Introducing Azul Skin Health and Trilogy Laboratories — Custom Formulated for Mature and Sun-Damaged Skin, With a Little Help From a Plastic Surgeon You Might Know…
- Posted on: Jan 15 2016
If you’re one of the millions of women in America who have a bathroom cabinet full of creams and serums — yet you struggle to find one complete system of skincare that’s genuinely transformative for your skin — you’re not alone.
As a plastic surgeon, I have the honor and privilege of helping hundreds of women — from Florida and around the World — treat and reverse the signs of aging. One of our biggest frustrations in running our full-service medical spa has been our struggle to find a truly comprehensive range of cosmeceutical-grade skincare products that we can be really excited to recommend.
Our patients here at Azul Medical Spa are already familiar with the products produced by a boutique Florida skincare company called IntegraDerm. IntegraDerm garnered its modest-but-devoted following delivering consistent high-quality results, and they have been a staple in our private-label product line and favorite of our team for many years. The company was limited, however, to just a few products, and couldn’t deliver patients the in-depth, comprehensive system of skincare products we wanted to offer.
Enter my wife, Dr. Kristen Flaharty, a scientist with a passion for skincare and a doctoral degree in pharmacy from the University of Michigan. Two years ago, Kristen and I decided it was time that we integrate our combined 40-plus years of medical and pharmaceutical expertise to control the ingredients for all of our products, and better address our patients’ skincare problems; eighteen months ago, we purchased IntegraDerm.
The result is Trilogy Laboratories, named for our three beautiful daughters. Now we really do have the best of both worlds — the highest product quality guaranteed (and made locally here in our own laboratory just a few miles from our office), and custom formulations made especially for aging and sun-damaged skin.
Our two ventures, Trilogy Laboratories and Azul Cosmetic Surgery and Medical Spa, now work hand-in-hand. Trilogy makes the medical skincare products that we use at Azul and together, my wife and I continue to develop our own highest-grade products.
Right now, Trilogy is small, with just three employees, and that’s counting Kristen. As far as running the business of Trilogy, Kristen is of course well-versed in state and federal regulatory requirements, and soon she’ll be adding a salesperson to pursue our next two objectives: to get the products out into Southwest Florida, and to promote them to physicians around the country. We certainly aren’t trying to compete with the factory-style production of the “big guys” in the industry. We want to establish our niche — to excel at our commitment to quality and cutting-edge custom formulations for older skin.
And that’s where Kristen’s skills and expertise in product development really shine; she continually refines combinations of items in our formulas, adding and subtracting, and evaluates them in the lab to produce more effective products than the usual mass-produced batches sold by major producers.
Trilogy’s focus is on small production, and also on orders for private labels. In addition, clients can have Trilogy customize a formula to include more or less of certain ingredients, specific to their needs and preferences. Maybe you’ve heard of pharmacy compounding? This is the art and science of creating personalized medications, and that’s exactly what Trilogy Laboratories can do for skincare — producing small-scale quantities of medical-grade products (including anti-aging, acne and sensitive skin products, sunscreens, moisturizers…) to create the desired, client-specific outcomes.
Though “a match made in heaven” may seem a bit corny, that’s exactly what it feels like with Azul and Trilogy, and with the way that Kristen and I have partnered together. As a scientist, Kristen is zealous about the quality of our products, and as a doctor, I am delighted by the results that patients are able to see. Our patients notice a profound difference in their skin quality, and that truly makes a winning combination!
Posted in: Procedures