The Importance of Ethics in Medical Aesthetics ft. SkinSpirit

0:03Hey guys, welcome back to Skin Anarchy. Today's episode is dedicated to aesthetics and learning all about the world of aesthetics and med spas and what it really means to be a business.

0:30tried and true facilities and tried and true businesses, the better our experiences as consumers is going to be. So without further ado, I'd love to introduce you guys to Lynn Hublin, who is the CEO and co-founder of Skin Spirit. Welcome, Lynn. I'm so excited to host you and to learn all about Skin Spirit. Thank you very much. Yeah, let's get started. I would love to learn more about you, Lynn, and your background and what made you go into the med spa industry and just tell us a little bit about what, you know, really sparked your vision of Well, I grew up, I think, you know, it starts with kind of the household that I grew up in.

1:04I grew up in an entrepreneurial home. So that was always something that was talked about a lot when I was a kid. And I think I just always had a feeling that that was going to be my path in life, partly because I wasn't really good at conforming to some of the systems that, you know, that we have out there working nine to five, things like that. But I actually started my career in consumer products marketing after studying engineering at Procter & Gamble. So I learned a lot about marketing. I learned a lot about the consumer. And in that brand management function, you really learn a lot about how to run a business overall, which was really amazing.

1:47And then I went to business school at Stanford and I came out and I got into the tech sector. and I actually started a company with some engineers from Apple to do an online gaming platform. We were a little bit too early, but we were able to create some technology that was valuable and we were able to sell the company, you know, based on that technology. And after we sold the company, I was, you know, I was just, I was without a job. I had made, you know, a little bit of money selling the company. So I was, you know, kind of taking my time. And also through that whole process, which was pretty stressful, my first marriage was coming to an end.

2:34And so I just was at a place where I was, you know, trying to kind of figure out what the next move was. And I always assumed that I would go back and do a tech type role. But the more time that I spent away from that, the more I realized that I really wanted to do something that I was more personally passionate about. And because I was kind of entering the dating world again, you know, I struck up a friendship with this plastic surgeon, Dr. Viznas. And so I started getting laser hair removal in his office and I started getting microdermabrasion and we got to be friends. And he started talking to me about, you know, what he thought the future of aesthetics was because there were all these products that were in the queue.

3:21And the one that really got him excited was Botox, because it was just being tested for aesthetic purposes. So it had been in, it had been a therapeutic drug for many years. And, you know, people found that there was this side effect of smoothing, you know, wrinkles from using the product. And that product was just about to be FDA approved for cosmetic purposes. And he, you know, kind of shared with me his views on how that was going to change the aesthetic category. And that's really how it started, because I couldn't see myself going back into tech, but I wanted to do something. And so, you know, I just thought, what, you know, why not?

4:06Yeah. And also, like, I mean, it's a very strong pivot that happens, you know, I feel like when something's inspired, like, you just do it, you know, everything else kind of falls by the wayside and you're like, okay, and now I'm, I'm going to shift focus here. So, yeah, that's right. I had no, um, grand vision of, you know, being, you know, a Nash, a multi-site, you know, place. I thought, you know what, we'll just do one and we'll just see how it goes. And I think that that actually is one of the things that makes us different is, is, is because we just started off with one because Dean was a successful plastic surgeon and I was a semi-successful, you know, early entrepreneur, we could launch it with no investors.

4:53And so all I really cared about was making it really great. So we created, you know, our first location And we built it for a very discerning client base, which was the client base that we had in the heart of Silicon Valley. And that expertise that we developed, building something great and not worrying about scaling it or really exploiting it, I think helped us develop kind of the pillars that we still rely on today. Yeah, it's really interesting to me that you come from tech, because like, I honestly think that when I look at the world of aesthetics, like there's a lot of great like, you know, services now, right, and procedures that people can opt in for.

5:39But obviously, everyone knows that not every med spa is created equal, you know, and especially when it comes to being very tried and true to the science, and to the innovations, that's something that's very, very like near dear to my heart, right? Because I see so many people that are going to these kind of like hole in the walls. I mean, for lack of a better term, and they come out looking ridiculous, you know, and then you have faced the problem of like, okay, well, now what do we do? How do we fix this? People then go get their fillers dissolved. And they, you know, it's just like a whole mess that I'm seeing everywhere on TikTok, especially with the younger population.

6:11You know, I think they're very quick to jump to these procedures and they don't really understand that you need to go to places that are very, very well established, you know, and they have this like grounding aspect in them, you know, in their foundation as a business where it's like founded like what you're talking about. You know, you guys started from like a very scientific base, right? Yes, yes. And the partnership between me. I mean, I think it helped that I studied something technical because I think that it helps it helped me evaluate the science as well. So I really rely and I still rely on Dr.

6:48Vissness because he's very he's very science based. He's very, very smart. And so we, you know, like we spoke earlier, you know, our value is that we are curating products and services that actually deliver value. And then we're ensuring that our staff understand how to use the products because not all products are right for everyone. Right. Absolutely. You know, and I think that this is one of my biggest questions is like, you know, how do you keep up with, you know, like, Because being an innovation first kind of mindset is very different, right, than following trends. Like, how do you keep up with the latest innovations and figuring out, like, what is it worth incorporating into what you offer services versus not?

7:35Well, I think that we start from the philosophy that this is medicine. And so being, you know, kind of bleeding edge of medicine is not really safe. So, you know, we evaluate things and look at things for a while. You know, luckily, you know, the FDA has a process that, you know, evaluates things. So, you know, we come in with that science for, you know, things that do go through the FDA process, but there are things that, you know, don't. I would say that we are bleeding, but not bleeding when it comes to the products and services that we bring in because our first, the first thing is do no harm and be safe.

8:23And I think that people forget that sometimes. And, and it really should be the foundation of, of what, you know, a skincare clinic like Skin Spirit does. No, I completely agree. I think it's really interesting though, that you guys are, you know, you're the number one provider of Botox and dermal filler in the nation, you know, that's really huge. So, you know, how is that, how does that work? You know, how did that grow to be like this? I mean, you know, what was the journey? So, so like I said, because our, our, you know, we started small and then we only had one location for five years, we really learned how to develop our staff and how to retain our staff.

9:06And then And we also layered that on with a very compelling customer experience when it came to, you know, the administrative piece of the experience. So we hired our first manager of our first location in Palo Alto from Nordstrom. And we've really incorporated a lot of that. You know, the client is always right. And, you know, we're going to make, you know, an attitude that we're going to make people happy. And because of that, we were able to engender very strong word of mouth. So it's still to this day, the majority of our clients are coming from customer referral. Because of that client experience and the high level of customer referral we get and the great results people are getting, it becomes this virtuous circle.

10:00And, you know, we were the number one provider of Botox and filler, you know, when we were eight locations because the category is so fragmented and we've just been able to keep that ranking as we've grown. But it really comes primarily from the customer experience that they're getting and the consistency of it and the, you know, the customer referrals that we're getting. Yeah, that's why I asked you, because honestly, I think you don't get to that point unless you're really good at what you do, you know, and that's where I think that it's really important to find, you know, find locations that are going to do what needs to be done rather than just, you know, whatever you're asking for.

10:43You know, that's really why I asked, because I think a lot of times this whole idea of like responsibility doesn't fall on the practitioner. You know, that kind of mentality leads to very bad things. I think I think that's right. And I think kind of going back to your point about, you know, some of the bad work that you've seen on TikTok. I think that the other thing that we have built as our culture, as a company that's over 20 years old, is that we're looking for that really long relationship with the client. Our staff are trained not to push and they don't have any performance quotas. We just say, look, do the best thing for the client.

11:28We've curated this set of products and services that we think are safe and effective. Use those in combination that's best for and customized for that client. And don't feel like you have to oversell them. And I think that what's happened with some of this bad work is that people are pushing a lot of filler because you can make a dramatic change in somebody's appearance, but also it's a lot of revenue, right? And so I think that, you know, these, you know, there's a lot of people who are in this category to make money, which every business needs to make money. Don't get me wrong, but there's a way to do it that's ethical, safe.

12:15The ethics part is what gets me because I think that this is something we never discuss, right, in the world of aesthetics. Like we talk about this ad nauseum, you know, in the world of medicine, allopathic medicine. And everybody, you know, as a physician, I'm told there's like a 90 page book I have to read. You know, every time there's a new procedure, a new protocol introduced. But then when you come to the world of aesthetics, there's no rules. You know, it's like people are just doing whatever the hell they want. And it's leading to a situation where they want to put aesthetics in the world of medicine.

12:45But I disagree with that at this point, you know, because not because of, you know, great businesses like yourself, but others. Right. And they're making this whole situation into kind of like, I don't know, it's like the world of OTC all over again, you know, rather than what it should be. Yeah, I mean, I think that that's where, you know, I just really credit Dr. Vissinus. And then, you know, the thing that was great about the partnership that we have is that he really defers to me on the business, but I defer to him on the medicine. And because of that, we are safety first. And then the other thing is, is that 20 years ago, the biggest concern that the consumer had was safety.

13:29And so we've always really leaned into that. I think that there's a lot of people who just think, you know, they want to be an influencer. It's easy money. And it is, it is, you know, the consumer does need to be careful because I always say, you know, do you want to get plastic surgery from the cheapest plastic surgeon? I don't think so. I don't think so. I mean, if you really think about it, who is the person who's injecting$10 Botox, right? I mean, you don't know whether it's Botox or not. How much training does that person have? Because a quality provider is not going to be cheap. Completely.

14:11That's spot on. I think that it really does boil down to if you're looking for cost effective, I understand that. It's a crazy economy. But at the same time, you have to know where to budget. That's right. I just don't get it. Like, I completely agree with you. I mean, what you said is so, you know, it's exactly what I was trying to, like, capture was that you wouldn't go to a plastic surgeon that has, like, the bare minimum credentials. And you know what I mean? Like, you have no reviews or anything. That's right. So why do that for filler? Why do that for Botox? You know, it's the same principle.

14:47You're just not cutting someone open, you know, but you're still invasive. It's still invasive procedures, you know? Well, it's still, I mean, it's still, it's, it's, it's still medicine and you still want somebody who approaches it that way. And you also want somebody, I think that, you know, we've, we've created huge customer loyalty because, you know, our staff will tell clients, no, I don't think you should get that. Yeah, that's another thing I want you to talk about because the thing is, where is that line for you guys, right? So if somebody comes and say I come in, right, to one of the locations and I say, well, I want this much filler in my upper lip.

15:24Like, how does that work in terms of like, you know, your practitioners? Like, what do they do in terms of setting patient expectations and really managing them? Well, our staff are trained to, you know, gently explain to the client, the patient, their training is really what their training and diagnosis is really what dictates, you know, what will be done. I think that we also empower our providers to not treat, right, if they feel like somebody's got, you know, body dysmorphia, we don't really want to be treating those people, right? And so we ask, we have a, you know, we've learned over time, there's a kind of a set of questions, you know, that we'll ask people and we'll, you know, with a new client to try to find out, you know, kind of, you know, where are they at in their headspace?

16:16Because we want to send people out looking amazing and natural. And if somebody wants us to do something that's off brand or not, you know, kind of consistent with our values, then we don't really want to treat them. Makes sense. That makes sense. I like that. And I like that you guys have that process in place, you know, because I think it's very easy to kind of get, I don't know, wrapped up in people's expectations of what they think is going to look good. you know like going on and this is for everyone listening I'm sure you guys have seen it right where there's a tiktoker some some influencer that has like something crazy going on you know it might look amazing on them but then there's so many aspects that don't come into play there where it's like you know you're not looking at your own facial symmetry you're not looking at your own proportions and you know it's not like a haircut right where you just take a haircut to a hairdresser and say I want this like you can't really do that so I think it really does fall on the shoulders of the med spas to be like, okay, this is what's going to work for you, you know, based on science, based on symmetry, and this is what's not going to work for you.

17:24That's cool that you guys do that, though. I really appreciate that, you know. I think it's also just, you know, for any other aesthetic businesses out there, it's good, it's good business, because when you send people out looking their best, and not, you know, trying to sell an extra syringe or, you know, push something that's not going to, you know, be in the client's best interest, you get so much back from that. I want to talk about your new partnership with Nordstrom's. That's really awesome, by the way. Congratulations. Yeah. Yeah. It's been exciting. It's been good so far. Yeah. Now, how did the opportunity, you know, present itself?

18:04You know what? Again, it's client referral. So Deborah Redmond, who's the VP of beauty merchandising, she's been a client of Skin Spirits for six or seven years and so have a lot of people on their staff. And when they're an innovative retailer, it's a tough space, right? Department store retail is a tough space with e-commerce. And it's always been important for them to keep a vibrant store ecosystem. You know, that's why you'll see restaurants inside Nordstrom in some of their biggest, bigger stores. They've had day spas there for, you know, for, you know, over a decade. And what, you know, Deborah saw and, you know, and what her mandate is, is to create, keep that vibrancy there, you know, continue to create the opportunities for her clients that they're looking for.

19:06You know, the day spa has kind of waned and, you know, the clinical medical aesthetics has, you know, has has has overcome it. And so they were looking for, you know, what can we do with this day spa infrastructure that we have? And it was and it was because of her personal experience at Skin Spirit that they approached us about a possible partnership. So it really does all, you know, it does, it is all based on the, on the client experience at SkinSpirit. Everything, every success we have, every accolade we have is all based on that. I love that I really love that and I love that you guys are the ones that are kind of you know spearheading this movement of like being available in locations like Nordstrom being being more accessible because I really feel like you know when someone's doing something right like we need to just bolster that business you know I really really yeah no it's it's truly awesome to to have that because I really do worry you know what I mean because of this world of I don't know just skin health in general like when I look at it I'm just like I understand everybody has an idea and you know I encourage entrepreneurship and all those wonderful things but it's like if you don't have the the backing like the science you know what I mean like just you gotta pause guys you know like you gotta really pause and so when you have established you know companies that are already doing it right I think that people should really vote with their dollars and get behind that rather than go to like non-credible sources, you know, rather than just kind of doing that.

20:44We should just go to what people who know what they're doing. You know, that's what I think so. And I think that, you know, there are a lot of, there are a lot of great, you know, we have a lot of great competitors. I think that, you know, we just really have found that it's a winning, you know, it's a winning business approach to do the right thing by our consumer because they are our best advocate. Absolutely. Now, I want to ask you a little bit about the education component because you mentioned that you really do educate your providers and I love that. What is the biggest hurdle with education, do you think?

21:17I mean, in general, not even with your locations, but overall, as you look at this industry, you know, from your perspective, what do you think the biggest challenges are right now for education in aesthetics and making sure that we're really meeting those like high quality, you know, benchmarks that we should be meeting? Well, I think that, you know, one challenge, and we spoke to this before about how many new things are coming on the market, right? It's hard, you know, it's hard to be a master of everything, right? So focus is really important, right? Because the more you do something, the better you get at it, right?

21:56And so you need to, you know, kind of make sure that you're managing the breadth of services that somebody is doing to a place where they can actually master it. So we'll start people with a smaller slate of services, right? So that they can get those under their belt and really, really get good at them before we start adding more. So that's one component is just trying to, you know, kind of filter everything. I think with our medical advisory board and, you know, all the experts that we have in the category, we do a good job of curating so that we're only, you know, training on things that we think are going to be services that get repeated on a regular basis so that we can make sure that our staff are doing it really well.

22:48And again, when we bring new things on, we may just start with some of our most experienced providers to make sure that they really understand how to use it and also are doing it frequently. Because when something's new, the customer demand might not be as high. So we really focus on that. And I think it's the, you know, the repetition and then also being able to be in a place where you have a mentor is also, you know, can be a challenge for other businesses. You know, we have developed so many great providers in our in our ecosystem. We have, you know, like over I think we have like 40 or 50 national trainers, you know, for injectables, as well as things like threads and, you know, lasers.

23:42And so every location has a nationally recognized mentor in it that also really helps assist our staff. And I think that is something that not every place has. I think that that's, you know, somebody is new in the category. They really want to go work someplace where there is somebody who's really, you know, got that 10 years of experience, you know, to help them. because there's just so many little things that you, you know, you learn along the way. And, and a lot of, you know, what we do, I think that sets us apart from others is just, how do you manage the comfort level of the client? Right.

24:25You know, what are the little things that you can do to make sure that that client experience is, you know, is really comfortable and feels really good? Absolutely. No, that makes a lot of sense. And I think that, But, you know, just the way that I think with the mindset that people come into like a med spa, I think that's very important to have that component, you know, where it's like you need to be able to put people at ease. I know I get very nervous and it's kind of nerve wracking if you're not very comfortable with aesthetics in general, you know, as a consumer. So that's right. Yeah. So having that environment is everything, actually.

24:57And, you know, I mean, going back to that consumer experience, we typically try to do something, you know, with the consumer, if the consumer is new to the category, we try to do something small. We don't want to do something really, you know, big, like we don't want to do, you know, facial balancing on somebody who's never had aesthetics. You know, what we want to do is maybe, you know, one side of Botox to get them comfortable, you know, with the whole process. That makes sense. Again, it's that, you know, setting expectations. That's the biggest difference, I think, between establishments like yours, you know what I mean, and then somebody else.

25:37So I love that. I think that's so good. And it's so important to have that because, honestly, there's a lot of times where consumers may not know, right? That's another thing. That's right. It's like not everyone's coming in because they want something radical. Sometimes you just don't know. And when someone can educate you, you know, like you go in for a visit and the person can talk to you, educate you, work with you. I mean, that's very, very helpful. And, you know, that's really, really, I think, where people start making the right decisions. And also it sets good habits for the future. That's right.

26:11Whatever they have done in the future, you know what I mean? They'll come at it with a better understanding. And yeah, so I love that. And that's our approach, you know, with a initial consultation is to be providing the education that the consumer wants so that you can start them on a journey. because the truth of it is, is I, I say the age you start is the age you stay is, you know, people don't need to do a lot, but you do a little and it really, it really slows down the aging process. Right. And, and, you know, so people might just, you know, start with some, you know, some great facials and at home skincare products.

26:54Right. And that's all they need, you know, for five years or seven years, and then maybe they do a little bit of Botox and, you know, and then maybe some, you know, collagen stimulating device. And, you know, you just take people on this journey of just really slowing down the appearance of aging, you know, on the face, the neck and the chest. Absolutely. Yeah. And, you know, looking forward, I would love to get your insights into this is what do you think is like up and coming in the aesthetics world that maybe we're not seeing so much of right now, but it might like, you know, take over in the future.

27:30Well, I think that, that, you know, regenerative medicine is going to continue to be a big, a big area. So I think there's just more and more that, you know, we can do to, instead of correct, you know, well, instead of to, to kind of mask the, the, the aging of the skin that we can actually, you know, really slow it down or repair it. So I think that the regenerative medicine is a big thing. And then I, you know, I think that AI is going to be a thing as well in terms of using AI to diagnose or, you know, come up with treatment plans. I think there's some gimmicky stuff out there right now. But I do think that in the future, you might be able to come up with a better plan, you know, with, with, with that, you know, when you kind of cross reference all the different outcomes for different skin types, right.

28:27You should probably get better at coming up with a plan that's going to actually have maximum benefit. Yeah. That makes sense. I'm excited for the future of us. I know it is exciting. It's very, it's very exciting. And I think that, you know, we're really, you know, we're really focused on being the trusted brand. And honestly, you know, that ethical position for us runs through the entire company. And that's really, you know, what we recruit to. And we really, you know, we just really try to stay disciplined. I mean, it seems like we've grown fast, but, you know, remember, we're over 20 years, right?

29:06So we've actually grown kind of slowly. No, but that's the best part about it, though, is that you guys have been around and you've seen this industry shift and you've stayed tried and true to the science i mean i think that's what really makes you stand out to me right and at the end of the day that's really what matters i mean i i always say this you know the oldest companies like they're if they're still around that means they're doing something very right you know what i mean like yeah because this world is so fast when it comes to changing and the trends and the you know what i mean like the in and out and i that's all good and fine.