Cosmetic Surgery Clinic
In recent years, cosmetic surgery clinics and aesthetic day spas have become more like each other, with spas offering more medical procedures and clinics offering more aesthetic procedures. Most of today's medical spas, or "medi-spas" operate under the supervision of a physician. This type of clinic can treat redness, brown spots, and broken capillaries as well as offer minimally invasive treatments like Botox and Restylane injection. Some medi-spas offer laser treatments, laser hair removal, microdermabrasion, and chemical peels.
These modern cosmetic surgery clinics may have a slightly more "clinical" feel than day spas, but many of them offer aesthetic and feel-good body treatments like massage along with minimally invasive cosmetic procedures. Anyone who chooses a medi-spa clinic should find out beforehand if the physician under whom the clinic works is on-site and performing procedures. The regulations for whether the physician must remain on-site vary from state to state. Though a medical doctor usually has to oversee the procedures performed in a medi-spa, he or she may or may not have to be on the premises.
Anyone considering having laser hair removal should find out the training and licensing of people performing the services and how long they have been doing laser hair removal. Some states do not require any licensing, and while this doesn't guarantee a poor result, the requirement for licensing makes good results more likely.
The type of cosmetic procedures done in spa settings should be those that:
Can be done in one hour or less
Cause little to no wounding of the skin
Cause minimal discomfort
Do not require an incision
Typical medi-spa procedures include anti-aging treatments, minimally invasive treatments like Botox and Restylane, and hair removal (done by a licensed practitioner). Many anti-aging and wrinkle treatments however, are too aggressive to be a good fit for a spa setting. These include deep chemical peels, and CO2 and Erbium:YAG laser treatments, because of the potential for bleeding and oozing wounds and the possibility of infection.
On the other hand, newer, non-ablative laser procedures may work well in a more spa-like setting. These procedures include CoolTouch lasers and Nlite light therapy, which improve skin and reduce mild wrinkles without removing the top layer of skin and causing rawness or oozing.
There is no one type of hybrid between a cosmetic surgery clinic and a day spa, and so-called medi-spas may be more spa-like or more clinic-like. The rule of thumb about choosing should be that the more invasive a treatment is, the closer the facility should resemble a clinic, and it should have physicians and medical personnel like nurses on-site. But as gentler treatment techniques for aging emerge, they may become staples of day spas for rejuvenation, giving today's consumer even more choice when it comes to cosmetic treatments.