How To Create A Dermatologist Skin Care Brand [Step-By-Step Guide]
Are you starting your own dermatologist skin care brand and seeking clarity about all the steps involved?
Whether you are a licensed dermatologist, or a brand owner who recognizes the importance of a qualified professional’s stamp of approval, our simple guide below explains how to source skin care that is properly dermatologist tested.
Keep reading for a full outline of the skin care formulating and two-step dermatologist testing / approval process, including the estimated timelines and costs involved.
Why Is Dermatologist Testing / Approval Important?
Dermatologist testing is an easy way to add to your brand’s credibility and build trust with potential customers. This process involves assessing whether or not your skin care product causes irritation or an allergic reaction on human skin.
As a brand owner, addressing the most common purchasing objections of your target market is crucial if you want your skin care range to be a success. Some have sensitive skin, are allergy-prone, or are dubious about the safety of most skin care products on the market.
Getting a dermatologist's stamp of approval will help overcome these objections and make your brand stand out against competitors.
What Is The Difference Between Dermatologist Tested And Cruelty-Free Or Clean Skin Care?
It’s important not to confuse the ‘dermatologist tested’ stamp of approval with other common claims in the industry. Selling points like ‘cruelty-free’ and ‘clean’ are not synonyms for dermatologist tested / approved.
Clean skin care refers to products formulated without potentially harmful ingredients and with the user’s skin quality and health in mind, while cruelty-free skin care is manufactured without any harm to any animals.
At Genie Supply, we’re specialists in clean and cruelty-free skin care, and we also offer dermatologist testing for your skin care brand through our custom formulating and testing processes.
Understanding Dermatologist Testing / Approval: A Two-Step Process
It’s important to remember that proper dermatologist testing / approval is a two-part process:
First, you collaborate with a testing facility or beauty lab to conduct a specific skin patch test
Then you must present the test results to a dermatologist for approval and certification (if you are a qualified dermatologist you can approve the skin care products yourself)
Stage One: The Repeat Insult Patch Test (RIPT)
To claim that your brand is dermatologist tested and approved, your skin care must undergo a specific skin patch test known as Repeat Insult Patch Testing (RIPT), which is a process that analyzes your formula for the propensity to cause allergic reactions.
The test involves repeatedly applying patches of the skin care product on a range of different human skin types to see if it triggers any reaction or skin irritation. Specific testing for sensitive skin types may be subject to an additional fee.
Genie Supply offers RIPT testing at a rate of $3,000 per test, with an estimated completion time of 6 weeks. Learn more about the entire testing process at Genie Supply here.
Stage Two: Dermatologist Testing / Approval
Once the RIPT testing is complete, you must have a dermatologist approve the formula.
Dermatologist approval involves reviewing your RIPT testing results, sometimes along with other testing paperwork including your Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) and Preservative Efficacy Testing (PET).
Note that approval is a step beyond mere dermatologist testing. Any dermatologist could test a product and say they tested it. That’s not the case with the approval process. The dermatologist must review the RIPT test results for it to count as full approval.
The full approval process adds credibility to your brand and costs approximately $4,500 for the testing phase and the dermatologist review combined.
Some facilities only provide the RIPT test results and expect the brand owner to seek out dermatologist certification on their own, while other labs conduct both stages in-house. If you are a registered dermatologist, this is as straightforward as reviewing the RIPT results and simply approving the products yourself.
Following this second stage of the process, your product is now officially dermatologist approved and you can make this claim in your marketing promotions.
At Genie Supply, we make your skin care brand journey as smooth as possible - we will conduct your product’s full dermatologist testing process from beginning to end.
Simply apply for dermatologist approval with your RIPT testing, and we will cover both phases and present you with your product’s official dermatologist-tested certification. Learn more about the full dermatologist testing process with Genie Supply here.
How To Create A Dermatologist Skin Care Brand
Now that you are clear on the definition of ‘dermatologist tested / approved’ and understand the testing process from start to finish, it’s time to decide on your skin care brand’s formula creation method. This process varies slightly depending on whether you are a qualified dermatologist or a skin care brand owner.
1. Creating A Skin Care Brand As A Dermatologist
Starting a skin care brand as a dermatologist gives you a competitive edge in the market. Potential customers will trust in the safety and efficacy of your products thanks to your expertise and advanced skin care knowledge.
In theory, you could source your products on a private label basis, assuming the formulas already passed the RIPT test and are ready for your approval.
However, we recommend taking full advantage of your professional status. Combine your unique dermatologist skin care skills and experience with a cosmetic lab’s formulating expertise - bringing to life a truly unique, game-changing skin care brand from scratch.
The custom formulating process involves working with a professional cosmetic chemist to formulate your new skin care products to your exact specifications. Once the formula is ready and fully RIPT tested, as a dermatologist, you can officially sign off on the product as dermatologist-approved yourself.
At Genie Supply, we’re no strangers to formulating with dermatologists. We understand the importance of creating clean, cruelty-free, and allergy-safe skin care with quality ingredients for your brand.
We’re experts in clean and new-to-market concepts and product formats, hybrid products, and novel chemical research. Our highly customized formulating process spans approximately 5 months to a year in total. Learn more about formulating as a dermatologist with Genie Supply here.
2. How To Source Products For A Dermatologist Tested Skin Care Brand If You Are Not A Dermatologist
Even if you are not a dermatologist yourself, it’s still possible to create a dermatologist tested skin care brand.
First, you need to understand all of the skin care production methods available to your brand and identify the best methods for getting that all-important dermatologist seal of approval.
Private Label & Custom Product Creation
Private labeling involves partnering with a lab to use their existing skin care formula and adding your own branding on the product packaging.
While private label is the quickest and most budget-friendly sourcing method, it’s unlikely that the preformulated products will be RIPT tested in advance, and there’s no guarantee that they will ultimately pass the two-step test.
A step above private labeling, custom product creation involves adding your own customizations on top of a lab’s existing base formula. Again, there is no guarantee that the base formula will match dermatologists’ standards.
To avoid these potential headaches later down the line, we recommend formulating products for your skin care brand starting from zero.
Custom Formulating
Custom formulation is a more expensive, time-intensive process that involves creating a brand-new skin care formula from scratch.
Customizing your formula from the very beginning is the best method to create a dermatologist tested skin care brand, as you can carefully select each ingredient in the formula with both the RIPT process and dermatologist standards in mind.
Plus, this is the best route to create a truly unique skin care brand and launch never-seen-before products on the market.
If you are on a budget, you can complete the formulation and testing process with the beauty lab’s cosmetic chemist before seeking out an assessment by a dermatologist.
However, if you have extra room in your budget, some beauty labs (including Genie Supply) provide the option to work alongside a dermatologist from the very beginning of the formulating process. This can involve virtual consultants throughout or feedback on the ingredients and sample analysis along the way.
Learn more about all of Genie Supply’s manufacturing routes (including custom formulating) here.
In sum, to create a dermatologist skin care brand:
Understand the differences between ‘dermatologist tested / approved’ and ‘cruelty-free’ or ‘clean’ skin care
Partner with a lab to custom formulate a range of products either alongside a dermatologist or with dermatologist approval in mind following the formulating process
Work with a testing facility or beauty lab to conduct RIPT testing on your skin care products
Hire a dermatologist to review the RIPT results and give their stamp of approval. (Some beauty labs will complete this process for you. If you are a professional dermatologist you can sign off on this testing yourself)
Ready to create your dermatologist tested / approved skin care brand? Partner with Genie Supply and we’ll make the formulating, RIPT testing, and dermatologist approval process easy for you.
Simply email us at customerservice@geniesupply.com or call us at 812-329-1105 for further information.
