Billionaire heiress upset beauty clinics deemed ‘nonessential’

The daughter of Singapore billionaire Peter Lim wants justice for the city’s beauty clinics – such as her own – which were forced by the pandemic to close and won’t be operating any time soon. 

Kim Lim, 28, who hasn’t been able to sell ultrasound facials, stimulate collagen or freeze fat for two months at her clinic, recently took to Instagram to vouch for the industry, which will not be allowed to operate when lockdown restrictions are lifted Monday.  

“If some businesses can resume with measures put in place, why can’t aesthetic clinics do the same? Private aesthetic clinics uphold the very high standards that are expected of all [Healthcare Institutions],” she wrote Thursday. 

 

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Is it expensive to run an aesthetic clinic? Yes, it is. Especially if you were getting top of the line machines because we want to offer the latest and best technology to our clients. The PICO lasers, Fat Freeze machines, HIFUs come at a high cost with ongoing installments, even when we are not operating. Like many other businesses, the aesthetic industry has been badly hit and having no income for 2 months is pushing the limit. Now we are told that this will drag on for longer, it’s going to be hard to sustain. We have to watch other businesses resume, while our expensive stocks of botox, fillers expire in the fridge. Please spare a thought for us, as we are earning zero income and we are expected to pay our bills, our installments, rentals and staff salaries. If some businesses can resume with measures put in place, why can’t aesthetic clinics do the same? Private aesthetic clinics uphold the very high standards that are expected of all HCIs. Hygiene has always been one of our priorities especially for aesthetic businesses. Even before this pandemic we have been practising and maintaining premise cleanliness and hygiene. Face masks and gloves have been used when coming in contact with patients, needles only used once and we always sterilise all our equipment. We can operate only by appointment, keep services short, put in place social distancing, disinfect our premises more regularly, wear a face shield on top of our face masks etc. On top of that, we are establishments with trained medical professionals, with nurses and doctors. The health and safety of our patients has always been our priority. I believe that there are other businesses, beyond aesthetic, that are required to extend their circuit breaker measures. They are fighting to sustain their business, maintain livelihood, retain valuable employees and to continue serving customers again. There should be a BALANCE to everything. Shutting businesses down for an extended period is not the best way to deal with this, we can all learn to support and fight this together in a safe manner too. 🙏🏻

A post shared by K I M L I M (@kimlimhl) on May 19, 2020 at 8:51pm PDT

Lim, whose Illumia Therapeutics is at Orchard Road’s Wheelock Place, also lamented the drain on her business’ finances due to its expensive equipment and products’ short shelf life.

“The PICO lasers, Fat Freeze machines, [High-intensity focused ultrasound machines] come at a high cost with ongoing installments, even when we are not operating,” she said. “We have to watch other businesses resume, while our expensive stocks of botox, fillers expire in the fridge. Please spare a thought for us, as we are earning zero income and we are expected to pay our bills, our installments, rentals and staff salaries.”

Lim noted that her business had been maintaining hygiene and social distancing measures even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Singapore.

“Face masks and gloves have been used when coming in contact with patients, needles only used once and we always sterilise all our equipment. We can operate only by appointment, keep services short, put in place social distancing, disinfect our premises more regularly, wear a face shield on top of our face masks etc,” she said.

“There should be a BALANCE to everything. Shutting businesses down for an extended period is not the best way to deal with this, we can all learn to support and fight this together in a safe manner too,” she added.

 

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Sneak peek at our grand 4000sqft medical spa 🤗 #unveiling #illumiatherapeutics #beautifyinglifethroughscience #skinBrite #faceLifting #slimScience #feminineHealth #sgaesthetics

A post shared by illumia therapeutics (@illumiatherapeutics.sg) on Jan 22, 2020 at 4:25am PST

 

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More peeks of our spectacular home in Wheelock Place Singapore – Illumia’s grand reception with floor to ceiling views of Orchard Boulevard 👀Come pay us a visit! We look forward to welcoming you to Illumia 💋#bestofsingapore2020 #bestaestheticmedspa #skinbrightening #slimSCIENCE #feminineHealthRejuvenation #FastSpeedFaceLifting #sgaesthetics #beautifyinglifethroughscience

A post shared by illumia therapeutics (@illumiatherapeutics.sg) on Feb 9, 2020 at 3:40am PST

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