Born to Sri Lanka’s only Professor of Cosmetology, Dr. Shanika Arsecularatne, is well-known and loved by many for instilling confidence in many men and women. Under her mother’s guidance, Professor Ramani Arsecularatne – Sri Lanka’s only professor in Cosmetology, Dr. Shanika is performing miracles as the Medical Director of Christell Skin Clinic.
Her passion for Cosmetology was instilled in her at a young age after witnessing how her mother helped many people gain confidence by treating their skin, hair, and body concerns. It was also her father’s dream for her to become a Medical Doctor.
“My journey as a Medical Doctor and an achiever is purely because I was blessed with amazing parents. It was my father’s dream for me to become a Medical Doctor. Being a professional Civil Engineer himself, he has been collecting science books for me even before I was born, took me to every education fair while I was in school, both my parents stayed up late until I finished studying and even flew abroad to see me very frequently while I was in medical school. Both my parents are a true example of the importance of great parenting in order to bring up successful citizens in a country.”
She continued: “As I was always focused on what I wanted to do with my career, after finishing my internship, I resigned from the government in order to pursue my higher education in Cosmetic Medicine, which was not available in Sri Lanka. Everyone asked me if I was insane to choose such a superficial and “non-serious” medical field, and that no one would take me seriously.
““However, I took my chances and resigned because I knew that no matter what, my parents and husband believed in and supported my dreams. My parents spent their hard-earned money on my postgraduate education in this field, allowing me to become the youngest Sri Lankan doctor qualified in this field. They also provided the capital I required to establish our very own Christell Skin Clinic, with my mother and husband serving as Directors alongside me.”
The Doctor went on to say that it is unfortunate that beauty affects our confidence, how we are treated, and the opportunities we are given.
“Many educated and amazing girls come to me saying that they have difficulties in finding a life partner (specially in the world of marriage proposals) because they are judged mostly by their appearance. Many girls and boys have been brought to me by their parents because their education has been impacted as a result of being bullied at school because of their appearance. Do you believe that we have patients who have attempted to commit suicide because they think no one can help them improve their physical appearance or disfigurements? We also have many ladies who come in to regain their lost confidence after childbirth, as well as people who come in to improve their physical appearance in order to get their dream job or promotion, as well as a larger segment for anti-aging and wellness therapies. You’d be surprised to learn that 43% of our clients are men, because confidence affects both men and women equally.”
Speaking further, Dr. Shanika stated that they had to face many challenges at the beginning of the business due to a lack of proper awareness and education, as well as previous unfortunate incidents by practitioners who did not perform treatments in safe facilities.
“We had to work very hard to persuade patients to get the treatments they required because the majority of them believed that laser caused cancer, infertility, and other negative effects. We had to spend and conduct workshops, TV programmes and educate on social media to create awareness among the public.”
According to Dr. Shanika, the difficulty in bringing down world-class lasers and international quality products, as well as finding skilled professionals and technicians in the Cosmetology industry, are ongoing challenges.
Despite these challenges, the Christell Skin Clinic and Christell Luxury Wellness now have two state-of-the-art facilities in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, complete with lasers and equipment not found in any other clinic in the respective countries. It also employs over 50 people, including Medical Doctors, Nursing Sisters and Officers and Cosmetologists.
Moreover, it has a clientele of over 20,000 people, including Heads of State, VVIPs, Ambassadors and expats. “We also have clients from Jaffna to the south, as well as returning clients from the Maldives, Europe, and the U.S. who have researched us and travelled to Sri Lanka to stay for a month and get their cosmetic and wellness therapies done. This is a tremendous accomplishment for us at such a young age and in such a young stage of our business.”
“This year, we were especially proud because, despite the pandemic, we were able to give salary increments and full bonuses to all of our employees, keeping our employees and their families financially secure.”
As stated by the industry expert, Christell Skin Clinic’s uniqueness stems from its use of cutting-edge techniques and technology in the field, as well as the use of high-quality, well-known products in its treatments.
“The success of our treatments is based 50% on technique and 50% on the quality of the product, and we are the only clinic in Sri Lanka that offers all cosmetic medical treatments under one roof and is ISO certified.”
“”With our experience, we realized that the Western Medical approach cannot treat everything. As a result, for the first time in Sri Lankan history, the Christell Luxury Wellness combined new cosmetic medical techniques, traditional Sri Lankan Ayurvedic medicine, and integrative wellness to provide a 360′ complete wellness solution that is already a huge hit in the local market, and we know that when tourism opens up, we will capitalise on this collaboration.”
In conclusion, the Medical Director revealed that work is being done to make Sri Lanka the next Asian cosmetic and wellness tourism hub, which is currently held by Thailand and India.
QUOTE: “Many educated and amazing girls come to me saying that they have difficulties in finding a life partner because they are judged mostly by their appearance.”