Dr Karen Doherty has quietly earned a reputation as the aesthetician behind London’s cultural elite, but a new space on Shoreditch’s Redchurch Street means she might not hold onto her insider status much longer.
Doherty’s new studio is a moody, minimalist space filled with noteworthy design pieces (lovers of stylish chairs will be particularly captivated) that reflects the reputation she has cultivated among her elite clientele as an unconventional aesthetician with a modern approach and finely honed aesthetic eye.
Before opening this location, Doherty was operating out of her North London home, in space designed by gallerist Max Radford. Radford came back on board to design the Shoreditch space, translating the elegant, residential feel of the original clinic into a more expansive, professional space. ‘I think the aesthetic really began with her house,’ says Radford. ‘It’s just a nice early Victorian house with lots of cool furniture in it, but people often took photos in her front room and reposted them, so, in a way, an aesthetic language for the clinic was already formed before the clinic even existed. That house set the tone: a neutral palette paired with striking, sculptural, contemporary and antique furniture.’
‘Karen was also very intentional about making sure it didn’t look like other clinics,’ Radford continues. ‘A few new high-end aesthetics clinics have been opening recently, most leaning toward a softer, more generic look. We wanted something with a strong individual identity that still worked for the space – both in terms of design and the practical health and safety requirements.’
The result is an interior that draws inspiration from old Italian gallery spaces and 1970s minimalism with polished industrial stone floors, a sleek black stone reception desk, chairs by Philippe Malouin and Maarten van Severen, and the Ghost chandelier by LS Gomma as a centerpiece. The five treatment rooms are kept elegantly bare, but it’s inside them that real beauty happens.
Doherty’s raison d'être is discovering the most innovative machinery for facial treatments and then utilizing them to subtle, but transformative effect. Perhaps the best example of this is the clinic’s Neogen Plasma treatment, a ‘red carpet’ facial that, when taken at a low-level, instantly brightens, tightens and evens skin tone with no downtime.
You can also experience the treatment in a lymphatic drainage suit that gently inflates and deflates at certain pressure points to clean out toxins and reduces water weight to leave the body looking slimmer. As a beauty editor that’s experienced a fair share of treatments, this was one of the most effective I’ve ever had. My pigmentation was reduced, pores smaller in appearance and skin significantly brighter and more youthful looking; while the suit effectively, instantly made me look more toned.
The menu of other treatments is vast and cutting-edge, including polynucleotides treatments to support cell rejuvenation and wrinkle reduction, an Emerald Green Laser fat loss treatment for the body, a Jalupro Super Hydro treatment to strengthen the synthesis of collagen for a lifted and firmer face, and much more.
’This space reflects how far we’ve come – and where we’re going,’ says Doherty about the start of a new era for her practice. ‘It’s about more than treatments; it’s about reimagining what beauty can be – intelligent, regenerative, and deeply personal.’
drkarendoherty.com
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