2000s Decade Award Finalist: DermaHealth Laser & Skin Care Clinic

Cheryl Briggs has worn many hats, ranging from Girl Scout leader to eagle trainer to Red Cross volunteer.

In June 2009, she added the title of business owner to her repertoire, when she and husband Dr. Thomas Briggs bought DermaHealth Laser and Skin Care Clinic from Chuck, Steve and Gary Goforth.

The Goforths opened the business as Dermacare in 2005 and changed the name to DermaHealth in 2008 according to Springfield Business Journal coverage.

Since she’s been at the helm of the business, Cheryl Briggs has worked to grow the clinic’s staff and make its services more affordable.

DermaHealth clients can choose from a roster of more than 20 procedures, including laser hair removal, skin tightening, wrinkle remover and laser liposuction.

Procedure costs range from $25 for a spray tan to around $3,600 for abdominal liposuction. Briggs says some services are packaged, and financing is available.

Since June 2009, Briggs has added equipment including four new lasers, investing roughly $200,000 in the business.

Her goal, she says, is to choose new technology carefully so that it allows more people to take advantage of the clinic’s services.

“I am really searching hard to find a very best price (to) buy something so I can keep my prices down (and) make it as affordable for everybody as I can,” she says.

DermaHealth is affiliated with the Society of Permanent Cosmetic Professionals, according to www.dermahealthspringfeld.com, and its product lineup includes Botox Cosmetic, Radiesse and Juvéderm Ultra.

The company’s employee count is 13, up from 10 in 2009.

“By adding on more staff, we’ve also added more dimension and more education,” says Nancy Merry, clinic administrator.  

That added expertise fits with client education, which Briggs says is the clinic’s first goal. Teaching clients starts with their initial visits, she adds.

“I tell them about the pigments I use. I tell them about my training. I tell them about what I do before I ever start,” she says. “I want their confidence in me that I am going to do the right thing for them.”

The right thing, she says, is letting her clients make their own informed decisions.
“When you come in here, it’s not what I see that you need,” she says. “It’s what do … you want (as) your ultimate goal?”

Briggs says customer confidence is important to the clinic.

“There are a lot of people who are just technicians, and they’ve gone out to try to find a way to do something different or make a quick buck and maybe they don’t have the understanding of medication interactions or just the physical interactions,” she says.

At DermaHealth, she says, staff members are careful to make sure procedures won’t interact with clients’ existing conditions or habits – such as smoking or tanning.

Briggs says she would rather turn clients away until they are willing to make changes and return.

“I don’t want to take their money,” she says. “I’ve had three clients I’ve talked out of permanent cosmetics because I didn’t think it was the right thing for them at this time.”

Briggs, a registered nurse, performs many procedures herself.

“I think being hands-on and having the passion for people has made a big difference in the success of the business,” she says.

And at the end of the day, she says it’s not about making sales; it’s about helping customers achieve desired results.

“You may come in as a client, but we hope you leave as a friend,” she says.[[In-content Ad]]