If you don’t like to go to a clinic for aesthetic services, then why not try take-home tech.
Clariancy founders Clara Lee and Dr Lim Hock Hin
You’d think that most doctors who offer aesthetic treatments wouldn’t want customers to be able to do the treatment themselves at home, but not Dr Lim Hock Hin.
Dr Lim, who is director of Clariancy, a retail store specialising in home beauty devices, explains: “When I started Clariancy Aesthetic Clinic at Raffles Hotel, I met many tourists who wanted on-the-go solutions, which made me think it would be great if there were home beauty devices that they could bring with them when travelling.”
He began researching on and sourcing out home beauty equipment to sell at his clinic. These devices became so popular that he and his wife, Clara Lee, decided to start Clariancy in 2011.
“Our home gadgets use similar technology to the professional ones we use at the clinic, but with less energy because they are meant to be used more frequently,” says Dr Lim. Because they are used more often, he explains, these devices for IPL hair removal, radio frequency and microdermabrasion can even give you clinic-level results in the long run.
From left: Sensica Sensilift ($598) uses RF waves to tighten skin and releases electric pulses to shape facial contours and soften fine lines. Ya-man Tornado EMS ($598) and Pollogen Glo-me ($348) are both portable microdermabrasion devices.
Dr Lim isn’t worried that these home devices will remove the demand for doctors’ services: “There are some concerns that you still need to go to visit a doctor for, such as fillers or botox.” He adds that the gadgets work very well with professional clinic treatments – the effects of these treatments tend to last only a few months up to a year, but customers now have the option of using the gadgets at home to enhance or prolong the results.
Today, Clariancy has expanded to 14 stores across Singapore and Malaysia. Dr Lim sees potential for more growth: “I think [the demand for home beauty devices] is definitely growing. Singaporeans like privacy and convenience… these home devices let people do treatments in the comfort and convenience of their own home.”
Photography Frenchescar Lim & Zaphs Zhang Art Direction Diane Ng Hair Kent Yusuke So/Pact + LIM Makeup Larry Yeo, using Nars
This is adapted from the article The Divergents, first published in Female January 2015.
