County Durham has never looked so good, since local entrepreneur and qualified aesthetician Alex Erwin set up ‘The Treatment Centre’ in Chester-le-Street this year.
Aesthetics at Erwins plans to bring out the best in everyone, with the company’s tailor-made treatment plans and its unique one-stop-shop wellness experience.
Aesthetics at Erwins began as a one-man operation back in 2018, but the business has grown into an impressive collective of like-minded professionals working towards one shared goal: “enhancing natural beauty.” Based in the centre of Chester-le-Street, Erwin’s new facility – The Treatment Centre – is a one-of-a-kind operation that plans to provide both the county and the surrounding region with a shining example of the North East’s collaborative and entrepreneurial spirit.
From working in car sales, to manning the fragrance and beauty counters in Highstreet stores, and now to running his own aesthetics company, Aesthetics at Erwins founder Alex Erwin has a portfolio career that perfectly encapsulates what it means to be an entrepreneur. At thirty-one, this Lanchester native has spent years working hard to build a reputable brand, but he has also spent much of this time identifying his passions and then subsequently finding ways to monetise them.
Growing up, Alex recalls being surrounded by his mother’s love for looking good and feeling good, and it was her relationship with self-care that first attracted him to the beauty/aesthetics industry. Throughout his professional career, Alex has worked within a variety of industries that all seem to have one common goal: making others feel good. Weaving his way from sales to retail and then finally to healthcare, Alex has “worked from the bottom all the way to the top” to transform lives one client at a time.
While Aesthetics at Erwins may have started as a lucrative ‘side-hustle’ four years ago, the opening of Erwin’s Chester-le-Street location earlier this year has revolutionised the way in which consumers interact with the beauty industry and in turn their own wellbeing.
Alex himself describes the business as a “collective”, which is made up of a team of beauty professionals “all of whom are experts in their own right”. More specifically, Alex Erwin is a highly qualified aesthetician, who is renowned for making clients “feel just as good on the outside as they do on the inside.” With a reputation for providing some of the best filler and Botox services in the region, Alex has also expanded his offerings to include laser services (including hair removal) and HIFU (skin tightening) treatments. The focus for Alex is maintaining a client’s natural beauty, and the Aesthetics at Erwins team work together to provide an end-to-end service experience.
The Aesthetics at Erwins collective are more than just a beauty spa, they are a community of like-minded individuals who aim to empower and enhance. Offering a wider range of services than one beauty therapist could ever do alone, the team are able to create bespoke and comprehensive treatment plans for every client without them ever having to leave the facility.
In addition to Alex’s aesthetician services, clients can make use of the in-house hairdresser, nail technicians, beautician, and massage/holistic therapist. All workers are self-employed (with Alex operating as the company’s owner/director), but he insists that the entire Aesthetics at Erwins team navigate the communal workspace as co-owners; “a community which understands that in order to bring the best out in their clients, they must first bring the best out in themselves.”
The success of Aesthetics at Erwin’s relies heavily on the company’s contemporary approach to an ever-evolving list of services. With an overarching goal to “succeed together,” Alex and the team understand the importance of tending to and nurturing your community.
The North East is renowned for its community-first attitude, where regional pride leads to regional small business success and local support is integral in the pursuit of long-term success. Chester-le-Street is a market town, characterised by its never-ending supply of community spirit.
Whether it be the town’s central location or the huge variety of Highstreet vendors that call this place home, Chester-le-Street may have a small town feel but it’s jam-packed with big city opportunities. As Alex explains himself, “you can easily get lost within city centres, but in Chester-le-street we are all each other’s biggest supporters”.
In fact, one such County Durham non-profit holds a special place in Alex’s heart. The CDC Enterprise Agency has provided invaluable support for both Aesthetics at Erwins as a whole, but also for the self-employed workers within the company. A true example of community spirit, Alex explained how he “couldn’t thank them enough” for their continued mentorship and guidance.
From discounted coffee to exclusive batches of local-sourced essential oils, Alex and the team can reach new heights and move outside of their comfort zones through the dedicated support of their local community. With a social-media heavy strategy combined with word-of-mouth support, he has been able to attract an impressive loyal clientele (of both men and women – all over the age of twenty-five) and convert potential into profit.
Looking towards the future, Alex and The Treatment Centre’s team plan to strive for bigger and better things, and not just for their clients but also for themselves.
More explicitly, it is essential to stay up to date with the latest techniques and training when working within such a fast-paced industry. Alex himself actively re-trains gains a new skill-set within aesthetics every year (via Empire Aesthetics Academy), making sure to set the example for those working alongside him and remind them that “we’re here to give good treatments and services, whilst being as professional and well-trained as we can be”.
For Aesthetics at Erwins, the team “isn’t there to rip people off,” they simply want to provide unparalleled services within a region that deserves to house high quality ideas/products.
As Alex Erwin rightly concludes “it’s the little things that make a huge difference,” and the driving force behind Aesthetics at Erwins is that a little bit really can go a long way. With a team of experts on hand, and a community that is rallying for their long-term success, it comes as no surprise that this ambitious entrepreneur plans to eventually open another facility next year. Because no matter what you do, where you go or who you are, “health truly is wealth”, and the services provided by businesses such as Aesthetics at Erwins can make everyone feel like a million dollars.
Whether you’re looking for a confidence boost, or just fancy treating yourself to a well-deserved treatment, head over to the The Treatment Centre in the centre of Chester-le-Street. For more information head to Facebook.com/TheTreatmentCentre
