Medspas: A Wellness Center That Can Help You

While a day spa is a great place for a Saturday morning manicure and pedicure, a medspa can provide cosmetic medical treatments that improve the skin. These medical clinics have grown in popularity in the past few years, and they can offer a wide range of treatments and therapies for patients looking for an aesthetic fix for skin problems.

What can a patient expect at a medspa?

Medspas, also known as medical spas, are a combination of a basic day spa and a medical clinic. They offer relaxation techniques for the mind and body, but they also specialize in noninvasive medical treatments for common skin ailments like acne and wrinkles. Unlike day spas, these facilities must be under the direct supervision of a licensed doctor to ensure patient care and safety.

What treatments are offered?

Treatments options vary by location, but overall, a medspa provides relaxation techniques like massages and facials while also performing clinical procedures like Botox® injections. Most of the medical services provided are based in either dermatology or plastic surgery and provide a patient with improved skin. Wrinkles can be treated with Botox® injections, dermal fillers or chemical peels. Laser therapy can lighten hyperpigmentation from acne, remove body hair or treat varicose veins. Depending on the facility and the staff available, some medical spas even offer more invasive medical procedures like liposuction, scar revision surgery and surgical body contouring which removes excess skin after weight loss.

Who provides the services?

Legally, every medspa location must be under the direct guidance of a medical professional. This person can be a general practitioner, but typically, the doctor who oversees the clinic is a dermatologist or plastic surgeon. The doctors provide initial medical exams, and they will consult with their nurses or estheticians on treatment plans.

The esthetician, also known as a skincare therapist, is a specialist who is trained and certified to perform noninvasive skincare procedures. State boards vary on the tasks an esthetician can perform, but in general, they can perform basic spa procedures like body massages, facials, body scrubs and body wraps. In addition to these day spa procedures, estheticians also perform acne-prone skin treatments, microdermabrasion techniques and superficial layer chemical peels.

On the other hand, doctors usually complete the procedures recognized as more medical than cosmetic. Tasks performed by the doctor include all injections, including Botox® and dermal fillers, light and laser therapy and chemical peels that will penetrate deep into the skin. As a rule, if a task involves a needle or scalpel, it must be performed by a doctor at a medspa.

Conclusion

Combining the best of both worlds, medspas provide the mental rejuvenation of a day spa and the health treatments of a medical clinic. While getting pampered at these facilities, patients can feel comfortable receiving advice from a staff that is medically trained in skincare. With knowledgeable staff and state-of-the-art technology, medical spas provide patients with quality care for both their mental wellness and their skin.

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