When Sasha Benson opened her own spa in Paget earlier this month it felt like coming home.

“I launched Benson Esthetics on February 23 at 6 The Lane, Paget, back where it all started,” she said.

She began her career in 2008, running the Azure Medical Spa in the Paget Dental Group building. Her new spa is housed in an outbuilding on the same property owned by dental surgeon James Fay.

“Benson Esthetics is a place where women can feel safe, confident and work on their skin goals from the inside out,” Ms Benson said. “I take a holistic approach to skincare by addressing the internal triggers to women's skin problems and from there I can effectively develop a treatment plan that can safely repair their skin from years of damage.”

Benson Esthetics offers everything from facials and acne treatments to dermaplaning to blemish removal.

She started thinking about opening her own business after the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown started last March.

“I have a radio segment which airs every other Monday on Power95 at 8.45am entitled Talking Beauty With Sasha Benson,” she said.“ I found that people were still very interested in skin care.”

A local physician asked if she would be interested in opening a medical spa within their medical practice. The project didn’t go forward.

“But it reignited a fire within me,” Ms Benson said.

She decided that after years of running spas at other places such as Northshore Medical, it was time to build her own.

“It is interesting how it came full circle,” she said. "Dr Fay has always been so supportive. He tells everyone that I am the best in the business. He said to me if you want to run your own business, I have a room you can rent. So I came in, checked it out and thought, hey this can probably work.”

Since opening she has had more than 30 customers.

“My number one treatment is Derma Cleaning," she said. "I am obsessed with Derma Cleaning. We are using a medical scalpel that gently scrapes the outer epidermal layer of the skin. It removes peach fuzz as a bonus, but also up to 21 days of dead skin. It is great.“

Ms Benson said the process leaves your face feeling “baby soft”.

Her Hydrojelly masks are also popular. They are made with alginate, a substance made from algae. They are said to hydrate, smooth, exfoliate and tone the skin, among other things.

Because Ms Benson homeschools her two daughters during the day, Benson Esthetics is open on weekdays from 4.30pm to 7pm and all day on weekends.

The evening weekday hours mean that clients can pop by after work on their way home.

“I really want to cater to them,” she said. “You can relax and be pampered and then go home. You don’t have to rush back to work.”

Ms Benson started out studying business law and accounting in college, but didn’t enjoy working in the field.

“The money was there but I just wasn’t happy with that lifestyle and department,” she said. “I was researching what I could do to get involved with skin, because I was always interested in dermatology. I thought aesthetics was a great start to that career. Somehow I ended up staying in aesthetics.”

She loves how the industry is always evolving.

“Every year, things change,” she said. “There are new ingredients. There are new formulations. There are new machines. It is incredible. It is an ever changing field. Aesthetics brings joy. It is a burning fire inside of me. It really excites me.”

Ms Benson said this time around, her product selection is different.

“I got the best skin care line for different conditions,” she said. “For instance, Face Reality is the number one line for acne. We have already seen tremendous improvements for teenage acne and even adult onset acne with that. I still carry Circadia. I love their enzymes. And then we have Physicians Care Alliance. It is a brand created by a dermatologist and aesthetician. The best of both worlds created this incredible line.”

The Derma Cleaning and Hydrojelly masks are also new offerings for her.

So far, her clients are predominantly women.

“Throughout Covid-19 I was doing a lot of virtual skin consults,” she said. “I had one male client which is fine. But I definitely love treating women’s skin. We go through so much. We constantly self sacrifice for others.”

Prices range from $75 to $360, depending on the service.

• For more information see www.bensonesthetics.com or on Facebook and Instagram @bensonesthetics, call 300-4674, e-mail bensonesthetics@outlook.com