You can learn to make skin care products at home from recipes. There are a lot of skin care small businesses that began that way. You can also receive training as a cosmetologist, clinical esthetician or dermatologist and begin a skin care line out of what you’ve learned in those areas. Whatever you choose to do, all of these are great ways to get training in skin care so you can create your own products and start a skin care business of your own.

Here are some things to know about getting training for skin care products:

1. Learn and develop recipes to create natural skin care products.

2. Get training to become a cosmetologist and get first-hand information about what customers want in skin care products.

3. Study to be a clinical esthetician or dermatologist to so that you can create acne skin care products or skin care products for troubled skin.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Study and develop recipes to create organic skin care products

Many people today want chemical-free skin care products, so learning recipes to create these products as well as coming up with your own unique recipes is a great idea. With ingredients as simple as oatmeal, honey, milk and almonds, you can create organic skin care products to delight your customers and get your own skin care company growing.

I recommend: Visit Satovita or Joan Morais Natural Body Care to register for training in how to create your own natural skin care products. Get organic skin care product recipes for all kinds of skin types from SmartSkinCare.com and From Nature With Love.

Get cosmetology training to learn about the use of professional skin care products

Go to cosmetology school and learn about the application and uses of skin care products. This is also a great way to learn what the names of skin care products manufacturers, research what the best skin care products are and get skin care product reviews from clients who use them.

I recommend: Get skin care product training at Scientific Skin Care, where you can learn to use skin care products for makeup application, microdermabrasion and facials. Get professional skin care product training from Aveda Institutes Florida in things such as physiology, anatomy, and product knowledge of hair and skin care products.

Get medical training to learn causes of troubled skin so you can create healing skin care products

Since many clinical estheticians and dermatologists become skin care manufacturers, creating and then dispensing their own skin care products to patients, getting training in these fields is a great way to learn about skin care products.

I recommend: Go to the American Board of Dermatology to learn what the requirements are to study dermatology. Enroll at the Johns Hopkins Department of Dermatology to become a dermatologist. Find listings for dermatology schools and programs in your area at HealthCare-TrainingCenter.com. Visit ONLY YOURx to learn about studying as a Clinical Esthetician.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Ask for a skin care product review from your customers. Hand out survey cards so that you can receive skin care products ratings. Do follow-up to find out why some of your skin care products rated better or worse than expected so that know what is working or what needs to be improved.

Gone are the days of cold creams and soap and water. Skin care products now incorporate medical discoveries into their formulas. Consumers want premier skin care products that do more than cleanse and moisturize. They expect the products to prevent and reverse the effects of aging.

You can take advantage of the advances in skin care technology by building a skin care business selling high quality products. Despite the impression that skin care is mainly a concern of women, the market includes both men and women in all age groups. Target markets include:

1. Young women looking to prevent lines and wrinkles.
2. Older women who want to improve the look of aging skin without undergoing cosmetic procedures.
3. Men who want the same anti-aging benefits found in the best skin care products designed for women.
4. Teens influenced by pop culture.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Choose a business model for your skin care company

A skin care business can be a home-based, direct sales operation, a retail store front or a service within a salon. This flexibility gives entrepreneurs the ability to create a business that suits their individual needs.

I recommend: I recommend: Avon, one of the oldest direct sales companies in the U.S., also happens to be one of the most recognizable names in skin care. Merle Norman offers retail store franchise opportunities. Estheticians can use the Esthetician Resource website to find salons to set up shop in.

Use professional skin care products targeted for your market

Professional skin care products, unlike mass market brands, are typically sold only through authorized distributors, such as beauty consultants, cosmetics boutiques or salons. Price points range from affordable to luxury.

I recommend: I recommend: Aloette and Noevir USA offer the opportunity to sell professional-quality products through traditional direct sales channels. Estheticians can choose to open or work in a salon that sells Aveda or Dermalogica products.

Consider including natural skin care products in your inventory

Organic and natural skin care products continue to be a hot trend in the skin care business. Regardless of your skin care company business model, you can find natural products to add to your inventory.

I recommend: Stock natural products from Suki. Contact Juice Beauty by email for wholesale pricing information on their certified organic skin care products.

Join the ranks of skin care manufacturers

As a skin care product manufacturer, you could make your own skin care products and sell them online or from a retail store front. Product ideas include soaps, lip balms, lotions and bath salts.

I recommend: Start out small by ordering lip balm, lotion or soap kits from Bramble Berry. A skin care product manufacturer can purchase bulk ingredients and packaging from Essential Wholesale.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Regardless of your skin care business model, take advantage of the Internet by maintaining a website which includes e-commerce features.

Many cosmetologists, dermatologists and retail stores sell skin products as part of their business, so knowing what skin care products to purchase is essential to their success. Also, meeting customer demands for natural or organic skin care products is something to consider since those kinds of products are very much in demand these days. You’ll also need to know about professional skin care product lines and keep up to date with skin care product reviews and ratings so that you can know which products are money makers and which aren’t. Learning these things will help you have a successful skin care product line or business.

Here are some things to consider when making the most of skin care products:

1. Learn professional skin care products ratings to find out which products are best for you to sell at your business.

2. Sell acne skin care products and skin care lines for problem skin out of your doctor’s office, cosmetologist business or retail store.

3. Order professional skin care products to use in salons and spas.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Keep up to date on skin care product reviews to know which products to sell at your business

Knowing which premier skin care product lines to sell or not is important to the success of your business. Find out how different skin care lines are selling and how certain skin care products rated compared to others to help you decide whether to continue selling them or not.

I recommend: Visit Total Beauty to look up skin care product reviews or to add a skin care product review of your own. You can look up information based on what kind of skin care product you want to find the rating on or by the name of the skin care company. Go to Cosmetics Galore to get skin care product ratings of skin care lines.

Sell specialty skin care products to meet customer specifications

The kinds of skin care products you sell depend on what kind of business you have. If you work in a beauty salon, you're going to want to sell popular skin care products to your customers, while a dermatologist is going to want to sell acne skin care products. Take the time to consider what the best skin care products would be for you to sell at your place of business.

I recommend: Get wholesale skin care products from Alternative Beauty. Buy dermatologist-recommended skin care from Dermasil Labs. Visit Skin One to get natural skin care products.

Purchase professional skin care products that are designed to be used in spas and salons

Order products from a skin care product manufacturer that specializes in premier skin care products and beauty treatments. It's important to have plenty of these kinds of products available since many people enjoy going to spas and salons for beauty treatments. Other customers will want to be able to bring the spa experience home, so have plenty of these products on hand to sell.

I recommend: Order professional salon and spa products from Meribel Products and Skin Inc.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  One great way to sell skin care products to customers is to offer free samples or demonstrations of how the products are used. Some skin care manufacturers offer sample packages designed for you to give away to customers, so be sure to order those whenever you order skin care products.

Whether you sell skin care products for profit or use them in the course of an aesthetic treatment, you should know a bit about different types of skin care products. It's essential that you know some common skin care products terminology when shopping for skin care products or talking with clients about skin care. The vast majority of skin care products are made for the face, so concentrate on facial products when learning about skin care products key terms.

Action Steps
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Astringent and toner

These are liquid products that help the complexion of the skin by tightening it up and removing dirt and oil. Astringents generally include alcohol while toners do not.

I recommend: Find out more about astringents and toners at Joy Lorraine Cosmetics.

Exfoliants and exfoliators

The process of exfoliating involves rubbing abrasive materials onto the skin. This 'polishing' effect removes the top layer of the skin, where the dead skin cells are. Exfoliants and exfoliators are usually used before applying moisturizer and should be gentle.

I recommend: For more information about exfoliating, check out Consumer Guide to Plastic Surgery.

Masks

Masks (also spelled 'masques') are usually applied to the face to remove dirt and oil. Masks can actually draw the impurities out of the skin, providing a thorough cleaning and anti-aging effect. These are usually made from mud or clay; different types may have a drying or moisturizing effect.

I recommend: Get more information about these types of products at Aloette Cosmetics.

Peels

A peel is a more harsh treatment designed to even out the complexion. One first applies a weak acid solution to the skin (usually the face) then neutralizes the acid and removes the dead skin to reveal fresher skin beneath. Some so-called 'peels' are actually less expensive masks that can peel off of the skin, but this is not the same thing.

I recommend: Nu Skin provides a good two-step example of a peel.

Collagen

Collagen is a protein in the skin that allows it to keep its youthful appearance. It acts like a glue and keeps the skin tight and without wrinkles.

I recommend: There is a thorough explanation of collagen at Dermaxime.

Organic

More and more, there is a trend toward green products and organic ingredients. Organic is actually defined as a product that is not grown with synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or a variety of other unappealing ingredients. Most people think of organic skin products as an all-natural way of caring for their skin.

I recommend: You can find out a lot more about organic skin products at InspiredLiving.com.