How Dr. Paul Jarrod Frank is Building a Dermatology Empire

Dr. Paul Jarrod Frank is reclining on a sofa in his new office on the Upper East Side. It’s a decidedly fashion-forward space: the treatment rooms feel like expensive hotel suites. There is flattering recessed lighting throughout and a monochromatic color scheme with pops of gold and brass. A black-and-white photograph by Steven Klein hangs in his office. The result is like a combination of a luxury yacht and a high-end designer boutique. It’s the antithesis of the generic, white-walled med spas sprouting around the city faster than marijuana dispensaries, which surely goes over well with his fashion industry clientele, like Rachel Zoe and Marc Jacobs.

“I created an experiential environment to make people feel like when you go into a Chanel or Tom Ford store,” he explains. “[It feels] like everything is turning into Zara. What is missing is the higher-end type of service. That’s what I want to be as I continue to expand my business.” At his uptown beauty factory — his second in Manhattan, the other being in the West Village — Dr. Frank has four board-certified dermatologists (in addition to himself ), nine nurses, and over 30 lasers. He still treats patients himself, jetting to Florida during the winter to see clients in Miami and Palm Beach, and to the Hamptons every summer. “I still haven’t figured out a way to grow more arms or to be in two places at once,” he jokes.

Dr. Frank’s booming skin and body business — which utilizes everything from Botox to body sculpting, and new technologies like Emface (a muscular stimulation device that keeps facial structure the same as one ages) and Ellacor (which can remove skin without the recovery time of excisions) — caters to a growing population eager to look great, regardless of the price. “We live in a world where everyone looks at themselves as a visible brand,” he explains, noting a recent rise in younger patients and men. “Whether you’re an actor or you make candlesticks, everyone is on social media. Everyone is selling their brand through the visual aspects of not only what they do, but themselves. People must look good to be successful.”

Despite this, Dr. Frank dissuades his patients from going under the knife as long as possible. As one might expect, he is revered for making patients look natural and never over-filled or over-injected. “One of the greatest advancements we are seeing is technologies and preventative treatments that will keep people off the plastic surgeon’s table.”