Q&A with Lorna Bowes, Director of Aesthetic Source
What is the background of AestheticSource and what products do you offer? AestheticSource was set up three and a half years ago with the tag lone of “Innovation in Aesthetics Delivered to You”. Our aim was a company that brought the best innovative and proven skincare ingredients, and delivered them with all the support needed for successful business for our customers. We have developed with that successful addition of Aneva Derma to our portfolio, and more exciting new developments launching soon.
The AestheticSource portfolio is:
- NeoStrata products and treatments for aesthetic clinics and practitioners – the science of great skin
- Exuviance products and treatments for salon an spa – where science meets spa
- Aneva Derma nutritional skin beverage for all
What are your most popular products and what do you think makes them so popular? NeoStrata Skin Active is an amazing range, combining the best of NeoStrata’s own ingredient technology with carefully selected other ingredients to address the signs of photodamage and promote skin health. Having won Best Cosmeceutical Range twice running in 2013 and 2014, this range continues to grow as our customers learn that the results they see in the before and after photography is replicated time and again in their own patients
What are your most popular treatments and what do you think makes them so popular? Exuviance has a range of in salon treatments that not only deliver skin fitness and effectively improve the areas of concern of many clients – photodamage, uneven skin tone, oily skin, dehydrated skin – but also deliver luxury and the pampered feel your clients are accustomed to. NeoStrata in-clinic treatments, the ProSystem Peels, have a long history of success. The founders of NeoStrata Company, Drs Van Scott and Yu, discovered the keratolytic effects of glycolic acid in the 1970’s and have been the world leaders in alpha hydroxyacid technology ever since. Their portfolio of novel ingredients continues to grow, with a vast percentage of profits being ploughed back into an extraordinary R&D programme. These new ingredeints have been, and continue, to come to market not only in NeoStrata’s own products but through other global brands who purchase the technology. The newly launch ProSystem Peel Book has all the studies to back up our claims of efficacy in various areas such as stand alone peels for photodamage, rosacea, acne prone skins as well as in combination with injectables and laser etc.
What makes differentiates your products? Science. The doctors and scientists at NeoStrata Company are passionate about both new ingredients and developing highly effective formulas that harness the best of each ingredient they use. By showing results in published clinical studies, and where possible conducting randomised double blind, placebo controlled studies by independent clinicians, NeoStrata has developed in to one of the most highly respected clinical skincare companies in the world.
How cost effective are your products when introducing them into a clinic or salon? All the skincare and treatments are highly cost effective – not just the margin available on first purchase, but crucially as a result of the long term effects of clients / patients finding a skincare range they can truly trust and that they will stay with for years, even many decades.
Do you provide any extra services, advice or training programmes for professionals who use your products in their clinics or salons? We are passionate about our training an customer service support. Before our training courses all delegates receive a reading pack, after the course, you are always welcome back free of charge to the theory part of our basic trainings to consolidate your learning; we offer advanced workshops and generic skincare and skin anatomy trainings through a carefully planned series of lectures at UK conferences, delivered by leading consultant dermatologists and plastic surgeons and our own training programme.
Why should clinic owners visit your stand at Aesthetic Medicine Live? For our many happy customers – come and see our new products such as NeoStrata Enlighten Pigment Lightening Gel – finally a non-hydroquinone formula that contains Butyl Resorcinol and Kojic Acid among other highly effective skin lighteners and brighteners to address the gap left by changes in EU regulations. We will also be showing results form a new 16 week randomised double blind study showing NeoStrata Triple Firming Neck Cream. The results are amazing! For potential new customers, come and meet the team, find out about all the support we can offer you to get started with your own long term skincare success story. As usual we will be offering tasters of Aneva Derma, the nutritional skin beverage – come and find out why this brand is seeing such great sales in it’s first year and learn how to incorporate it easily in to your practice.
Are you having anything new on your stand at Aesthetic Medicine Live? Yes, new products from both NeoStrata and Exuviance – come and see us to find out more.
Any other plans for Aesthetic Medicine Live? Oh yes! I’m giving lecture at 12.00 on Saturday 25th April called “Patients Are A Virtue”. Seeing a new patient come through your clinic door, or seeing a patient you have know for twenty years coming back for more treatment? Repeat business and word of mouth together can really propel your business to the next level. So what can we do to make sure we get patients to come back time and again? Three years on from her lecture “The Twenty Year Patient” Lorna will review strategies to ensure your patients have good reason to come in regularly. This talk will focus on consultation tools to generate interest in all the treatments available in your clinic and also review the latest cosmeceutical ingredients and products with visible results to get your patients talking about how great their skin feels and looks.
What tips would you give clinic owners looking to introduce a new line into their clinic? Choose carefully, look for clinical evidence and published data, look for a globally trusted brand, make sure whatever you take on is able to offer long term sales (happy patients come back time and time again) and work with companies that embrace great customer service.
What tips would you give salon owners looking to introduce a new line into their salon? Exactly the same as above – beware of marketing, and look for products that make you go ‘wow!’ – your clients will too!
Please tell us any current news or anything which is taking place at the moment outside of show activities: We have just come back from the American Academy of Dermatology where NeoStrata Company showcased some new products coming very soon to the UK. There was huge excitement around the NeoStrata stand at AAD, so I am sure these new products will follow the tradition of successful launches in the UK and increasing numbers of very satisfied clinics, salons clients and patients!
Lorna will be speaking on Saturday 25 April 2015 at our Live Stage – Register for free, here
