Part 1: Paul Nassif, MD: Building a Successful Skin Care Brand

Women’s use of facial skin care products rose in 2020, according to The NPD Group, a market research company.

22% of U.S. women reported changing their skin care routine because of the pandemic.

“Most are washing or moisturizing their face more often than pre-pandemic; one-third have expanded their routine to include more products; and the majority of those using more products intend to stick with their new routine when things normalize,” according to an NPD press release.

Cleansers and moisturizers, and treatments such as exfoliators/scrubs and masks saw the biggest boosts in use since 2019.

Women are more likely to research skin care products online before purchasing, according to NPD.

Released in 2019, the NPD Women’s Facial Skincare Consumer Report noted that nearly half of women surveyed prefer to research products online prior to buying them in store, citing online reviews and ratings, as well as social media influencers, as their sources of information.

Engaged consumers are looking at ingredients and want transparency, according to the NPD Group.

“…46% of facial skin care users report purchasing products free of sulfates, phthalates and/or gluten, representing a 6-point uptick over the past 2 years. In addition, more than half of women look for skin care products made from organic ingredients. The report also found that brands making a public commitment to ingredient transparency have become top of mind for consumers, with several of the more well-known transparent brands ranking among the Top 25 in highest awareness-to-purchase conversions,” according to an NPD press release.

22% report changing their skincare routine due to COVID-19. NPD Group. Press release. September 10, 2020. Accessed May 3, 2021. 

https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/press-releases/2020/more-u-s--women-are-using-facial-skincare-products-today--reports-the-npd-group/

Empowered consumers want clean ingredients and brand transparency from skincare products. NPD. Press release. August 14, 2019. Accessed May 3, 2021. 

https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/press-releases/2019/empowered-consumers-want-clean-ingredients-and-brand-transparency-from-skincare-products/

Articles

Women’s use of facial skin care products saw a significant rise in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The NPD Group, a market research company.


2020 Skin Care Trends

Beverly Hills facial plastic surgeon Paul Nassif, MD, FACS, of NassifMD Plastic Surgery in California, knows how to create a successful brand. His image alone creates awareness with anyone who has tuned into E! Entertainment’s 

Among his many claims to fame, Nassif developed and markets NassifMD Dermaceuticals. He shared strategies for building a successful skin care line with colleagues during the April 17 International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) Business School.

Launching a skin care line is not easy, according to Nassif.

“This is more of a long-term investment, and really if you are going to do this you need dedication and, of course, a lot of money,” he says.

Aesthetic physicians and surgeons have different reasons for creating proprietary skin care lines.

“You have to think about, ‘What is my endgame? Am I doing this because it is a passion project of mine? Am I doing this as a source of passive income?’” he says. “I did this for my patients because when you do surgery, what happens to [the quality of the] skin? Nothing. If you have surgery plus great skin care…it makes your surgery look better.”

Regardless of the reason, says Nassif, the goal of creating a skin care line should be to develop great products because repeat business is the key to long-term success.

“You can always get someone to buy the product, but the question is, are they going to keep using it? That is why the product has to be fantastic,” he says.

Science and testing should be the foundation of any physician-developed skin care brand. That includes developing thoughtful formulations, as well as formal and informal testing and feedback.

“I chose to individually formulate each product to ensure control of ingredients, potency, and efficacy, and to tailor each [product] to my patients’ needs and input,” he says.

Proper product testing is a time-consuming endeavor, but necessary. For his line, Nassif worked with chemists to achieve efficacy and potency for each product, whether it was designed for the face, neck, under eyes, nose, or other areas.

“There are probably 7 to 8 different tests that you have to do with your chemist,” Nassif explains.

Nassif’s skin care products went through laboratory testing, consumer perception studies, before and after studies, hydration studies, skin pathology testing, and Visia (Skin Analysis System; Canfield Scientific) studies. He also funded clinical trials that incorporated side-by-side visual comparisons. Additionally, he received qualitative and quantitative feedback from friends, colleagues, patients, and staff.

During the ISAPS Business School presentation, Nassif shared images from a Visia study that had 30 participants. In the study, patients wearing fluorescent makeup cleansed their face using soap and water on one side of the face and his NassifMD Detox Pads on the other to remove dirt, makeup, and residue.

“[My detox pads were] 108% more effective than soap and water,” he says.

Although companies do the actual testing for providers such as Nassif, it’s the providers who foot the bill, he says. He also commissioned a perception study in which 32 participants wrote down what they thought about products.

Providers should highlight before and after images for each product, he says, noting that consumers look to these transformations when deciding what to buy. In his presentation, Nassif showed before and after images of his Deco-Lift and Peri-Orbital Complex products.

“What I focus on here is the luminosity and glow. I look at the color and the crow’s feet and also…at the lifting ability,” he says. “This is from a key ingredient called Vin-upLift, that gives immediate temporary hydration and lifting.”

Formulating products with key ingredients that may not be widely available but are backed up by science to suggest they work is important for product differentiation. Nassif describes the Vin-upLift ingredient as “a unique tightening ingredient that is derived from Swiss ice wine,” on his website NassifMDskincare.com.

“Your ingredients have to be excellent,” he says. “You have to have the science behind the different products.”

Nassif uses many avenues to reach his target audience for skin care products, including TV shopping and e-commerce. His product line is featured on HSN in the United States and international shopping channels such asTVSN in Australia, QVC UK, and TSC in Canada.

As for e-commerce, Nassif markets the brand on the NassifMDskincare.com website and also sells the line on additional websites. The brand has its own Amazon.com consumer page.

The skin care line has a large social media presence, with advertisements on popular platforms and lifestyle websites, such as PopSugar. Social media marketing is a conduit to reach specific demographic groups, he says, adding that it is also important to use online influencers and their high-profile engagement.

Brick and mortar is a separate conversation, according to Nassif, who only briefly touched on having product conversations with Ulta Beauty Inc and Sephora, in his ISAPS presentation. On-air skin care sales, coupled with a robust online and social media presence, helps to educate buyers, develop brand awareness, fuel sales, and build an international viewership, he says.

Of course, Nassif’s practice also generates product sales. His practice integrates skin care into surgical treatments, and the skin care line also supplements his medical spa and aesthetic treatments.

Creating a skin care line involves dedication, product testing, clinical trials, marketing, sales, and yes, a lot of money. 

Paul Nassif, MD: Building a Successful Skin Care Brand

 examines a report finding benzene in 78 popular sunscreens (Click 

 to watch Valisure CEO speak on the controversy and its 

 details a TikTok “filler” trend physicians are urging patients to avoid, 

highlights an acne clinic offering free services to trans people of color, 

 breaks down the jargon of beauty label lingo, and 

 dives into the complicated cultural appropriation history of western gua sha use. 

A New Report Found the Carcinogen Benzene In 78 Popular Sunscreens

Hyaluron Pens Are TikTok's Latest Bad Idea

Skin Wins Is the Brooklyn Acne Clinic Offering Free Services to Trans People of Colo

A Guide to Understanding Beauty Label Lingo, From 'Hypoallergenic' to 'Clinically Tested'

Here's What I Wish the West Would Understand About Gua Sha

This week, consumer magazines highlight Benzene in 78 popular sunscreens, a TikTok “filler” trend physicians are urging patients to avoid, and more.  

Understanding Beauty Label Lingo 

This week in aesthetics, a new FDA approved eyedrop offers a nonsurgical option for eyelid lifts, a study examines filler hypersensitivity post-COVID-19 illness, Joe Niamtu, III, DMD, highlights how to safeguard the practice when donating goods and services to charitable organizations, and a new study details the potential of hydrolyzed marine collagen for anti-aging.

A new FDA-approved eyedrop offers patients a nonsurgical option for eyelid lifts.

Filler Hypersensitivity Post-COVID-19 Illness

Does COVID-19 antigens cause hypersensitivity to dermal fillers?

Marine Collagen—Safe and Effective for Skin Rejuvenation?

New study examines the safety and efficacy of hydrolyzed marine collagen on skin elasticity, wrinkles, and hydration in women.

Donating to charitable organizations is a great way to give back to the community, however, physicians and practices need to place concrete safeguards to protect against being scammed, says Joe Niamtu, III, DMD, who knows the hurt of this very real situation.

This week in aesthetics, we highlight a new nonsurgical eyelid lift option, protecting the practice while donating goods and services, and more. 

This Week in Aesthetics: May 31 – June 4

Most practitioners are indebted to their community for the success of their practices. I truly believe that most fulfilled and successful doctors are eager to give back to their communities. I, like many readers of this article, have provided pro bono services, participated in volunteer efforts, become involved with numerous charitable organizations, and simply tried to make my community a better place. I performed many charitable reconstructive surgeries on children in the earlier part of my career. I have 2 special needs children with severe disabilities but was active in helping children years before my sons were born. Having said that, much of my current charitable work centers around children and adults with disabilities.

Like many, my practice is called on frequently for charitable fundraising support for innumerable causes. This began as a trickle 20 years ago and has developed into a streaming pipeline. Despite this, I've tried to support any request. The most common request is the donation of a cosmetic item for a charitable auction. Providing a neuromodulator or filler treatment or a skin care basket has been an easy way to support these groups.

Many of the groups are well-known national charities. Additionally, I have supported public and private school fundraising auctions, gymnastic team auctions, golf tournaments, and pretty much every describable request within a community.

For the most part, this has been extremely bilaterally beneficial. My practice gets to assist organizations with raising funds for their good work and at the same time I get recognition as a provider of cosmetic services in my community. Some fundraising “winners” have become regular patients. Generally, this is a win-win situation.

Whether it be seen as good or bad, the more charities you support with donations of products or services, the more requests you get for further donations. As I mentioned earlier, what began as a trickle became a significant investment.

This did not bother me because in the end, I am helping people in need.

Even when they are soliciting with the best of intentions, some people find a way to take advantage of the person or practice donating. In the beginning, we simply accepted all requests and printed a certificate redeemable for a given service. We had no rules and assumed it would be an easy situation.

In years past, some people would come to the practice holding crumpled and tattered auction certificates issued 3 years prior. Others would show up with a certificate they personally did not bid on and once, someone showed up with a photocopy of a certificate demanding redemption.

We quickly learned there had to be some rules, so we refined our certificates. We began putting a chronological number on the certificate as well as issuing an expiration date and declaring that the certificates are nontransferable.

This immediately solved some of our problems, but unfortunately our diligence was not enough. After implementing the updated rules, I would ask certificate recipients what price they had paid in the auction. Frequently, and especially for nationally known charities, the bidder had paid far more than what the actual auction item was worth in the fun of a charitable bidding war.

This made me feel great because the charity really benefited. Other times, people would show up with a certificate for neuromodulator treatments or injectable filler that had a retail worth of $1000 and they had only spent $20 for the winning bid. After this, we started informing charities that if the item did not sell for a reasonable portion of its value, it should not be auctioned, and we would re-donate the next year.

Just when we thought we had everything under control, a member of my staff noticed that a person who had requested auction items for various “charity golf tournaments” had not only picked up the certificate from our office but also personally redeemed it. At first this did not set off red flags. I have seen auction chairs purchase an item they personally requested from a practice because they either wanted the service or product themselves or wanted to drive up the value for the organization.

However, the reality was that the person collecting these golf tournament certificates would pick them up and redeem them when different staff was in my office. Well, that is until someone noticed. At this point we investigated the charitable golf tournaments: we could find no record of 1, another responded that they had never asked for or received any auction item from the practice, 1 didn’t respond at all, and the last said they did not keep records of charitable donations.

It was at this moment we realized we had been scammed. Adding to the hurt was the fact that some of this malfeasance was done in the name of children’s charities.

This situation made us review our entire process and add additional safeguards. First and foremost, we issued a compliance list for receiving, auctioning, and redeeming a charitable certificate, with the following requirements:

The certificate cannot be redeemed by the person requesting it or collecting it from the office.

The person picking up the certificate in office must provide a photo ID which we then copy and keep in our records.

The receiving organization must provide us with detailed information about the certificate winner. This is documented in a form that we give to the organization and must also include the amount of the winning bid. The certificate cannot be honored without this information. This puts some of the responsibility on the organizations, which can be lazy with record keeping.

Needless to say—and shame on us for not doing more research—we now investigate any organization that requests a charitable gift. Due to the amount of requests we receive, we have also started rotating the smaller venues (sports teams, PTAs) instead of honoring every single request.

It has been my pleasure to support national and local charities and organizations within our community. Like anything else in life, there are situations where people may take advantage of one’s generosity. We learned much of this the hard way and I would like to pass along some caveats, which include the following:

Investigate all requesting organizations for legitimacy and obtain detailed information about the requesting individual.

Invest some time and thought into a professional redemption certificate that includes:

Expiration date of service or product redemption

An accompanying form that must be filled out and followed exactly for redemption. Clearly state the necessity of this form on the actual certificate: If the form is not completed and returned by the organization, the certificate is void.

When the charitable affiliate comes to collect the certificate, obtain a copy of their photo ID. We request personal pick-up and don’t mail out certificates.

Inform all people involved that any fraud will be reported to authorities.

I still believe that the more you give, the more you get. Just give wisely.

Donating to charitable organizations is a great way to give back to the community. However, physicians and practices need to create concrete safeguards to protect against being scammed, says Joe Niamtu III, DMD, who knows the hurt of this very real situation.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

studied the safety and efficacy of a hydrolyzed marine collagen (Vinh Wellness Collagen) on skin elasticity, wrinkles, and hydration over 12 weeks

The study, a randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel study, included women between 45-60 years with a BMI of 20.0-29.9 kg/m2, who displayed visible signs of natural and photoaging to the face. Aging was assessed by the Fitzpatrick questionnaire and all patients agreed to avoid prolonged exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation for study duration.

The Vinh Wellness Collagen (VWC) was derived from a tropical and sustainable freshwater fish called a pangasius hypothalamus. The patients took 10g of VWC or placebo powder that was dissolved in at least 100 ml of water every morning on an empty stomach for 12 weeks. 

If the dose was forgotten, study patients were told to immediately consume the dose and not to exceed 10g.

The study examined the change in wrinkles and elasticity, and self-reported skin appearance after 12 weeks of treatment. Data was collected at week 0, week 6, and week 12. Additionally, safety data was collected at every visit and evaluated at week 12. 

A skin wrinkle analysis was captured using the sixth generation VISIA skin analysis system (Canfield Imaging Systems) to assesses the number of visible wrinkles. Skin elasticity was measured using a Cutometer Dual MPA 580 (Courage Khazaka electronic GmbH). Measurements were taken at baseline, week 6, and week 12.

Self-assessed skin quality data was gathered using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The scale ranks patients’ responses on a 0 (no improvement) to 100 (great improvement) scale. Patients were asked to report their skin health based on skin elasticity, hydration, radiance, firmness, wrinkles, and overall feel.

Fifty patients were enrolled in the study, with 25 randomized into the placebo group and 25 into the VWC group. In total, 45 patients finished the study, 5 patients withdrew consent. 

At baseline, patients in the VWC group reported lower VAS scores vs placebo. However, by week 12, the VWC group reported higher scores when compared to placebo in all VAS categories. The VISIA measurements reduced by 24% in wrinkle score after 12 weeks in patients treated with VWC. 

There was no significant difference in cheek skin elasticity between VWC and placebo after 12 weeks, according to the study. The VWC group achieved an 11% improvement in cheek elasticity from baseline to week 6 and a 6% decrease in elasticity from weeks 6 to 12. The placebo group achieved a 5% improvement from baseline to week 6 and a 3% improvement from week 6 to week 12. Of note, patients between 45 and 54 years who received VWC treatment achieved between a 10% and 20% improvement from baseline to week 6. 

There were 32 AEs reported among 19 patients. Out of the 32, 18 were reported by patients in the VWC group compared to 14 in placebo. Out of 18 patient AEs, 17 were categorized as not related/not likely to the related to the treatment. The 1 AE of mild nausea was reported as possibly being related to the product. All AEs were resolved by the end of the study. 

All hematology, clinical chemistry, electrolytes, and liver and kidney function markers remained within healthy clinical reference range during the study for both groups. 

The improvements in skin health were consistent with previous studies examining collagen supplementation.

 This is the first study to look at the different responses between the left and the right side of the cheeks, according to the study authors. Photoaging and melanoma are typically more prevalent on the left side of the face due to sun exposure when driving and micro pressure when sleeping, they wrote.

“Future studies are needed to examine potential synergistic effects of VWC with other skin enhancing nutrients and the mechanism of action associated with collagen supplementation and improvements of skin health,” the authors wrote. 

1. Evans M, Lewis ED, Zakaria N, Pelipyagina T, Guthrie N. A randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel study to evaluate the efficacy of a freshwater marine collagen on skin wrinkles and elasticity. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology. 2021;20(3):825-834. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/jocd.13676

2. Choi SY, Ko EJ, Lee YH, et al. Effects of collagen tripeptide supplement on skin properties: a prospective, randomized, controlled study. J Cosmet Laser Ther. 2014;16(3):132-137. doi:10.3109/14764172.2013.854119

3. Zhou S-L, Wang H-Y, Yue D-X. Clinical effects and safety of oral treatment with low-molecular fish collagen hydrolysate on female facial skin properties. J Pract Dermatol. 2011;4(3). https://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTotal-SYPF201103008.htm

4. Paulson KG, Iyer JG, Nghiem P. Asymmetric lateral distribution of melanoma and merkel cell carcinoma in the United States. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2011;65(1):35-39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2010.05.026

5. Poljsak B, Godic A, Lampe T, Dahmane R. The influence of the sleeping on the formation of facial wrinkles. J Cosmet Laser Ther. 2012;14(3):133-138. https://doi.org/10.3109/14764172.2012.685563

New study examines the safety and efficacy of hydrolyzed marine collagen on skin elasticity, wrinkles, and hydration in women.  