What Is A Medspa? Your Questions Answered

A medspa offers a nice compromise between a cosmetic surgery clinic and a day spa. A clinic is where you go for your surgical operations while a day spa is a place where you get some soothing massage or facial treatments. This type of spa puts the two together, offering "lite" surgery performed under the supervision of a medical doctor, but with a less clinical feel to it. Medspas are now popping up all over the country in response to the rising demand for something that's in-between.

What Treatments Do They Offer?

While every medspa is a little different in what treatments they offer, there are a few that you can expect to find just about anywhere. These include procedures that use intense pulsed light (IPL) since this is non-invasive. They may have skin treatments like microdermabrasion, medical peels and skin tightening. Most of these clinics offer injectable treatments such as Botox, Restylane and other dermal fillers. All of their many treatments may be offered in packages designed to get you the results that you want. These are all treatments that are non-surgical, but too complex to be performed at a typical day spa.

The Doctor Is In

One of the main differences between a medspa and day spa is that you've got a physician present in medspas. The treatments that are offered there require the skills of a certified physician. They may not perform the treatments themselves, but they will definitely be overseeing everything that happens at the spa. The staff will be trained to perform the vast majority of the tasks required. Doctors who work at medspas are all certified and licensed to practice, although their specific practice areas and specializations can range pretty widely.

Is It Safe?

Many people might not consider visiting a medspa because of worries over safety. After all, it's not a real clinic; how can you make sure you'll be safe? Each state has its own strict rules and regulations regarding medical spas and they are just as tightly regulated as any hospital or clinic. Again, a physician oversees everything that goes on and makes sure that the staff is conforming to these guidelines. It also helps that most of the treatments offered are non-invasive. This means that there is no actual cutting involved; these are light surgical procedures that affect the body lightly.

Are Treatments Effective?

If these are not actually surgical procedures, what guarantee do you have that they'll actually work? If you know anything about the injectable Botox, you'll know that it produces varied results. Most people find that it works to make their skin look younger, but with all natural treatments, there is always the risk that it will not work. When you first visit a medical spa, talk to the staff about their success rate with former patients. They'll have before and after pictures to show you what their treatments can do, and they may even be able to refer you to past patients. Most spas, in order to remain competitive with the new ones constantly opening, have worked hard to develop treatment combinations that work because they know that satisfied patients equal more business.

The medspa offers a wonderful alternative to cosmetic surgery. If you're not sure you want to go under the knife to look your best and turn back the years, visit your local spa and see what they have to offer.