Amanda Holden, MD, knew from a young age that she wanted to be a doctor. “I was in a very serious car accident in high school in which my best friend was almost killed,” she recalled. “I remember vividly how the team from Life Flight took her away via helicopter to a local trauma center, and I wished that I had the power to help her in that moment.” That early, traumatic experience influenced her initial foray into emergency medicine. “In this field, I could help the people that I wanted to help that night when I felt helpless in high school.”
It was with sheer grit and determination that Dr. Holden received her medical degree in 2008 despite facing several challenges. At 19 years of age, she welcomed her first child; her second at the age of 24. “I initially chose emergency medicine also because I was a single mom and it was a way that I could work shifts and raise my children,” she explained. “I wanted to set an example to show them that you can achieve anything with hard work and determination.” There were financial challenges as well. “…I relied on financial aid to get me through all aspects of my educational journey,” Dr. Holden revealed. 
“Upon becoming an entrepreneur, I had to take out loans to start my first business…. I knew without great risk I would not have great reward.”
Despite working at trauma centers for the first part of her medical career, Dr. Holden had always been interested in plastic surgery and aesthetic medicine. “When the field of medical aesthetics was born in the early 2000s, I was drawn to it immediately,” she shared. In medical school, Dr. Holden interviewed several female plastic surgeons and plastic surgery residents who explained that the level of commitment would be akin to eight years of marriage to the hospital. “I knew I could not take that journey and abandon my children.”
But as the years passed, she learned more about aesthetic medicine and running a business and poised herself to make the transition. “I have taken courses in aesthetic medicine across the nation, and I am double board-certified, in emergency medicine and medical aesthetics,” she asserted. “I started my business from scratch in 2017, and I now run a very successful multi-location medical aesthetics practice in San Diego, Calif., backed by Alpha Aesthetics.”
According to Dr. Holden, being a woman in the industry has been advantageous. “Aesthetics is about confidence and natural beauty. I was a cheerleader in high school, and I loved to perform. As I now have the opportunity to speak on stages globally in the field of aesthetics,” she
remarked. “The coolest part is that I get to bring along my best friend from junior high and high school, Erica Dominguez, who was also a cheerleader, and the one that almost died in our tragic car accident long ago.”
One of her most important roles in medical aesthetics is being a mentor to others in business. “I am fortunate to have an incredible business mentor, Sharon Lechter, who has written 26 books and inspired people from all over the globe to strive for financial freedom,” Dr. Holden declared. “I like to share with others what it took for me to get here and teach them how they can do the same as I did with massive effort and determination.”
