Meet Piotr.

I was born in Silesia, in southern Poland — a region shaped by coal mines, steelworks and generations of industrial labour. Its coal and iron helped power and build not only Poland, but much of Europe. Yet my own childhood world was defined just as strongly by books.

My mother was a librarian, so literature was always close at hand. Books were present at home, at school and throughout my early life. They were not limited to novels, poetry and literary history. Alongside them, I found books about biology, the human body and medicine — subjects that fascinated me long before I imagined they might eventually become part of my professional life.

My father was a carpenter. He hoped that I would become an electrician, which seemed to me at the time like an entirely absurd idea. I had neither the interest nor the temperament for it. I was not one of those people who knew from childhood exactly what they wanted to become. What I did know was that language, literature and ideas mattered to me.

My first academic decision was therefore to study Polish language and literature, eventually completing a master's degree in the subject. The programme included two specialisations. One prepared me for teaching; the other focused on social communication and public relations. Together, they extended far beyond the study of books: language, interpretation, communication and the different ways people understand and respond to information. It was a demanding education in reading closely, thinking critically and recognising how meaning is created — not only through what people say, but also through what they omit, imply or leave open to interpretation.

At that point, I had no reason to think that my life would later move towards pharmacy, medicine or aesthetics. But the books on biology and medicine that had once sat beside literature on the shelves had already opened another door.

A different direction

Completing my first degree did not provide me with a final answer about what I wanted from life. I valued the education deeply, but I gradually realised that I wanted to move towards something more tangible — a field in which knowledge could be applied directly and have a practical effect on people's lives. The scientific interests that had accompanied me since childhood began to return with greater force. Biology and medicine no longer felt like subjects I simply enjoyed reading about. I wanted to understand them properly.

After moving to the United Kingdom, I returned to university and began studying pharmacy in Brighton. It was a considerable change: from literature, language and interpretation into chemistry, physiology, pharmacology and clinical practice. The disciplines appeared very different, but they were not complete opposites. Both required precision. Both depended on context. A word can alter the meaning of a sentence, just as a difference in dose, formulation or medical history can change the significance of a clinical decision.

Literature had taught me to read carefully, question interpretations and pay attention to what was not immediately obvious. Pharmacy required the same discipline, but placed it within science and human health. I completed my Master of Pharmacy degree and later qualified as a Pharmacist Independent Prescriber. What began as an uncertain change of direction became the foundation of my professional life.

From pharmacy to aesthetic medicine

My first experience of aesthetic medicine was personal rather than professional. I began having treatments relatively early in my adult life. The first doctor I visited made a lasting impression on me — not only because of the visible results she achieved, but because of the effect those changes had on the way I felt about myself.

That experience made me curious about everything that sat behind the visible result: anatomy, pharmacology, the behaviour of tissues and the decisions that determined whether something worked well or did not. Because of my background in pharmacy, I did not find it easy to accept simplified explanations. I wanted to understand what was being used, how it worked, what was happening beneath the surface and why outcomes could differ so significantly between practitioners and patients.

I have a tendency to take an interest further than may be strictly necessary. Once I decide that a subject genuinely matters to me, learning only the basics is rarely enough. For that reason, I did not want to enter aesthetic medicine after completing only a collection of short courses. I wanted a proper academic foundation and a broader understanding of the discipline.

I therefore completed a master's degree in Cosmetic and Aesthetic Medicine. I approached the degree in much the same way I approach most things that genuinely interest me: with complete involvement. I completed it with outstanding academic results, which led to my being awarded a scholarship to continue my education in dermatology.

The more I studied aesthetic medicine, the more clearly I understood how closely it was connected to the skin. It did not make sense to me to study facial ageing, anatomy and aesthetic procedures without developing a much deeper understanding of dermatology. I am now completing a master's degree in Dermatology in Clinical Practice, which I expect to finish within the next few months.

What began as curiosity about aesthetic medicine therefore became something considerably wider. It brought together pharmacy, prescribing, anatomy, skin science and dermatology — not because I had planned the entire route in advance, but because each subject raised questions that I did not want to leave only partially answered.

Education and clinical training

Alongside my university education, I have continued to study facial anatomy, aesthetic medicine and the management of clinical complications through advanced practical training. This has included cadaveric facial anatomy and dissection at the University of Glasgow, where I was able to examine the structures of the face directly rather than understand them only through diagrams and textbooks. I have also undertaken advanced education with clinicians including Dr Arthur Swift, Dr Raj Acquilla and Dr Tapan Patel.

Some courses have taught me a particular method or technique. The most valuable ones have made me reconsider something I thought I already understood. I do not collect qualifications simply for the sake of adding another title. Studying is usually the result of reaching a point where a subject has raised more questions than I am prepared to leave unanswered.

Formal education and qualifications

• —Master’s degree in Polish Language and Literature
• —Specialisation in Teacher Training
• —Specialisation in Social Communication and Public Relations
• —Master of Pharmacy
• —Pharmacist Independent Prescriber
• —MSc Cosmetic & Aesthetic Medicine
• —MSc Dermatology in Clinical Practice — in progress, expected completion March 2027
• —Certified Phlebotomist
• —JCCP registered

Why I created odNOVA

I began practising in aesthetic medicine and created odNOVA before my professional path had taken its present shape. At the time, I had not yet completed Independent Prescribing, my master's degree in Cosmetic and Aesthetic Medicine or my later studies in dermatology. The practice did not appear at the end of a perfectly organised career plan. It grew alongside me.

As odNOVA developed, so did my education. The work exposed questions that I wanted to understand more fully, while further study changed the way I understood the work I was already doing. odNOVA was therefore never the reward at the end of my education. It became part of the reason I continued it.

The fuller story of why the practice was created, what its name means and how it developed belongs on a separate page. Here, it is simply an important part of my own history: something I began before I had all the later qualifications, and something that has continued to evolve alongside me.

Outside the clinic

Outside work, I tend to collect interests in much the same way that I collect plants: gradually, enthusiastically and with very little awareness of how much space they will eventually occupy.

Piano

Learning to play the piano was a childhood ambition that I returned to as an adult. I had wanted to play for many years, but it was one of those things that life kept postponing. Eventually, I decided that waiting for the perfect moment was simply another way of never beginning. I am still learning, and I am very aware of how much I cannot yet do. Some pieces seem impossible until they slowly begin to make sense, one bar at a time. I enjoy that process, even when my patience does not always keep pace with my hands.

Plants

My home is filled with plants — close to one hundred of them, depending on how honestly I count new cuttings and propagations. What began as a small interest developed into something much more serious. I enjoy learning about different species, their growing conditions and the small changes that can determine whether a plant thrives or simply survives. I can spend an unreasonable amount of time adjusting light levels, checking roots or moving the same plant from one place to another because something does not feel quite right. Some people would call this excessive. They would probably be correct.

CrossFit

CrossFit gives me something very different. It is physical, direct and difficult to overanalyse while it is happening. It has taught me that progress is not always linear and that determination does not automatically make the body recover more quickly. I enjoy the discipline, the challenge and the sense of having done something that required my full attention.

Dressage

Dressage was once a significant part of my life. For several years, riding and training shaped much of my routine. It required patience, control and a form of communication that depended less on words than on awareness, timing and trust. I no longer ride, but it remains an important chapter of my life rather than simply a hobby I once tried.

Home

My home life also includes my two cats, Moka and Neela, who have very different personalities and very clear opinions about how the household should be organised. Between the cats, the plants, the piano and everything else I decide to become interested in, there is rarely a shortage of things requiring attention.

Outside the professional titles and carefully composed photographs, my life is fairly ordinary: I work, study, exercise, practise the piano, care for my cats and plants, and regularly discover that there are still not enough hours in the day. I tend to become fully absorbed in whatever matters to me. I am simply not very good at doing things halfway.