‘Ik zit al achttien jaar in deze business, ben een echte vakidioot’

MASTERS EXPO exhibitor Lindsay van der Looij and her team make every skin more beautiful and radiant at BLOY Insitute. With something for everyone and the latest treatments, the clinic is a household name in Amsterdam-Zuid. In the latest edition of MASTERS MAGAZINE, Lindsay tells her story.Text: Bart-Jan Brouwer | Online Editor: Mical Joseph
Image: Photography via BLOY Institute

Joffers

"As a young girl, entrepreneurship was already in me. When I was sixteen I started my own salon at my parents' house. My mother, who had a hair salon, sent customers to me, and people also came to me through the perfume store - that's how it started. At some point I wanted more and started working four days a week as an account manager for three different cosmetics brands. In that position, I walked into 180 salons and saw how they were doing there. I can do better than that, I thought. Things started to bubble up and I started looking for premises. At that time, my best friend moved to Amsterdam. I looked her up and we went for a coffee together at Brasserie Joffers. If only I could have my own business here one day...' I drew up a business plan and got a loan from the bank. In the midst of the financial crisis, I started a salon in a modest practice space on Parnassusweg. A year later came a collaboration with a cosmetic doctor. For the first few years, I worked seven days a week and put every penny I earned into my business. To generate publicity, I made my own newspaper, went flyering myself every day, provided goodie bags at the right events... I got a number of Dutch celebrities as clients. That's how I got tremendous exposure. We were growing out of our shell. I wanted to take the next step and opened a second location on Willemsparkweg, where I have five treatment rooms at my disposal. Funnily enough, the salon is right across the street from Brasserie Joffers."

Total concept

"When corona came, I decided to quit Parnassusweg and focus entirely on the new salon, which I named BLOY Institute. The salon is distinguished by the most advanced equipment. I make no concessions, wanting only the very best. In October we will get a new laser device, a stunner that is loved in America. Even the Kardashians have their skin treated with this powerful laser. I never choose the newest of the newest in terms of equipment, but instead rather consciously choose the best, proven techniques and equipment. The salon is also distinguished by a total concept. We have everything under one roof: skin therapists, beauticians and cosmetic doctors from the leading Clinic 28. They all work very closely together and are incredibly well matched. You don't see that very often. People can also come to us for body treatments, anti-aging advice and supplements, among other things. Many Dutch celebrities, politicians and entrepreneurs are our clients. Someone who comes here for the first time first gets an intake interview. Then we do a skin scan, free of charge, to measure sun damage, for example, as well as a collagen scan to see the condition of the skin: how thick is it, how fast does it age, how healthy is it for its age? Every skin is different and requires a specific approach. That's why we create a personalized treatment plan for each client. Our treatments and products aim to put the skin itself to work. This to boost cell division and collagen production so that the skin can effectively regenerate itself. The treatments most in demand are Venus Legacy Body, which uses radio frequency to create collagen, and Oxygen Power Facials, oxygen treatments to keep the skin naturally young - the very same night you look super."

My secret