Curology sold a prescription with Reddit posts and creator videos.
Facebook and Google ads failed at first, so Curology bought formats long enough to explain itself. It has served more than 6 million patients since 2014.
BLOOM10X did not work with Curology. This breakdown uses public sources only, linked below.
- 2014Founded as PocketDerm by a dermatologist
- Sep 2015$4.2M first round; renamed Curology
- Aug 2016$15M Series B after 5x growth in a year
- Jul 2026Rx acne kit in 1,000 Walmart stores
- Sep 20266M+ patients, 28M+ bottles shipped
- Oct 2026Dove Cameron collection, sold only on curology.com
A cheap consult, then a bottle every month.
What a month costs
From explanation to a monthly bottle
“Our business has grown 5x in the past year.”
Five plays behind the growth.
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Test the name before the logo
Investors pushed the founder to test “PocketDerm” against new names. A naming firm cost about $20,000; three blind surveys described the same service under different names, and PocketDerm came last. After the 2015 switch, site visitors and conversions nearly doubled (Pear Healthcare Playbook, Aug 2026).
Copy this: before a rebrand or a new hero line, run the options as blind ad or survey tests and let the numbers pick.
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Buy room to explain
Early Facebook and Google ads did not work: buyers had no words yet for telehealth or compounded formulas. Reddit did, because its ads allowed longer copy (Pear, Aug 2026). A Reddit pixel still loads on the quiz today.
Copy this: if your product needs a paragraph, buy formats that hold one: long Reddit posts, advertorials, long-form video.
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Let creators teach it
Beauty creators on YouTube, then Instagram and TikTok, made five-minute videos walking viewers through the product (Pear). One, by Hyram, ran 14 minutes, offered “one FREE month” through his own link and has 1.22M views (YouTube, Jul 2020).
Copy this: give every creator a unique link and the same offer, and brief them to teach the problem, not read a script.
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Keep moving the entry price
In 2016 the plan was $20 a month. A 2021 Curology video mentions a $5 trial bottle; in September 2026 the first bottle was free plus $5.45 shipping (Curology, Sep 2026). On Nov 10, 2026 the product page asked a $14.95 consultation fee.
Copy this: treat the first-order price as a test variable, and change one thing at a time.
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Use stores as a door back online
Target, Amazon, CVS and Walmart followed (Pear). The Walmart kit costs $24.97, needs no subscription and holds a code for a 60-day prescription redeemed on curology.com (Curology, Jul 2026).
Copy this: put a code or QR in every retail box that unlocks something only your site sells.
The buy box sends you to a skin quiz.
- 1One button, every page“Find your formula” sits in the header and opens the quiz.
- 2Two trust badges“Rx” and “HSA/FSA eligible” before the product name.
- 3Custom FormulaRxA 30-day supply, made per patient after a consult.
- 4The anchorOne-time purchase at $34.95 a bottle.
- 5Subscribe, preselected$29.95 a month struck through, $14.95 for the first box.
- 6Get startedLeads to the quiz and a provider, not to a cart.
The path, in page order
- 1Offer firstA banner above the product states the trial and its fee.
- 2A price to compareThe one-time price makes the subscription look small.
- 3Default to subscribeThe cheaper option is already ticked.
- 4No cartThe button starts a consult.
- 5A question as headlineThe quiz page opens on one line and one button.
- 6Effort that builds commitment“Tell us about you” covers skin, goals, history and photos.
- 7The expert stepThe product page says a provider can prescribe 3 custom-strength ingredients in 1 formula.
Our wireframe of curology.com/products/custom-formula-acne and quiz.curology.com on Nov 10, 2026. Not a copy of their page.
Four CRO lessons for a Shopify brand
- Show a one-time price. It is the anchor that makes the subscription read as the deal. Conversion
- Preselect the plan you want sold. Curology ticks subscribe; the buyer has to opt out of the cheaper price.
- Put the offer above the product. One line in a banner, with the fee in the same sentence.
- Sell the routine on top. The Dove Cameron set is $24.95 with a prescription on the quiz page. Raise order value
Three screens before any provider.
“Ready to discover your personalized Rx?”
quiz.curology.com redirects to a landing page for face care with one headline and one button. The page is set to noindex, so it lives behind ads and buttons.
Ad pixels for Meta, TikTok, Reddit, Snap, Pinterest, Amazon, Microsoft and a streaming-TV platform load on it.
“Try for $14.95, first month”
A round badge carries the price; the fine print says the first box lasts 30 days, for new subscribers only, and other fees may apply.
The Dove Cameron version of the page offers the four-piece set for $24.95 on the first shipment, subscription required.
“3 custom-strength ingredients in 1 formula”
The page shows the idea as a periodic-table chart with example strengths, then notes ingredients are subject to consultation.
The in-house pharmacy launched with about two dozen formulations, per the founder.
How “Egg’s #CurologyJourney” is built.
- 1Problem firstThe narrator is too embarrassed by her skin to post selfies.
- 2A joke about the ad itselfShe ignores a Curology ad, then sees it “like eighty three more times.”
- 3The process, in one breathFill out the survey, upload selfies, a provider makes a formula.
- 4The proof of “custom”The bottle arrives with her name on it.
- 5The offerThe description links a free month-long trial.
Our wireframe, from the official 59-second video below (Jan 29, 2019). Not a copy of the ad.
“The medical rigor of a dermatologist-developed skincare company and the cultural relevance of a singular creative voice.”
Twenty live ads, two new hooks.
“The Dove Cameron Ethereal Glow Set Is Here”
Four ads, launched with the collection.
See an ad →“Your New Routine Comes With a Cloud Bag”
Four ads lead on a free bag, not the formula.
See an ad →“One Step. Treat + Blur.”
Two ads; the site sells DayPrimeRx as acne treatment plus blurring primer.
See an ad →Counts are Meta’s estimates of active US ads on Nov 10, 2026. Headline counts are from the 20 ads the Library API returned.
Read it with three caveats.
- It is prescription care. A provider decides each formula. A Shopify product has no consult step, so a quiz must earn its place with a better pick.
- Reddit was cheap and early. The founder says the format worked because buyers had no words for the product yet. That window has closed for most categories.
- Results claims are theirs. Curology’s pages cite self-reported trial results. We don’t repeat them, and a brand copying the layout needs its own substantiation.
- What we’d change: show the $29.95 renewal in the banner beside the $14.95 first month, not only under the radio button. Compare Hims & Hers, which also sells through a quiz.
Seven moves for a $1M–$10M brand.
- Test names, headlines and offers blind before you commit to one. Creative
- Buy long formats for products that need explaining: Reddit posts, advertorials, long video. Meta ads
- Give each creator a unique link and the same first-order offer. Creator seeding
- Run the best creator videos as ads from their handles. Partnership ads guide
- Show a one-time price beside a preselected subscription. Conversion
- Add a code to retail boxes that unlocks something only your site sells. Retention
- Work out what a first order is worth before you set its price. LTV calculator
Where every number comes from.
- Andrew Parambath, “David Lortscher on Curology: Building a Billion-Dollar Prescription Skincare Company,” Pear Healthcare Playbook, Aug 12, 2026. pearhealthcareplaybook.substack.com
- Curology, “Curology Secures $15 Million in Series B Funding to Scale Direct-To-Consumer Subscription Skincare,” PR Newswire, Aug 24, 2016. prnewswire.com
- Curology, “Curology and Walmart Join Forces to Expand Access to Prescription Acne Care Nationwide,” PR Newswire, Jul 16, 2026. prnewswire.com
- Curology, “Curology Marks 6M Patients Served With Limited-Edition Custom FormulaRx Bottle,” PR Newswire, Sep 17, 2026. prnewswire.com
- Curology, “Dove Cameron and Curology Partner to Launch New Skincare Line,” PR Newswire, Oct 27, 2026. prnewswire.com
- Curology, Custom FormulaRx page, homepage and quiz pages, viewed Nov 10, 2026. curology.com/products/custom-formula-acne, quiz.curology.com
- Meta Ad Library, active US ads for the Curology page, viewed Nov 10, 2026 (Noom and Ro counts from the same day). facebook.com/ads/library
- Hyram, “Why You Aren’t Seeing Results With Your Skin Care,” YouTube, Jul 30, 2020 (sponsored by Curology; views counted Nov 10, 2026). youtube.com
- Curology official YouTube channel, “Egg’s #CurologyJourney” (Jan 29, 2019) and “Easy Acne Care | Jack’s #CurologyJourney” (Mar 3, 2021). youtube.com/@Curology, youtube.com/@Curology
