Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Roxana
Diaconu
She went looking for a clinic in Dubai that would take her seriously. She couldn't find one, so she built it.
in Dubai
per consultation
platforms
on Forbes.com
The Journey
How she got here
Roxana Diaconu studied pharmacy in Eastern Romania, where she discovered that what inspired her most was not only the science of medicine, but the opportunity to understand and support people. Over time, she realized her ambitions extended beyond pharmacology.
Shortly before the world entered lockdown, Roxana moved to Dubai, UAE. What began as an unexpected chapter soon became a defining one. She fell in love with the city—but the climate was less kind to her skin. Her personal experience with persistent skin concerns inspired her to create a clinic built around advanced technology, clinical expertise and genuinely personalized care.
Like Sara Blakely, who transformed a personal challenge into Spanx, I decided to turn my own skin journey into a clinic created to help others feel confident in theirs.
Roxana Diaconu, Forbes
Before opening, she went skydiving with her father. Her reasoning was simple: do something unhinged and survive it, and opening a clinic starts to look manageable. It worked.
What she found in the market was a gap nobody was filling. Some clinics had excellent staff but felt like hospitals. Others were beautiful and the care was an afterthought. Almost none did both. That became the brief for Roxana Aesthetics, and the guiding principle she still runs it by is three words: it feels like home. For clients, and for the people who work there.
She has been open about how hard the years since have been — publicly, on Forbes, in a way most founders avoid. She has written about sitting alone wondering whether she could keep going, and about the habit founders have of hiding that behind meetings and confidence they don't feel. Her view is that the breaking point is not the failure. It's the part where the performance stops and the actual leader shows up.
The Vision
What she set out to build
The plan was never complicated. Enhance what's already there rather than replace it, and treat the person in the chair as a whole person rather than a booking. What made it difficult was that doing both at once is rare, and doing both at once consistently is rarer still.
We have one guiding principle: it feels like home. Both for the client, and the staff.
Roxana DiaconuTell people the truth
When someone asks for a facelift without surgery, the answer here is that it isn't possible. Saying so costs a sale and earns the trust that brings the referral.
Hour-long consultations
Skin, body, and how you actually feel about it. People rarely arrive with only one concern, and a fifteen-minute slot can't find the real one.
Follow up, always
The team checks in after your appointment. If someone disappears for a month, they call. Very few clinics do this. Even doctors often don't.
Don't grow until you can
Roxana has said she won't expand until the team can be duplicated. Growth is tempting. She would rather protect what the clinic already is.
Recognition
Recognition
Forbes Business Council member
Roxana joined the Forbes Business Council, a vetted membership organisation for business owners and senior leaders, and published throughout 2025. Her Forbes byline now reads Former Forbes Councils Member; the articles remain live on Forbes.com.
Published on Forbes.com
Four authored essays on founding, leadership and resilience, plus contributions to four expert panels on marketing, packaging, valuation and supporting teams through a crisis.
Read them on ForbesIn Print
Published work
On the moment founders don't talk about, and why she thinks it isn't failure.
Dec 2025 Forbes Leadership Lessons From Running A Business In DubaiWhy compassion alone doesn't hold a company together.
Sep 2025 Forbes Panel 20 Essential Steps When Building A Marketing Campaign As A Small Business Aug 2025 Forbes Lessons From Building A Beauty Clinic In An Ultra-Competitive MarketThe full origin story — pharmacy, lockdown, the skydive, and what she got wrong.
Jun 2025 Forbes Panel 20 Key Factors Successful Brands Consider In Product Packaging Jun 2025 Forbes Panel How To Create A Workspace That Inspires Creativity And Innovation Jun 2025 Forbes Panel Nail Your Valuation: 20 Startup Tips For Investor Talks Apr 2025 Forbes Panel How Leaders Can Support Their Employees In Times Of Crisis Or Disaster Mar 2025Track Record
What she has built
Opened a clinic in a market she describes as flooded
Dubai's aesthetics scene is crowded and clinics open and close quickly. She started with no business experience and a clear idea of how the place should feel.
Hired a team across medicine, dermatology and therapy
General practitioners, dermatology specialists, senior paramedical aestheticians, physiotherapists and beauty therapists. She has said plainly that staff are the brand.
Invested in ten treatment platforms
Soprano Titanium, the Alma Harmony XL Pro range, Alma PrimeX, Morpheus8 Pro, Candela Frax Pro, Thermage FLX, WONDER® and HydraFacial.
Made hour-long consultations standard
Along with post-appointment follow-up and a check-in if a client goes quiet. Both are unusual in the market and both are deliberate.
Turned down growth to protect quality
She has stated she won't open a second location until the team can be replicated properly. That is a harder decision than it sounds.
Published eight times on Forbes.com
Including an unusually candid essay about founder burnout that puts a Dubai clinic owner in front of a global business readership.
Expertise
What she knows
- Opening and licensing an aesthetic clinic in the UAE
- Consultation design and service standards
- Choosing treatment technology and justifying the spend
- Hiring and keeping clinical teams
- Building a brand in a crowded market
- Marketing for medical and wellness businesses
- Leading through burnout and personal crisis
- Mentoring women starting businesses in the Gulf
Philosophy
What she won't bend on
Enhance what's there. Don't replace it.
The aim is natural. If the result looks like someone else, it was the wrong result.
Sell outcomes, not treatments.
Most clinics do the reverse. It is the single clearest difference she points to when asked what sets the place apart.
Honesty first, even when it costs you.
Saying "that isn't possible" loses a booking and wins the relationship. Trust brings referrals; overselling brings one appointment.
The room matters as much as the machine.
She spent long enough as an anxious client to know that a clinic that feels like a hospital undoes half the work before it starts.
Look after the team.
"Your staff are your brand." Home has to mean home for the people working there too, or clients feel the difference immediately.
Beauty and confidence are connected.
She is direct about this. What the clinic does touches how people feel about themselves, which is why the care around the treatment isn't optional.
Gallery
Roxana Diaconu
Questions
About Roxana Diaconu
Who is Roxana Diaconu?
Founder and CEO of Roxana Aesthetics Clinic in Dubai. She trained as a pharmacist in eastern Romania, moved to Dubai shortly before the Covid-19 lockdown, and opened the clinic after struggling to find one that treated her well as a client.
Why did she open her own clinic?
Her skin reacted badly to living in Dubai. She went from clinic to clinic and found the treatments didn't work and the service felt, in her words, like a fast-food order. Some places had skilled staff but felt like hospitals. Others looked beautiful and the care was poor. She wanted one that was both.
Where has she been published?
She was a Forbes Business Council member in 2025 and published eight pieces on Forbes.com, covering founder burnout, leadership in Dubai, and building a clinic in a crowded market.
Does she perform treatments?
No. She runs the clinic. Treatments are carried out by the licensed doctors, dermatology specialists, aestheticians and therapists she hires.
How long is a consultation?
Up to an hour. The team looks at skin and body concerns alongside how you feel about them, then follows up after your appointment.
How do I book?
WhatsApp +971 54 581 3345, call the clinic, or send an enquiry through the website.
Begin
Come in and talk first
Consultations here run up to an hour because that is how long it takes to work out what someone actually wants. Tell us what's bothering you and what you'd rather not change. If what you're asking for isn't possible, we'll say so.