Mum quit banking to open skin clinic after acne struggles

A mum from Farnham quit her six-figure banking job to open a skin clinic - after worrying clients were not taking her seriously due to her acne.
Holly Mason, now 38, feared that she was losing out on deals due to her skin condition – believing it made her look like a teenager.
After finding holistic treatments which cured her acne she left the job in the City and decided she wanted to help others with the condition.
Holly, a mum-of-three, now runs a skin clinic near Farnham – helping others heal their acne too.
She said: “I had a very high-powered job where I had to deal with powerful wealthy individuals, and I always felt not truly confident because I felt like people were looking at my skin.
“I worked in the city, worked managing ultra-high net worth money – when you’re trying to win big mandates with millions of pounds of people’s money, I worried that clients thought I looked like a teenager.
“The way you hold yourself when you’re worried about your skin is totally different.
“Now I feel the opposite – it’s a total gamechanger for someone who suffers with their skin when you can leave home without makeup on.”
Holly first started struggling with acne at 13 and continued to battle the condition into her adult life.
She tried medical treatments including Roaccutane – which has possible side effects including changes to mental health, psychosis, and liver, kidney and eyesight problems.
Doctors also suggested chemical peels which left her in pain and suffering from bright red skin, and using the contraceptive pill to help manage outbreaks.
But Holly says the contraceptive pill caused benign tumours on her breast and liver and she was advised to stop taking it after nine years.
While working in Australia from 2009 to 2013, she says she discovered a different way of life which seemed to benefit her skin and began exploring more holistic options such as supplements.
And she decided to quit her city job to open her own skin clinic, The Skin Investment Clinic, in Charles Hill between Farnham and Elstead in 2020, offering a combination of medical and holistic treatments.
In 2022 she decided to franchise the business and is now looking forwards to opening a Harley Street clinic later this month.
She also has clinics in Hampshire near Stockbridge and Wiltshire, with one in Cheshire due to open later this year.