BOCA RATON — Wouldn’t it be nice to head to the mall, grab a latte, browse the shoe racks – and lose 10 pounds?

Sleek Med Spa in the Town Center at Boca Raton is offering “Smartlipo” liposuction procedures at its store in the mall near Saks, the first time that this procedure has been done at any mall in Palm Beach County.

Sleek Med performs Botox injections and other medical procedures in its mall location, but this is the first one that has required any sort of anesthesia, Rudnick said.

Several of Sleek Med Spa’s other mall locations in the Northeast have experimented successfully with offering liposuction; the Natick Mall in Massachusetts does 10 to 15 of the procedures a week, Rudnick said.

“It’s a novel idea that they have started,” said Dr. Jeffrey LaGrasso, a Jupiter board-certified plastic surgeon who will be doing the liposuctions for Sleek Med Spa. “What we’re offering is what you can get at a plastic surgeon’s office at the convenience of a mall.”

Others are not so sure.

“The convenience that this is in a mall is one thing, but convenience and safety are two separate issues,” said Dr. Stephan Baker, a spokesman for the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. “It’s not like buying a Gucci bag. You can’t just say, ‘This looks cute. I’ll have some of that.’ ”

LaGrasso counters that this is no impulse buy. You can walk in and make an appointment, but interested consumers must first talk with a treatment consultant and the doctor to make sure they are good candidates for the procedure.

Still, Baker cautions, shoppers might want to think carefully: “You can’t return this if you don’t like it.”

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New standards urged for treatment at spas
Use of chemicals, lasers proliferates

Legislators and doctors are pushing tougher rules for the exploding medical spa business in Massachusetts, saying some of the thousands of consumers who receive laser treatments, chemical peels, and other procedures are being put at risk by unlicensed and untrained providers.

These spas, which offer medical procedures along with traditional beauty salon services such as hair care and pedicures, would have to be licensed by the Department of Public Health, according to a proposal from a legislative task force. And laser skin procedures, including the removal of age spots and tattoos, would have to be performed by a doctor or nurse with special training.

Nonmedical practitioners – cosmetologists, electrologists, and aestheticians – would be allowed to remove body hair using a laser, but only after special training and certification.

The group said in its report that doctors and other professionals not specifically trained in dermatology have begun offering laser skin procedures, which “presents an unacceptable risk to patients.”

“An ER physician can’t just walk out of their ER and start doing Botox” injections, said Russell Aims, spokesman for the Board of Registration in Medicine, which licenses doctors and spearheaded the medical spa task force. “A hospital wouldn’t allow a dermatologist to do brain surgery.”

Because consumers pay cash for cosmetic procedures, rather than use insurance coverage, “the same standards have not been applied as in traditional medicine,” Aims said.

The number of medical spas nationwide has skyrocketed to about 2,500, compared with 500 in 2004, said Hannelore Leavy of the International Medical Spa Association. The group, based in New Jersey, does not know how many of these spas operate in Massachusetts, but task force members said there are probably several hundred, with dozens along Boston’s Newbury Street and in the Chestnut Hill section of Newton.

Regulating medical spas is complicated because they combine many different professionals under one roof, including cosmetologists, electrologists, aestheticians, nurses, and physicians. In Massachusetts, each of these professions is licensed by its own board, and each has its own standards. There are no overall regulations governing who can do certain cosmetic procedures and what type of training is required, and there is no requirement that medical spas be licensed.

Senator Joan Menard, a Democrat from Fall River who sponsored legislation based on the proposal; said she pushed for creation of the task force because she was hearing from friends and acquaintances “who were dermatologists or nurses about the growing incidence of damage to women by people who are not licensed and are using chemicals, or Botox or lasers. . . . There were people severely burned or scarred.”

The administration of Governor Deval Patrick believes that medical spas should be regulated because they perform medical procedures, although it has not taken a position on the filed legislation, said Paul Dreyer, director of healthcare safety and quality for the Department of Public Health. The agency does not have data on the frequency of problems at medical spas.

Competition among the various professional groups for cosmetic business is intense, particularly as more doctors have begun offering laser and other cosmetic treatments to satisfy their aging patients and to boost their profits while working predictable hours. Doctors’ offices would not have to be licensed as medical spas under the proposed rules.

Leavy said that only Florida has passed regulations to broadly oversee medical spas but that “all states are talking about it.” She said patient safety is not the only motivation for the push for regulation of what has become a highly lucrative business. A laser treatment to remove one age spot, for example, can cost $75 or more, and many people require more than one session.

“The dermatologists and plastic surgeons really want to corner this market,” Leavy said. “They really are the driving force, and they want to have aesthetic medicine under their wings and supervision. There are many treatments that need the supervision of a medical doctor, but also many treatments where that’s not medically necessary.”

Jeffrey Dover, a dermatologist with SkinCare Physicians in Chestnut Hill and a task force member, said that while regulating medical spas might appear to be self-serving on the part of physicians, “that’s completely false.”

He said he and his colleagues often see patients whose skin has been temporarily damaged or permanently scarred by unskilled operators. The most common problem, he said, is when operators use the wrong laser or wrong setting to remove body hair and end up removing some of the patient’s skin pigment as well, creating a spotted or zebra pattern. “There are few controls outside the doctor’s office,” he said.

In an online survey two years ago of members of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, more than half of the roughly 300 dermatologists nationwide who responded said they had seen between one and 10 patients in the previous year who suffered complications as a result of a skin procedure done by someone other than a dermatologist.

The proposed rules also would create a Board of Registration for Aestheticians, who now are licensed by the Board of Cosmetology. Aestheticians focus on skin care, while cosmetologists generally do hair and nails. The cosmetology board opposes this change. The task force also recommends allowing doctors to sell beauty products and other such items in their offices, a practice now banned by the Board of Registration in Medicine.

Medical spa owners in Massachusetts are split over the proposed rules.

Andrew Reudnick, president of Sleek Medical Spa, a Florida company with four locations in Massachusetts, said the regulations would “make it a much safer environment for consumers.”

But Karin Flynn, owner of Laser Spa in Newton, said that requiring spas to comply with a new set of extensive rules “would raise prices enormously” for consumers. Flynn, a licensed electrologist, performs laser treatments on hair and skin and believes she should be allowed to continue doing so. One reason for limiting laser skin procedures to doctors and nurses, task force members said, is to ensure that a medically trained professional evaluates a patient’s skin for possible cancerous spots.

Flynn said she requires customers to be checked by their dermatologist or doctor before she begins a treatment or by the plastic surgeon who works in her spa. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and it’s all I do,” she said. “I am not sure a doctor would give it the same attention.”

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Issaquah’s best kept secret is now out. A 10,606-square-foot state of the art medical center with a world-class luxury spa discretely tucked away in the Maple Street building (the large office building behind Joe’s) has been gaining word-of-mouth exposure for its unique offerings, beautiful surroundings and result-oriented treatments. Avikai recently celebrated two years of operation and was awarded “Best of Issaquah 2008” in the spa division by U.S. Local Business Association.

Avikai has a Health Center with naturopathic doctors, accepts most insurance plans, and combines the best of health-based medicine with a European approach to noninvasive youthful aging and pampering. Avikai means “fountain of life” and clients are happily discovering this new paradigm for health-based medicine in a luxury spa setting right in their own back yard.

The Bali Suite offers side-by-side massage and the Aahh-vikai Mineral Jacuzzi bath is popular for its authentic design as an island escape, complete with a domed palapa ceiling.

The Health Center is a 2,000-square-foot specialty area which can accommodate colonic therapy, IV Chelation for detoxification and health maintenance, as well as a private red infrared sauna with shower for detoxification and weight loss.

The Health Center is supervised by Dr. Suzanne Sykurski who specializes in hCG weight loss protocols. Rapidly gaining in popularity, hCG weight loss has been clinically shown to help someone safely lose up to 20 pounds per month by resetting the body’s metabolism.

Clients also find the noninvasive facelifts using proven microcurrent technology from Europe effective in restoring a more youthful look without surgery or injections. Nutritional consults, hormonal balancing, and lifestyle education empowers Avikai clients to look and feel their best without the use of pharmaceutical drugs and invasive surgeries.

Avikai is leading the way in offering corporate wellness programs tied to Health Savings Accounts and Flex Spending Accounts to help curb the cost of health care for business which has seen insurance costs rise to up to 20 percent of gross revenues.

The U.S. is spending more that $1 trillion for drugs, health care costs based on treating diseases that are out of control. Americans are experiencing epidemic levels of diabetes, heart disease cancer and obesity. Avikai offers a new model to those determined to optimize health and appearance at any age.

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Florida Day Spa, Med Spa, Medical Spa, Miami Fl Spas

LAKE OSWEGO — Kellie Bishop had to decide: her face or her leg?
The 43-year-old Dundee resident wanted both Botox to smooth out a few frown lines on her forehead and sclerotherapy to reduce the appearance of veins on the side of her leg. In headier economic times, she might have gotten both, but the tanking economy forced her to prioritize.
“I can always wear pants, but I have to look with my face,” Bishop said last week after receiving her third Botox treatment.

These days, it seems the knife has come under the knife.

At the Lake Oswego practice of plastic surgeon Dr. Lee D. Robinson and across the nation, fewer patients are choosing expensive combination surgeries, such as the face-lift in conjunction with an eyelid lift. But business is booming for chemical peels, microderm abrasions, Botox injections and laser rejuvenation.

“What’s happening,” Robinson said, “is that some patients that would normally opt for surgery are at least temporarily saying, ‘I’ll opt for something nonsurgical that will tide me over for a number of months.’”

Next door, at Robinson’s Oswego Spa & Laser, the number of clients asking for facials dropped about 25 percent this summer. Business hit a particularly painful stretch in October, when the stock market took a huge plunge, before picking up again after the November election.

“I know people who say, ‘If we have to change the diet, I’ll feed my kids Cheerios if it means I can get my Botox,’” Dorothy Ryan, a licensed aesthetician in Robinson’s Oswego Spa & Laser, said. “They still want to maintain themselves.”

In a business that depends on discretionary income, Ryan sees many clients forgoing feel-good facials, such as the spa’s $90 classic facial, to invest in chemical peels that are a bit more costly but also more effective. The spa has seen about a 10 percent rise in the number of clients getting peels.

“If they’re going to spend money, they’re looking for a physical result,” Ryan said. “They want to look like they’ve improved, not just, ‘OK, I had a relaxing hour.’”

Stressful times
On a recent morning, the Pet Shop Boys’ song “West End Girls” filtered through the operating room as Robinson used a cauterizing instrument as she performed a chin implant for a male patient. The caustic smell of burnt flesh lingered as Robinson cut open a small pocket inside the patient’s mouth, slipped in the silicone implant and stitched it up — all in a quick half-hour.

Single surgeries are typical these days, ranging from mole removal or earlobe reductions that cost a few hundred dollars to a $9,000 face-lift. Combination surgeries can cost $15,000 to $20,000.

“We’ve seen a softening in the big, major stuff,” Robinson said. “We tell patients that if it’s too much of a strain (financially), wait a few months. Patients who don’t have anxiety over it make better patients.”

Two years ago, Robinson had a two-month waiting period for surgeries. Now that waiting time has been slashed in half.

Because Robinson specializes in elective facial procedures, his clients tend to be older and more financially stable than clients of a practice that specializes in breast augmentation, for example. The large majority of his patients pay with credit cards, though some use cashier’s checks, and a small number pay with cash or payment plans.

Customers who used to refinance their homes to pay for big-ticket items — cars, vacations, plastic surgery — are finding they just can’t use their homes as credit cards anymore, he said.

Keeping up appearances
For some clients, there’s no time like today’s stressful weeks for cosmetic procedures.

“I have some patients who are getting ready for job interviews,” said Deb-ee Jones, a licensed aesthetician in the spa. “They want to look younger as they’re looking for a new job.”

Others just don’t want to give in to the anxiety of the moment, nurse Heather Allen said.

“I have patients who say, ‘I need a pick-me-up, anything, Botox, laser, a little quick-fix,’” Allen said. “If everything else looks down, you might as well look better. You don’t have to look like everything is falling apart.”

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Latest Facelifting Techniques Include Fat Repositioning to Deliver More Youthful, Natural Results

TELLURIDE, CO Among the hot topics at this week’s American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) Annual Winter Symposium at The Peaks Resort was minimally invasive face lifting and restoration of facial volume — a new technique which helps to achieve a more youthful, long lasting result.

Among those lecturing at the symposium was Dual Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon Andrew Jacono, M.D., F.A.C.S. During his speech, entitled “Using Orbital and Buccal Fat Pad Repositioning to Complete Your Endoscopic Midface Lift,” Dr. Jacono addressed the increasingly popular pairing of endoscopic face lifts and fat repositioning, which yield improved, natural results.

Dr. Jacono performs endoscopic midface lifting, which utilizes only two small incisions in the hair line. This less invasive facelift technique, combined with the repositioning of the orbital and buccal fat pads (deep fat pads in the face) over the cheeks, hollows under the eyes and smile line areas, restores the youthful, heart shape face of those in their twenties.

“With age, the face deflates and loses volume. However, old face lifting techniques with larger incisions did not restore the youthful volume in the arc of the eyes and the cheeks,” he said. “The result was a sculpted look and scarring – the tell tale signs of plastic surgery.”

With more natural, long-lasting results, and a downtime of only five to seven days, patients can achieve a younger look without the invasiveness and sculpted looks of outdated facelifts.

About Dr. Jacono

A Dual Board Certified, Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon with offices in Manhattan and Great Neck, NY, Dr. Andrew Jacono is Section Head of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at North Shore University Hospital Manhasset; Assistant Clinical Professor, Division of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary; Director of The New York Center for Facial Plastic and Laser Surgery and J SPA Medical Day Spa in Great Neck, NY, author of the book FACE THE FACTS and creator of J PAK SYSTEMS — two convenient, homeopathic remedies to help optimize healing after aesthetic injectable and surgical procedures.

A leading expert in aesthetic plastic surgery, Dr. Jacono’s clinical research has been presented at several national meetings and symposiums, and his articles have been featured in leading medical journals including Facial Plastic Surgery and Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery. He is regularly quoted on current trends in facial plastic surgery in national magazines, newspapers and television.

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Destiny Health Group Launches Growth Strategy Acquiring Acclaimed Sherman Oaks, CA Med Spa, Aspect Beauty

Destiny Health Group LLC, a California based Health and Wellness Company launched its new growth strategy with the acquisition of the medical spa, Aspect Beauty.

With recent studies identifying the fastest growing retail healthcare segment as minimally invasive cosmetic procedures, combined with the ever growing consumer interest in looking and feeling young, we decided that Medical Spas are the best starting point to grow our business

What’s great is today’s busy consumer can come to Aspect Beauty for their complete beauty needs: new hair style, makeover, laser skin rejuvenation, Botox, Juvaderm plus more, all in one convenient location.

Destiny Health Group was interested in Aspect Beauty for numerous reasons including its team of highly skilled professionals, it’s prominent location next to Macy’s, Ann Taylor and William Sonoma within Westfield’s Sherman Oaks Fashion Square Mall as well as the loyal clientele that frequent the location.

Sherman Oaks, CA  Destiny Health Group LLC, a California based Health and Wellness Company launched its new growth strategy with the acquisition of the medical spa, Aspect Beauty. Destiny Health Group LLC was formed by partners Dennis Draudt and Robert Zasa to leverage the consumer’s heightened interest in wellness and retail healthcare.

Forming a strategic alliance with a top industry player, Acara Partners, nationally recognized medical spa experts, to provide operational and marketing expertise, Destiny Health Group is focusing its initial growth on the acquisition of west coast based medical spas. “With recent studies identifying the fastest growing retail healthcare segment as minimally invasive cosmetic procedures, combined with the ever growing consumer interest in looking and feeling young, we decided that Medical Spas are the best starting point to grow our business”, states Dennis Draudt, CEO for Destiny Health Group.

Aspect Beauty combines the traditional services found in a spa and salon with the latest in cosmetic medical technology to bring skin care and beauty to new levels. “What’s great is today’s busy consumer can come to Aspect Beauty for their complete beauty needs: new hair style, makeover, laser skin rejuvenation, Botox, Juvaderm plus more, all in one convenient location.” comments Mr. Draudt.

Destiny Health Group also plans to expand the service offering in the New Year to include Medically Supervised Weight Loss and SmartLipo. Both will support the medical spa program with weight reduction and body sculpting. Already many new changes have taken place with the introduction of Redkin and Pureology Hair Lines and YoungBlood Makeup.

“Destiny Health Group was interested in Aspect Beauty for numerous reasons including its team of highly skilled professionals, it’s prominent location next to Macy’s, Ann Taylor and William Sonoma within Westfield’s Sherman Oaks Fashion Square Mall as well as the loyal clientele that frequent the location.” states Francis X. Acunzo, CEO of Acara.

About Destiny Health Group:
Destiny Health Group provides physician-directed comprehensive and integrated wellness and spa programs. Destiny’s primary focus is to promote healthy aging, optimize physical and mental performance and enhance the overall well being, appearance and quality of life for its clients. Under the leadership of CEO, Dennis Draudt and Co-owner Bob Zasa, Destiny Health Group is implementing their comprehensive plan to integrate healthcare, wellness and aesthetic services to promote a healthy lifestyle. 

About Acara Partners:
Acara is the business team for the spa industry offering turnkey solutions to owners, operators, physicians and investors seeking to develop, manage and market their Spa, Medical Spa, Wellness Center, Cosmetic or Aesthetic Practice. Acara is led by industry leader Francis X. Acunzo and his team of expert consultants with over 25 years of spa, med spa and retail healthcare experience. 

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Spas in Raleigh North Carolina

The Aesthetic Medispa

Services: laser resurfacing, injectable procedures, hair and vein laser treatments, microdermabrasion

Bluewater Spa
Services: laser hair removal, microdermabrasion, aesthetic surgery, therapeutic massages, facials, Botox, Restylane

Body Chic
Services: VacuStep therapy, cellulite reduction programs.

BodyLase Skin Spa

Services: laser hair removal, skin rejuvenation, Botox, wrinkle fillers, lip augmentation, laser vein care, waxing, facials, eyelash extensions, LipoDissolve

D’Elegance Day Spa & Salon
Services: massage, facials, waxing, nails, body treatments, hair, makeup

Devine Salon Spa & Wellness
Services: nails, hair, massage, facials, makeup, hydrotherapy tub

Douglas Carroll
Services: hair, body treatments, massage, makeup, nails, facials, peels

Erlina’s Latin Style Beauty Salon and Spa – Dominican
Services: hair, skin care, facials, waxing, massage, nails

Generations Day Salon & Spa
Services: hair, waxing, nails, massage, facial treatments, body wraps, glycolic peels, cellulite treatment

Iatria Spa and Health Center

Services: facial treatments, microdermabrasion, reflexology, massage, nails, body scrubs and wraps, elos hair removal

Image Hair & Body Salon
Services: hair, facials, nails, waxing, massages, body wraps, glycolic peels

Jolie the Day Spa
Services: facials, massage, body treatments, waxing, makeup artist, hair design, nails

Lux Salon
Services: hair, waxing, nails, scalp massage

Massage Envy

Services: deep tissue, Swedish, sports, hot stone and reflexology massages

Natural Body Spa
Services: body therapies, waxing, tinting, facials, hand
and foot treatments, nails, massage

Peles Salon and Day Spa
Services: hair, facials, body treatments, hair removal, makeup, nails

Physios Salon
703 Tucker St.
919-828-1080
Services: hair, sunless tanning, massage, nails, makeup, microdermabrasion, waxing

Skin Essence
8340 Bandford Way
Suite 107
919-848-0199
 Services: microdermabrasion, facials, Revitalight
treatment, massage, aromatherapy, nails, ion cleanse,
lash and brow tinting, makeup

Skin Sense
Services: nails, body treatments, seaweed treatments,
body wraps, facial treatments, massage, reflexology, hair removal, makeup artist

Skin Sense – Teens Too
Services: massage, facial, manicure/pedicure, waxing and body treatments catering to teens and ’tweens

Studio 108
Services: hair, massage therapy, nails

Synergy Spa
Services: facials, resurfacing treatments, microdermabrasion, natural skin peels, waxing, tinting, makeup artist, massages, body wraps, nails, Botox

Tanas Hair Design and Day Spa

Services: hair, nails, microdermabrasion, body wraps, lash and brow services, massage therapy, body treatments, hair removal, permanent makeup

The Museum Spa
3633 Harden Road
Suite 200
919-785-9696
 Services: massage, facials, laser hair removal, permanent makeup, reflexology, microdermabrasion, Botox, chemical peels and other cosmetic treatments

The Oakwood Spa
Historic Oakwood- Downtown Raleigh
112-B N. Person St.
 Services: massage, facials, waxing, tinting, therapeutic footbaths

The Spa by Mitchells
Triangle Town Center
3721 Sumner Blvd.
919-792-2299
Services: healing massage therapy, cleansing facials,
body treatments, manicures and pedicures

The Spa of the Healing Arts
9203 Baileywick Road
Suite 103
919-518-1495
Services: massage therapy, pain and stress relief treatments, facials and organic skin care, nail salon, Ion cleanse

Von Kekel Salon Spa

Services: facials, body treatments, massages, brow and
lash tinting, hair, nails, waxing

White Dahlia
8351 Standonshire Way
Suite 109
919-845-5525
Services: Swedish, deep tissue, sports, hot stone and pregnancy massages

Day Spa, Med Spa, Medical Spa, North Carolina Spas

IAPAM Debunks Top 3 Medical Spa Myths

In today’s economy, and given the growth in accessibility and acceptance of aesthetic medicine procedures, it is very important that practitioners understand: “what is working” and “what is not” in their practices, in order to have a successful and profitable medical spa. Debunking the top 3 “Medical Spa Myths” may be all that is standing in the way of any practice from reaching its fullest potential.

The IAPAM (International Association for Physicians in Aesthetic Medicine) has reviewed its member profiles in order to identify some of the common traits among its most successful medical spas and aesthetic medicine practices.

Jeff Russell comments that, “In our research, we have found that Read more…

Med Spa, Medical Spa, Spa Business, Spa Industry