Skin Care Coaches Fill a Niche Brandon Thibodeaux for The New York Times Renee Rouleau, who owns two skin care spas in Dallas, developed the site for out-of-state clients who needed one-on-one care, education and counseling. FOR the last two and a half years, Marlena Hall, a public relations and marketing professional, has visited Nancy Reagan (not the former first lady, but an aesthetician with about 200 clients) almost weekly. "I was skeptical at first," said Ms. Hall, 26, who lives in Boca Raton, Fla. But after a session, I know things are going to be better. I've a plan, I'm getting solid advice and I'm setting goals with someone who wants to help me. Ms. Reagan isn't a therapist in the clinical sense. But for many of her patients seeking skin care help, that's exactly what she is. "I prefer skin care coach," said Ms. Reagan, who has been in the business for 20 years, speaking from her spa in Del Ray Beach, Fla. The majority of my work deals with women and self-esteem. That involves their face and their feelings. Ms. Reagan's hourlong coaching sessions cost $50 to$250 (the first consultation is free), and might involve creating a strategy, setting goals, lifestyle reviewing, journal keeping, or the recommendation of topical products and treatments. Getting professional advice on skin care outside the dermatologist's office is nothing new (just think of Clinique's famous "technicians," with their white lab coats), but lately the popular and expensive practice of life coaching has been making its way into the beauty industry. Myskinperscription.com is a two-month-old Web site with more than 100 clients, each seeking customized skin care help. Call it "face coaching." "People are desperate for a personalized connection," Ms. Rouleau said. This is a competitive industry dominated by products and procedures, and consumers are left to sort things out by themselves. We learn about your life and how skin care interacts in your world. Then we find solutions to your skin problems. For Ms. Rouleau, coaching is serious business. Clients are asked to do homework, watch educational videos, read newsletters and download articles targeted to their specific needs. She even demands that some sign a contract promising they will not pick at their skin. Thirty minutes of Skyping with Ms. Rouleau costs $250, and includes $100 worth of her own skin care products. She looks at clients" diets, edits the list of products in their medicine cabinet and discusses the right way to wear sunscreen (Ms. Rouleau believes 90 percent of people apply it incorrectly). They are then placed into one of nine groups, such as dry/tired/aging (No. 7) and a given a daily treatment plan, followed up with regularly scheduled e-mails containing personalized skin tips and tricks. Skin care coaches suggest that although many dermatologists and plastic surgeons have their own cosmetics lines, they may be too busy to talk patients through the nuts and bolts of maintenance. "Dermatologists focus on immediate care and treating skin problems, usually by prescribing medications or professional treatments like lasers and fillers," Ms. Rouleau said. They don't focus on the day-to-day home care required for long-term healthy skin. Ms. Reagan added that skin care coaches consider the whole body, while most aestheticians are focused on topical fixes like extractions or masks and do not consider nutrition or allergies. Karin Roth, 35, an engineer in Cambridge, Mass., said that she spent years seeing dermatologists. She had her first Skype session with Ms. Rouleau last month and was pleased with the experience. "I wanted what I couldn't get from my dermatologist," she said; that is, to be told when to exfoliate, when to do a peel, when she should be moisturizing and how certain products will affect her skin. "No dermatologist would sit through that," Ms. Roth said. They're mostly men interested in medical issues, not in making a woman feel pretty. I needed a different kind of relationship.