Our Story | Skin + You

Our Story

Skin + You is more than a skincare clinic — it’s a story of healing, resilience, and transformation. Founded by Sam Yousaf and Mav Shah, the clinic was born out of two deeply personal journeys marked by years of battling skin concerns, emotional insecurities, and a constant search for answers.

Both Sam and Mav experienced skin disorders from a young age — from acne and scarring to pigmentation and sensitivity. For over two decades, they explored everything from homemade face masks in the early '90s to dermatologist-prescribed treatments, hoping to find something that would finally work. What they discovered instead was confusion, marketing noise, and thousands of pounds spent on products that made promises but delivered little.

Meet the Founders

Sam Yousaf and Mav Shah are the heart of Skin + You — two women who bring their own skin stories, professional mastery, and compassion into every client experience.

Sam Yousaf

Sam is a clinical skin specialist and aesthetician with a deep understanding of how to assess and treat skin based on science. Her approach is methodical, results-driven, and highly personalised. With years of experience treating different skin tones and types, Sam has mastered the art of matching the right treatment to the right client — helping them achieve radiant, healthy skin that lasts. As a professional makeup artist, Sam also understands the critical connection between skin health and flawless makeup. This inspired her to create the Skin + Beauty Event Prep Package, a bespoke programme that prepares clients for big occasions by optimising their skin in advance. Whether it’s a wedding, a media shoot, or a celebration, Sam’s tailored treatments ensure your skin looks as good as your makeup feels.

Talk To Sam

Mav Shah

Mav brings a different kind of magic. As a certified life and health coach, she works with clients on the mind-body-skin connection. Her experience spans over 20 years of researching natural skincare rooted in Ayurveda, essential oils, and plant medicine. After suffering for years from dry, acne-prone, and scarred skin that resisted all conventional methods, Mav developed her own holistic formulas that finally gave her results — when combined with clinical support and a radical shift in mindset. Her consultations go beyond the surface. Mav listens, understands, and then creates a fully integrated plan that may include meal planning, exercise routines, mindset coaching, and natural skin rituals. Her role at Skin + You is to help clients not just treat their skin, but understand it — and more importantly, understand themselves.

Chat With Mav

Two Paths, One Vision

Mav's Journey to Healing

Mav, with her extremely sensitive and acne-prone skin, found herself especially frustrated. Even with a clean and organic lifestyle, her skin refused to heal — staying dry, inflamed, and scarred. But rather than give up, she turned inward. Over the next 20 years, Mav dedicated herself to researching the power of Ayurveda-based skincare, plant-derived herbs, and essential oils. She experimented, learned, and created — developing powerful herbal blends that began to change not just her skin, but her mindset. She realised that true healing wasn’t just about what you put on your skin — it was also about your emotional wellbeing, your habits, and the story you believe about yourself.

Sam's Path to Expertise

Sam’s path took a more clinical route. Driven by her own struggles and inspired by the science of skin, she trained as a skin and aesthetics specialist. Her passion became understanding the skin’s structure and behaviours — learning how to assess each client’s skin on a cellular level and tailor treatments that would truly transform texture, tone, and confidence.

A Shared Vision

When Sam and Mav met in 2009, something clicked. They shared their journeys, bonded over their mutual frustrations, and recognised the potential of combining their strengths. Sam brought the science; Mav brought the soul. Together, they began working privately with clients, offering a new approach — one that treated the skin externally while nurturing the self internally.

Our Mission

For over a decade, they worked quietly within private circles, building trust, results, and a growing following. But as word spread and demand increased, Sam and Mav knew it was time to go public. Skin + You was launched not just as a clinic, but as a mission — to give women a safe space to understand their skin, reclaim their confidence, and start a skincare journey that finally made sense.

At Skin + You, every treatment is tailored. Every consultation is rooted in empathy. And every result is achieved with the understanding that beauty begins within.

Your Journey Starts Here

Together, Sam and Mav have created something rare: a clinic where your skin is seen, your story is heard, and your journey is honoured.

Book Your Free Consultation