Any new skin care innovation is met with great excitement for industry insiders. For every new topical ingredient innovation, there is a host of skin care fanatics at the front of the line. On the other hand, taking a chance and trying brand new skin technology can be met with trepidation from clients. Finding something that works often means being reluctant to make the change.

The challenge of bringing exciting, new skin care techniques to the masses becomes even more taxing when the technology attached to it carries outdated misconceptions and stigmas. This is the case when it comes to combining two superpower ingredients: human stem cell extract and CBD.

Appointment scheduling system, point of sale, and confirmation e-mails are all examples of how the skin care industry has successfully implemented technology. The management of these technology systems has allowed skin care professionals to maintain their current book of business. However, consider dreaming bigger in the beauty space by becoming digitally dangerous. With the simple implementations of text message marketing, e-mail campaigns, chairside check-in and check-out, and an e-commerce store, a spa professional has the opportunity to create a deeper client connection and grow impressive retail sales while offering service upgrades.

As medical spa treatments become more innovative and inviting, the potential client market is growing with every passing day. More individuals are discovering the value of aesthetic medical spa services after having spent the past year or so by themselves. Treatments like body sculpting, once deemed supplemental and superficial, are now being reexamined with a self-care lens. Muscle toning and fat reduction have their obvious, visible body benefits, but how exactly does body sculpting equipment further along a client’s health and beauty journey? 

Skin care professionals are trained in proper sanitation and cleanliness protocols in school, and following those standards is part of everyday routines when taking clients and setting up spaces. While the guidelines set by the state board are a great starting point, providing clean conditions has become more complicated due to the current events of the world. With viruses and even the common cold becoming harder to detect and stay away from, it seems clearer more than ever that additions to these existing protocols are needed. Clients and professionals alike are looking for ways to easily and effectively keep themselves and each other as safe as possible. As a result, upping standards in the treatment room can be the difference between an unsure client who is not booking a service and a client feeling confident that their health and safety is the number one priority of their skin care professional. There are many sanitation devices that can easily be added into the day-to-day protocols that make this difference.

Glowing, smooth, and radiant skin is usually the ultimate visual sign of youthfulness. Yet, in a world where the impacts of harmful ultraviolet radiation, visible light, and oxidative stresses are never ending, it makes this goal seem intangible to many clients.

Hyperpigmentation is one of the most common skin problems that affects both men and women. Usually, it worsens with age and is most prevalent in darker skin. Although in most cases it is harmless, skin discoloration and pigmentation can cause aesthetic concerns which can influence an individual’s self-esteem.

Hyperpigmentation is localized excess pigmentation of skin and can be induced by numerous intrinsic factors as well as extrinsic factors. It is also known as a deposition of melanin (pigment) due to the stimulation of melanogenesis. Melanogenesis is the production of melanin by specialized cells called melanocytes and duplicates in skin. It is the result of the immune system triggering an inflammatory response, which then triggers melanocyte activity to protect skin’s deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) from damage and mutation. This process is instigated by hormonal triggers or dermal inflammation such as heat, trauma, and sun exposure. Damage to DNA also triggers melanocyte, stimulating hormones to produce melanin. Within the melanocyte, a chain of events occurs, and tyrosinase begins to be released. Tyrosinase is the enzyme that stimulates the melanocytes and thus, produces melanin. The tyrosinase then binds with copper and acts on the levorotatory form of dopa, converting it into melanosomes. These melanosomes are transported along the dendrites (the arms or cellular projections) that branch out to interact with other cells resulting in hyperpigmentation.

Beatrice Van, an award-winning aesthetics master educator, enthusiastic, positive, self-starter with over 17 years of progressive experience in the beauty industry. In addition to her role as Clinical Master Aesthetics Educator at Spectrum Advanced Aesthetics, she is the clinical director for Fearless Beauties, certified advanced aesthetician, makeup artist, and nail specialist. On her days off, she is off working at Indie Esthetics helping her client look and feel like the very best versions of themselves or off traveling throughout North America as an education ambassador for CND and Fearless Beauties. Her passion is to empower both students and beauty professionals to boldly invest in their education, strengthen their skills, while elevating standards in the industry.

Melasma is a common skin condition affecting approximately six million women in the United States and 45 to 50 million women worldwide. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, 90% of individuals with melasma are women between the ages of 20 to 50 years old. Melasma manifests as light to dark brown or greyish patches of abnormal pigmentation that can appear on the cheeks, upper lip, chin, and forehead.

The name melasma comes from the Greek word “melas,” meaning black. It is sometimes referred to as “the mask of pregnancy” because it commonly affects pregnant women due to their fluctuating hormones. If melasma develops during pregnancy, it may resolve by itself a few months after delivery, but there is no guarantee it will totally disappear.

Genetic predisposition may be a major factor in the development of melasma. Everyone is born with the same number of melanocytes, the cells that produce melanin. However, these pigment cells may be larger than other depending on genetics, as in the case of darker skin types, or more active, as with those living in geographic areas that have a higher rate of sun exposure.

Lyn Ross, L.M.E., is the founder and CEO of Institut’ DERMed Clinical Skincare, Med Spa, and College of Advanced Aesthetics. A licensed master aesthetician, Ross is an accredited aesthetic instructor with over 40 years of experience in the field of aesthetics. Throughout her career, Ross has treated thousands of clients and has worked with the top plastic surgeons and dermatologists in Atlanta, Georgia. She has been committed to bridging the gap between aesthetics and medicine for over 30 years and continues to be instrumental in influencing the exploding medical spa industry with both her hands-on technical training and solid business experience.

For decades, the professional skin care industry has lamented (if not cursed) the spots that develop on the face due to aging. However, what if those spots were actually beneficial to skin health? Would this change the professional approach to treating them? It is likely that the current strategies used to treat hyperpigmentation may result in more spots over time. There are common misconceptions about the role of age spots, liver spots, and melasma, but there are also new innovative ways to correct these issues without compromising the health of skin.

Research suggests that most age spots result from deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damaged melanocytes. There are hundreds of these cells in the facial skin, and they are constantly being bombarded by the sun. In reality, just about every melanocyte has accumulated minor DNA damage since they are on the front lines of ultraviolet ray exposure, yet most of these cells do not overreact. This occurs because of what lies beneath those melanocytes. Melanocytes replace themselves when they become too damaged to function properly. The epidermis receives the brunt of damages caused by ultraviolet rays, which is one reason why it sheds damaged skin every month. However, the dermal-epidermal junction (DEJ) does not. It is the repeated damage to the dermal-epidermal junction that appears to be a trigger for age spots. Essentially, years of repeated sun exposure leads to a wound that is not able to heal on the dermal-epidermal junction. The wounded dermal-epidermal junction sends a message to nearby melanocytes to protect skin from more sun damage. As a result of compromised skin, the melanocyte creates the equivalent of a melanin umbrella (age spots) that serves as extra protection to the damaged zone. This is not different than the tanning response which creates melanin to protect a larger, damaged zone caused by the sun. This theory fits with the knowledge surrounding the protective behavior of these amazing cells. Skin always does what is best, even though it may not always seem like it. In this case, age spots are an appropriate response to prevent further damage.

Ben Johnson, MD is a physician, inventor, and entrepreneur who has spent the last 25 years dedicated to solving some of the world’s most challenging skin and health conditions. He holds multiple patents related to skin care and wellness as a result of his unparalleled research and philosophies pertaining to the skin-body connection. Dr. Johnson founded Osmosis Beauty with a revolutionary approach that is changing the direction of skin care, away from excessive exfoliation and renewing the focus of dermal remodeling, barrier and DNA repair, and detoxification. He has found that the skin and body are capable of healing themselves with the proper tools and the removal of toxic influences.

Hyperpigmentation encompasses several different pigmentation disorders. These conditions may include post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, melasma, solar lentigines (sun exposure), ephelides (freckles), and cafe au lait macules (birthmarks). When encountering clients with hyperpigmentation, performing a history, physical, and lifestyle examination is crucial in developing an appropriate treatment plan. Most hyperpigmentation disorders are exacerbated by ultraviolet rays and heat exposure, although some may be caused by hormonal changes caused by underlying medical conditions. Gathering information such as age, amount of sun exposure, frequency of sunscreen use and level of sun protection factor (SPF), medication history, previous trauma skin, Fitzpatrick type, and current skin care products will be useful in guiding clients.

Rachel File is a bachelor’s prepared registered nurse, licensed aesthetician and owner of Beauty Ritual Skincare in Fort Myers, Florida. File has had a passion for the beauty and medical field for more than a decade. Her desire to help patients improve their skin through medical knowledge and her extensive experience has resulted in optimal results for the empirically supported treatments she utilizes. Understanding the science behind aesthetic treatments helps maximize their effectiveness. As a science-based aesthetic practitioner, she understands the importance of keeping abreast of the research in skincare. Education is a driving force behind the development of her practice, and she hopes to spread awareness of the processes behind aesthetic treatments in her field.

Historically, skin care has been constrained to a generic approach of product development research, product development, and clinical testing that is not representative of client diversity or need. This has created two orthogonal client problems which can be referred to as the efficacy problem and selection problem.

Troels Marstrand earned his Ph.D in bioinformatics from Copenhagen University and completed his post-doctoral research at Princeton University. Joining LEO Pharma, Marstrand worked on multiple projects ranging from early drug development to clinical research within medical dermatology. He was part of the founding team for the LEO Pharma Innovation Hub in Boston, MA which focused on noninvasive measurements of skin health. With a deep desire to bring precision medicine to fruition in dermatology, he co-founded Revea to take a scientific approach that puts the client at the center of skin care and increases diversity in the industry. 

 A problem solver, Chaz Giles has been on all sides of innovation working for Fortune 500 brands as a startup founder and venture capitalist. Giles founded Revea in 2020 to bring precision medicine to skin care where each treatment is optimized for individual needs and physiology. Most recently, he led External Innovation at the Estee Lauder Companies. Previously, Giles founded his first company, MomTrusted and invested as a venture capitalist at CitiVentures after starting his career at Procter & Gamble where he helped create one of their billion dollar brands. Giles resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with his family.

With modern clients using the internet to research everything, it is no surprise that they are savvy when it comes to the latest skin care ingredients and trends. Skin care professionals commonly get requests from clients asking for treatments they saw on Instagram or a product with a specific ingredient they heard about from a friend. With a mass of information circulating online, including blogs written by skin care enthusiasts without much schooling, there is no doubt some of the facts have been distorted in the process.

Dasha Saian Marchese is the co-founder and current CEO of Saian and has over 21 years of experience in the spa industry. In addition to her business and marketing degree, she is a licensed aesthetician, certified nutrition and wellness consultant, official ambassador of the Aesthetics International Association (AIA), and certified family herbalist. Marchese is on the Editorial Advisory Board of DERMASCOPE Magazine; she gives lectures and classes internationally and regularly contributes to global trade publications.