Rooted in results: How Kim Lim is building her beauty empire on personal proof 

WHEN Kim Lim posts from Paris, Milan or Tokyo on Instagram, her over-600,000 followers might assume she’s on holiday. But she is usually not.

Most of these trips are for work – research and sourcing for her growing wellness empire, KL Health. She is touring laboratories, scouting suppliers, meeting dermatologists or testing equipment that might eventually appear in her Singapore medi-spas and clinics.

The 34-year-old personally curates and test-drives every treatment and product for six to eight months before deeming their results effective for launch. She has sensitive skin and so, looks out for unique ingredients and skincare formulations that may address dehydration, redness and uneven skin tone.

“When something carries my name, it has to be proven on myself first,” says Lim. “That’s why every treatment and product goes through months of personal testing before it reaches our customers. Because if the treatment doesn’t even work for me, how can I roll it out?”

This hands-on approach has shaped her business since she launched her first brand, Papilla by Kim Lim, in 2019 – a concept born out of her personal experience with postpartum hair loss.

“Seeing so much hair fall daily was really upsetting,” the mother-of-two recalls. “I founded Papilla with the hope that others wouldn’t have to endure the same frustration.”

Lim spent months working with trichologists before finalising the NAD+ Hair Revive Treatment. In this, a skincare molecule is applied to the scalp to help restore vitality. She knew she was onto a good thing when she noticed that her hair appeared fuller and there was less visible shedding over time.

KL Health now comprises Papilla as well as four other brands under Illumia Group, each serving a specific yet interconnected facet of beauty and wellness. In 2024, she consolidated them under one roof at Wheelock Place, marking a new chapter for her chain. 

Illumia Therapeutics, her flagship medispa founded in 2020, was inspired by her frequent travels to countries with more advanced and high-efficacy treatments. “I saw a gap. There were too many treatments in Singapore that required multiple sessions to get results, or sometimes none at all.

Beyond her own testing, which takes place in the cities where the ingredients and technologies hail from, Lim works with doctors, dermatologists and trichologists through months-long R&D processes. 

For instance, during her travels to South Korea, she was introduced to the Korean bone reshaping techniques used there and spotted the potential to blend this with traditional Chinese acupressure. This unique combination is now offered at illumiaFace for its reported role in improving blood circulation and lymphatic flow.

“It begins with sourcing and collaborating with specialists to design each product or treatment protocol. Once development is complete, we go through multiple rounds of trials and discussions with experts to ensure both safety and effectiveness,” says Lim.

At Illumia Therapeutics, her goal was to develop evidence-based treatment protocols for body contouring or facial revitalisation through a signature Hybrid2 approach. This customised approach pairs two or more treatments in a single session to improve treatment efficiency and patient experience.

“After giving birth, Illumia’s treatments helped me ease back into a regular care routine. Over time, I also saw improvements in how my skin looked and felt,” she says.

Lim says that together with her trainers, she develops most of the treatment combinations at Illumia Therapeutics herself, as she has a good grasp of what works and what does not, having tried out countless treatments all over the world. For instance, she found that combining heat-based and freezing technology like Fat Freezing can be more effective in reducing fat and firming skin.

She also leads her team in deciding how best to maximise the potential of each equipment by operating these herself during trial runs, including those for her latest treatments such as illumia 4D Sculpt Pro and illumia Onda Sculpt Pro.  

“I’ve always believed that aesthetics should go beyond quick fixes. Our role is to create lasting results that empower people in their everyday lives.”

Scaling with transparency and accessibility

Lim’s strategy has paid off. Six years on, KL Health has enjoyed consistent year-on-year growth. From just one outlet, it now has a global footprint with six outlets, including Bangkok and London with their own back-end teams.

The company has also earned recognition in the rest of the Asia-Pacific region. In August 2025, Illumia Therapeutics was awarded the title of “Best in APAC for Customer Experience, Proven Results, and Most Treatments Performed” by beauty and wellness distributor Neoasia.

The Illumia portfolio also includes Illumia Medical, which offers a variety of bespoke doctor-led aesthetic treatments like dermal fillers, illumia Ultrasound Pro VLift and illumia Pigmentation Pro Laser. 

Says Lim: “Our doctors tailor every plan carefully to fit each person’s needs. I’ve always believed in personalisation as every individual requires a different approach.”

She also believes in transparency and accountability, which is why the Illumia Medical website lists prices for every treatment so customers can work out their budget from the get-go. 

For those too busy to visit her salons or clinics, Ilumia Skin stocks skincare products made with ethically sourced ingredients and science-backed formulas. Most items are priced under $200. 

“My vision remains the same: to make Illumia and Papilla synonymous with effective, accessible and non-invasive beauty and wellness solutions in Singapore.”

While she’s also known as business mogul Peter Lim’s daughter, Lim has sought to build her company with deliberate independence. “Despite having some initial support, I invested my resources and reinvested the profits back into the business, ensuring sustainable growth and maintaining control over the company’s direction,” she says.

One of the biggest lessons she has also learnt on her own is that every business needs a strong foundation, from the staff it hires to the trust that it builds with customers. She adds: “I’ve seen that you can’t rush growth; real success comes from consistency and integrity.”

Learn more about how Kim Lim is reshaping beauty and wellness at KL Health.