Have you encountered the term, “med spa” recently? Increasing in popularity, medical spas (also sometimes called MediSpas or med spas) are a hybrid between your traditional day spa and a doctor’s office. 

The biggest difference between a med spa and a traditional spa are the services offered. While day spas specialize in treatments such as massages, facial masks, and waxing, med spas can perform treatments that require the oversight of a medical professional. 

While not all procedures and treatments will be performed by a medical doctor, all medical spas are required to maintain affiliation and oversight by a licensed medical professional. In many cases, a registered nurse practitioner will perform the procedures. These treatments include, but are not limited to: the administration of injectables such as Botox, laser hair removal, and minor surgical procedures.

  • Services Found at Med Spas

    Medical spas offer a vast number of treatments. For ease, we break these treatments out into three categories: face, body, and hair

    Face

    Many medical spas  offer or administer the following facial treatments:

    1. Dermal fillers, such as Juvederm, Restylane, Radiesse, Sculptura, and others are used to smooth wrinkles around the mouth and eyes and restore volume to the skin and lips 
    2. Injectables, such as the popular Botox , used on the forehead and around the eyes to reduce creases and wrinkles resulting from facial expressions 
    3. LED light therapies 
    4. Skin needling 
    5. Microdermabrasion 

    Find more information on facial treatments here.

    Body

    Many med spa body treatments focus on weight reduction and fat loss treatments. Popular body treatments include: 

    1. Minimally-invasive liposuction 
    2. Body contouring, and more recently 
    3. CoolSculpting 

    Minimally-invasive liposuction is typically conducted using high powered lasers that require only a small incision point. 

    Body contouring utilizes radio frequencies to reduce excess skin and fat by tightening the underlying tissue. 

    CoolSculpting freezes fat cells, which your body then naturally removes.

    Find more information on body treatments here.

    Hair

    Many med spas offer hair treatments. However, these treatments can be further broken down into two sub categories: hair removal and hair restoration.

    Hair Removal

    Many med spas offer laser hair removal. During this procedure, providers use a concentrated beam of light that removes unwanted hair and inhibits future hair growth in the selected area. Although incredibly successful in delaying the growth of new hair, laser hair removal is not a permanent treatment. 

    Hair Restoration

    Some medical spas may offer hair restoration therapies. These therapies typically involve low-level laser therapy, which is a non-invasive, non-chemical treatment to help prevent hair loss. Other medical spas may offer what is known as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy. PRP therapy is a multi-step medical procedure which draws and isolates a patient’s plasma (which contains a number of natural hair growth mechanisms within it) and injects the plasma into the patient’s scalp. 

    Find more information on hair treatments here.

  • How to Know Which Med Spa is Right for Me

    When choosing a med spa, it is critical that you take the treatment, costs, facility, and provider into account. At The Fountain, we try to make that as easy as possible. By incorporating The Fountain’s proprietary rating system, The Fountain Score, into your selection process, you can rest assured that our analysis highlights providers that have exemplary results. If you haven’t heard about The Fountain Score or the Fountain Effect, read more on our scoring methodology here.

    Other tips for choosing a med spa:

    1. Study the list of treatments offered at a med spa. Does it seem long? Many of our readers and mystery shoppers have noted an increased quality of service when med spas specialize in a smaller sample of overall procedures. While many med spa treatments are not surgical in nature, we always suggest that you learn as much as possible about your desired treatment, and this includes continued education while at a specific practice. 
    2. Identify a provider who has adequate training, experience performing the same procedure, and has all required certifications. 
    3. Ask for before & after photos. Every reputable med spa will have a portfolio of images to reassure their clientele and market their success stories. 

    For more information on choosing a provider, check out “How to Choose the Best Specialist Doctor or Medical Provider for You.“

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