Esthetics Q & A of the Day: How to Compete with Big Box Skin Care Lines?

Today's question: How can you compete and sell skin care products when there are so many department stores and big box cosmetic shops opening at every strip mall? Many of these stores carry dozens of skin care lines. What will make a client buy from the esthetician vs. these types of shops?

Answer: This is a tough question to answer, but let's start with the fact that there is always going to be competition. Yes, it is very difficult to compete with these big box stores that offer twelve skin care lines or more under one roof. There will always be customers who are looking for less expensive ways and easier ways to circumvent around getting professional advice. A lot of these clients just want a one-sized fits all approach, and they want to do all their cosmetic shopping in one location. They can get their nail polish, hair care, body lotions, perfumes, and even skin care under one roof and that has to make shopping a lot easier.

The main difference is in the education. If someone asks you "why should I buy your skin care products instead of going to a department store?"  I educate them on the professional licensing and requirements that estheticians go through, and ask them if they have achieved the skin care results they've desired. Also, I would challenge them to ask questions of the person selling the products--such as "what are the best ingredients for dry skin?" or "what are the best ingredients for acne?" and/or "what layer of skin will this product penetrate into?" You notice I didn't suggest asking them about the products, but about ingredients and skin. This will make many of them stumble on the first question.

I would also challenge these type of customers to really look at the people selling products, look at their skin, what does it look like? A red flag is bad skin! I am not saying estheticians never have a blemish, but estheticians usually have good skin.  In a lot of cases, customers are just tooling along with whatever products they've always used, and they act like these people selling products are the skin care gods, and they don't dare challenge them.

The thing about these sales people who are advising clients, in many cases, they aren't licensed to perform mini-facials. They have no business touching a client's skin; they don't understand sanitation and decontamination; and they have no clue about the layers of the skin and/or skin histology and disease. Clients who expect more, who want more for their skin will sniff out these sales people in seconds and realize they need an esthetician to perform and educate them about skin care. Notice, I said sales people because in fact they are in sales, not skin care.

You will always have this type of competition in the industry, but I use the analogy of customers who like to do their hair from a box and customers who care enough to get an expert to color their hair-- it is like comparing apples to candybars. It is a totally different beast, and you really can't compare a professional skin analysis and product education with a sales oriented skin care approach.

Estheticians are "preserving and maintaining the health of the skin, and educating clients on skin care products" where beauty sales people are just selling products. Estheticians are more than projected sales; estheticians are passionate and educated about skin care.