Our specialized doctor Bart Biermans started his own company in 2006: The Body Clinic. Now quite a few years later, The Body Clinic has grown considerably, the doctors have been tested as best by the Consumers’ Association (of course we are proud of that) and we can be happy with a large client base.
Who is Bart Biermans and how did the dream of starting his own cosmetic clinic come about?
Learn the full interview below!
1. How did you ever start The Body Clinic?
It started during my studies. I was doing internships and initially wanted to become a family physician. Students in the program thought this was crazy because most aspired to become specialists and work in hospitals.
During my studies, I started working as a physician’s assistant at a family doctor’s office. I found out then that I did not want to do this for the rest of my life. I liked the contact with people, but I also saw the disadvantages of this profession. There can be very difficult patients among them that take a lot of time and energy. I also resented the irregular hours. A friend of mine was a cosmetic doctor and I got to go with her. From that moment I knew immediately, this is the profession I want to pursue. By nature I am quite vain, I love entrepreneurship and I love freedom. Being able to manage my own time. After shadowing with a clinic for 3 months, I started my own business. This was in 2006.
2. Can you tell a little more about the treatments you offer?
We actually offer 3 types of treatments.
-Improving the skin through retinol, vitamin a and peelings
-Relaxation of muscles using Botox
-Filling wrinkles and contours through hyaluronic acid fillers.
It is very important to us that the treatments we offer actually work. I used to want to offer treatments that were just on the market, but a lot of new treatments still can’t offer the quality we demand. So now I always wait a yeart if treatments catch on at other clinics. So my advice to everyone is not to just test out all kinds of new treatments. Often the results are disappointing, nor do you know what the longer-term effects are.
3. With The Body Clinic, why did you focus only on face and not body. (the name The Body Clinic does suggest it).
When I was looking at domain names that were still free 10 years ago, this one was still available. I didn’t know then what I wanted to offer in the future and thought, at least this covers it. A lot of people (suppliers, clients) thought that The Body Clinic had been around for a long time, while I had just started. As a beginner, this is a great advantage, as our field is all about trust.
4. What kind of women and men come to The Body Clinic?
This varies widely. From housemothers, to posh women from the Gooi area, from BN’rs to pavers, from very young girls who come for their lips, to older ladies who want a liquid facelift. In short there is not a standard person who comes to us. The age range is from 18 to 75, with an average age of about 40. This age has gone down quite a bit in recent years. Nowadays, you can see that the image of beauty has changed tremendously.
5. At what age do you think you start Botox?
The moment there is a wrinkle and there is a desire to soften it. So you can’t put an age on this. On the contrary, I can imagine that a young person with wrinkle formation is more likely to seek treatment than an older person because it bothers them more.
6. Can you talk a bit about the safety of the treatments and products?
Product safety has improved considerably. However, it always remains to be careful as a physician, as you are working with products that have been on the market for a long time. We use only hyaluronic acids that have been on the market for a long time and have also been proven to be safe in the long term. I have learned by trial and error. In the past, I have sometimes used a product that had not been on the market for very long. Although this was a hyaluronic acid from a reputable company, it still caused problems. Since then I only use products that have been on the market for a long time and never have problems. We also chose to use only hyaluronic acids as fillers. One advantage of this filler is that you can actively dissolve it.
7. There are plenty of cosmetic clinics, why should one choose The Body Clinic?
Besides the long experience (almost 10 years), we have customer satisfaction and safety in high priority. We only use products that have been on the market for a long time and our doctors have been tested as one of the best by the Consumers’ Association for several years. On review sites like “clinic experiences” we score high because of this policy. Finally, our doctors are approachable in contact and with us the client is at the center of the whole experience. From the cup of beauty tea upon reception, to the jar of complimentary cream one receives upon departure.
8. Are the physicians registered? How do I know that a specialized doctor will have me treated?
All of our physicians are BIG registered. You can find the BIG numbers on our website.
9. Do you use treatments yourself and why?
In almost every consultation, I show a picture of myself when I was 10 years younger. Almost everyone thinks I look younger now, and of course that’s because I also have some work done myself. I naturally have quite little volume in the face, because of this it draws quite quickly and makes me look tired. As such, I gratefully take advantage of the liquid facelift every year. I obviously do not do this myself, but have my colleague Monique Dikrama do it for me. Once a year I also have my frown lines and forehead wrinkles treated with Botox. I don’t do this more often because as a man, I don’t want to have too smooth a face. Of course, I use good creams with Retinol and I also had a laser treatment once before.
10. Are you always honest with your customers? A customer wants the whole package but has just been. So what do you recommend?
If people really need to be protected from themselves, I do, but of course I also try to put myself in the client’s shoes. Of course, I always ventilate my view of a natural and beautiful result, but if a client necessarily wants the lips a little thicker than I like, I will do so. It shouldn’t be too much, because then I quickly get comments from other clients. So it is also very important for me to try to achieve as natural a result as possible. And that’s what The Body Clinic stands for: natural results.
11. What do you still miss in terms of treatments at the clinic. What would you like to offer someday?
We are still looking for a good cream with Retinol that is a little more affordable than the one we have now. Furthermore, I really miss a good treatment for the neck. What is on the market now is not enough.
12. What is your dream for the future?
My future dream is to be allowed to make the inner parts of people more beautiful in addition to their appearance. I am currently enjoying studying about this. After completing this 4-year study, I can call myself a holistic therapist. After being preoccupied with appearance for 10 years, I long for more balance in my life. Whether I will incorporate this into The Body Clinic I don’t know yet. I want to keep The Body Clinic small, so that our core values can be well preserved. So I have no big plans in terms of expansion. Maybe another franchise in the Gooi area, but for now we can hardly handle the work.
