For father-and-son dermatologists Joel Schlessinger, MD and Daniel Schlessinger, MD, LovelySkin was never meant to be just another e-commerce site. Founded to close the gap between what a dermatologist recommends in the exam room and what a patient can actually find (and trust) once they get home, the platform has grown into a resource for more than 2 million customers and a key retail partner for L’Oréal’s dermatologist-facing brands, including SkinCeuticals, skinbetter science and La Roche-Posay. In addition, they carry 350 other brands and over 15,000 individual items on their website.
Ahead, we spoke with the Schlessingers about what makes that partnership work, how they think about layering high-performance brands into one regimen and which products are in their own rotation right now.
What makes LovelySkin a strategic partner for L’Oréal when it comes to expanding access to physician-dispensed skin care online?
Dr. Joel: “LovelySkin was the result of my desire to provide better advice and a better selection of skin-care products to patients and customers. I saw so much misinformation being given to my patients and felt there had to be a better way to help people on a wide scale.
Just as with all our partners, we aim to be a valued and genuinely helpful partner for every brand we represent, and with L’Oréal that feeling is mutual. We rely on their exceptional educational opportunities for our staff and customers, and we also serve as a sounding board for them on brand positioning and rollout strategy. It is a symbiotic relationship.
Customers who come to us for a SkinCeuticals serum, a skinbetter science retinol or a La Roche-Posay moisturizer are looking for expertise, and that is exactly what we love to provide. L’Oréal has built brands that genuinely perform, and our role is to make sure patients can access them with customer care representatives available by phone, chat or email who are trained directly by the best L’Oréal teams.”
How do brands like SkinCeuticals and skinbetter science complement each other on LovelySkin, and what does that mean for consumers building a results-driven regimen?
Dr. Daniel: “Both brands bring scientific rigor, but they solve different problems and serve different customers. SkinCeuticals is rooted in antioxidant science and prevention, and its vitamin C serum has decades of research behind it and still outperforms everything else in its category. People love skinbetter science for their inventive, science-backed formulas, from gentler retinol technology to hyaluronic acid paired with antioxidant support. Now that both brands sit under the L’Oréal umbrella, they also share the research facilities and development process that help bring out the best products. When you layer these brands thoughtfully, you are building a regimen that addresses prevention, renewal and volume all at once.
A perfect recent example is the newly reformulated C E Ferulic Antioxidant Serum ($185). For the first time in two decades, SkinCeuticals has enhanced its gold-standard vitamin C serum, keeping the proven antioxidant trio of 15 percent L-ascorbic acid, 1 percent vitamin E and 0.5-percent ferulic acid while adding 1 percent endophytol and 0.3 percent carnosine to support skin longevity. That kind of advancement on an established formula is exactly what L’Oréal’s research resources make possible, and being able to bring it to our LovelySkin customers with the right education behind it is what we do best.”
How is LovelySkin helping bridge the gap between in-office dermatology recommendations and at-home purchasing in a digital-first landscape?
Dr. Joel: “Patients often leave an appointment with product recommendations and then struggle to find them, or end up with gray-market versions from unverified sellers or even counterfeits from well-known sites. When patients shop on LovelySkin, they know it is under my dermatologic supervision and every product they receive is real and fresh. These are the same products we carry in our medical clinic, now available online. No other skin care website has the dermatology background that LovelySkin has.
From the beginning, I have helped guide the site, and I work closely with our talented copy, video, design and customer care teams to shape everything from our emails to our product education. I stay personally connected to our customers too, reading every single Bizrate review on our site to keep a finger on the pulse of the site. Many of these customers are also my patients at the clinic where I work full-time alongside my son, Dr. Daniel Schlessinger, who is also a board-certified dermatologist, Mohs surgeon and cosmetic surgeon. We serve more than 150,000 patients in Omaha and more than 2 million customers on LovelySkin.com, which means we touch roughly one percent of the US population in some way. We take that seriously. We want shopping online to feel as trustworthy as walking into our office, and for our customers, we make sure it does.”
What role does education—clinical data, ingredient transparency and regimen guidance—play in helping shoppers confidently choose between high-performance brands?
Dr. Daniel: “Consumers shopping in this category want to know why something works and what’s actually in it. SkinCeuticals P-TIOX Wrinkle Modulating Peptide Cream ($150), for example, visibly reduces nine types of wrinkle contraction lines and helps to reveal a glass skin radiance in as little as one week, which was proven in rigorous clinical trials by L’Oréal, using physician-tested data. Helping patients understand how to use products together correctly is how they see the best results.”
What trends are you seeing in how consumers shop for medical-grade skin care, and how is that influencing the push toward a one-stop shopping experience?
Dr. Joel: “Patients are more informed than ever. They have already researched ingredients and read clinical summaries, and they often call or email us with specific questions. Our job is to help them cut through the bias, understand the context and fill in the gaps. LovelySkin is not just a business for us; it is a relationship between our customers and us, and that is why we have such a high retention rate and the ratings to prove it: 9.7 out of 10 on Bizrate and 15 straight years of the Platinum Circle of Excellence Award.
We are also seeing a real shift toward whole-body skin health, so a clinically backed scalp care product from Pureology or Redken, sitting right alongside a patient’s SkinCeuticals serum in the same cart is a genuinely useful experience.”
Looking ahead, how do you see the concept of ‘one-stop shopping’ evolving for advanced skin care consumers as portfolios like L’Oréal’s continue to grow?
Dr. Daniel: “As the options multiply, curation becomes more valuable, and that is where LovelySkin’s clinical perspective is essential. A well-formulated, physician-grade body moisturizer is a good example of that standard. The future is really about building a full skin health ecosystem: a treatment serum, a moisturizer, a body cream and a scalp treatment, all from brands a board-certified dermatologist at the top of LovelySkin has vetted and all working together.”
Are there any products you specifically love during the summer months?
Dr. Joel: “For antioxidant protection, I recommend the SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic Antioxidant Serum ($185) and advise my patients to use it every morning before sunscreen. For the face, La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer ($25) is hard to beat in the heat—oil-free, fragrance-free and up to 48 hours of moisture.
For hair, our customers enjoy the Pureology Hydrate Shampoo & Conditioner Duo ($78) for color-treated hair, and the Color Wow Dream Coat Supernatural Spray ($30) for anyone battling humidity-induced frizz.”
Dr. Daniel: “Many of my patients have been excited about the skinbetter science Ampra Volumizing Macro HA Serum ($180) this summer. The HYAsync™ technology bonds hyaluronic acid to alpha-lipoic acid so you get plumping and antioxidant benefits at the same time, and patients using it consistently are seeing real contouring results.
The skinbetter science AlphaRet Overnight Cream ($145) is also a summer favorite for overnight renewal, with less irritation than a traditional retinoid. For the body, La Roche-Posay Lipikar AP+MAX Triple Repair Moisturizing Cream ($23) is excellent after sun or chlorine exposure. The Vichy Dercos Anti-Dandruff Shampoo and Conditioner Duo ($40) is perfect for counteracting the effect of heat and sweat on the scalp, and Redken Extreme Length Leave-In Treatment ($34) is a great option for patients focused on strengthening and growing their hair.”
