Lockdown can allow your skin some downtime

Reena Ranger, Chair of Women Empowered, is In Conversation with Dr Manrina Rhode as part of her regular series for ‘iGlobal’ to explore some inspirational facets from the life and achievements of prominent Global Indians.

Manrina graduated from Guys Hospital London and is today known as one of the top cosmetic dentists in the UK. Dr Rhode went on to acquire further qualifications, including Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry, Advanced Occlusion Techniques and Facial Aesthetics, with her expertise in cosmetic dentistry resulting in her sought-after Designing Smiles courses. Here the facio-aesthetic dental surgeon tells Reena about being productive during the coronavirus lockdown, exploring new skincare solutions and following your intuition.

What has lockdown taught you about yourself, and others?

That we need others to feel secure and happy, but we don’t need to physically see each other as much as one might think. A lot of that need can be fulfilled via video calling.

I’m surprised how happy I am being in lockdown at home. It’s really given me the opportunity to slow down my mind and work at my own pace. I’ve actually been very productive but without any alarms or time pressure.

Also, it’s been lovely not wearing shoes or makeup. People keep asking me if I miss dressing up and going out, but so far I really don’t.

What impact has Covid-19 had on your world and what is now your new normal?

I haven’t been able to work in surgery for the past couple of months. However, I’m a facio-aesthetic dental surgeon. So, although my background is in cosmetic dentistry, I treat my clients’ whole face. And, though I haven’t been able to see them for veneers or injectables for example, I can still help with skincare.

I have set up an online clinic in lockdown where I can do consultations via video call, save my notes on a medical app and then once skin solutions have been treatment planned with the patient, these products can be sent direct to the patients’ house from the pharmacy. All instructions and reviews are completed via video call. It’s been such a new way of working for me but great as it’s allowed me to treat patients’ skin all around the country, without either of us having to leave home.

Lockdown is also a great time to treat common ailments like dark circles and pigmentation, as while you are at home not wearing makeup it allows your skin the downtime it needs to regenerate. I will continue working like this for skincare even once we are back at work. It’s been great.

If you could go back and give your teenage self one bit of advice, what would it be?

Just do it. If your intuition tells you it’s right, don’t worry too much. Go ahead and do it. You can succeed or fail but either way, at least you tried.

What is the meeting point between your two worlds – as a celebrated cosmetic dentist and an influencer on Instagram?

I have two Instagram accounts – @manrinar is about my personal life and @drmanrinarhode is about my work life. Both are very different in their feel. The common thread between the two is that both are about me.

I manage both accounts myself and all the posts are from me. @manrinar is about having fun, sharing where I go, what I’m wearing and what I like to do. @drmanrinarhode is all work related, showcasing my work for patients, letting dentists know about educational events I’m lecturing at. It’s about education and facial and dental beauty.

Both accounts have a different following. I also have three other accounts for my dental course and product line but I’m not so active on those. Managing Instagram can feel like a part time job; I try to just record what I’m doing at that time, so it doesn’t take too much effort to create content to update my followers.

I really enjoy my Instagram accounts and I think that shows through.

Reena Ranger is the Chair and Co-Founder of Women Empowered. In this exclusive “In Conversation” series for iGlobal, the dynamic entrepreneur-philanthropist will be catching up with high-achieving Global Indians across different fields to spotlight some insightful life lessons.