About The Beauty Guides

Meet Kirsty Strowger

Founder, The Beauty Guides. At 53, I travelled to Vietnam for a facelift and came home with far more than I expected — and a mission to share what I learnt.

Founder, The Beauty Guides

Real women. Real experiences.

At 53, I travelled to Vietnam expecting to have a facelift. Nine days later, I’d undergone five surgeries, varicose vein treatment, skin resurfacing, Botox, fillers and enough follow-up appointments to learn far more about overseas cosmetic surgery than I ever expected to. Like many women, I’d reached a point where the person in the mirror no longer quite matched how I felt inside. I wasn’t trying to look twenty-five. I wasn’t chasing perfection. I simply wanted to feel more confident in my own skin again. My experience in Vietnam was so positive that I wanted to share it with other women who were curious about doing the same. What stayed with me most wasn’t just the surgery. It was everything I learnt by actually going through it — what I got right, what I wish I’d known, the questions I didn’t know to ask, the easy parts, the uncomfortable parts, and what I’d do differently now. When I returned home, everyone started asking questions and I felt like a record on repeat. So I decided to write everything down.
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My Background

Before creating The Beauty Guides, I spent more than twenty years working across the beauty, wellness and women's health industries. I owned and operated a women's health clinic, worked closely with thousands of women and later founded two established Australian natural-health businesses. Throughout my career, one thing has always stood out to me. Women are incredibly good at looking after everybody else. We just have a funny habit of putting ourselves last. I've spent a large part of my adult life working with women around confidence, health and wellbeing.

The Beauty Guides grew very naturally from that. Except this time, the experience was very personal. Because I'd actually lived it myself.
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Women are incredibly good at looking after everybody else. We just have a funny habit of putting ourselves last.

My background

Why I Created The Beauty Guides

When I returned home from Vietnam, I thought life would simply go back to normal. Instead, the questions started. Friends wanted to know what I'd done. Friends of friends wanted to know what Vietnam was really like. Complete strangers wanted to know what everything cost. Women wanted to know whether I'd felt frightened travelling alone. What recovery was really like. How I communicated. Where I stayed. What I packed. What I wish I'd known before I got on the plane. And, of course: Would I do it again? The answer for me was yes. But what surprised me most was how many women were quietly considering cosmetic surgery overseas themselves and had absolutely no idea where to start. And what they were really looking for wasn't somebody to make the decision for them. They wanted to hear from somebody who had already been there. Somebody who could talk about the reality rather than simply showing them a glossy brochure or a perfect before-and-after photograph. The good. The challenging. The funny. The emotional. And everything in between. That became the idea behind The Beauty Guides.

What women really wanted to know

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Was I frightened?

Women wanted to know what Vietnam was really like, whether I felt frightened travelling alone, and what recovery actually felt like.

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Not a decision-maker

They weren't looking for somebody to make the decision for them — they wanted to hear from somebody who had already been there.

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The full picture

The good, the challenging, the funny, the emotional — and everything in between. Not a glossy brochure.

Real Women. Real Experiences.

The Beauty Guides isn't a hospital. We're not surgeons. We're not a medical provider. And we're not here to tell you which surgeon, clinic, hospital or procedure you should choose. Those decisions are yours. The Beauty Guides exists to share lived experience. My story is one of them. Over time, other women will share theirs too. Different procedures. Different experiences. Different recoveries. Different decisions. Because no two journeys are exactly the same. And sometimes one of the most useful things you can hear when you're trying to make your own decision is: “I've been there. This is what happened to me.” Not because their decision should become yours. But because their experience may help you think of questions you hadn't considered yourself.

What The Beauty Guides Does — And Doesn't Do

Our role is deliberately simple.

We share what we experienced firsthand — the good, the difficult, and the practical things we learnt along the way.

I can tell you which hospital I went to, who looked after me, and what my experience was like. If you want, I can also introduce you to the hospital liaison who helped organise everything for me.

But you should still do own research ask your own questions and make the decision that feels right for you.

That’s what The Beauty Guides is about — sharing real experience, then leaving the choice in your hands.

Your body. 
Your questions. 
Your decision. 

The Complete Vietnam Surgery Companion

One of the biggest reasons I created  (apart from all the questions) was: I wish somebody had told me alot of this this before I left. 

So eventually I wrote it all down. And when I say all of it, I mean all of it. 

The Complete Vietnam Surgery Companion brings together everything I learnt before, during and after my own journey. It covers the things I wish I'd known about: 

Making the decision in the first place; researching hospitals and surgeons; 

The questions worth asking; understanding the real costs; planning your timeline; visas, flights and insurance; preparing before you leave; travelling and arriving in Vietnam; the apps that made life considerably easier; 

Accommodation and where to recover; what I packed versus what I actually used; being prepared for additional procedure recommendations; flying home; and the reality of recovery once the exciting part is over. 

It's detailed. It's very detailed.  I share what I experienced firsthand — the good, the difficult, and the practical things I learnt along the way.

You'll probably need more than one glass of wine. But that was intentional. I didn't want to create another little downloadable checklist containing information you could find in five minutes on Google. I wanted to create the guide I wish I'd had before I got on the plane. 

The Companion is available to purchase for anyone who wants that level of detail and practical information. (And if you don't that is totally fine too, you can still message me.)  You can read it online, work through it at your own pace and refer back to it throughout your own planning and travel.

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I wish somebody had told me this before I left. So eventually I wrote it all down.

The Complete Vietnam Surgery Companion

Why "The Beauty Guides"?

Why The Beauty Guides?

My experience may be where it started, but there are women everywhere who have gone before someone else — through facelifts, body surgery, breast surgery, dental work, vein treatments, eye procedures, and so much more, both in Australia and overseas.

Over time, The Beauty Guides will become a collection of those real experiences.

Not recommendations. Not guarantees. Just honest stories that help you understand what the journey can actually look like before deciding what, if anything, feels right for you.

You Stay in Control

This is probably the most important part of everything we do. Reading my story doesn't mean you should do what I did. Speaking to somebody I know doesn't mean you should use them. Purchasing the Companion doesn't mean you've decided to have surgery. And contacting a provider doesn't mean you're committed to anything. You are allowed to research. You are allowed to ask questions. You are allowed to change your mind. You are allowed to do nothing at all. The Beauty Guides is simply here to give you access to lived experience and practical information so you can make your own decisions with your eyes open. Because at the end of the day, this isn't really about convincing women to have cosmetic surgery. It's about confidence. It's about choice. It's about transparency. And it's about women sharing what they've learnt with the women coming behind them. If something I experienced can make another woman's journey a little less confusing, then every step of mine was worth it.

You stay in control

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Research freely

Reading my story doesn't mean you should do what I did. Do your own research, ask questions and change your mind.

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Connect, not commit

Contacting a provider doesn't mean you're committed to anything. Speaking to somebody is just part of the process.

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About confidence

This isn't about convincing women to have surgery. It's about providing confidence, choice, and transparency.

Want to know the full story?

Read how I went to Vietnam for a facelift and ended up having five surgeries in nine days — what surprised me, what everything cost, and why I'd still do it all again.
Read My Full Story → Explore the Complete Companion
READY TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP

Real experience to help you feel more prepared.

If you want to go deeper, I’ve put my entire Vietnam experience into one place — from how I ended up having five surgeries in nine days, through to the planning, travel, hospital experience, recovery, costs, what I learnt and what I would do differently. The Complete Beauty Guide includes 130+ pages of content across 10 chapters, plus practical checklists, templates and downloads, all presented inside your own customer portal. I’ve spent a lot of time putting it together because I wanted to create the kind of resource I wish I’d had before I went. There is absolutely no obligation to purchase it. You can read and use free stories and information across The Beauty Guides site as much as you like. And if you still have a question, you’re always welcome to message me.
MESSAGE ME ON MESSENGER GET THE COMPLETE BEAUTY GUIDE FOR ONLY — $199