I’m going to sound like a bit of a dinosaur here but when I first started in aesthetics, the big company I worked for was very much of the mindset: upper face toxin, lower face filler.
Skin was either not talked about unless it involved a wrinkle we could fix with an injectable treatment, was “bad” so got referred to dermatology or was an afterthought that could become a “cross sell” and most people got a one size fits all expensive prescriptive product.
Thankfully that is no longer the case and during lockdown even our patients finally got on board with the idea that whilst toxin and filler could be a quick fix, nothing was ever going to be a substitute for a good skincare routine.
In the last couple of years it has almost gone the opposite way; there is an ever-growing
plethora of skincare products, gadgets and treatments we could be offering, so now the
problem has become “where to start?”.
Most people in Happy Injectors Club are single handed practitioners like me, often doing aesthetics part time and with only a smallish budget for training and/or gadgets so not able to invest huge amounts.
My best advice would be
Go right back to basics with the anatomy and functions of the skin
Get your own skincare routine up to scratch (!) and document your own journey for patient inspiration
Find quality free online training. I’m not affiliated with them but the online Obagi® training with healthxchange is excellent and FREE!
Decide on a skincare brand that offers both cosmeceutical and prescriptive (or a separate brand for each, but don’t over complicate it).
Ideally find a brand that you can ship directly to your patients, so you don’t have to buy in lots of stock
Do have in stock some SPF. This is the most common element that is missing from a patient’s routine and if they can try it on themselves, they are more likely to purchase it there and then
Choose at least one treatment to offer in clinic, such as skin boosters, that is relatively simple to train in and that you can offer your patients in between filler and toxin appointments. The more affordable the better. It’s a great opportunity to build a strong relationship with them by seeing them more frequently, increase their annual spend and investment, and allow you to more frequently assess when other treatment may be needed.
So if you haven’t taken the plunge into the world of skincare yet, DO IT.
Felicity x
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