Today we’d like to introduce you to Helen Coquin.
Hi Helen, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Growing up, I always struggled with my skin.
I felt like any time I walked into a room, people would be staring at my skin, and it became big insecurity of mine. After struggling for years, I started to dive into skincare and how each product worked, which ultimately led to my love of skincare.
I quickly realized I wasn’t alone in my skincare struggles. My friends were also trying to figure out how to tackle the issues they were having with their skin. I would often help make recommendations based off of the information I had gathered and realized how much I enjoyed combining my passion for helping people and my love of skincare.
I then decided to make the jump to go to esthetics school. While in school, I learned how much I didn’t know about my own skin and how different each person’s skin is based on seasonality, lifestyle, and many other factors.
As I started to apply my knowledge by helping friends and family understand their skin, it brought me joy and I realized what a huge difference having healthy, happy skin can make in someone’s life. The impact I saw this was making helped motivate me to further my esthetic education. I achieved many certifications in medical aesthetic practices, modalities, and treatments.
In Texas, I continued my work as a lead aesthetician for a large plastic surgery group, doing treatments both in the office and in a private surgical facility. I assisted with procedures in the OR while being the lead laser educator and trainer. It was incredibly rewarding to truly be able to help my patients and make a difference in their skin.
When we decided to move back home to Greenville to be closer to family, I was approached by one of the leading cosmeceutical brands globally, to work for their company.
This was a completely different job and approach to skincare than I had experienced previously, and I found I was able to apply my expertise to help plastics, dermatology, and med spa offices in a different way.
Through that experience, I saw that there was a gap in the market and that there wasn’t a place for a person with a busy schedule and a place that felt approachable to someone new to skincare. A place that had both medical knowledge and background, but also felt fun and exciting to go to. Somewhere accessible to everyone.
I had extensive conversations with friends and colleagues who felt that skincare was overwhelming and with a world that was busier now more than ever, they needed a better solution. Continuously, I heard that people wanted to see results and also to be able to understand why something is working. These conversations were how The Skin Bar was born.
The Skin Bar was created to be a space that people love coming to at amazing membership rates. They can come in for 30 minutes in the middle of their busy day and feel relaxed and taken care of. They’ll leave feeling educated about their skin and know they are going to achieve their individual skin goals as we work together!
We also have our medical-grade skincare products and consultations available online to those not in the Greenville, SC area.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Every road to opening a new business has twists and turns, which makes the opening and success of a business that much sweeter. Every challenge led to more innovative and creative ideas and a business that I love more than I could have imagined.
When we first started our company, we focused solely on e-commerce. Although our online consultations are extremely effective and loved by our customers, we realized in order to make the biggest impact and make skincare truly approachable, we needed to think outside of the box. This is when we made the decision to add to our offering with a brick-and-mortar location.
We wanted to create a place where people feel they are receiving expert care in a caring environment. We’ve found that having both options has been valuable to help our clients. Get in-person care when you need it, and the convenience of shopping online for the products we’ve discovered works for you.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
The Skin Bar is a medspa that focuses on your individual goals. Everything we do is completely customized to you and your individual skin care needs.
We spend the time to walk you through what you are struggling with, your goals, and how we can work treatments and products into your budget and life to make sure it is attainable in a way that works for you.
Our treatments are between 30 – 45 minutes in order to make sure your self-care can easily fit into your busy day. We also offer amazing monthly memberships that are perfect for prioritizing skincare while keeping budget and time in mind.
Our environment is relaxed and fun, while still giving you expert care and education for your skin. We offer 16 lines of skincare and haircare, the largest offering of medical-grade skincare in the Upstate. We pride ourselves on making your experience with us fun, educational, and uplifting.
Your skincare routines are customized to you and we give you the tools to stick with them at home. We love making it easy for you by removing the overwhelming amount of choices that typically come along with choosing skincare- and help you get on a routine of products and care that will work specifically for you.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I believe every business outcome is usually a mixture of luck, hard work, and creativity. I was lucky in finding a wonderful location that was a perfect fit for us and our clients. I was also very lucky in finding our expert staff.
We have hired amazing women who are incredibly talented, hard-working, and truly care about the patients that walk through our doors. It humbles me every day. I am thankful to have such a caring and thoughtful staff that work so well together as a team.
The luck in finding our location and staff mixed with a lot of hard work to develop the concept, space, energy, and soul of the business is what has set us apart.
Pricing:
- Hydrafacial membership $165/month (Non-Member Price $205) includes: One customized Hydrafacial monthly Access to membership discounts on all skincare services Exclusive membership benefits
- Hydrafacial + Membership $195/month (Non-Member Price $280) includes One customized Hydrafacial monthly Access to membership discounts on all skincare services One additional add-on service monthly: Option 1: Lash Lift & Tint Option 2: Dermaplane and LED Light Added boosters and exfoliation, PLUS LED Light Therapy treatment. Exclusive membership benefits
- Raising the Bar membership $55/month (Non-Member Price $75) includes: One Focused Facial monthly Access to membership discounts on all skincare services Exclusive membership benefits
- Raising the Bar + Membership $95/month (Non-Member Price $150) includes: One Focused Facial monthly One additional add-on service monthly: Option 1: Lash Lift & Tint Option 2: Dermaplane and Celluma Light Therapy Access to membership discounts on all skincare services Exclusive membership benefits
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.chicmdtheskinbar.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theskinbar.gvl/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theskinbar.gvl
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/chic-md-the-skin-bar-greenville?osq=The+Skin+Bar
- Other: https://www.vagaro.com/chicmd
Image Credits
Brogan Jackson and Carter Perry
