Regina Clinic Group Director Masaaki Kimura

Making people beautiful through first-class technology and management skills

Director of Regina Clinic Group Masaaki Kimura(Masato Kimura)

After graduating from the Faculty of Medicine at Osaka University, he worked at the university's affiliated hospital and a general hospital before moving into aesthetic medicine. In 2017, he became the general director of Regina Clinic. He has over 10 years of experience as a cosmetic dermatologist. He currently serves as the general director of Regina Clinic and the Regina Group. In addition to medical hair removal, he aims to be a clinic that can solve all skin problems through skin care treatments and overseeing doctor's cosmetics.

Acne is something that everyone suffers from during adolescence. Dr. Kimura was one of those people. His own experiences motivated him to pursue a career in medicine. He then saw the potential of hair removal and opened his own clinic. Dr. Kimura wanted to provide "inspirational medical care" to many people, and currently the Regina Group operates 26 clinics nationwide, providing first-class techniques and services. We asked him about the secret to his management.

Before entering the beauty industry, I was an internist. Although it was rewarding, it was far from the reason I decided to become a doctor. When I was in junior high school, I suffered from acne, but I was able to completely cure it with the medicine my father recommended. This experience made me excited about medicine, and I wanted to become a doctor one day so that my patients could experience the same excitement. However, I felt that I would never be able to experience this excitement as long as I remained an internist, and that cosmetic medicine might be a better fit for me, so I switched careers in my fourth year.

However, when I started working there, I found that even though it was the same medical field, the work content was completely different, and while I was able to utilize my knowledge and skills in anatomy and physiology, I had to start studying beauty from scratch again. Of all the things, creating the system for my first clinic was the most difficult. Problems arose every day, so I made improvements as they arose and incorporated them into the manual.

◾️Aiming to provide inspiring medical care

When I see patients' appearance improve and they become more positive, I feel glad that I am doing this job. As their complexions disappear, their expressions brighten. It is a joy to witness such scenes. However, it is not always inspiring. As this is medical treatment, we cannot guarantee 100% results, and in rare cases, there are patients who do not feel any effect. How to deal with such patients and how to achieve results is a constant process of ingenuity. For example, when it comes to removing age spots, we can respond by changing the settings or type of machine, but treatments tailored to gender and skin type vary widely, and it can be very difficult to find a basis for treatment.

When interacting with patients, it's important that the practitioner is interested in beauty and continues to make daily efforts to improve themselves through skincare and other means. Some people tend to make their work routine and let it all slide, halting their growth. However, it's important to develop the habit of thinking. People cannot maintain their top-notch status unless they constantly grow. Regina Clinic requires excellent customer service skills. Therefore, in our customer service training, we teach our practitioners to provide services tailored to the patient's mood and requests. In terms of technique, we don't do things the same way every time, but rather tailor our services to each patient's skin and hair type. It's important to think about how you can make your patients happier and continue to hone your work.

Laser hair removal first began in Japan in the late 1990s, and back then, full-body hair removal cost nearly 80 yen. Thanks to advances in hair removal machines, it can now be done for around 20 yen. As a result, price wars have swept the hair removal industry in recent years. Our clinic does not participate in price wars; instead, we focus on adding value and differentiating ourselves. While hair removal is a medical treatment, it also has a strong service aspect, which is why we place such emphasis on customer service. To set ourselves apart from our competitors while maintaining our prices, we believe that we must be top-notch in terms of technology, service, spatial design, and marketing. For this reason, we are particular about everything related to our clinic. Television commercials are also an important element in raising public awareness, helping to generate interest, so that "Regina is synonymous with hair removal."

◾️Pursuing beauty and pioneering a new era

I believe that beauty is being beautiful both on the inside and out. However, it is very difficult to define, and in my opinion, creating a body that does not age leads to beauty. Beauty differs depending on age, and I think that a reasonable 5-year age difference is ideal. Most of Regina Clinic's patients are in their twenties, but the goal remains the same for people of all ages, and we pursue beauty that suits each individual.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, many people are looking to change their image through surgery and other means while wearing masks, and cosmetic medicine is expanding. When people hear the term "hair removal," they tend to confuse clinics with beauty salons, but medical hair removal is a legitimate medical treatment. In the past, hair removal was strongly associated with beauty salons, but now it has become widely accepted among the general public. As a next step, I would like to use the knowledge of our group to contribute even a little to the advancement of the cosmetic medicine industry, but to achieve this, daily accumulation is important. I would like to share what I have accumulated so far with like-minded doctors through academic conferences and paper submissions.

◾️Message

I think that when you're a student, you should do what you love to the fullest. Whether you're having fun or worrying, make the most of this final period of your moratorium. Once you enter the workforce, you'll have less time than you might imagine. It's important to keep your ears open to all sorts of things, rather than just doing something because you like it. I want you to think about the meaning of what you're doing, learn from the good in others, and become someone who can observe every day. And, develop yourself.

Student Newspaper Special Edition, July 1, 2022 Issue, Kanto Acupuncture and Moxibustion College, 7rd Year, Takehara Koryu