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Story and Photos by Alice Gerard
Senior Contributing Writer
In May of 2022, Karen Paolini, a nurse practitioner, left her job at ECMC to devote herself full-time to running Island Aesthetics, a business she founded to help “aging women feel better about themselves.”
“I’ve worked in health care since the 1980s. Most of my career was spent in the hospital. I started doing aesthetics about six years ago,” Paolini said. “My aesthetic career became busy and became a full-time job, and I was working a full-time position at the hospital. So, when I made the decision to open my own independent practice here, that’s when I left the hospital. Now, I solely do this.”
On May 8, the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting for Island Aesthetics at 1780 Grand Island Blvd.
“We love having a new woman-owned business on Grand Island. It’s fantastic. We have quite an ecosystem with that going on,” said Eric Fiebelkorn, president of the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce.
Paolini said business has been excellent. For the past six years, “I’ve had fantastic young ladies, older ladies, and men, who have been coming to me and trusted me, so this is just an expansion of what I’ve already been doing.”
When asked what motivated Paolini to open her business, she said, “I am an aging woman. That’s it. Being an aging woman. Just realizing that, sometimes, it’s the simplest thing that makes you feel good about yourself. I find that joy in working with other people as well.”
She said she provides a wide variety of services for her customers. When asked who an ideal client would be, she said, “Women and men. We do have quite a few men that come. Basically anybody over the age of 18. It doesn’t have to be for a cosmetic injectable. We have aesthetic services, facials, lasers and other things that we offer. Laser hair removal. We do injectables and other cosmetic procedures, as well. We offer a variety of services to make you feel good: IV therapy, a nice massage chair, where you take relaxation for 30 to 60 minutes.”
Services offered include such cosmetic services as injectables. These “include Botox products and dermal fillers,” Paolini said. “We do PDO threads. They are tiny pieces of sutures. We can lift the skin up. We do chemical peels, facials, laser hair removal, lash lift and tint, and eyebrow lamination. We have our Agnes radiofrequency machine, and we can actually fat dissolve under eye bags and chin fat. We do pigmented lesions, vascular lesions and IV therapy.”
It is not necessary to get a referral from a doctor, Paolini said. “It is a self-referral, word of mouth, so it doesn’t require a medical order. I am a medical provider, who is providing the services.”
Karen Paolini cuts the ribbon at Island Aesthetics, as coworkers, town officials and members of the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce watch.
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Another service that is offered is a medical weight loss program.
“First, I do an assessment of the client’s medical history and what goals they have,” Paolini said. “I encourage them to speak with their family physician, who is more familiar with them than I am. I have a dietician as a consultant. I have a life coach, who can also help identify other things that may be hindering their weight loss. Given that information, they can make a decision if they want to pursue our treatment program or not.
“Some people have metabolic issues. They may be somebody who has an underactive thyroid, for instance. They may have other chronic illnesses that may hinder their mobility, and they can’t be as active as they would like. There are other eating disorders. We help identify if those things are really the issue or if our program would really be helpful to them and if they would like to try it.”
For people who may want to investigate the services of Island Aesthetics, Paolini suggested coming in for a consultation.
“We do consults, which are always complimentary,” she said. “That’s one way you could come in and meet my staff or me. You could talk about what’s bothering you and what you’re looking for. There is no obligation. You can leave and decide you don’t want to have anything done, but you become more informed about what treatments are out there when and if you are ready. Or, from there, you can schedule an appointment for something that we talked about and that you’re interested in.”
For more information, check out the website at https://karenpaolini.com/, or call 716-345-5592 to make an appointment.
“We have added a number of services since (creating the website),” Paolini said. “We are in the process of updating everything, including our website. Hopefully, within the next week or two, we will have that ready. We plan on having information on Instagram, Facebook, our website, and we will have hard copies, as well, for people who are not on the Internet.”
“I welcome the community, the support,” Paolini said. “We love our ladies and our men. We strive for a great experience here. We hope that people leave satisfied and, if not, we will always work with them to make sure that they are.
“The community support means a lot. We love our hometown. We wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”