Lisa Marie Blair of The SkinGirls on Building a Clinical Skincare Practice Without Compromising Integrity

Lisa Marie Blair is the founder of The SkinGirls in Vancouver and the SkinEdition medical-grade product line. With over fifteen years of experience as a Certified Medical Aesthetician, she has built a reputation for clinical precision and consistently exceptional results.

As a sought-after Celebrity Facialist, Lisa Marie works with a discerning clientele who trust her deep understanding of skin physiology and her exacting approach to treatment. Her work is defined by a commitment to safety, efficacy, and the kind of individualized care that produces lasting outcomes rather than temporary fixes.

That same standard of integrity extends to SkinEdition, a line of medical-grade products developed to deliver transformative, clinically supported results for clients beyond the treatment room.

lisa marie blair, medical aesthetics, the skingirls, skinedition, beauty, health & wellness, vancouver, yvr, bc, portfolioyvr, helen siwak

COMPANY BIO

Launched in June 2017 by Lisa Marie Blair, The SkinGirls provides clients with results-driven clinical treatments tailored to each individual’s unique skin profile. The practice offers a comprehensive suite of advanced aesthetic services, including medical-grade facials, neuromodulators, fractional resurfacing, and non-invasive body contouring.

Led by a team of highly educated, clinically certified practitioners, The SkinGirls combines technical precision with a patient-centered approach. Every protocol is evidence-based, every outcome is intentional, and every client leaves with a deeper understanding of their skin and a clear path forward.

IN HER WORDS

“Two suitcases out of three packed with skincare products — that was how I arrived in Vancouver from Montreal in 2006, and it tells you everything you need to know about where my priorities have always been. The move was not part of a grand business plan. It was simply the natural direction of a lifelong obsession with skincare that had been building for as long as I could remember. I walked into a medical spa as a client one afternoon and noticed they were hiring for the front desk. I applied, got the job, and fell completely in love with the work. From that moment, the path forward was clear. I pursued medical aesthetics with everything I had, and I never looked back.

The mobile medi-spa service came first, a model that allowed me to bring the work directly to clients and build the relationships that would become the backbone of everything that followed. By 2013, that momentum had grown into something that needed a permanent home, and The SkinGirls found one in a discreet location that reflected exactly the kind of experience we wanted to offer.

lisa marie blair, medical aesthetics, the skingirls, skinedition, beauty, health & wellness, vancouver, yvr, bc, portfolioyvr, helen siwak

BUILT WITHOUT A BLUEPRINT

Building The SkinGirls was never a deliberate strategy. My parents raised me to work for everything — my father flipped houses alongside a career in logistics, and my mother sold antique dolls. Neither believed in simply giving us things. That work ethic became the foundation of how I operate, even though owning a business with a full team was never the original vision. The goal was simply to do the work, and do it well.

The mobile service grew entirely on its own momentum. One day I was operating solo out of a passion that felt more like a calling than a career, and the next, demand had expanded well beyond what one person could sustain. Employees joined, contractors came on board, and suddenly I was at the helm of something I had never set out to build. It was not the result of a five-year plan. It was the best possible outcome of loving what you do and refusing to do it any other way.

THE DECISION THAT DEFINED US

Early on, there was a piece of technology circulating through the industry. Competitors were offering it, clients were requesting it, and the financial case for bringing it into the clinic was entirely straightforward. But we did not believe in the technology. We had serious reservations about its safety and efficacy, and so we declined — and kept declining, even as the inquiries continued and the pressure to follow the market mounted.

Years later, the FDA issued warnings about that very technology, citing risks including scarring and fat loss. What had felt like a costly decision turned out to be one of the clearest expressions of who The SkinGirls are. Clinical integrity is not a value we revisit when convenient. It is the operating principle behind every treatment we offer and every product we stand behind. That experience shaped the culture of this business in ways that no marketing strategy ever could, and it told our clients and our industry exactly where we stand.

lisa marie blair, medical aesthetics, the skingirls, skinedition, beauty, health & wellness, vancouver, yvr, bc, portfolioyvr, helen siwak

THE COST OF THE WORK

Balancing the professional and the personal is something I am still actively learning. The honest answer is that I am not great at it. Work has always come first — the casts and productions I serve send messages late at night, someone needs to be seen first thing the next morning, and being available for that is simply part of what I do. My husband is enormously supportive. Sunday is the one day I genuinely try to protect.

The deeper truth is that I believe I waited too long to have children. Now that I am in my 40s and my husband and I were trying, I find myself wishing I had made different choices at different crossroads. That particular sacrifice — the one that cannot be undone by working harder — is the one that has most profoundly shaped my perspective on what success actually means. I define true success as loving the work, building a supportive environment, and feeling balanced across all areas of life. The first two I have. The third remains a work in progress, and I hold that honestly. More of us in this industry need to say that out loud.

lisa marie blair, medical aesthetics, the skingirls, skinedition, beauty, health & wellness, vancouver, yvr, bc, portfolioyvr, helen siwak

STILL REACHING

I do not truly feel I have hit that pivotal moment of arrival. As an entrepreneur, the stress of it all potentially falling apart never fully leaves you. Everything rests on your shoulders, and that weight does not disappear simply because the business is thriving. The comfortable threshold — the one where you finally feel settled — remains just out of reach. That is not a complaint. It is the reality of building something that genuinely matters to you.

THE WOMEN WHO SHOWED UP

My success has never been a solo achievement. From the very beginning, women in this industry showed up for me with guidance, belief, and the kind of generous support that is difficult to quantify but impossible to overstate. The philosophy of women supporting women is not a slogan I display — it is the lived reality of how this business was built.

Among those integral to my journey: Lacey Kondi of Kondi Fitness, Katie McKenzie of All Method, Mary Zilba, Ronnie Negus, Corinne Clark, Katie Cassidy, Caity Lotz, Danielle Panabaker, Kari Anderson, Danielle Fowler, Candice Stafford Bridge, and Anna Bosa. Their belief in me during the early days made a difference I carry with me still. The relationships I have built over nearly two decades in this industry are among the most valuable things I have — not a luxury, but a foundation.

PAYING IT FORWARD

Someone helped me when I was starting out, and that shapes how I show up for others now. Supporting other women in business is not something I do strategically — it is simply who I am, built by parents who modelled hustle and by a community of women who modelled generosity.

The SkinGirls operates every day of the week. The pace is relentless and the demands are real, but within that I try to remain someone others can lean on. I stay true to the values that built this business, I invest in the people around me, and I keep showing up. The reaching is not a sign that something is missing. It is the sign that the work still matters and that The SkinGirls is still becoming what it is meant to be.”

Author Profile

Helen Siwak, Collaborator: This story is created in collaboration between Helen Siwak and the featured subject. As the founder and publisher of Portfolio.YVR Business & Entrepreneurs Magazine, Helen works closely with entrepreneurs to share their paths of innovation, resilience, and growth. Each story in this series is co-developed through interviews and first-person insights, blending authentic voices with Helen’s editorial expertise to highlight the remarkable individuals shaping British Columbia’s business landscape.