With a background in general practice, Dr Jane Leonard underwent training at Manchester University. Having grown up in Saint Helens, choosing a local university was a natural fit, and her passion for all aspects of medicine led them to qualify as a GP.
Alongside her general practice work, she delved into cosmetics, focusing on facial anatomy. Reflecting on her journey, Dr Jane realized it was a wise decision, even though the path wasn't entirely clear at the outset.
After medical school, she had the opportunity to spend a couple of years in Melbourne, where she furthered her knowledge in dermatology, particularly in areas related to skin cancer and prevention.
This journey, starting from her fascination with facial anatomy in Melbourne, through their GP training, culminated in 2011, marking significant growth and development in Dr Jane’s career. G Mag sat down with the GP and cosmetic specialist.
On what she loves the most about what she does right now
I think the thing I love the most is diversity. I'm fortunate enough to have a GP background and as a doctor, it is the most general job you can get. Part of that is because it is so generalized. I'm really lucky to have a way more specialist job alongside [that]. That's working as a cosmetic or prosthetics doctor; it's more anti-ageing medicine than purely cosmetic stuff.
On The Confidence Clinic Podcast
The intention behind it is to talk about people's stories and not necessarily focus on success. A lot of confidence is built through taking chances and taking risks. Things don’t always go our way because what happens in that situation is, you either learn something or you redirect into another path. So again, I've had lots of guests that have shared stories that they've had, not just what people say online or on Instagram or on anything to do with TV, where it's like, ‘look at me and how well I'm doing.’ So if I have a crazy story, it's actually to look at the backstory and go, ‘How did you end up where you are?’ The intention about it is, I suppose, just sharing little things that you didn't necessarily know and just, giving confidence to the audience about their journey. It's very easy to be hard on yourself when you're trying to do things.
On the importance of beauty x mind health
I think this is a really good thing now, that people are way more aware of it. You have to start looking from the inside and that's in many layers. So it's not only just about the sort of lifestyle you lead, it's the kind of energy that you're around, the energy that you put out and also looking at your mental health as opposed to your physical health.
On being an aesthetics doctor
We still have a duty of care to our patients to look at this whole picture. So I think a lot of things potentially don't go wrong when we talk about people being over-treated, the wrong patients undergoing treatment. A lot of that does align with those. We need to take responsibility, and we should be speaking to people openly and kindly, managing their expectations and directing them along the right lines.
On doctors having a holistic approach with patients and insurance
I was fortunate enough to go to medical school and one of the things we learned is consultation skills to tease out these different sorts of aspects of people's lives. So having Botox done, having these treatments, it does improve your confidence, but not everything. And it's not going to erase any sort of the deeper lying issues.
On an experience she’s had that uplifted and inspired her
I suppose, talking about aesthetics specifically, I think it's when people come and see me and think ‘l left it too late,’ or that see all these young girls, again on Instagram, looking amazing. They just give it up on themselves. So I think when they have these little tweaks and they do empower themselves, it's not necessarily about, you know, they feel better, but it's a perfect example of if you look better, you feel better. And that shows the way they feel about themselves, and that's amazing.
On beauty and wellness tips for all
I think the main thing is to be kind to yourself. It's a thing that we throw around all the time, but the idea is, all right, so I have off days. It's fine. It's just all these things add to the way that you feel about yourself. Sometimes making changes could be the start of a whole new life, a whole new way that you look at yourself. So I think it's just there is always time to feel better about yourself and be healthier if you put in place the right habits.
