On Sunday, Sia Psicharis was named the Business Director/Owner of the Year at the Australian Beauty Industry Awards (ABIA) for her “leadership and inspiration” industry in what was, thanks to the COVID pandemic, probably its most difficult year in history.

“Last year (and 2021) I did a lot of advocating for and (looked to) inspiring the industry to keep going forward as so many salons and businesses shut down for the two years,” Ms Psicharis told Neos Kosmos this week.

Ms Psicharis founded her own skin-care business, Beautyologist, in St Kilda East, in 2007 and built it up from a sole-trader operation to provide wider services in skin care and employ six people. She has won numerous awards over the years and the prestigious ABIA award is the most recent.

The lockdowns that gripped Melbourne since March 2020 forced major changes. Ms Psicharis developed a program on her website to help her clients in isolation and she also introduced new ranges of skin-care products that focussed on Australian-sourced materials that she says will remain in the post-lockdown world.

“I kept going and I pivoted my business from treatments to offering support as a way to keep my staff and I also enrolled in a post-graduate diploma in Dermal Science. I wanted to remember the pandemic as the year I graduated in Dermal Science and not remember it as the years I struggled in small business. During the lockdowns we went on to manufacture face masks and a candle range that did very well. There was no choice to sit back and close the business,” she said.

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The well-being or her staff members was important and she ensured that they were in constant communication through Zoom and on courses to keep everyone motivated and on a positive mindset.

“In our industry you have to keep studying and update your skills in a constantly evolving industry.

At the same time, she advocated for the industry through her membership of the Australian Association of Retailers and was on the board of Port Phillip Mayor’s Business Advisory Group that was created to support businesses post-COVID.

“People think the industry is ‘nails and make-up’, but there is so much more to it. We are helping people with a range skin conditions including eczema, rosacea, psoriasis dermatitis and even ‘maskne’ – an acne brought about by the wearing of face masks). These all need management from skin therapists who were shut down for nearly two years,” Ms Psicharis said.

“The biggest problem with COVID was not financial but the unknown. I never really felt safe and because of the numerous lockdowns our bodies and minds were in a constant fight-or-flight mode. The second lockdown felt a little easier as we had been through it before and going back to study re-connected me with the industry.”

The support of her family, parents George and Katerina, and her sisters Georgia, an importer for Greek make-up company Erre Due, and Angie, an airline trainer, was key.

“The emotional support of my parents, sisters and the team was incredible. They helped me to sleep at night some times.”

The re-opening after Melbourne’s prolonged lockdown is a joyful time.

“Clients are excited to be back. It is an amazing time to re-connect and give back to the community. We are all trying to heal in a safe and trusting environment. Some clients are letting go emotionally as they have not been touched/treated for the last two years.