you think it is important for you to engage with your clients via social media platforms?

Yes, we are a social media society now. I’m not great at it myself, and don’t like taking selfies! So, we have a great team of millennials who do it here!

If you were not in this industry, what else would you be doing?

I can’t imagine doing anything else, I simply love it! I do love fashion though, so I could be persuaded…..

What key things have made you successful?

Work hard, and a bit harder, and then some more!

Who would be your dream client?

They all are, you learn so much from all of them.

Are there any other goals you have on the horizon that you can share with us?

Developing the clinic and my skincare lines further.

Most memorable moment in your career?

Meeting the Queen

What is your beauty routine?

I’m religious about cleansing and moisturising, I use a mask most days, I alternate with my HSSC Pore Minimising Mask and Vitamin Drip Mask. I also have a radio frequency treatment once a month called Forma to help stimulate collagen. I take supplements and exercise for 30 minutes three times a week after having a DNA test to help reverse the signs of ageing for the Turn Back Time programme.

Who is your role model?

My Mum, a wonderful, hardworking and creative woman who had her own business and my father who was a superb human being, I’m so thankful for having had them as my parents.

When the week is over what do you do to relax?

I watch Netflix in winter and love to sew, and then love to spend time in my garden in summer and autumn, I’m afraid I’m a fair weather gardener! I adore herbs and growing vegetables, roses and sweet peas.

We have sponsored a Harley Street Skin Clinic garden at the Chelsea Flower Show for 2018 that I’m very excited about.

What piece of advice would you give to anyone considering starting their own business in your industry?

Do your numbers properly before starting. Don’t buy masses of expensive equipment, the companies selling them often show you that you only need to do X number of treatments to make a profit, but believe me, it takes time to grow your clientele and the figures rattled off by the sellers rarely come to fruition. Decide on and look at your target market and see what they really want before jumping in head first. I do find focus groups quite helpful too.

Connect with Lesley Reynolds HERE