Irene Cara Gatus. Photo by JL Javier
Since her early beginnings as a business owner, self-love had anchored Irene Cara’s entrepreneurial journey
Self-love serves as the beating heart of Irene Cara’s ethos as an entrepreneur. Having started multiple businesses including the eponymously named Cara Laser Skin Care, she had built an ecosystem over the years that upholds and celebrates beauty in all its forms. “Through my work I wanted to share the [message] that no matter how busy you are or how many problems you have, you can always find time to maintain your beauty,” she explains.
With a medical background due to her profession as a nurse, Irene sought to mend her own interests in both beauty and medicine throughout her business career. “I [was] always very particular about my health and beauty, and that’s when we first thought about putting up Cara,” she says.
As an entrepreneur, Irene has also had her fair share of hardships and difficulties throughout her tenure. She mentions that among the various stressors in her field, it was really balancing her personal life that served as one of her toughest challenges while growing her brand.
“I had to [balance] being a mom,” she says. “I had to run a household with kids and attend to their needs while also handling my business. There are a lot of pressures running a business as a woman. For example, if men make mistakes they won’t really [think] much of it, but if women fail people throw side comments. People might say you’re a bad mom or you’re a bad business owner, and it’s hard to break past that.”
Despite these challenges, Irene created Cara Laser Skincare to be an avenue for services that help women achieve confidence and beauty through innovations in aesthetic technology. The clinic focuses on three categories of treatment, with the first being their “Clear & Bright” solutions, which aim to prevent breakouts through deep cleansing facial treatments. Their “Fresh & Youthful” remedies that help to restore one’s skin toward its natural state through non-invasive mediums. Lastly their “Smooth & Fuss-free” cater toward itches and irritability from unwanted hair, with a variety of pain-free hair reduction treatments for different parts of the body.
Till present, Irene continues to fulfill her vision, as she sought to craft a beauty brand that was accessible to the common person. “It was very deliberate to make sure that Cara is in the middle and is affordable, even if we share the same machines as other clinics it was always meant to be accessible to working women.” She shares this vision to other aspiring Filipino entrepreneurs, citing that above all, the foundation of starting a career in the business world needs to be grounded on a singular purpose.
Visit Cara Laser Skincare’s clinic located at 2nd Level Phase 2 U.P. Town Center, Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City.
For more information, also visit their website and follow their Instagram page @caralaserskincare.
Photography by JL Javier. Styling by Jason Mago of Gee Jocson Studios. Hair by JA Feliciano. Make-Up by Guilly Valenzuela. Art Direction by Andie Quintos. Produced by Bradly Hao. Project Implemented by Ian Urmaza and Leahkim Orsolino. Written by Gab Yap
