SKINCARE BRANDS
Launch a skincare brand on Tessic Health
Tessic Health runs the clinic behind a prescription skincare brand. Licensed providers review photos and prescribe in all 50 states, custom formulas are compounded at wholesale cost, and patients buy through a storefront with your name on it. The brand can sell prescription formulas and its own non-prescription line side by side.
50
States with licensed providers
0%
Markup on custom formulas
8-12 wk
First follow-up, formula adjusted
$25
Flat per completed consult
CLINICAL
What your skincare patients get
Skincare programs run on photos and adjustment: a formula chosen for one patient's skin, then changed as the skin responds.
01
Visits based on photos
Patients upload face photos and describe their skin history, current products and goals. Providers diagnose acne, rosacea, melasma and sun damage from the images and history.
02
Formulas made for one patient
Providers choose the ingredients and strengths for each patient, such as tretinoin at a set strength with niacinamide or azelaic acid, compounded into one bottle.
03
Pregnancy screening
Retinoids and spironolactone are not prescribed during pregnancy. The intake asks, and treatment stops if a patient becomes pregnant.
04
A follow-up at 8 to 12 weeks
Skin takes weeks to respond. A follow-up at eight to twelve weeks checks progress and irritation and adjusts the formula strength.
05
Referral when photos are not enough
Changing moles, suspected skin cancer and severe cystic acne are referred to an in-person dermatologist.
MEDICATIONS & PROTOCOLS
What your providers can prescribe
Skincare programs on Tessic start from the medications below, alone or combined in a custom formula. Providers choose among them for each patient after an evaluation.
| Medication | Form | Used for | How it is filled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tretinoin 0.025% to 0.1% | Cream or gel | Acne, sun damage and fine lines | Retail generic or 503A formula |
| Custom tretinoin formula | Cream with niacinamide, azelaic acid or clindamycin | Acne and aging skin; compounded, not FDA-approved as a combination | 503A pharmacy |
| Azelaic acid 15% to 20% | Gel or cream | Acne, rosacea and uneven tone | Retail or mail-order generic |
| Clindamycin | Topical gel or lotion | Inflammatory acne | Retail or mail-order generic |
| Spironolactone | Daily tablet | Hormonal acne in women, off-label | Retail or mail-order generic |
| Doxycycline | Tablet, short course | Moderate inflammatory acne | Retail or mail-order generic |
| Hydroquinone 4% or higher | Cream, often in a custom formula | Melasma and dark spots | Retail or 503A pharmacy |
| Metronidazole or ivermectin cream | Topical | Rosacea | Retail or mail-order generic |
Left off the list on purpose
Each of these would put the brand's ad accounts, payment accounts or medical licenses at risk.
Isotretinoin
Isotretinoin runs under the iPLEDGE safety program, which registers prescribers, pharmacies and patients and requires regular pregnancy testing for patients who can become pregnant. It sits outside the standard launch protocol.
Injectables and procedures
Botox, fillers, chemical peels and lasers need in-person treatment.
Prescription strength without a visit
Every prescription formula follows a provider review. Only the brand's non-prescription products sell without one.
Every prescription is the treating provider's decision after an individual evaluation, and a listing here does not mean every patient qualifies. Off-label means FDA has not approved the drug for that use; providers may still prescribe it when clinically appropriate.
PHARMACY
How the medicine gets to patients
Custom formulas are the product in prescription skincare, so the compounding pharmacy behind them is the brand's most important supplier.
01
503A custom formulas
Multi-ingredient formulas are compounded by 503A pharmacies against a prescription for one patient, labeled with the patient's name and a beyond-use date.
02
Generics for single ingredients
Tretinoin, clindamycin, spironolactone and doxycycline fill as FDA-approved generics at wholesale cost.
03
Bottle sizes set by shelf life
Formulas ship in 30-, 60- or 90-day sizes chosen by beyond-use date, so each bottle runs out before it expires.
04
The brand's own products
Cleansers, moisturizers and sunscreens the brand makes itself ship from its own fulfillment and are sold beside the prescription.
0%
Markup on every fill, on every plan
The brand is billed the pharmacy's wholesale invoice. Tessic adds nothing to the medication and takes no share of what the brand charges patients.
COMPLIANCE & ADVERTISING
The rules for selling prescription skincare
What regulators and ad platforms check before a skincare brand can sell and advertise.
What regulators check
01
Cosmetic claims and drug claims
Under federal law, a product that claims to treat acne or change how skin works is a drug. The brand's non-prescription products have to stay on the cosmetic side of that line or follow the over-the-counter drug rules.
02
Cosmetics law for the brand's own line
Cosmetics sold under the brand's name fall under the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act: facility registration, product listing, safety substantiation and reporting serious adverse events to FDA.
03
Hydroquinone needs a prescription
Federal law no longer allows hydroquinone in over-the-counter products, so every hydroquinone formula needs a prescription and a provider visit.
04
Compounded formulas are not FDA-approved
A custom formula cannot be described as FDA-approved or clinically proven as a combination, even when each ingredient is approved on its own.
What ad platforms check
01
Careful with before-and-after photos
Meta restricts before-and-after images that promise results. Results photos on the brand's own site need a note on what typical patients see.
02
"Dermatologist" means a dermatologist
Claims such as "dermatologist-designed" or "see a derm online" require board-certified dermatologists doing that work. If other clinicians prescribe, the copy says providers.
03
No promises to erase wrinkles
Tretinoin has evidence for fine lines and sun damage. Copy that promises to erase wrinkles or reverse aging overstates it and draws FTC attention.
Rules for every category
LegitScript certification
Google, Meta and the major card processors check for LegitScript certification before a telehealth brand can advertise prescription treatment or take card payments. Tessic prepares and files the application as part of setup.
Subscription billing
The Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act requires the recurring price and terms to be clear before checkout, the buyer's express consent to the charge, and a simple way to cancel.
Health data and ad pixels
Tracking pixels that pass health information to ad platforms have drawn FTC and HHS enforcement. Conversion tracking on a clinic site has to keep intake answers and diagnoses out of what reaches Meta and Google.
Proof behind every claim
The FTC expects competent and reliable scientific evidence behind health claims, and testimonials have to reflect what typical patients experience.
Rules checked September 2026. A planning summary, not legal advice. Rules change, LegitScript sets its own review schedule, and certification is never guaranteed. The brand's own counsel should review its marketing before launch.
LAUNCH TIMELINE
How fast your clinic opens
Skincare brands open within a week. The first formula follow-ups land eight to twelve weeks later.
Day 0
Discovery call
The brand picks its conditions, formulas, price points and launch states, and whether to sell its own non-prescription line.
Days 1-3
Clinic build
Providers are credentialed under the brand, the photo intake and formula options are loaded, and the storefront goes up. Tessic prepares the LegitScript application.
Days 3-5
Pharmacy and test orders
Compounding and generic routes are connected, and test orders run from photo intake to a labeled formula at the door.
Days 5-7
First patients
The clinic opens to patients from the brand's own channels, with follow-ups scheduled from the first order.
After certification
Paid ads
Once LegitScript certification clears, prescription skincare campaigns can run within each platform's rules.
Timelines assume the brand's name, domain and pricing are ready at the discovery call.
UNIT ECONOMICS
What one patient is worth
A sample model for one patient on a custom acne or aging-skin formula at $49 a month. The brand sets the price, medication passes through at wholesale, and Tessic's only per-patient fee is $25 per completed consult.
- Program price, set by the brand
- $49.00
- Custom tretinoin formula, 30-day bottle, at wholesale (assumed)
- −$18.00
- Provider consults: 2 a year at $25, spread monthly
- −$4.17
- Shipping (assumed)
- −$5.00
- Card processing (3% of price, assumed)
- −$1.47
- Contribution per patient, monthly42% of price, before marketing
- $20.36
50
Patients to cover the Launch plan's $1,000 monthly fee
99
Patients to cover the Grow plan's $2,000 monthly fee
393
Patient-months to earn back the $8,000 Launch setup fee
$4.17
Tessic's monthly fee on this patient, against $10.30 on a 30% markup and 10% revenue-share model
Illustrative only, not a quote or a forecast. The brand sets its own prices; lines marked assumed are sample costs, and the real pharmacy invoice passes through at 0% markup. Contribution is before marketing, the monthly platform fee and taxes. The comparison model applies a 30% medication markup and a 10% revenue share, within the range commonly seen in white-label agreements.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Questions about launching a skincare brand
Yes. The storefront can sell the brand's own cleansers, moisturizers and sunscreens beside prescription formulas. Those products fall under the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act, and their claims have to stay cosmetic.
No. Licensed providers diagnose and prescribe. The brand can only say "dermatologist" in its marketing if board-certified dermatologists actually do that work.
Not in the standard launch protocol. Isotretinoin runs under the iPLEDGE safety program, which registers prescribers, pharmacies and patients and requires regular pregnancy testing.
By 503A pharmacies, one bottle per patient, against the provider's prescription. Each bottle carries the patient's name and a beyond-use date, and sizes are set so it runs out before it expires.
The plan's flat monthly fee, $25 per completed consult, and nothing on the formula. Compounded formulas pass through at the pharmacy's wholesale price, and Tessic takes no revenue share.
OTHER CATEGORIES
Launch in another category
Every plan includes every treatment category, so a brand can add a second one later on the same account.