Five questions before you recommend a serum

Serums are where most clients get lost. The bottles look alike, the prices sit close together, and the client often cannot say what she wants. Five short questions fix that. Print them on a card, keep it at the counter, and use the answers to choose between three Dear, Klairs serums.

The three serums

• EGF Blue Youth Activating Drop: a watery first serum with EGF, FGF, guaiazulene and adenosine, used right after cleansing and before toner. No added fragrance. $39.99 MSRP for 50 mL; $12.99 MSRP for the 10 mL trial size.
• Freshly Juiced Vitamin Drop: a gentle 5 percent vitamin C serum for dull-looking skin, used after toner. Contains orange oil, lavender oil and limonene. $23.00 MSRP.
• Maple Energy Infusing Serum: a syrup-textured nourishing serum with Canadian maple sap, squalane, a 3-peptide complex and adenosine, used after toner. No added fragrance. $22.00 MSRP for 30 mL.

The consultation card

1. How does your skin feel by the end of the day?

• Dry, tight or in need of cushioning: lean toward the Maple Energy Infusing Serum.
• Stressed-looking, or with leftover post-blemish marks: lean toward the EGF Blue Drop.
• Fine, but dull: lean toward the Freshly Juiced Vitamin Drop.

2. What do you use now, and in what order?

Write it down. If she has no toner, a serum that goes first after cleansing, like the EGF Blue Drop, is the easiest to add. If she already uses a toner, the Vitamin Drop and the Maple serum go after it, and the EGF Blue Drop goes before it.

3. Does anything bother your skin?

Ask about essential oils directly. If she avoids them, set the Vitamin Drop aside and choose between the EGF Blue Drop and the Maple serum, both of which have no added fragrance.

4. What texture do you like?

• Thin and watery, absorbs fast: EGF Blue Drop.
• Richer and syrup-like, with a plump-looking finish: Maple Energy Infusing Serum.

Put a drop of each on the back of her hand. Texture is often the deciding factor.

5. What would you like to see in a month?

• Brighter, more radiant-looking skin: Freshly Juiced Vitamin Drop.
• Firmer-looking, bouncy, hydrated skin: Maple Energy Infusing Serum.
• Calmer-looking skin and fading post-blemish marks: EGF Blue Drop. Post-blemish marks improved 23.21% after 4 weeks in a study of 20 adults (ProbeM Skin Research Center).

At the counter: "Before I suggest a serum, can I ask you five quick questions? It takes a minute and saves you from buying the wrong one."

Reading the answers

Count where the answers lean. Two or three answers pointing to the same serum make the choice clear. If answers split, let question 3 decide first, then question 4. Comfort and texture keep a client using a product long enough to see what it does.

After the sale

• Staple the card to her receipt or keep it in her client file.
• Remind her of the daytime step: finish mornings with an SPF.
• At her next visit, ask question 5 again and compare.

All three serums are in the catalog with case packs. For the full EGF Blue Drop brief, open the webbook.