Taking your aesthetic services to the next level with higher retention rates, improved treatment outcomes, and higher profit margins can all be done by considering just one addition to an already successful aesthetics clinic: a professional skin care line.  

There are plenty of benefits to offering a well-curated line of skin care products that meet your patients’ needs and complement your existing service offerings. In fact, incorporating skin care can be a simple way to better build out your patient base, engage a prospective patient who may be skeptical about committing to a comprehensive treatment plan, and recoup lost or lower-than-expected profits. For those interested in learning about the steps you should take to offer professional skin care lines in your aesthetics clinic, we’ve created this three-step, quick-start guide to help set you on the right path.

Helping patients make smart choices about skin care alongside aesthetic treatment options should go hand in hand. Just as you were sure to perform your due diligence when buying a new medical aesthetic device , take the same time and care in choosing the skin care lines and products you introduce to your aesthetics clinic. When researching skin care lines, prioritize those that are backed by science and packed with proven ingredients, like growth factors from stem cells, antioxidants, and retinol. It would be even better if it’s developed with aesthetic treatments in mind and avoids all those ingredients and testing protocols that prospective patients generally wish to avoid, like carcinogens, parabens, hydroquinones, cells, and anything that utilizes animal testing.  

Keep your aesthetic treatments and services menu in mind when selecting which products or kits to add as retail to your clinic. Curating skin care retail to complement your existing services is a sure-fire way to help raise profit margins, particularly considering an average profit margin of 40% on retail. Start by selecting products that complement or improve the outcome of your top-selling treatments. Keep your selections simple with a range of core anti-aging skin care basics. This offers an easy, lower-cost entry point for new patients without overly complicating your offerings. You can always expand your skin care product offerings once you’ve fine-tuned your protocols and garnered a better understanding of patient preferences.  

Finally, consider the design of the packaging. Depending on where you may stock or display these items—whether it’s in a treatment room, near reception, or somewhere in the waiting room—it’s a nice bonus to have a line whose branding matches your clinic’s overall branding profile. This creates a cohesive look and feel between your services and retail offerings. It also has the added benefit of making it easier to incorporate images of your new skin care line into existing marketing materials. In fact, the more well-integrated your skin care offerings are with your aesthetic treatments, the stronger your brand recognition.

Once you’ve chosen your ideal skin care lineup, it’s time to find a home for it in your aesthetics clinic. Don’t just toss it in a cupboard, suggesting to patients that these products are just afterthoughts. Instead, having products well-displayed and in the patient’s line of sight suggests they’re an integral part of a successful treatment plan and are more likely to pique their interest.  

To start, ensure a couple pieces of each product, along with a tester, are available in treatment rooms so staff can easily access them when discussing the skin care pyramid and their product recommendations. For the front of your clinic, retailing has the most impact when it is bright, clean, and spacious, allowing for patients to easily pick up the product and read about it without being concerned about knocking anything down on the display. When merchandising product lines in your waiting room or reception areas, keep cleanliness and ease of access in mind, but also ensure staff can easily keep an eye on the product. As much as we’d like to trust all patients, theft attempts are common with retail; however, they can be thwarted by attentive staff and strategic positioning. As well, keep just a couple of each product stocked on your shelves and store additional items in an area away from patients or in a locked drawer to further minimize theft risk while keeping merchandising clean and streamlined.

Have sample bottles available and marked as testers. This is a good option to help patients get an idea of the consistency or scent of the product. However, mini samples for at-home use should be reserved only for patients who need the extra boost for conversion. This is because most professional-quality skin care products contain active ingredients that achieve a cumulative  effect over time or whose primary function is preventative. These products need time to prove their value, and take-home samples simply won’t offer enough time or product for the patient to experience the positive outcomes possible with a full-size version. If you do send a patient home with a sample to test out, be sure to manage their expectations with regard to results, and always follow up after a couple of days to see what they think.

As you’re covering those first two steps, staff training should be the next priority. Review the key ingredients, benefits, best uses, and potential contraindications as well as who may be the ideal candidate for each product, so your team may speak knowledgeably to patients about each option alongside how it fits into a long-term treatment plan. During this stage, you may also consider supplying staff with full-size samples they can test out. This way, staff can better speak to their own personal experiences, including ease of use, scents, consistency, and more.

Next, consider incorporating an overview of the “Skin Health and Beauty Pyramid” into your consultation process. If you’re unfamiliar with the skin health pyramid, it’s a model that’s helpful in breaking down the key elements of a well-rounded and effective treatment plan. Originally outlined in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, the pyramid is comprised of three layers that establish an effective, holistic aesthetics regimen that patients may use to achieve optimal results. The base of the pyramid starts with outlining fundamental skin care ingredients that promote protection and prevention (or pre-rejuvenation   as it’s known among the millennial market ). The second layer addresses ingredients for moisturizing, exfoliating, and cell turnover to transform skin. Finally, the third layer includes skin care ingredients to optimize skin health, such as growth factors, for more substantial results. Combined, these three layers can deliver optimal efficacy for preventing, diminishing, and correcting your patients’ top aesthetic skin concerns. Ideally, the skin care products you offer in your clinic should be able to touch on all three layers of the skin health pyramid.

During your initial consultation with a new patient, consider having yourself, a dedicated aesthetician, or your patient care coordinator outline the pyramid and fill in their top recommendations for achieving the patient’s primary aesthetic goals. By outlining the importance of a complete skin care protocol that incorporates all three levels of the pyramid, patients will be able to better understand the recommendations for long-term treatment plans, complementary treatment suggestions, and the need to also take part in adapting their routines to better achieve their optimal outcome. You may also take this time to let patients see and feel products while reviewing how to best utilize each suggested skin care item for best results. Through this approach, patients are more likely to feel that their concerns have been heard and thoroughly addressed, while associating your time and effort in outlining and explaining the best course of action with authority. Ultimately, this will help you and your staff more easily earn your patients’ trust for a higher conversion rate.

For those offering aesthetic treatments utilizing the Venus Concept advanced line of medical aesthetic devices, Venus Skin™ is the skin care line of choice, available exclusively to Venus Concept customers. Featuring a collection of products and kits expertly formulated to help improve texture, combat photoaging, and speed up healing post-treatment with our energy-based devices, Venus Skin™ offers the perfect facial and body solutions for pre- and post-treatment skin care. The products contain a range of highly active and proven ingredients, including growth factors from stem cells, that work together to help repair damage and support healing, keeping skin looking smooth, elastic, and radiant for a more youthful and healthier appearance.

Ready to take the first step to incorporating quality skin care lines into your aesthetics clinic? Explore our lineup of Venus Skin™ products  online and then contact an expert today using the button below to learn how you can get it.