Clinical skin care has a new entrant.
Dr. Marnie Nussbaum is the latest dermatologist to get into the skin care game with her brand, Lines, which debuts on the brand’s website in coming weeks with three products. They range in price from $45 to $95.
The idea for Lines came to Nussbaum after years of homing her skills in aesthetic dermatology, when she noticed a growing appetite for skin care — and a growing confusion around products — in equal measure.
“Once patients start aesthetic intervention, they become a different consumer. They want to know, now that they’ve invested in their skin, what to use to maintain it,” Nussbaum said. “We don’t want to use too many steps in a routine with single ingredients, because the third and fourth, for example, won’t penetrate the skin like the first and second.”
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All of the products, therefore, boast a heavy-hitting roster of active ingredients. The Wrinkle Pen can be used all over facial lines, and is formulated with peptides, collagen and bakuchiol; The Lip Serum features peptides and hyaluronic acid in several molecular weights, while the The Facial Serum combines vitamin C, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, bakuchiol and peptides.
“All three products have immediate and long-term results. I know from my patients that no one sticks around for the long-term benefits if they don’t see an effect in the short term,” Nussbaum said. They’re also makeup hybrids. The serum comes sheer and in five shades, while the lip serum comes in two colors, as well as untinted.
Lines is also targeting consumers over the age of 35 — at a time when that consumer is leveraging its spending power in beauty despite being underserved. As reported, Gen X accounts for 20 percent of the prestige beauty spend and has increased that spend faster than any other cohort.
“This is a line for the aging woman,” Nussbaum said. “It’s transformational tools for a modern mindset. You should be able to do injectables and still look natural. You should age the way you want. I named it Lines because our lines tell our story, and if we had zero lines, we wouldn’t have a real life with joy, happiness or sorrow.”
The brand is debuting on its website, and Nussbaum is also focusing on the professional channel to grow the business. She’s hoping to tap into the sweet spot of clinical know-how and accessible pricing.
“The majority of noninvasive treatments are in med spas,” she said. “I did research, and they don’t have efficacious products at an accessible price point. They’re also the darlings of the private equity world, and they make money on products, not services, and they’re focused on scaling their four walls instead of making products.”
Nussbaum didn’t rule out retail expansion in the future, and she’s also eyeing new categories — literally. “We will probably go after the eye area, as well as tone and melasma and rosacea,” she said.
