Found(h)er Stories - Episode 3

Episode 3: Khaki Fever, Buying the Business, Multi-Million Rand Machines, and the Reality of Skincare Hype In this episode of Found(h)er, Roxy is joined by Lourette Du Toit, CEO and owner of premier aesthetic clinic group Dermology. Lourette’s founder journey is unlike most: starting out doing seven grueling deep-tissue massages a day on cruise ships and in the Kruger National Park—where a case of “khaki fever” led her to fall for a game ranger-turned-photographer—she entered the aesthetics world from the ground up. Starting on reception at Dermology, she worked her way through laser assistant, therapist, and clinic manager, before taking the ultimate risk: putting her own hard-earned money on the line to buy the business outright. Stepping in as CEO in 2021, she immediately invested in Africa’s first BBL Hero system and rapidly scaled Dermology to five fully owned branches. Lourette pulls back the curtain on the high-stakes reality of the aesthetic industry: investing millions into cutting-edge technology, spotting dangerous knockoff machines flooding the market, why a leader must set the climate in the clinic rather than bring the storm, and how shifting staff from "badge-wearing managers" to true leaders is the only way to sustainably scale. The conversation dives deep into real skin health and consumer culture—from the truth about melasma and why aggressive lasers can make pigment worse, to surviving the dreaded 8-hour "peanut butter" Cosmelan peel, and calling out TikTok's 20-step routines and over-filtered aesthetic feeds. Plus, they break down Enneagram Type 3 (Achiever) burnout, battling imposter syndrome on global stages in front of 500 plastic surgeons, and Lourette's non-negotiable productivity rule: "no white calendar space". This is Found(h)er—real conversations with the women building businesses, carving their own paths, and shaping what's next.