How Our Practice Found Success in Exosomes with Chronos EXO CR
We sat down with Dr. Marc Estes and Dr. Rickin Shah, founders of PURE Regenerative Medicine, to discuss their approach to exosomes in aesthetics and experience with EXO CR.
Why did you get into regenerative medicine and aesthetics?
Dr. Estes & Dr. Shah: We’re both ER doctors, and we got exceedingly tired of the sick care model where patients don’t go see their doctors until there’s a problem. It’s a reactive model focused on disease treatment as opposed to a proactive model addressing overall health and wellbeing.
When we started having conversations with likeminded individuals about longevity and what you can do with regenerative science, that opened the doors to a new world of medicine. Then, regenerative medicine became a natural gateway to aesthetics; once people feel better, they also care more about how they look. Through using aesthetic treatments and biologics, we can deliver on that.
Why did you add exosomes to your aesthetics offerings?
Dr. Estes & Dr. Shah: Exosomes are the lowest cost addition to your practice with the biggest benefits. The best exosomes not only decrease downtime but also improve your patient’s 5, 6, 7-week results. When you can do both of those things for your patients, it’s a no brainer. This patient is yours and will come back and keep spending with you.
What factors did you consider when choosing an exosome product?
Dr. Estes & Dr. Shah: Exosomes are biologics, so it’s important to choose the best product for your patients’ results and safety. You have to ask yourself these questions: where do the exosomes come from (is it from humans, is it from bone or fat or perinatal tissue, or is it from plants), is it from multiple donors or a single donor, what kind of lab made it, was it highly manipulated, and most importantly, does it work.
Why did you choose Chronos EXO CR?
Dr. Estes & Dr. Shah: We chose Chronos EXO CR for three main reasons. First, EXO CR is traceable back to a single source – which is highly potent umbilical cord Wharton’s Jelly – that’s been thoroughly tested for safety and sterility. Second, EXO CR is minimally manipulated, free from additives, and produced in an FDA-compliant ISO-7 lab. Third, EXO CR undergoes thorough product validation to tell you what’s in the vial and how it works on dermal fibroblasts.
As you started incorporating exosomes into your offerings, did you face any questions or objections from your patients?
Dr. Estes & Dr. Shah: The most common questions are patients who don’t understand the science and benefits, and those who aren’t sure about the additional cost.
For those who don’t understand the role of exosomes, we typically package the benefits as two-fold: decreasing downtime and enhancing results, which is really a win-win. Now, if you have a patient who is nerdy and loves the science, we love to talk science, but that’s not most patients. During the consult, we help them understand that aesthetic treatments like RF microneedling and laser resurfacing create a controlled injury, then inflammatory markers are released and need to be controlled during the healing phase, and the importance of addressing the trauma immediately post-procedure.
We definitely talk about the role of exosomes and try to sell that in during the consult, but a lot of times, we’ll talk it during the treatment or even right after. I’ll tell the patient, “You’re going to have a few more days of downtime but you’ll get really great results. But I have something in the freezer that will knock your downtime down in half.” When the patient is in your chair, and they see what their skin looks like post-treatment, I almost always close the exosome add-on in that scenario.
And can you share with us a bit more about your pricing strategy for EXO CR?
Dr. Estes & Dr. Shah: Instead of charging $400-500 for a vial, we only charge $300. We’re not trying to make a huge profit on EXO CR; we make our money on the fact that our patients are happy with their results and lack of downtime, so they’re more likely to come back for more treatments and tell their friends.
When we know we’re using EXO CR, it also gives us the confidence and freedom to go more aggressive in our settings without increasing downtime. With this pricing & treatment strategy, we mitigate our costs, make a little profit, patients are happier, and it solidifies their confidence in what we can do with devices.
How does EXO CR fit into your practice's other offerings?
Dr. Estes & Dr. Shah: We really try to package EXO CR into every RF microneedling and laser resurfacing treatment. For anything that creates a controlled injury, EXO CR is a great adjunct. We also educate our patients on post-care and encourage them to use NOON skincare for at-home care after their treatments to further accelerate their healing.
As a regenerative medicine practice, we do use PRP extensively – joints and rotator cuffs and the like, but we have found that exosomes are the better application for aesthetics, and we’ve found the best product for our practice in EXO CR.
Learn more about Chronos EXO CR. Order EXO CR directly from our store at any time!
Follow PURE Regenerative Medicine on Instagram.
