How To Benefit From The Growing Skin Care Market

One major fact indicates a lucrative growth area for your spa or salon: Skin care products generate the most revenue in the U.S. beauty and personal care market.

Claim your share of the profits in professional skin care by getting your clients to buy professional spa skin care products from you, transforming occasional clients into regulars.

Sell More Professional Spa Skin Care Products

Spa clients have a skin care routine, whether they buy from you or elsewhere. To increase your profits, you want to give them a reason to get their products from you.

Clients generally trust the esthetician that’s giving them a facial. They’re more likely to follow the advice of an expert who just spent an hour or two with them than advice that they get from the Internet or a brief consult at a mall kiosk. Therefore, estheticians should confidently recommend an at-home skincare routine using the professional spa skin care products the client just experienced.

Providing expert, individualized services using the steps below will build your clients’ trust the products you recommend.

1. Build rapport with the client before the treatment.

2. Learn about the client’s lifestyle, existing skin care routine, and concerns.

3. Conduct a skin analysis.

4. Choose products for the service that can be incorporated into a home skin care regimen.

5. Explain the benefits of each product used during the treatment.

6. Recommend a professional treatment plan and a home skin care plan.

7. Explain the benefits of both plans and offer professional spa skin care products.

Help Your Skin Care Professionals Sell Spa Products

Most estheticians are not salespeople. However, everyone at your spa is selling results. Whether it’s a more relaxed body or clearer skin, clients are purchasing results. Purchasing products allows clients to extend the benefits of their spa visit. This means that estheticians should focus on selling the results of products rather than selling the products themselves.

Spa and salon owners must invest in estheticians to build their confidence in selling results. Help might include:

    • Education on product lines
    • Sales training
    • Setting sales goals
    • Providing coaching and tools to reach goals
    • Accountability, incentives, and rewards

Upsell and Cross-sell to Boost Profits

Upselling and cross-selling are an efficient way to increase your bottom line. Here are a few tips:


1. If a massage client enjoys outdoor activities, offer a spa quality SPF lotion.

2. Recommend hand and foot creams to mani-pedi clients after the appointment to help them maintain service results.

3. For clients who receive facial treatments, recommend premium facial supplies to accompany at-home skin care sales. Texture, absorbency, and durability are vital to proper product application and removal. Spa-grade essentials ensure that your clients are receiving maximum benefits–no overabsorption or shedding. Plus, they’re an easy upsell for all your skin care offerings.

4. Offer a sample of a complementary product when a customer buys one item from a product line.

Successful upselling and cross-selling require training and practice, so invest in and support your staff. The investment in skills pays off in retail sales.

You can also support sales practices by stocking high-quality professional spa skin care products, creating a comfortable retail space, providing product literature, and always thanking guests for their visit, regardless of whether they purchase a product or not.

Turn Occasional Clients Into Regulars

You probably have several clients who visit your spa for the occasional facial. Turn that facial into a regular booking using the same skills that lead clients to purchase products. Experienced estheticians establish rapport and provide:

    • Professional services
    • Individualized treatments
    • High-quality products
    • Education before, during, and after a treatment

At the end of a treatment, recommend a skin care plan and offer to book the next appointment to ensure a space in your busy calendar. Some salons offer incentives, such as discounts, if a client books a series of services at one time or a product discount with the next visit.

With more than half of Americans using skin care products each day, there is room in this market for every spa and salon. Take steps today to claim your share.


Universal Companies is proud to have a team of experienced spa advisors on staff and welcomes you to consult with our professionals about spa products and supplies, including ingredients, equipment, and retail. Dedicated to the success of spa professionals everywhere, we're grateful to be recognized with the American Spa Magazine Professional's Choice Award, Favorite Distributor of the Year for many consecutive years. (Thank you!)

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