51 www.ReadMPM.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.MountPleasantPodcast.com health & wellness For Malissa LaRoche, beauty is not about changing who you are. It is about feeling confident in the person you already are. A Mount Pleasant native and physician assistant, LaRoche graduated from the Medical University of South Carolina in 2000 and spent the early years of her career in neurology and rehabilitation medicine. After returning to Charleston, she began working in neuroophthalmology and oculoplastics at MUSC, where she spent 18 years and developed a passion for facial plastics. Her work with Botox eventually led her to fillers in 2012, and she quickly fell in love with aesthetics. In 2022, LaRoche took the leap to open True Beauty Aesthetics. The name reflects the philosophy at the heart of her practice: enhancing what is already there rather than trying to create an entirely different version of someone. “I want to make people feel like they’re lovely the way they are,” LaRoche said. “But if something bothers you, that is fixable. That’s not where your true beauty is.” Her approach is intentionally natural. LaRoche wants her clients to leave looking like themselves, simply more refreshed. For her, that subtle enhancement can have a much bigger impact than appearance alone. “When you feel good, the way that you show up in the world invites all the good things to you,” she said. That philosophy has also shaped the way LaRoche views wellness. While she once dismissed the importance of external beauty, she now recognizes how closely confidence can be tied to the way people move through the world. The most rewarding part of her work is the relationships she has built with her clients. After years of working in a fast-paced medical environment, LaRoche values having the time to slow down and get to know the women who sit in her chair and make them feel cared for. Growing up in Mount Pleasant makes those connections even more meaningful. Building her business in the community she has always called home has allowed her to reconnect with people from different chapters of her life while gaining the support of a new generation of clients. When it comes to making time for yourself, LaRoche believes women should let go of the idea that self-care is selfish. “Taking care of yourself is good for everyone in your orbit,” she said. A True Beauty Confidence, connection and feeling like yourself BY MARY BELL
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