Contact Dermatitis

Friday, March 19, 2010 by Renee Lierly, RN
Contact Dermatitis

Contact Dermatitis

Advanced skin care may include ablative procedures such as chemical peels, ablative skin resurfacing and other Laser based technology. A common, often avoidable complication is contact or irritant dermatitis.

Man Up - The Emerging Male Aesthetic Market

Friday, February 19, 2010 by Laura Cunningham


According to a Dove survey of 8,000 men between the ages of 30 and 55 in seven countries, it appears that men are bothered by how they're portrayed in advertising.  According to Michael Kaufman, Dove gender expert consultant, "These are bad news about what our standards of men's bodies should look like, they're impossible images. Men can't live up to that."

Dove launched an ad campaign during the NFL's Super Bowl for its new line of men's skin care products.  What Dove's new ads convey and what their survey reveals is that reak men are not the fit, toned and buffed male models we see in ads.  Men are just as frustrated by those portrayals as women are annoyed by fashion images suggesting all women should looked like photoshopped-to-perfection super models.

Sharon MacLeod, a director at Unilever which owns the Dove brand reports "What our campaign does is look to celebrate men who have different responsibilities in life and are comfortable in their own skin," Ms. MacLeod says. "These are not guys who are ladies men or heroes or power-hungry. These are real men with real lives" -- film directors, business people -- and the campaign is "about their definition of success."


 

Of note:  Dove's survey found 65% of Canadian men are comfortable using women's skincare products but only 24% are prepared to admit to using women's products to their friends.

Outside of toiletries; other articles indicate that male demand for fillers, injectibles, liposection, laser hair removal and other cosmetic procedures are on the rise.  Does this indicate that it is time of use promotional marketing materials (brochures, posters, countertop displays, DVDs) which show men - in and around your practice?  Should your web site and advertisments appeal to your male patients?  Should your practice offer product lines for retail with a focus on male concerns?  Are male patients the new demographic?  It's an equal opportunity world of aesthetics!


 

Building Patient Loyalty

Tuesday, November 3, 2009 by Laura Cunningham

Wendy Lewis, acclaimed author and expert in aesthetic consultancy, has a helpful article on "Instilling Loyalty in Cosmetic Patients" in the October 2009 issue of Plastic Surgery Products. 

Wendy recommends offering your loyal clients a reward program to encourage repeat business and referrals. 

Customer Loyalty Programs may include:
 

  • courtesy vouchers
  • offer of extra service
  • complementary product
  • volume discount
  • refer-a-friend bonus
  • discount on particular treatment
  • trial of a new product or technology


Even offering a "thank you - using personal notes, calls or emails can be enough to make them feel special.  I highly recommend saying thank you after any aesthetic laser treatment such as laser hair removal or skin rejuvenation or injectible; and keep them coming back for more. 

Read Wendy's article to learn more.



 

Pigmentation Revisited

Tuesday, October 6, 2009 by Renee Lierly, RN

Pigmentation Revisited

By: Peter T. Pugliese, MD

 

Estheticians are faced with problems of pigmentation every day. Some clients want to be lighter, some darker; some have white spots, dark pigmented spots, freckles or melasma. It is difficult to know what to do for most of these clients without having a good foundation in the science of pigmentation.

Pigmented lesions are formed because of genetics, heredity, hormones, sun exposure, medications and certain disease processes. It is important that the treatment provider assess how many of these factors influence the formation of the pigmented lesions before starting a skin care treatment.

Skin-lightening Challenges

Tuesday, October 6, 2009 by Renee Lierly, RN

Skin-lightening Challenges

By: Zoe Diana Draelos, MD

Irregular pigmentation of the face is one of the most common signs of photoaging. Pigmentation occurs because of the uneven production of melanin—a brown pigment produced by melanocytes—in the skin. Many different patterns can be seen on the faces of people of different ages.

Clients often are seeking an advanced skin care consult for pigmentary issues. An aesthetic Laser system may be used as part of the treatment plan to address the pigmentary needs. Laser Genesis and LimeLight facial are often combined with light chemical peels, cosmeceuticals, sunblock and good client education about sun protection to decrease the appearance to pigmented lesions.

Skin Lightening Challenges

Tuesday, September 1, 2009 by Renee Lierly, RN

Skin-lightening Challenges

Laser based technology has become a part of skin care treatment plan to address pigmented lesions.  Many treatment providers with use a combination of topical agents, chemical peels, Laser Genesis and LimeLight facial in skin rejuvenation and the reduction of pigmented lesions.




"Skin-Lightening Challenges" by By: Zoe Diana Draelos, MD

Vitamin C in Skin Care

Tuesday, July 28, 2009 by Renee Lierly, RN

Vitamin C in Skin Care

Advanced Skin Care starts with daily skin care management. This usually includes facial wash, moisturizers & sunblock. Many skin care products also include the use of Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in the ingredients.
It is important to optimize the results of Laser based technology such as Laser Genesis, LimeLight facial and over all skin rejuvenation with good daily skin care.


Source:

"Vitamin C in Skin Care"
By: Peter T. Pugliese, MD
Posted: June 2, 2009, from the June 2009 issue of Skin Inc. Magazine.

Example of Media Coverage after Recent Multimedia News Release

Thursday, May 28, 2009 by Laura Cunningham
We recently released a Multimedia News Release on Pearl Fractional and the benefits to this treatment for "Eye-Juvenation" - treating that difficult periorbital area successfully. 

Examples of some of the pickup (video and/or news sites and blogs) are shown below:




And many more that I won't list here..... 

Good luck with YOUR PR efforts to promote your skin rejuvenation and aesthetic services - PR can be a lot of work but getting PR is always worth the effort.  






Going Beyond a Press Release to promote our Pearl Fractional Laser

Thursday, May 28, 2009 by Laura Cunningham
We used a Multimedia News Release (MNR) for the first time to promote the Pearl Fractional laser for "Eye-Juvenation" -- results and coverage have been impressive. 

Rather than just releasing a press release, our MNR included:


When you prepare media documents to promote your services or a new treatment such as Pearl Fractional for skin resurfacing and dramatic skin rejuvenation, gather up other supporting documents, videos and images to expand your story and make it both dynamic and content-rich.  Your efforts will pay off in the long-term!



Staff Compensation

Wednesday, May 6, 2009 by Laura Cunningham
Alright - I know this is not part of "Marketing" but I just read an interesting article by Bryan Durocher on Employee Compensation published last December in Skin, Inc. and thought I would share it with you.

I know a number of Cutera customers struggle over how much they should compensate their employees - for promoting their practice, referring friends/family, closing consults to appointments, performing aesthetic procedures such as laser hair removal, skin rejuvenation, etc.  There is no one answer as every practice is different. 

Some pay commission on top of salary - others use monthly or quarterly profit sharing.  I thought this statement was sobering.  "If a business owner is paying more than 50% commission or is offering some type of benefits in conjunction with a commission structure greater than 50% they are losing money."

Wow.  What are you offering your employees?

Read more if you are interested.

 

Photosensitivity related to Laser & Light Based Skin Procedures

Wednesday, April 1, 2009 by Renee Lierly, RN

Photosensitivity related to Laser & Light Based Skin Procedures

Laser based technology in advanced skin care may cause photosensitivity reactions.
In a small number of people photosensitivity reactions have been reported after Laser Genesis treatments. If this should occur, please have the patient refrain from using their skin products 24 hours before and after the Laser Genesis treatment.

Alpha hydroxy acids also cause increased sensitivity to the sun.

http://www.realself.com/ingredient/alpha-hydroxy-acids

Photography

Tuesday, March 24, 2009 by Renee Lierly, RN
A very important element of the patient consultation and skin care treatment plan are uniform photos of the treatment area. Patients often forget how much hair they had before starting Laser Hair removal. Pictures help to identify changes in pigment. This is important when performing a Limelight facial for pigmented lesions or Laser Hair removal. Pictures really are worth a thousand words.

Photography for Cosmetic Dermatologists


Having a simple protocol for patient photography is essential. This means taking steps to standardize not only the method of taking representative photographs, but also of storing/cataloging them for efficient retrieval for presentations and patient use.

The key to this is to simplify the process and make the number of photos required for each patient uniform.


Source: Skin & Aging
 

VOLUME: 16 PUBLICATION DATE: Jul 10 2008
Issue Number: 7
author: 
By Kenneth Beer, M.D.

COLOR COSMETICS AND CONTACT DERMATITIS

Tuesday, March 24, 2009 by Renee Lierly, RN
Advanced skin care that includes Laser based technology, ablative and non-ablative combined with cosmetics may produce a rare complication of contact dermatitis. 

 COLOR COSMETICS AND CONTACT DERMATITIS


Cosmetic Reactions

Despite product testing by cosmetic companies before new product releases to the public, adverse reactions are still experienced by consumers of cosmetics. Cosmetics can cause reactions such as, but not limited to, irritant contact dermatitis, allergic contact dermatitis, photocontact dermatitis, contact urticaria, pigmentary changes and acneiform reactions.

Source: Skin & Aging
Volume 17 - Issue 3 - March 2009
MARIA ELENA MIYAR, BA, AND LESLIE BAUMANN, MD

Aesthetic Profits Releases the Highly Anticipated How To Series

Wednesday, March 18, 2009 by Renee Lierly, RN
Potential patients are bombarded with advertisements for Laser Hair Removal, Laser vein treatment, skin tightening and skin rejuvenation. It is important for treatment providers  differentiate themselves from the competitors.

Aesthetic Profits Releases the Highly Anticipated How To Series


After great anticipation Aesthetic Profits Inc. is trilled to announce the launch of it’s much awaited How To: Series - Effective Patient Attraction Tools for Aesthetic Physicians. This compilation contains essential strategies aesthetic doctors need to build a reliable database of returning patients, to enhance their presence within their community and see a steady boost in revenues.

Current titles include: ‘How to Differentiate Yourself From All the Others’, ‘How to Make the Most of Your In-House Marketing’, ‘How to Effectively Communicate With Your Patients’, ‘How to Become Famous in Your Community’, ‘How to Conduct a Successful Aesthetic Patient Consultation’, ‘How to Coordinate a Successful Open House’, ‘How to Promote Retail Profitably’, ‘How to Promote Minimally-Invasive Procedures’, ‘How to Build a Word-of-Mouth Practice’ and many more.

Source:  International Association for Physicians in Aesthetic Medicine (IAPAM)

How to Develop a Very Loyal Following

Wednesday, March 18, 2009 by Renee Lierly, RN
Reward you patients with the VIP (Very Important Patient) Promotion.

Promotions can be for Laser Hair removal, Laser Vein treatment, skin tightening, skin rejuvenation, chemical peels or advanced skin care products.


How to Develop a Very Loyal Following

We all know your best aesthetic patient is the referred patient. They are not as price conscious and are already pre-sold on you. You do not want to take these referrals lightly. Every aesthetic practice or medical spa has their group of cheerleaders and you do too.

Source: International Association for Physicians in Aesthetic Medicine

Aesthetic Medicine is a Profitable Option

Wednesday, March 18, 2009 by Renee Lierly, RN
There are many things to research and learn about starting an Aesthetic practice. The physician may want to offer skin rejuvenation with chemical peels and Laser based technology or a more advanced skin care practice with Laser hair removal, vein treatments or skin tightening. 

Physician Aesthetic Medicine Certification Training



Aesthetic Practice Startup Workshop Ensures Adding Aesthetic Medicine is a Profitable Option


After completing this workshop, participants will leave with a comprehensive business plan for their aesthetic medicine practice. This program will cover all aspects of creating a business plan for a profitable medical spa, including:

•    Financing options for physicians;
•    Target demographics for tailored aesthetic procedures;
•    Developing a menu of treatments and pricing strategies;
•    Establishing aesthetic practice protocols and HR for aesthetic practitioners;
•    Creating an effective marketing plan;
•    Finding the right location;
•    Staffing;
•    Federal and state legal and regulatory issues; and
•    Startup costs and reading financials.

Souce: International Association for Physicians in Aesthetic Medicine (IAPAM)