Dr Altona Myers

Dr Altona Myers (36) is an aesthetic doctor and a qualified dentist. Born in Killarney, Co Kerry, she lives in Blackrock, Co Dublin, with her husband, Ross, and their daughter, Rocca (one)

Everything has changed since coronavirus. I used to go to the gym first thing, but now I get up with my baby daughter, Rocca. One of the good things about this period is that I was always craving more time with my little girl, and now, with self-isolation, and the time off work, we are together a lot more. I give her her breakfast — we all have porridge and fruit — and then we have play-time. She is learning new words.

I qualified as a dentist, and then I specialised. Now I’m an aesthetic doctor. In 2018, I set up my clinic in Stillorgan — Facial Rejuve. We offer a wide range of advanced non-surgical treatments, from cosmetic injectable treatments to Botox, peels and dermal fillers. The aim is to make people look natural and fresh, and the good work goes unnoticed.

My husband, Ross, works with me. While I am usually in the clinic, he does the marketing side of the business. We are trying to figure out what we can do over the next few months.

Normally I go to work, and I’m in close proximity with my clients on a daily basis. There is no physical distance. When the coronavirus started, we decided to close. At the moment, it’s not about making money and profit, but keeping everyone safe.

My business depends on seeing people, and that’s been taken away. If this goes on for very long it will be detrimental to all businesses. Everyone is feeling the pinch.

But right now our life is about the three of us staying home more and giving in to it. If the medics are fighting for us, surely we can stay at home and self-isolate, and do it willingly.

Every morning, we go out for a short walk with Rocca and our dog. It’s lovely to get a bit of fresh air and there are not many people out early in the morning. A lot of elderly are out walking. I can see that they are alone and sad, but they are still saying, ‘Hi’. We keep our physical distance, but Rocca wants to walk up to people. She doesn’t understand when they walk away from her.

There’s always a plan B. You have to keep going. I’m using this time to work on myself and also, I’ve more time for my skincare regime. I’m drinking more water, and we are eating more healthily because I’m at home more regular hours.

You have to take the positives and you have to switch things around and say, ‘What can we do in this situation? What is within our control?’

I’m doing online consultations. People are still contacting me, taking photos of their problem areas — wrinkles or loose skin. I was about to launch the Skin Club — a 12-week skin programme — but all is not lost. You have to do an at-home skin programme anyway for a few weeks before you start the clinic treatment.

So I’m doing the online Skin Club and then we are posting out the skincare packages. I’m keeping in touch with clients to see how they are getting on and making sure they are sticking to the plan. When we get back to the clinic, people will have had the right level of pharmaceutical-grade creams working on their skin.

I do an hour of consultations in the morning and another in the afternoon. People reach out to me, and they show the area of concern. They might show me their faces on FaceTime, Skype or WhatsApp. I tell them what we can do, and that might incorporate some skincare as well. I use a clinical brand that goes four layers deeper into the skin, so they are actually working on cellular change to the skin. Twenty per cent of my clients are male. But in general, it’s mostly women contacting me at the moment. They might be watching the pennies, but they are still looking to buy their skincare. They want to look after themselves. Some of them are stay-at-home moms, and others are at home because they can’t go to work. Usually, I wear make-up going to work, but at this time I’m letting my skin breathe. I’m still getting up in the morning and getting dressed, but

I’m definitely working on my skin so it will be stronger and look better.

I think it’s important for people to get on with their normal routine and do something positive each day. I try to set two tasks — even if it’s just something small, like tidying the wardrobe or cleaning the bathroom.

If I achieve those two things, then at least, at the end of the day, I feel I’ve got somewhere. I have to be busy. I’m used to working long days, from 10am until 8pm.

I normally wear high heels at work, but at home, I’ve given up the heels and my feet are thanking me.

I’m not the best of cooks, but my husband is a good cook and he is teaching me how to cook a few dishes, and again we are using that time positively.

I used to do admin from 9pm until 11, but now I’ve a lot more time to unwind and relax. I’m able to read books and catch up with myself. In the middle of all the negative stuff going on, it’s been a lovely period for that.

I’m trying to stay as strong and positive as I can. We can only work with what we have and what’s in front of us. All these businesses that have shut, we are all in this together. We can all pull together and come out better and stronger from it at the end.

People will still want their injectables and their skin treated at the other side, so I just have to weather the storm.

“I’m doing online consultations. People take photos of their wrinkles and I post creams”