Aisling Cleary is the CEO of River Medical, one of the only female CEOs in her industry in Ireland. She has seen a great deal of change since she joined the business 12 years ago. 

Zoom face has seen a rise in Google searches for cosmetic enhancements over the last two years. Sitting in front of a camera has had an impact on how many of us see ourselves.  

Aisling Cleary is the CEO of River Medical in Dublin, one of the few women leading a cosmetic enhancement company here. She first joined the company as a nurse when she and her family returned to Ireland from the states 12 years ago and so has had a 360 view of the business.   

“I’ve seen how it works from every aspect and I’m really glad I did it that way, it has definitely helped me. I think that has helped me in my role as a CEO to understand the decisions that have to be made to run a successful clinic. Even right up to what we invest in to how we want to be perceived and market the business; it’s all impacted by my experience.” 

Aisling has seen the world of cosmetic enhancement change hugely over her years in River Medical and she’s excited by the developments and what’s to come.

“When I started you know you had filler and Botox. You had a little bit of laser but nothing as advanced as what's out there now and as an industry it's exciting because all the pharma companies and all the biggest tech companies are investing huge amounts of money into research. Sometimes people look at what we do and refer to us as beauty therapists and that makes me laugh. There’s a huge amount of money and investment into the research and science behind our business which I really enjoy."

“There are massive numbers of clinics opening up all over the world every day because of the huge demand for cosmetic treatments and Ireland is definitely in the eye of that.” 

When Aisling travels to conferences she is often one of just a handful of female CEOs in the room something that she says is “changing slowly”. For an industry so focussed on the appearance of women it makes sense to have more of them in the boardroom especially when a lot of what Aisling and her team focus on is how appearance changes in mid age.  

“Our demographic would be 35 to 65 and they are more focussed on investing in their appearance. They don’t want to look different or ‘young’, they want to look well for their age and refreshed.  

Women in that age group are looking for long term results from treatments that work. Tweakments is a buzz word but it’s true for this demographic and the shame and secrecy about procedures is no longer there. For many women presenting to boards and looking for finance for their own start-ups, appearance is key."

Aisling says that a lot of women approach their faces in the same way that they would the gym or their health.

“The big trend for us is using treatments and machines that get the body to work harder and better. Things like Ultherapy which uses micro focused ultrasound and causes lifting and tightening. Of course, Botox and filler are still popular, but they’re approached differently in that age group. It’s very subtle. We ease the lines; we don’t eradicate them. It’s the same with filler. We lose volume as we age and so we use that around the mid face to give some of it back.” 

Menopause is at the forefront of a lot of conversations at the moment, but Aisling says that it has always been something her team have spoken to clients about.  

“Menopause absolutely affects your skin and appearance, and it can age you overnight. What kills me is when women come to us and say that they’re probably too old now and have totally lost their confidence. We always speak to women about their hormones and how they impact skin and hair. Personally, I lost 50% of my hair during Perimenopause, that’s shocking to experience. It’s why I really think treatment should be 360, it should be a case of internal or external, it all connects together.” 

When Aisling is deciding to invest in something new, she has her clients in mind and spends a long time on the research and the science.  

“I take ages to decide because so many there's so much out there. Marketing is amazing and every new innovation sounds fantastic so I go right back to reading the clinical papers and base my decision on that. The pieces of equipment with the best science behind them are always the most expensive and we pride ourselves that all our equipment is FDA approved so it has that stamp of approval behind them. For me as CEO it’s essential that we’re offering the best, safest, clinically proven products or treatments so I can take up to a year and a half or two years before I'll really make a decision."

The last piece that Ailing invested in is the Emsella Chair which targets the pelvic floor and has taken the market by storm. She says that some people weren’t sure that it fit with the business, but she was confident that it would be something her clients would be excited about and thankful for.  

“It fits in because it's a women's issue. It was a hunch I had, and I went looking for it and it’s just been my baby. Pelvic floor issues affect confidence so much and this is a game changer.”

There was a waiting list when River Medical reopened when restrictions were lifted, and a lot of new clients have been through the doors since. A combination of hybrid work, and the screens that continues to involve, and in-person meetings mean that women and men are more cognisant of their appearance than ever before. With that in mind Aisling continues to be on the lookout for great technology that delivers results.

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