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aestheticmed.co.uk KL AESTHETICS

Kirsty Whitworth, owner of KL Aesthetics in Doncaster, tells Georgia Seago
how she grew to fall in love with aesthetics, despite getting off on the wrong foot

irsty Whitworth’s journey into aesthetics isn’t the return to her job as an oncology nurse, as it was where her
usual story. She admits she didn’t have a passion lifelong passion lay. However, not long after she returned
for the specialism when she started her training Whitworth’s mother was diagnosed with bowel cancer,
in 2011 – rather, it was through traumatic personal and this combined with days and nights spent on the
Kcircumstances that she ended up embarking on oncology ward quickly became too much. “It became awful.
the career she now loves. I remember walking into work and thinking, ‘I hate this’,” she
“My dream was always to be an oncology nurse,” says. “My passion just drained from me all of a sudden with
says Whitworth. I qualified in 2003, and by 2010 I was a my mum being diagnosed. In about nine months, I went from
haematology nurse specialist. In 2011 I had a baby boy and being full-time to three days, and I started to put everything
at six weeks old he had a spontaneous intraventricular brain into aesthetics.”
haemorrhage. Miraculously, he made a full recovery after Whitworth says her passion “transferred overnight”,
two weeks in intensive care and through close observation realising she had the skills to make people feel happier
on a neuro-science ward.” and better about themselves and help to improve their
Her son’s illness meant Whitworth was unsure if she’d be confidence. "I wanted to be making people happy. My view
able to return to the NHS as a nurse; doctors told her she’d on aesthetics shifted and I realised how much treatments
likely need to be his full-time carer. So, she began to think affect people’s lives. It’s so much more than lines and
about what she could do to work for herself and around his wrinkles; it makes such a difference psychologically and, as
needs, and that’s where aesthetics entered the picture. “I I’ve developed as a practitioner, I understand the emotional
actually tried to cancel the course the night before because side of aesthetics,” she says. When she left the NHS after
I booked it spur of the moment and didn’t really think about she wasn’t able to reduce her working days beyond three,
what I was doing, but they wouldn’t let me cancel at such Whitworth began slowly building up her client base, treating
short notice,” she says. “I hated every minute of the training patients in the outhouse she had converted into a treatment
because I went into it for the wrong reasons.” space for family and friends on the side while she was still
working.
CAREER CHANGE “Because I’d worked behind the scenes for a couple of
In 2012 and while still on maternity leave, Whitworth’s years, just on people close to me, I learnt slowly. I didn’t rush.
son was developing amazingly well. She was performing A lot of people complete their training and then the next day
aesthetic treatments for friends and family but decided to they’re offering treatments to patients. But I took my time

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