The Business Case for Skin Treatments in UK Aesthetic Practice

It may seem obvious but the business case for skin treatments is often overlooked in aesthetic practice. 

As cosmetic injectors, botox and fillers, maybe some skin boosters, are often your frontline services. However, expanding your practice to include a more holistic approach, known as ‘Skin First’, brings incredible benefits. After all, injectables are not for everyone but everyone has skin!

From attracting a wider patient cohort to delivering more significant results and seeing your patients more regularly, there are clear benefits. And that’s before considering the effect the Skin First approach has on your profits!

Here we explore the pros and cons of introducing skin treatments to your aesthetic practice. We also outline why UK clinicians may have particularly compelling opportunities in this space…

People in the UK found to have significant skin concerns

Whether you’re influenced by social media or not, most people feel more confident when they feel they look good. 

The rise of skincare and aesthetic trends on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram has increased users’ awareness of what’s possible. This knowledge plays into how people feel about their appearance, including how their skin looks.

Appearance psychology is something Harley Academy has a huge interest in. We are partnered with the University of the West of England at Bristol, home to the globally respected Centre for Appearance Research. Professor Nichola Rumsey, OBE, a decorated researcher in this field, also sits on our Board.

Together with our training clinic, The Academy Clinic, we all work on ongoing research into the psychology of aesthetics patients. Our trainers bring insights on this crucial aspect to clinical practice when teaching our aesthetics courses.

Before we look at the pros and cons of introducing confidence-boosting skin treatments to your aesthetic practice, let’s look at some of the statistics.

25% of people with a skin condition say it affects their daily life

According to a 2021 British Skin Foundation survey, a fifth of us in Britain are unhappy with our skin. 

“We found that almost one in five people (18%) were unhappy with their appearance, although more than four in five (83%) said their appearance is important to their general wellbeing. As a charity that funds research into all types of skin disease, we were keen to focus on the skin side of body image and discovered that one in five (20%) were unhappy with their skin,” states the report.

Other findings from the survey include:

• 53% of people with a skin condition feel judged by others
• 35% of people with a skin condition say it affects their mental health
• 26% of people with a skin condition are embarrassed by it
• 25% of people with a skin condition say it affects their daily life.

It also revealed that, when it comes to seeking help for skin issues people may be unsure where to turn. Respondents indicated that their first port of call would be:

• Their GP (44%)
• Internet search (18%)
• Family member (12%)
• Consultant Dermatologist (11%)
• Pharmacist (9%)
• Friend (3%)
• Other medical professional (1%).

You don’t need to be a dermatologist to manage certain skin concerns

Various skin conditions can be managed without the need for a dermatologist. Cosmetic dermatology - notably different to dermatology - can be used to treat numerous common skin complaints.

These include:

• Acne
• Certain types of scarring including acne scarring
• Hyperpigmentation.

All of these can be efficiently treated using advanced skin treatments and/or topical skincare, as taught on our Cosmetic Dermatology Course. This course is a fun and educative experience that provides the knowledge and hands-on skills needed to offer a range of popular skin services. It can be taken on its own or as part of our Level 7+ where it’s combined with our Master’s level, Ofqual-regulated Level 7 Diploma in Botox & Dermal Fillers course.

It’s not just about managing skin conditions

Whilst specialising in just one of the conditions listed above will undoubtedly help you make a name for yourself, there are many more options. 

In addition to specific conditions, there are also just everyday skin concerns that people want to address. 

These are some we hear about regularly, just for starters!

• Age-related concerns including fine lines and wrinkles
• Dark circles under the eyes
• Dry skin
• Dehydrated skin
• Enlarged pores
• Lack of ‘glow’, especially ahead of big events such as weddings or parties
• Oily skin
• Sebaceous filaments
• Uneven skin texture.

Is this starting to give you an idea of just how wide a scope there is when you offer skin services..?

These top 10 UK cities have the ‘worst skin’

Data released by skincare retailer, Lookfantastic in November 2024, found the top 10 UK cities with what it describes as ‘the worst skin’. Or, more accurately, the potential to have the worst skin.

The report, published on TheIndustry.Beauty website, identified the following cities as ageing the quickest. Scores were based on key “environmental and lifestyle factors that accelerate skin ageing”. These details can be seen in the diagram below.

1.   Bournemouth

2.   London

3.   Brighton

4.   Southampton

5.   Nottingham

6.   Cardiff

7.   Leeds

8.   Manchester

9.   Birmingham

10. Coventry

Conversely, Stoke-on-Trent was named the best city, followed by Glasgow. 

If you’re based in or near one of these 10 cities, you have a great opportunity to market your services!

The business case for introducing skin treatments to your aesthetic practice

As an aesthetic practitioner, offering skin services can help to boost your profitability and bring in more revenue, compared to injectables alone.

There are four main reasons for this:

• A larger pool of potential patients
• See your patients more regularly than with injectables
• Huge potential for word-of-mouth referrals
• Earn regular, passive income through skincare sales.

Larger pool of potential patients

Injectables have a higher price point and some people just aren’t interested in them. Others are contraindicated. Many enquire about what will give them botox or filler-like results without actually having botox or filler. 

By offering skin consultations, treatments and topical skincare products, you’re opening up a new treatment stream that caters to these cohorts. Services such as bespoke skincare routines, microneedling and chemical peels can really appeal to those who would not, or cannot try toxin or fillers.

You’re also lowering the entry level pricepoint for results-driven treatments or products, without discounting your services. 

See your skin patients more regularly than with injectables

Skin treatments can be carried out far more regualrly than injectable treatments. They also generally require a course to produce optimal results. This means two things: you see your patient more often and have guaranteed income as treatment courses tend to be paid for in advance.

By seeing your patients more frequently, you can build a relationship and trust as their results develop. These types of patient-practitioner bonds can help you to establish a loyal following of long-term clients.

Word-of-mouth patient referrals

Many successful aesthetic practitioners don’t advertise. They may not even be active on social media. So, how do they get their patients? Through word-of-mouth referrals. 

When you consistently provide a great service and deliver results that meet patients’ goals, they’ll tell their friends. Although there can sometimes be a reluctance here when it comes to botox and filler for those who don’t like to admit to ‘having work done’, this hurdle is overcome when you offer skin treatments.

Developing your reputation is a fantastic way to drive patient acquisition in aesthetics. You can also offer Refer-A-Friend incentive schemes - something that’s much easier and less costly to your business to do when you offer skin treatments.

Earn regular passive income through skincare sales

Stocking specific skincare products you know will work, that are tailored to your patients’ main concerns, can provide an additional revenue stream.

You can sell these in-clinic, so you get to touch base with your patients in person more often. Alternatively, you can post them out to them when needed. You can send them reminders when they’re due a restock, or have a regular date set to send their new products out, to make it easier for them.

This is a low-effort way to bring in an additional regular income for your aesthetics practice.

It’s also a great way to attract new customers who might not yet be considering skin treatments or injectables.

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Those are the pros - now what about the cons?

As with everything, there are upsides and downsides. When it comes to offering skin treatments, these are the considerations that can be downsides for some.

• Finding the time to choose the right products for your patients
• Inital outlay to purchase products and equipment needed for skin treatments
• Space needed to hold stock
• Time taken to monitor online (email or website) sales, if you don’t sell in-clinic only
• Skin treatment plans take longer to yield results than injectables.

Time and money

Only you will know if you have the time and budget necessary to expand your practice into skin. What we would say is that, even if you start small, you should notice the difference it makes.

In terms of money, starting by offering skin consultations is a great way to find out what kind of goals and needs your patients have. From there, you can start to introduce new treatments that meet these, starting with, for example, microneedling or Profhilo®.

Try to think of what your current patients are looking for and how best to meet their specific needs. For example, many people don’t have a great skincare routine simply because they don’t know where to start. They also don’t know where to go for help. 

Try offering a consultation for a nominal fee that’s redeemable against the purchase of a skin treatment or skincare product. Or see if a synergistic local business - such as a hair salon - would consider doing a joint event so you can offer consultations during the event, to promote or launch your services.

Offering holistic consultations that address skin quality and skin concerns is a great place to start. You should be addressing skin concerns in your injectable consultations anyway, so time isn’t really a factor here.

Remember, you don’t have to do all the things, all at once! You can build your treatment portfolio up over time, as it works for your schedule and finances. The same for introducing skincare products. It’s not a necessity, it’s simply an option.

Space needed to hold stock

Consider what the minimum order is when deciding on the treatments you wish to offer. If you have limited space, it makes sense to only order those you know you have room for. 

Also account for the accoutrements you’ll need for each treatment besides the product itself. For example, for chemical peels you’ll need gauze, applicator brushes, dispensing cups, etc. on top of the actual peel. Chemical peels tend to take up more room due to the amount of equipment used.

Skin treatments that require the least amount of storage space include:

• Profhilo®
• Polynucleotides
• Microneedling.

Online skincare sales and delivery services

If you have the time, or an admin assistant who can deal with these for you, being able to routinely send out your patients’ skincare products can be extremely convenient. If not, stick to in-person sales.

Again, don’t try to do too much, too soon or be all things to all people. Find your niche and dedicate your time to mastering that so you develop a reputation to be proud of, which will generate referrals and revenue as a result. 

When you physically sell products to people, you get to hear the thoughts and queries that go into their purchasing decisions. These can be invaluable when it comes to marketing yourself and your products, so it’s actually a great way to get customer insights!

Skin treatments take longer to deliver results than injectables

Whilst the other points are mainly common sense logistics, this is the aspect you really need to be prepared for. If you’re introducing skin treatments to your injectables patients, you must manage their expectations appropriately.

As a society, we are becoming less patient, increasingly focused on instant results. This can be achieved, to a certain extent, with botox and fillers. It cannot, however, with skin treatments. 

Ensuring you explain this during your patient consultations and schedule courses in advance, where possible should suffice. You can also check in with your patients at other points during their course if you want to provide an extra level of service. This can also encourage them to keep on track with any at-home aspects of their treatment, such as retinol use, for example.

We hope this information helps you if you’re deciding whether to introduce skin treatments to your aesthetic practice. If you’d like a chat about the cosmetic dermatology courses open to you, or any other aesthetics training options, just book in a call. Our team would love to hear from you and can answer any questions you have.

All information correct at time of publication