Pricing in skin care

You might call me an "outsider" in the skin care industry (not like those Washington outsiders who have been in government for 30 years!).  I'm a doctor.  A real doctor - I see patients in my 2 offices, do procedures, and perform surgery.  But I have a strong interest in skin care and love designing products that really do work.  My attitude  is that I have an obligation to create honest, fairly priced products.  When you purchase from a doctor, your expectations are different than when you purchase from a nameless, faceless, giant corporation.  You expect that a doctor will personally create products that are safe and effective...and fairly priced.  

When I go to stores and look at all those skin care product advertisements, I often cringe.  That's because so many products are not honest.  The ingredients are often unproven.  Or there isn't a high enough concentration to make a difference.  Or the active ingredients are unusable by the body...or the molecules are too high to penetrate the skin.  The list goes on.  

And then there's the pricing.  I know precisely what various companies pay for raw ingredients.  And I wonder how companies can charge hundreds of dollars for products that cost them just a few dollars.  And when those products are sold by physicians, I am embarrassed for my profession.

My products actually work.  They have the appropriate active ingredients.  In the right concentrations and in the correct form.  Interestingly, many industry analysts and buyers for large retail outlets have told me that my prices are too low - they say that people will have "more respect" for my products if they cost more!  I abhor that type of thinking.  Ripping people off is not my idea of a fair business practice that any company, no less one run by a doctor should do.

So, my friends, fans, and customers...My products will enter 2014 staying true to my mission.  Honest.  Effective.  Fairly priced.  Happy New Year!