Dr. Jamuna Pai; Journey of a doctor from healthcare to entrepreneurship

“My passion for aesthetic medicine kept on increasing day by day and I started implementing methods to make medications to enhance beauty way back in 1992,” reminisces Dr Pai, who today also has the distinction of redefining aesthetic medicine and cosmetology in a unique way. 

Her pursuit in making the best medications for beauty led her to envision advance beauty skin treatments at a time when, the use of machinery for beauty enhancement and treatment was a vague idea and had very few takers. “In order to give reality to my vision, I joined a beauty school of aesthetic medicine at Manchester in 1993. I did a six months course and found a change in my perspective and started implementing my ideas in a much pragmatic way. I started giving shape to my vision by pioneering treatments suiting Asian Skin types, ” informs Dr Pai.

Dr Pai is credited to have pioneered skin treatment modalities like skin resurfacing laser also known as Erbium Yag, stand alone Intense Pulsed Light Laser (IPL) system to treat various skin conditions and skin lightening peel suited to Asian skin types. She also has the distinction of pioneering clean up procedure for treatment of oily skin types, dermal fillers for facial contouring and plumping, Fraxel or Fractional Light Laser for the treatment of cosmetic problems like acne scars, pigmentation and facial lines especially around the mouth and eyes. Her other innovations are in the modalities of hair removing laser as well as skin tightening machine like Thermage. “All of these treatment modalities suit Asian skin types by virtue of their cooling tips which do not allow pigmentation to rise to the surface because of heat,” informs Dr Pai.

Being the leading single injector of Botox in the country, Dr. Pai has played an integral role in creating awareness about Botox in the minds of Indian populace by conducting numerous workshops and seminars across various cities in the country thus earning her the acclaimed title of being ‘The Pioneer of Cosmetic in India’. Noteworthy to say that, Blush clinics has also completed its 10 years of association with Botox, the world’s number one non-surgical aesthetic brand meant to treat expression lines, volume loss in the face, migraine, disorders arising due to muscle over activity. Botox is currently being marketed and manufactured by a pharmaceutical company named Allergan India Pvt Ltd.

A Post Graduate in Medicine from Nair Hospital, her first job in the field of medicine was that of a Casualty Medical Officer in one of the prestigious Government hospital for one year and then for quite some time with an infectitious disease hospital. She further worked for a Municipal Corporation Hospital at Mumbai as a doctor for school children for nine years

Her vision of pursuing aesthetic medicine started taking shape when she enrolled for various beauty courses in India and abroad. After completing her training in the UK and with acclaimed dermatologists from all over the world, Dr. Pai perfected her knowledge and skills. Over the years, she constantly updated her techniques and extensive knowledge of the subject.

“My vision of a beauty clinic took shape in 1994 with the opening of the first cosmetic clinic under the brand name Blush to offer internationally renowned skin and beauty treatments.,” informs Dr Pai. Providing an elegant and charming ambience to its clients, Blush became an instant success and right from the first year of its inception enjoyed the patronage of her clients, which spanned across celebrities to middle class people. 

After the inception of the first clinic in 1994, Dr. Pai was nominated to be a part of the Femina Miss India panel in 1995. The following year she opened her second clinic in Andheri, Mumbai followed by a third clinic in South Mumbai in 1998. Botox was introduced to India for the first time through the three Blush Clinics in the year 2000 and a treatment for laser hair removal was introduced in 2002. In 2002, she was also invited as the sole Indian representative to be a part of the International Conference on Botox in Bali. 2004 saw the launch of the Intense Pulsed Light Laser (IPL) Quantum Surgical Process and advanced techniques for Botox and Dermal Fillers. In 2006, Blush was incorporated as a company under the name of Blush Clinics Pvt. Ltd. In 2007, Blush tied up with jet Airways for providing beauty, grooming and skincare training to its staff. 2008 saw the launch of Blush’s first clinic outside Mumbai, in the newly developed city of Pune.

Carrying forward, Dr. Pai’s vision of offering a highly personalized and medically sound experience to her clients each time, the Blush Clinics have climbed the ranks to become the most popular and respected skincare clinics in India and globally. “With the current infrastructure of three Blush Laser and Cosmetic Clinics in Mumbai and one in Pune, we have plans of replicating such centres across India, ” informs Dr Pai.

The need for aesthetic medicine is growing phenomenally in India with a rate of 40 to 50 per cent on a year on year basis. The current base of 25, 000 procedures in skin care clinics reflects a lot of scope for the field of aesthetic medicine coupled with a great demand in the domestic market and abroad. “In order to cater to the growing demand for aesthetic medicine, we also have plans of opening training schools for doctors and aestheticians and an anti aging skincare line in the coming few years,” concludes Dr Pai.

Shardul Nautiyal