This week, Amy Wechsler, a dermatologist in Manhattan, is introducing a side hustle of sorts: a street-level clinic called Spotless that aspires to be the Drybar of acne care, with a touch of a medspa thrown in.
“We’re aiming to provide acne care that’s efficient, expert, convenient and at a good price,” Dr. Wechsler said in an interview at her sleek office off Park Avenue.
Spotless plans to open on Thursday in a bright storefront on Lexington Avenue at 75th Street, downstairs from a Pilates studio and a couple blocks from a bustling frozen yogurt window at Butterfield Market. The Spotless treatment menu includes extractions, salicylic acid peels and zit-thwarting low dose steroid shots. Appointments can be made on an app or a website; walk-ins are welcome. Each service is performed by a nurse practitioner or physician assistant; and each is trained by Dr. Wechsler and able to prescribe acne treatments like Retin-A and Accutane.
Dr. Wechsler, who founded Spotless with her daughter, Zoe Wechsler, 27, says that the combination of a clear specialty and a medical staff is what sets it apart from the competition.
“We want to do one thing expertly and really well rather than spreading ourselves out,” she said.
There are, of course, plenty of other options for blemishes and breakouts available beyond a doctor’s office or the Duane Reade skin-care aisle. There’s Heyday, a national chain with a branch that is in easy strolling distance from Spotless. It offers a $155 “Essential Facial” that’s personalized with options like extractions and exfoliation.
Silver Mirror Facial Bar also has a location nearby, with an $169 “Acne-Fighting Facial” on the menu. There’s a branch of Glowbar a few blocks from Spotless, too; its $80 half-hour customizable facials can include chemical peels to unclog pores and help with minor acne scarring.
Businesses likes these tend to offer services from licensed aestheticians who also tackle wrinkles, dullness and dry skin. Medspas, which typically handle a variety of concerns, are usually staffed more along the lines of Spotless.
Dr. Wechsler is undeterred by the competition.
“Many of them are great at what they do, but we’re doing something different,” she said. “We’re doing all acne, all the time.”
At Spotless, services are $100 after an initial $250 consultation; there are also discounted packages. Dr. Wechsler’s dermatology office charges $1,500 for a first-time patient consultation; a chemical peel there is $400.
Dr. Wechsler and her daughter came up with the idea for Spotless a couple of years ago. They’ve both dealt with acne. The younger Ms. Wechsler noticed her friends grappling with it, too. Dr. Wechsler says acne is a concern for about a third of her patients.
“If you look at any dermatology practice, acne is the No. 1 complaint,” said Dr. Valerie Callender, a dermatologist in Maryland who is president of the American Acne & Rosacea Society, a nonprofit organization for medical professionals. “We treat tons of acne patients all day long.”
But getting to the skin doctor can be time-consuming, intimidating and expensive. That’s what inspired Priya Patel, a physician assistant, to open the Pimple Place in Santa Monica, Calif. Located near a branch of the high-end supermarket Erewhon, home of the Hailey Bieber-approved Strawberry Glaze Skin Smoothie, it’s an approachable ground-floor space with a concept similar to that of Spotless.
The aim, Ms. Patel said, is to “help people that just need good skin care, advice and possible prescription medication, if and when needed.”
Even so, the Pimple Place offers Botox and anti-aging lasers, though managing acne is its specialty.
“We know people are going to come in saying, ‘Could you do my Botox? Could you do my filler?’ and technically we could,” Ms. Wechsler said, sitting on a paint can at Spotless while it was under construction. “We are choosing to turn those people away and say no. We are only focused on acne because it’s so important to get that right.”
Her youthful eye attended to offerings at Spotless like logo tote bags, along with a selection of skin-care products from brands like La Roche-Posay and Clinique. Spotless also sells some acne-adjacent items, like press-on manicures to discourage anxious patients from nail-biting.
“We toe the line at Spotless of being fun and inviting but also exuding expertise, which is more important,” Ms. Wechsler said. “We really want it to seem very welcoming, but also you know you’re going to get good care here, and it’s still a clinical environment.”
The Wechslers are certainly taking Spotless seriously. They’ve raised $2.6 million in investment to get it off the ground, Dr. Wechsler said. She earned a master’s degree in business administration from Columbia Business School last year. She studied there in part, she said, “to figure out how to scale a part of my business.”
A second Spotless location is planned for next year, most likely in downtown Manhattan, with the goal of opening more after that.
“We want to go where the needs are,” Dr. Wechsler said. “I hope we need to be in a lot of places.”
