Aesthetic practices and brands consistently seek growth. To this end, the most common questions I receive about growth are centered on marketing channels: how to attract more patients from platforms like RealSelf and social media.
I love these questions, but an alternative way to frame the challenge of finding new growth is to focus on the customer—the patient—and look for where there are unmet needs. I am a firm believer that one of the greatest growth opportunities in aesthetics is to address the needs of people with skin of color.
A few supporting stats:
- At RealSelf, we see that 50% of the consumers who contact aesthetic providers from our platform self-identify as an ethnicity that is other than white/Caucasian.
- By 2050, half the U.S. population will be of ethnic origin. According to the U.S. Census, the current U.S. population is 13.4% African American, 76.3% White alone, 1.3% American Indian, Alaska Native, and 18.5% Hispanic or Latino.
- Just 3% of dermatologists are black, and 4.2% are Hispanic—low numbers compared to their representation in the total U.S. population noted in the previous bullet. “Within the house of medicine, dermatology remains one of the least diverse disciplines with regards to its percentage of underrepresented minorities,” state the authors of A Time For Resolve, Change, Unity, and Hope. Similarly, clinical trials in dermatology are largely centered on white patients.
- In the broader beauty market, addressing the differences in skin tone is a hot growth area for brands. “Beauty brands like Fenty Beauty and Maybelline New York have proved that you can offer up to 42 different hues” heralded a roundup of inclusive beauty brands recently published in Allure.
- Allergan, which has tremendous influence over aesthetics with both consumers and doctors, recently made a commitment to introduce greater inclusivity and representation of skin of color in social media and advertising
To get more educated about skin tone and the underserved aesthetic patients of color, my latest Hey Seery podcast session featured guest dermatologist Dr. Sonia Badreshia-Bansal (who goes by “Dr. Sonia”). She has dedicated her career to serving the needs of people with skin of color, and I learned a tremendous amount from her first-hand clinical experience and time spent consulting with brands. Thank you Dr. Sonia for speaking with me and the Hey Seery audience!
