Face Foundrie’s Founder Wants To Broaden The Reach Of Laser Services With New Concept Laserie

After expanding facial chain Face Foundrie to 53 locations and over $25 million in annual sales, founder and CEO Michele Henry is launching another beauty services concept, Laserie.

Bowing in the first quarter next year at Face Foundrie’s former flagship in a 1,250-square-foot space in Edina, Minn.’s indoor shopping center Galleria, Laserie will specialize in layering various laser treatments to deliver results at prices 5% to 8% less than the prices of standard laser treatments available today. All treatments at Laserie will be non-invasive. 

“What we did with Face Foundrie was shaking up an industry and understanding that the way it’s been done doesn’t need to be the way it continues to be,” says Henry, who’s developing Laserie with her husband and co-founder and COO Brett Patterson. “These machines are definitely expensive, and that’s where our investment lies. We believe though, if we bring down the price slightly, the volume will tick up, and I think that’s where we’re leaning on the model that was created with Face Foundrie.”

Laserie’s core service menu will feature three laser treatments created by cosmetic laser manufacturer Sciton to target redness, pigmentation, fine lines and texture: $349 BroadBand Light (BBL), $599 Moxi and $129 Clear Silk, which is described as a “lunchtime facial” for its quick and gentle results with no downtime. Elsewhere, BBL treatments range from $400 to nearly $1,000 per session. Moxi treatments generally range from $400 to $1,500 per session. 

Laserie’s treatments will be able to be stacked or customized with add-on services like collagen masks and exosome infusions. It will have a stacked service menu called “La Series” with treatment prices running from $410 to upwards of $990. Treatments take anywhere from 15 to 40 minutes to administer, excluding pre- and post-treatment protocols. 

“The Clear Silk modality can be stacked with a BBL, for instance, which can ultimately extend the effects for three to six months, so you don’t have to come back,” says Patterson. “Normally, you get those treatments in different appointments potentially at different locations.” He adds, “The biggest thing right now is that there’s this major advancement in technology, and there’s a huge gap in how to apply it to skincare.”

To stand out in the $17 billion American med-spa industry estimated to be growing by more than $1 billion yearly, Laserie isn’t competing solely on price and proprietary services are integral to its proposition. Previously an account manager at logistics company C.H. Robinson, Patterson has been studying under cosmetic dermatologist and laser expert Patrick Bitter to understand innovations and techniques driving light therapies. He says Laserie’s BBL, Clear Silk and exosome micro-needling service stack is unique to the company, and he shares that it’s working with a South Korean vendor to beta-test an exosome micro-needling technique that “hasn’t ever been done outside of South Korea.”

Along with its laser services, Laserie will provide Botox and Dysport injections and platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) treatments. Often referred to as natural filler, a PRF treatment involves injecting platelets drawn and separated out from clients’ blood back into their skin to spur collagen production and cell turnover. Although it offers Sculptra injections, a synthetic version of lactic acid, Laserie is largely staying away from synthetic fillers. 

“The filler space has softened, pun intended,” says Henry. “The long-term impacts of filler seem to be a lot longer than people think, so that’s something we’re staying away from.”

Laserie will offer three membership options: A $99 membership with one Clear Silk treatment per month, a $229 membership with unlimited monthly Clear Silk treatments, and $379 membership with 30 free Botox treatments a quarter plus monthly BBL treatments. Brian Oh, founder and CEO of Venn Skincare, and Devon Ellena, a nurse practitioner and co-founder of Ellena Aesthetics, are on Laserie’s board, among others. 

“If we bring down the price slightly, the volume will tick up.”

Laserie isn’t the only laser facial concept on the market. Eleven-year-old Skin Laundry is known for 15- to 30-minute facials that combat acne, melasma, hyperpigmentation and fine lines with high-energy infrared, fractional and resurfacing light technologies. À la carte services are priced from $275 to $900, with the bestselling Signature Laser Facial priced at $75 for newcomers. Skin Laundry’s sales are forecast to multiply 4X between 2022 and 2025, and it aims to have 59 locations open by the end of this year.

The inspiration for Laserie came to Henry and Patterson from Face Foundrie’s customers asking where they could get Botox and BBL treatments. Savant Aesthetics Institute, an aesthetics school that Henry founded in 2022, jumpstarted the idea, too. Patterson says students are looking for alternative career paths to aestheticians and registered nurses. He explains, “They want to do something more. What we’re seeing in Minnesota is that you’re able to become a laser tech without needing a significant amount of coursework and through working with laser manufacturers.”

Henry is anticipating some crossover between Face Foundrie and Laserie customers, but is hoping Laserie’s location within the Galleria will open it to a broader pool of upscale shoppers. Its co-tenants at the shopping center are Bluemercury, Alo, L’Occitane, Sweetgreen, Louis Vuitton, Free People, Coach and Face Foundrie’s relocated flagship. Face Foundrie’s core customer base consists of professionals aged 25 to 40 years old earning on average $75,000-plus in annual income. 

Launched in 2019, Face Foundrie’s focus is affordable facials for a variety of people and skin types. Its 40- to 50-minute facials are priced from $76 to $85, depending on the location. Already in 32 cities around the country, franchising has been propelling the concept’s spread of late, and it estimates 30 units will open in 2025. It’s aiming to reach over 100 units by 2026. Last year, the company’s sale-store sales increased an average of 47%.

Out of the gate, Laserie isn’t rushing to scale as Henry is waiting to decipher the reception it receives at the Galleria, although it eventually plans to follow Face Foundrie’s national expansion. A retail component and branded product line are expected within 18 months. Similar to Face Foundrie, Henry and Patterson haven’t taken on outside investment for Laserie. 

“When it’s your own money, it makes you really honest and more responsible with how you can grow,” says Henry. “Brett and I are no strangers to what the competition looks like out there. It’s a noisy market, but I think we can cut through that noise with the level of services we’re offering at client-friendly pricing. I think that this could definitely be a nationally scaled brand.”