Skincare & Beauty

Facial work divides into what is used in the treatment room and what is sold or recommended for home use, and the two have different buying patterns. Treatment-room products are bought in professional sizes and go through steadily; retail sizes are bought in smaller quantities against what clients actually come back for. This category covers cleansers and toners, serums and ampoules, moisturisers, face masks, peels and exfoliants, massage oils, and sun care.

Peels are the line where the supplier's own documentation matters most. Acid strength, pH and the free-acid value together decide what a product does, and in several markets what may be applied by a beauty therapist rather than by a medical professional is set by law and not by the label. A supplier selling into the trade will state training or certification requirements on the product page, and a product sold without them is not necessarily one you may use.

Massage oil is at the other end of the scale and is still worth a thought: base oils oxidise, and a large bottle bought cheaply in spring can smell rancid by autumn in a warm room. Buy to the volume you will genuinely use, check whether a supplier posts to your address before you fill a basket, and take the final price, the stock and the shipping terms from their own page, which is where they are decided.