According to AmSpa’s Medical Spa State of the Industry Report (2022), 92% of medspas offered retail skincare in 2019; so if you own a medspa, you probably already offer a medical-grade skincare line such as NEOCUTIS, SkinMedica, or Obagi.

Skincare - A Vital Revenue Stream for Aesthetic Practices

Why is retail skincare such a popular offering amongst medspas in the US? Put simply - skincare is extremely beneficial to both the patient and the medspa owner. For patients' benefit, the active ingredients found in medical-grade skincare come in higher concentrations than can be found in over-the-counter (OTC) skincare, and unlike OTC products, they often offer scientifically-validated treatments for conditions such as acne and wrinkles. For aesthetic medical practices and medical spas, offering retail skincare provides an easy way to improve business margins. Selling skincare products in your medspa can bring in additional revenue pre-treatment, between treatments, and to patients who might not be prepared for the cost or downtime associated with more intense energy-based treatments.

Interestingly, the Physician-Dispensed Topicals (PDTs) sector grew during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic despite considerable losses elsewhere in the medical aesthetics industry (Moretti 9). For practices that had to close their doors due to government mandates, the option to drive online sales through skincare cushioned the financial blow that came along with paused in-person treatments. But the skincare boom isn’t stopping. Even as the world’s medspas have reopened their doors and more or less resumed business as usual, the PDT skincare market is expected to grow 6.8% per year through 2026 (Moretti 10).

With the demand for scientifically-proven formulas rising every year, more skincare lines and brands have appeared on the market to satisfy evermore diverse patient requests. Today, many brands offer skincare formulas that are plant-based, cruelty-free, anti-comedogenic, and more… and with so many options for unique formulas, choosing between the leading brands of medical-grade skincare can seem daunting.

Thankfully, you don’t have to pick just one skincare line to offer in your practice. In fact, most aesthetic practices opt to offer two or more lines: one higher end, and the other more budget-conscious. And in recent years, more and more medspas are offering their patients a third option, too: an in-house, privately labeled brand found nowhere else.

What is Private Label Skincare?

Private label companies sell wholesale, scientifically-proven formulations similar to those from the leading medical-grade skincare lines, but also offer medical practices the option of personalizing their formulas in packaging that uses medspas’ own branding. The possibilities are seemingly endless - by private labeling medical grade skincare, you can display your colors, font scheme, logo, and even create unique product names and descriptions.

Private labeling is certainly an exciting way to expand your medspa’s brand, but the most important question at stake is: could private labeling help your business grow?

The answer is yes - and let’s break down exactly how.

Choose Your Margins

Most aesthetic practices offer a more premium skincare line as well as a more budget-friendly line. While this gives your practice some flexibility to align with as many patient budgets as possible, the specific prices (and margins) you set for those skincare products aren’t entirely up to you. Once upon a time, metropolitan medspas with local competition had to offer comparable prices as those offered by neighboring practices. But in today's digital world, metropolitan as well as urban practices (with no local competition) are at the mercy of the prices set by online retailers like Dermstore. For patients, shopping online for medical-grade skincare is convenient, it’s easy to price-shop, and it’s easy to wait for a sale before buying in bulk. This means that your medspa’s patients might learn about skincare products in your office, but choose to purchase them elsewhere, instead.

Consider: How many times have you sat down with a patient to educate them about the importance of a skincare regimen, only for them to hop online and shop for the very products you recommended at a lower price than you could compete with?

Further, many medical-grade skincare brands set minimum advertised prices for their products. So the prices you set for your skincare products are determined not only by your competition but also by your skincare’s manufacturer.

By offering an in-house private label, you have total control over the prices you set. You can set them as low or as high as you want, when you want. Even better, because only your medspa offers the products you have privately labeled, your customers won’t be able to hunt for a better bargain online.

Build Brand Recognition and Increase Credibility

Offering your own skincare line is a great way to build brand recognition and credibility. In recent years, many beauty influencers have opted to offer their own lines of skincare, makeup, haircare, and more. Why? First of all, it’s a great way to boost revenue streams. Moreover, offering one’s own brand of products speaks to a business's success, knowledge of product ingredients, and belief in the formulas they choose to offer under their personal label.

Differentiate Your Business from Competitors

While it’s a good idea to offer popular skincare lines in your aesthetic practice, keep in mind that it’s difficult for your practice to stand out by only offering the most recognizable brands. Private labeling gives you the opportunity to offer products that no one else does, and cater your products to the patients you know better than anyone else. For example, if you’re running a medspa in an arid region like New Mexico, you can create a signature lip balm for chapped lips and market that balm specifically for your clientele. Pick a one-of-a-kind product name like “Desert-Proof Lip Balm” and a description such as “A balm to moisturize, soothe, and shield the lips from even the harshest desert heat.”

Private labels allow you to meticulously customize the packaging and pricing of medical-grade formulas for your local market - something that major brands can’t achieve.

Private Labeling is Easier than You Think

As a business owner, you should ask yourself two more questions before expanding your business with new ventures such as private labeling:

• How much money will this cost me to get started?
• How much time will this cost me to get started?

You might be surprised to learn that private labeling is surprisingly affordable. MedShift has chosen to partner with AMP Medical: a medical-grade private label skincare company that offers proprietary formulas that never contain parabens or other harmful toxins, and are free of artificial colors, fragrances and synthetic chemical preservatives. Private labeling any of AMP Medical’s SKUs costs just $50 as a one-time fee, and their wholesale prices are as low as they come. And with a minimum order quantity of just 12 units per SKU, you can explore which products perform best in your medspa with minimal investment.

Getting started with private labeling also takes less time than you would expect. You can conveniently order AMP Medical products through the MedShift Store, pay a one-time $50 fee for each SKU you would like to customize with your own branding, and then fill out a short form to specify exactly how you would like your skincare line to look. A designer from AMP Medical will reach out to you directly to fine-tune your products’ appearances, and you can expect to receive your label proofs within 48 hours and your skincare to ship in as soon as 4-5 business days.

The Same (Or Better) Quality as Name-Brand

If you decide to private label your own line of skincare products, make sure to vet your private label manufacturer. Not all medical-grade and over-the-counter products are created equal; the same is true within the private labeling industry! MedShift has partnered with AMP Medical not only because of their low barrier to entry, but also because they have an unrivaled commitment to quality that ensures the products you prescribe to your patients meet or even exceed the quality of the big name brands.

AMP Medical’s skincare products are manufactured at the same facilities that produce the leading brands of medical-grade skincare, so you can be assured that the products representing your aesthetic practice are safe, effective, and valuable to your patients.

Further, all of AMP Medical’s offerings are compounded in FDA-compliant laboratories with ingredients sourced by the same suppliers as those found in the leading brands’ products. In fact, some of AMP Medical’s products offer even higher active ingredient levels than the brand name products your competitors might offer.

The Savings Pass on to You

The prices of many name-brand skincare products tend to raise eyebrows. Surely, those name-brand products cost more because they work that much better, right? Not exactly. While high active ingredient levels and research contribute to the cost of the leading brands’ medical-grade products, the price that providers pay is typically inflated by the marketing that goes into maintaining a major brand. Private label companies invest in research, development, and ingredients, but they don’t have to advertise their products to practitioners or patients. That translates into huge savings for business owners who stock up on their own brand of skincare.

Yep - You Can Customize Your Formulas, Too

When private labeling with a company like AMP Medical, the options for customization don’t end at the labels’ designs. If you’re ordering 1,500 units or more of any SKU, you can work with AMP Medical to create a proprietary formulation with your chosen active ingredients.

The Short Version

The skincare sector saw substantial growth even when other areas of the medical aesthetic industry took a hit during the COVID pandemic, and it is forecasted to continue growing into 2026. If you’re planning to take advantage of this growth by offering medical-grade skincare in your aesthetic practice, don’t limit yourself to the most well-known skincare brands. Creating your own skincare line with a private label company like AMP Medical could give you more freedom when it comes to setting prices, build brand recognition for your practice, and differentiate your practice from local competitors. It’s also easier and more affordable than you would think, with unbeatable wholesale prices and a one-time $50 fee per SKU to work with one of AMP Medical’s graphic designers. To learn more about MedShift’s preferred private label partner, visit store.medshift.com/private-label.

Work Cited
Moretti, Michael, editor. “Physician-Dispensed Topicals.” Medical Insight, 2022.