Since its start in 2018, The Skin Clique founders, Sarah L. Allen, MD and Claire O'Bryan, ANP-C, knew there was a market for at-home cosmetic treatments. All the proof they needed was in the numbers. The global cosmetic surgery and procedure market was worth $63.4 billion in 2021, with a projection of compound annual growth at 9.6% from 2022 to 2030. Their value proposition? To give patients time back, guarantee safety, and offer convenience. Other companies, like Ever/Body and Alchemy 43, have proven the success of a Dry Bar-esque move from in-office to a boutique, less intimidating outpost. The Skin Clique is taking things a step further. Instead of stopping at an outpost, they’ve built a business that centers around meeting their consumers right where they are: at home. The idea? That consumers can find maintaining their monthly, annual, or event-centric cosmetic procedures as routine as their hair or nail appointments.

The analogy of the hair salon extends beyond the business model, and into the psychological realities of cosmetic procedures. According to Dr. Allen and O'Bryan, injectables and cosmetic treatments are undergoing the same normalization as hair processes like highlighting or dyeing in the 1970s and ’80s. At that time, being seen at the salon was as taboo as being spotted leaving the skin clinic in oversized glasses in the early 2000s. But a new generation of open-minded patients, under the age of 28, on average, are approaching cosmetic procedures with exact ideas of what they want, without fear or stigma.

The Skin Clique harnesses the growing consumer desire for cosmetic procedures by vetting, hiring, and training providers, 274 of them to be exact in over 31 states, to visit customers in their homes for treatments ranging from chemical peels to filler. Dr. Allen shares more about the model. “Like many hospitals and medical practices, we use a PVU (performance value unit) model to compensate our injectors for the work they do. They are held to minimum acceptable safety standards and therefore must inject a certain amount, but once safety standards are met they have the ability to set their own schedule and hours to be as busy as they would like to be.”

As contractors, providers are encouraged to post on their social media platforms, allowing potential clients to see their approach to facial aesthetics. The practice is an art form, with signature styles ranging from provider to provider to match trends across the country. The intensive process of becoming a provider has been essential to The Skin Clique’s continued growth and expansion. Dr. Allen shares, “I never thought we’d run a recruiting machine,” alluding to the in-house team of 13’s constant focus on bringing on new, exceptional talent. Providers come to The Skin Clique with their own set of advanced clinical skills (whether surgical or procedural). Next, potential providers are sent through two sets of interviews before a lengthy training process. The company provides continued monthly educational seminars, as well as ongoing support.

For now, prices for services are consistent across the country. Neuromodulators are priced by the unit, consistent with the rest of the market, and filler follows a tiered pricing model. The brand’s most popular treatment is neurotoxin, also known as Botox, Xeomin, or “tox.” Depending on age range, neurotoxin injections are recommended at least twice a year. The Skin Clique aspires to offer their 18,000 patients proces that are “consistent with competitive market rates,” meaning at-home neither comes at a premium nor a discount. The future of The Skin Clique has been constructed to match the ever-evolving needs of clients. For example, in the future, portable lasers could bring the intimidating, often intensive practice into the home. While the industry’s exponential growth can be a cause for pause, e.g., the number of untrained aesthetic injectors without adequate training, or fads that seem to come and go within weeks, it’s an exciting time for the brand. “New technologies and techniques are surfacing daily, but they may not all be a good idea for patients. How many of us will look back and regret barbed threads in a few years?,” shares Dr. Allen. “For now, it’s hard to know, and it’s part of why we run a conservative and patient-centered practice.”