Two Australian DMK skin revision therapists, Carmen Anuriw from the Chelsea Skin Clinic in WA and Brehanna Sanders from Just Magic in Queensland, were big winners at The Skin Games in Los Angeles.
The international non-product aligned competition saw 50 individually represented therapists showcase a skin condition case-study over eight weeks via weekly two-minute videos. Short-listed finalists were then invited to participate in a rigorous two-day practical and theoretical judging process to determine the winners.
Carmen and Brehanna both took home prestigious Game Changer Awards (a category open to medical and non-medical aligned players) while Carmen also took home first prize in the Acne Problematic Skin category and was named Player of the Year.
Carmen said she decided to enter the Skin Games as the competition “provided the perfect platform for therapists to compete on what matters most – client outcomes, education and results”.
“As a business owner and mentor to my staff, I also felt that it was part of my role to put myself out there and show them what you can achieve if you put your mind to it.”
She chose Lucie, a client who had “suffered with cystic acne from the age of 11” and was badly bullied in school, as her model for the case-study.
During the eight-week treatment period, Carmen alternated her treatments weekly “to work on the PH level of Lucie’s skin to manipulate it and work on the overall skin health”.
“Lucie’s skin professionally challenged me,” she said. “I followed my acne protocols but we didn’t seem to be getting anywhere, but by Week 5 I was finally happy and Lucie was shocked as the redness was reducing and the pustules had almost all subsided.
“Nonetheless some weeks I was worried that pushing the boundaries within eight weeks wasn’t going to clear it all together.”
The case-study finished with “fantastic life-changing results” for Carmen and Lucie.
“Lucie wrote the most emotional testimonial,” said Carmen.
“When I read it I cried. Lucie used to call herself a stay-at-home daughter due to her acne being so painful and noticeable… Revising her acne meant that she not only regained her confidence but in many ways, she re-found herself… She now goes to the gym and has enrolled in a nursing course…”
Likewise, Brehanna, who has only been a skin revision therapist for two years, achieved similar “life-changing” results for her case-study model.
She chose her client, 63-year-old Debbie, for the case study as she was a long-term sufferer of rosacea with little self-confidence.
During the case study, Brehanna’s main goal was to improve the texture, appearance and all round health of Debbie’s skin.
“In our treatment program, we challenged the skin and pushed it to limits to achieve the best results in such a short time span,” she explained.
“Our program included treatments that strengthened the structures and tissues, increased free water levels, flushed and cauterised the vessels, and removed dead cuticle…”
She said the results at the end of the eight-week competition were better than expected.
“Debbie absolutely loved it! Being 63, she was at a stage in life where she had accepted that this was what her skin was like, but she certainly wasn’t happy about it and would try cover it up with makeup… Now she doesn’t wear makeup at all…”
Debbie Dickson, head of education for DMK Australia and New Zealand, said the company was extremely proud of Carmen and Brehanna.
“Both DMK therapists showcased what truly wins out in the end and that’s systemically understanding a skin condition in order to correctly revise it,” she said.
“I have had the honour of knowing these women for the entirety of both their careers and their dedication to DMK and professional skin revision is unwavering.”