Women in Aesthetics: Katie Martin, PA-C: Head Over Heels for AestheticsWomen in Aesthetics: Katie Martin, PA-C: Head Over Heels for Aesthetics
October 31, 2024

As a kid, Katie Martin, PA-C, dreamed up all kinds of career paths, from being a NYC taxi driver to teaching. In the end she chose medicine. Why? “I suppose the easiest answer to this question is the cliché ‘I wanted to help people,’” she explained. After receiving her physician assistant degree, Ms. Martin fulfilled that desire to help by specializing in emergency medicine and reveled in its unpredictable and critical nature. But disillusionment with the healthcare system would set her on yet another path. “I found myself longing for happy, healthy medicine where my patients are excited to see me,” she shared. “That’s when I found myself in aesthetics.”
In 2015, Ms. Martin joined a facial plastic surgery practice where she was initiated into aesthetics, gaining first-hand experience with neurotoxins, dermal fillers, body contouring, vaginal rejuvenation and laser treatments. “I fell head over heels in love with the specialty. I saw it as a new way to help patients age gracefully and confidently,” she declared. Three years later, Ms. Martin took a leap of faith and opened her own small practice in Fallbrook, Calif. “For the first year I was a one-woman show,” she revealed. “I saw patients, ordered all supplies and was the sole administrative person booking every appointment. I was beyond excited to have two to three patients on my schedule a week at the beginning!” By 2019, she had two additional staff: a practice administrator and an injector. By 2020, she had teamed up with her medical director, Amanda Holden, MD, as vice president of clinical operations on the Holden Timeless Beauty team. “Today, we have four locations, 15 providers and a world-class reputation in the industry,” she noted.
According to Ms. Martin, it was the early challenges of running a new, solo practice that honed her business acumen. “Even now, with all the success that I have enjoyed, I do not take it for granted. I remember just where I came from and am forever grateful to have a robust book of business now with patients that trust me and refer friends and family to me.” She has also made a point of passing on that knowledge. “My passion is education and teaching,” emphasized Ms. Martin who also works as a trainer. The moment when a student’s lightbulb turns on and they ‘get it’ is what makes my soul sing. I also find such satisfaction in educating my clients every day on treatments and products that will change their lives for the better.” She also prioritizes education for herself, attending national conferences, cadaver labs, webinars and more. “One of my biggest fears in aesthetics is to become stagnant,” she shared.
As an educator, Ms. Martin is poised to join the growing trend of women key opinion leaders, speakers and experts in the aesthetic specialty. “It is these inspirational women that are shaping the newer generation of aesthetic injectors and showing them what is possible. For Ms. Martin, her daughters are the reason she has and will continue to pursue happiness and success. “Not only to create a better life for them, but also to show them what going after big, scary goals looks like. I want to be a role model for them as a strong, smart woman who can take on the world!”