Q&A for Carolyn Ingram, Founder of Che® Skincare
1. How did it all begin? When did you start Che® Skincare?
I could see a gap in the Australian market for a 'Clinically
Effective' Brisbane based skincare and so embarked on lengthy
journey of producing an Australian Made clinical skin care product
range for Australian conditions.
Che Skin Care was officially nationally launched on the 28th July 2009 however the range was developed over a period of many years with research and testing.
2. What prompted you to start Che® Skincare?
Che Skincare is 'Clinically Effective' with clients experiencing real results. This is exactly what prompted me. The ability to recommend a skin care range when you know that has been developed medically and gives people the chance to 'step up' their skin care regimes to something more effective.
3. What is your background?
I started my fulltime working career, after completing my degree and post-diploma in music education, as a fully qualified classroom music teacher in a local secondary school in Brisbane. I then moved to the world of instrumental music teaching soon after, with my focus being on teaching, conducting and directing many music programs across Australia.
With my husband, Dr Scott Ingram, a General Surgeon at the time, finishing his fellowship in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery I was persuaded to join him in helping to set up his private medical practice at the Mater Hospital in Brisbane, and so my journey began in the world of medicine.
I went back to university to study business and practice management and started to network with like-minded professionals already working in the industry (there was so much to learn!). I joined the Australian Association of Practice Managers and am now on the QLD Committee and the National Board of Directors for AAPM.
Clinic Aesthetic our non-surgical cosmetic clinic grew out of a growing need for Scott to be able to send his patients somewhere that he trusted for their non-surgical needs. I opened Clinic Aesthetic in 2005 with much fanfare! And so my non-surgical journey began…….
4. Do you have any formal qualifications, and what year did you graduate?
Bachelor of Arts (Music/Instrumental Music) 1989
Graduate Dip of Teaching 1990
Diploma of Practice Management 2005
5. What do you find is the best aspect of the
industry and what is the most annoying to you?
BEST - Seeing people's lives change positively and helping clients achieve what was previously 'impossible'.
ANNOYING - Hearing the misinformation clients have been told about their conditions/looks and the time and money clients have wasted on products and treatments.
6. What is the most valuable life lesson you have learned in your career in skincare?
All is not as it initially seems in the cosmetic industry
- my motto is: research, read and evaluate
7. What is Che® Skincare?
A 'Clinically Effective' skin care range developed in Australia for
Australians who are ready to step up their skin care to the next
level - Che Skincare is beauty through science.
8. What kind of process do you go through when developing a new Che® Skincare product?
Developing a new skin care brand that is chirally corrected in the Australian market posed many challenges but with years of planning, preparation and testing - Che Skincare was born.
I achieved this by being surrounded by the right people who share the same passion for achieving perfection as me. As a 'founder' of something new to the market you need to be prepared to shed a tear and a triumph all in the same day.
9. How do you think the trend towards skincare has changed over the years?
People are generally more aware of ingredients in products
these days and I see that this trend is also extending through to
where the product is manufactured and if the company is Australian
owned. A definite step in the right direction!
Key points clients will be considering for skin care of the future: Is this product actually giving me benefit? Am I getting what I paid for? Can I get in-store treatments that compliment the products I am using? Are these products addressing my individual concerns?
In the future I can see manufacturers and chemists being more involved in the skin care market where individuals are catered for more readily. Clients will be able to put in their skin care prescription, individually tailored by their skin professional, and this is then made for each client personally/individually. This would be dispensed and managed at their medically based skin clinic. Clients will be receiving a skin care regime that is specifically designed to suit their individual needs or skin condition perfectly.
10. How has the success of Che® Skincare changed your life?
Seeing clients lives change through the use of Che Skincare has
been life changing. It spurs you on to achieve bigger and
better things and I now love to give back to the community with
sponsorship of non-profit organizations, events and my local
community through schools and charities.
There is so much good out there and just being able to play a small part in that is life changing.