Redefining natural beauty

Editor Anna Dobbie visited Dr Joshua Van der Aa’s Harley Street clinic to discuss his route to becoming one of the youngest doctors on Harley Street and how his social media profile allows him to cherry-pick patients

Dr Van der Aa has carved a niche for himself in the competitive world of aesthetic medicine. Born and raised in Antwerp, Belgium, he qualified as a medical doctor in his home country. Initially intending to become a plastic surgeon, he shifted his focus due to the intense competition in that field. After obtaining his medical degree, he studied dentistry and discovered his talent for performing botulinum toxin and filler treatments.

“I had a knack for it from the start – agood eye and a good feeling for it,” Dr Van der Aa recalls.

PURSUING HIS PASSION

He followed his instincts, working for renowned clinics in the Netherlands alongside his post-grad dentistry studies in Leuven, Belgium. His Instagram presence brought him into the spotlight, and he soon found himself featured in local newspapers and TV shows and attending international conferences such as IMCAS. This exposure led to a significant opportunity in London, where he was headhunted by a prestigious international clinic on Harley Street.

It was a pivotal moment in his career, and Dr Van der Aa made the bold decision to join the private practice, honing his skills and building his reputation. However, he found that working for a big brand wasn’t the perfect fit for him. He had a vision for a more patient-centred approach, where aesthetics would enhance natural beauty, not alter it for profit.

“Splitting off and starting to do all that by yourself, pretty much starting from scratch with no patients, it’s a different skill to being a medic, isn’t it? People do degrees just on that. I often say that running a clinic is my profession and the injection part, having patients in my chair, is what I love to do.”

CREATING THE CLINIC

Determined to create a clinic that aligned with his values, Dr Van der Aa took the leap and founded his own clinic on Harley Street, making him one of the youngest doctors to own such an establishment in that prestigious location.

“When I acquired the clinic, it was this dusty, old-looking consultation room with a ‘Brobdingnag desk’ and big chairs. I always said, when I’m starting my own clinic, I do not want to have a desk. When I was working for the other clinic, the first thing I always did when someone walked in was to walk around the desk to sit on the chair next to them to have a more personal conversation. I have a much better look at their face without a two-metre desk between us. I also think having a desk between you reminds you of being in the headmaster’s office or something, it’s got a bit of an authoritarian feeling. Patients don’t respond as well, in their heads they feel like I am giving them bad news, I don’t think it’s a positive connotation. In my clinic, we have like a little nook thing. There is still a clinical feel, but it’s more relaxed and patients are a lot more comfortable that way. So that was very important in my design – I drew it all and built all of it myself.”

However, fate threw him a curve ball, with the pandemic hitting shortly after the clinic’s grand opening. Dr Van der Aa had to navigate the challenges of a newly launched business during a global health crisis.

“It was a big gamble at the time because a clinic requires a lot of upkeep, there is a lot of competition, and prices here aren’t cheap,” he adds. “When everything was finished and I was ready to hit the ground running, after two weeks I had to shut down for about three months, which was obviously devastating. I took risks and invested a lot of money to get to this point - there were no backups or spare funds, so I worked hard for it myself.”

LEARNING FROM LOCKDOWN

When lockdown imposed limitations on patient care, Dr Van der Aa found creative ways to adapt and ensure his patients’ safety. Offering Covid-19 testing and implementing strict disinfection protocols, he managed to reopen when it was safe, and the clinic began to flourish. He also focussed on his digital profile.

“During lockdown, I spent a lot of time on social media, making videos, trying to educate people about the do’s and the don’ts, and the pitfalls, of aesthetics,” he says. “At that time, there weren’t a lot of people who were outright saying ‘I don’t agree with this’, or ‘I don’t agree with that’, or ‘I don’t like this for such and such reason’. For patients, my voice was very refreshing, and it made a lot of people come out of the bushes and say, ‘I’ve actually had that done and had a similar experience.”

His social media presence also played a significant role in building trust and connecting with his audience. Through Instagram and other social platforms, he educates people about aesthetics, dispels myths, and promotes a more natural approach to facial enhancements, gaining him a loyal following and establishing himself as a trusted authority in the field.

“My approach builds trust in patients because they know that I’m not just going to sell them anything that I can make money from. I have critically evaluated all the options and have chosen only the things that I would trust on my own face. That really built a lot of trust during the period when I wasn’t allowed to treat patients, and, when the lockdown lifted, all those patients ended up coming in. I still try to make social content as much as I can, but I don’t have quite as much time on my hands these days.

“Social media is a part-time job on top of a full-time job on top of another full-time job, but it is rewarding because seeing you face to face makes patients feel like they know you. All these people feel like they’ve spoken to you, and they get an idea of your personality and your ethos which is very important in my clinic. It makes them more comfortable to approach you about something they want to be done.

“Equally, I bet a lot of people see my social media and think “You know what, that’s not my guy, he’s too subtle and conservative, I want a bit more bang”, and that’s fine because then they don’t end up coming here and being disappointed that I’m not going to do what they want for them. If you work it right, social media serves as a filter as well.”

TELEVISION STAR

His notoriety led to him appearing on North Belgian docu-series The Sky is the Limit, attracting over 600,000 viewers.

“It was quite fun to do because one of my requirements was that I didn’t want anything to be staged or fake, so we were just filming it ‘as is’,” he says. “If it’s not interesting enough for TV, you just bin it. We got amazing feedback on it and had very good viewing figures for a relatively small country.”

As a young doctor, Dr Van der Aa has always found that he appeals more to younger patients. “The clinic I used to work for catered to the younger crowd because it was very lip focused. Lips equate to sex appeal and attractiveness. I suspect they feel a bit more comfortable around me as I am younger, and because we’re very much gravitating away from that injected look and towards a more natural look.

He believes that, combined with his clinic’s more personal boutique experience, his natural results are his USP.

“It used to be that showing you’ve had lip fillers or breast implants said, ‘Look what I can afford’, but now it’s accessible to everyone, it’s the opposite. The cheap, quick jobs are visible and the more pricey, delicate work is invisible. Fifteen years ago, Brazilian Butt Lifts (BBLs) were in fashion, the bigger the better. Now it’s kind of the opposite and they’re all getting it sucked back out. I like to wait and see what will fit the patient’s face, not what is in vogue now, because it might not be the case five years from now.”

INTERNATIONAL PATIENTS

Dr Van der Aa’s clinic attracts a diverse international clientele, with patients flying in from New York, Los Angeles, Dubai, and other locations. He also has a small satellite clinic in Antwerp where he goes once or twice a month.

“In Antwerp, patients have a lot more trust because the market is a lot smaller, and they’ve seen me onTV. I’ve partnered with a local friend there to make it easierwhen I’m in the UK. The local expertise is very different from what there is on Harley Street – they’re still performing procedures that people were doing here 10-15 years ago. I’m setting a standard. My Antwerp patients want the latest, theywant the natural look that also is not always as available as in mainland Europe.”

His aesthetic philosophy and commitment to patient satisfaction have earned him accolades and recognition. “Everything I do to you, I want you to look like you’re born with,” he adds. His reputation continues to grow, and he has been invited to speak at major conferences worldwide. Looking ahead, Dr Van der Aa plans to expand his clinic, offering more treatments and services, while maintaining his emphasis on natural beauty and personalised patient care. He also aspires to open another clinic, this time on the high street, to reach more people and share his passion for aesthetics with a wider audience.