Market research | Fractional Aesthetics https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles Original measurement of the aesthetic medicine market, written for practice owners. en Thu, 22 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT What Galderma buying ZO Skin Health could change for practices that sell it https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/galderma-zo-retail-shelf https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/galderma-zo-retail-shelf Thu, 22 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT lazar@fractionalaesthetics.com (Lazar LaLone) physician-dispensed skincare retail revenue ZO Skin Health acquisition Galderma medical-grade skincare practice retail margin Galderma agreed to buy ZO Skin Health for $1.5 billion in cash. In a Korean study, 42% rated dermatologists the top skincare source and 7.41% bought at a clinic. How do new med spa patients split spending on laser and injectables? https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/laser-new-patient-interest-vs-injectable-revenue https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/laser-new-patient-interest-vs-injectable-revenue Wed, 21 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT lazar@fractionalaesthetics.com (Lazar LaLone) med spa laser treatments new patients laser demand med spa injectables share of revenue new patient acquisition aesthetics treatment mix med spa Laser and energy work is 13.3% of new patients' spending, 8.3% of returning patients'. Injectables lead both, at 39.9% and 43.4%, in one vendor's data. What medspa spending data says about weight-loss and wellness services https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/wellness-mix-transaction-value https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/wellness-mix-transaction-value Wed, 21 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT lazar@fractionalaesthetics.com (Lazar LaLone) medspa average transaction value wellness services medspa medspa service mix medspa pricing revenue per visit Qsight puts GLP-1 spending at aesthetic practices at $1.30 billion in 2024. No source prices one wellness service, so none shows what wellness does to the average ticket. Can a practice reward patients for reviews under the FTC rule? https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/ftc-review-rule-practices https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/ftc-review-rule-practices Tue, 20 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT lazar@fractionalaesthetics.com (Lazar LaLone) FTC fake reviews rule medical practice incentivized reviews patient testimonials compliance review gating FTC endorsement guidance The 2024 rule allows rewards for reviews only when they do not depend on a good rating. Two review vendors tell practices to offer nothing at all. What a fractional laser costs a practice, and what patients pay https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/fractional-laser-economics https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/fractional-laser-economics Mon, 19 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT lazar@fractionalaesthetics.com (Lazar LaLone) fractional laser cost Fraxel fractional laser fractional CO2 laser price laser depreciation used aesthetic laser price One equipment guide lists new fractional CO2 lasers from $70,000 for Alma's Pixel to $180,000 for the Lumenis UltraPulse. Patients report paying $1,433 on average for a Fraxel treatment and $3,078 for CO2 resurfacing; the surgeon societies' own fee tables now lump lasers in with peels, and last priced fractional resurfacing on its own in 2013. What changes for a practice as more men book aesthetic care https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/male-patients https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/male-patients Mon, 19 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT lazar@fractionalaesthetics.com (Lazar LaLone) male plastic surgery trends men aesthetic treatments male Botox marketing to men med spa male patient pricing Transaction data shows men get 10% to 15% more toxin units per visit than women, at the same price per unit. How men react to the larger bill has not been measured. Medspa revenue grew 17.4% in Q3 2026. New patient counts stayed flat. https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/retention-over-acquisition-q3 https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/retention-over-acquisition-q3 Sun, 18 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT lazar@fractionalaesthetics.com (Lazar LaLone) medspa patient retention medspa revenue growth existing patient revenue patient lifetime value new patient acquisition cost Existing patients brought in about 82% of medspa revenue in Q3 2026, in vendor data. Revenue from new patients fell over the same year. Cosmetic surgery across borders: what the evidence says about attracting international patients... and losing them https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/international-patients https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/international-patients Sat, 17 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT lazar@fractionalaesthetics.com (Lazar LaLone) medical tourism cosmetic surgery international patients plastic surgery cosmetic surgery abroad complications Turkey Mexico cosmetic surgery advertising rules UK Dubai China We read where patients travel for surgery and 6 studies of those who came home hurt. No study counts how many patients a practice loses abroad. What patients pay for Botox, and what is known about raising prices or retiring a service https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/pricing-changes https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/pricing-changes Sat, 17 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT lazar@fractionalaesthetics.com (Lazar LaLone) what patients pay for Botox Botox price 2026 med spa price increase ASPS physician fee survey neurotoxin pricing retiring a service aesthetic practice RealSelf patients reported an average Botox bill of $550 in 2022 and $553 in 2023. Almost no study measures what happens when a practice raises a price. GLP-1 patients are changing aesthetic menus. Body lifts and facial fat grafting are growing fastest. https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/glp1-menu https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/glp1-menu Sat, 17 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT lazar@fractionalaesthetics.com (Lazar LaLone) GLP-1 patients plastic surgery practice Ozempic face weight loss skin laxity body contouring after weight loss fat grafting More than four in five plastic surgeons fielded a GLP-1 request in 2025. Facial fat grafting grew faster than any other cosmetic surgery that year. Duplicate listings split a practice's reviews. Patients and AI tools both look at the count. https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/duplicate-listings https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/duplicate-listings Sat, 17 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT lazar@fractionalaesthetics.com (Lazar LaLone) duplicate Google Business Profile listing medical practice duplicate listings merge Google listings Healthgrades RealSelf profile review count Patients and AI engines both weigh a practice's review count. In our audit, 7 of the 9 practices we could check had duplicate or wrong listings. Organic reach is falling. Where patient attention went. https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/organic-reach https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/organic-reach Sat, 17 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT lazar@fractionalaesthetics.com (Lazar LaLone) organic reach decline Instagram business Instagram reach 2026 med spa social media YouTube search Reddit AI citations Instagram's average organic reach fell 14% in a year, by one vendor's count. Adults still use social platforms for health information, YouTube most of all. Patients in loyalty programs come back more often. No study in aesthetics shows the program is the reason. https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/memberships-loyalty https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/memberships-loyalty Sat, 17 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT lazar@fractionalaesthetics.com (Lazar LaLone) med spa membership program aesthetic practice loyalty program Alle rewards patient retention membership pricing 68% of patients on a manufacturer rewards program came back, against 42% of others. The program may not be why they returned. Google retired the question box on business profiles. Its AI answers from reviews instead. https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/ask-maps-profile https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/ask-maps-profile Sat, 17 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT lazar@fractionalaesthetics.com (Lazar LaLone) Google Ask Maps business profile Google Business Profile Q&A removed Ask Maps AI answers Google Maps med spa Google profile Google turned off the Business Profile Q&A API on November 3, 2025. Of 11 profiles in our audit, none showed a question answered by the owner. What the evidence says about patient financing https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/patient-financing https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/patient-financing Fri, 16 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT lazar@fractionalaesthetics.com (Lazar LaLone) patient financing medical credit cards CareCredit Cherry deferred interest buy now, pay later The cost of medical credit cards to patients is well documented. The evidence that financing fills a surgeon's schedule comes from the companies that sell it. What the evidence says about AI before-and-afters https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/ai-renders https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/ai-renders Tue, 25 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT lazar@fractionalaesthetics.com (Lazar LaLone) AI before-and-afters outcome simulation patient expectations consultation 3D imaging We reviewed 16 tools that render a patient's predicted result. Simulation ranked third as a decision factor, behind real patient photos and the consultation. What AI search says about aesthetic practices https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/ai-search https://fractionalaesthetics.com/articles/ai-search Tue, 28 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT lazar@fractionalaesthetics.com (Lazar LaLone) AI search ChatGPT Google reviews local visibility med spa We read about 2,800 answers from four AI engines across 18 markets. The engines read strong websites, then recommended the practices with strong reviews.