Medical Spa or Day Spa: How to Choose

Did you know that there is a difference between a medical spa and a day/resort spa?

Choosing what type of spa to go to for your aesthetic treatments largely depends on what services you are seeking.  And yes it does make a difference where you go.

Many doctors today own their own spa facility or have affiliations with spas. Medical spas provide services that day or resort spas are not licensed to provide.

Here is a list of things to consider when making a choice:

1.  A medical spa has a licensed doctor on site who oversees the facility and can preform medical treatments such as Botox, filler injections, medical grade chemical peels, aggressive microdermabrasion and  Laser treatments. Some plastic surgeons’ own a medical spa which is part of  their surgical practice, while others may  own a medical spa off-site at a nearby location.

2. Some medical spas are owned and operated by medical doctors who are licensed and board certified in other specialties such as General Medicine, General Surgery, Anesthesiology , and Dentistry to name a few.

3. Some Medical-Spas or Laser Centers, may not have a medical doctor or a RN on site at all times.  Use caution when booking appointments. It’s always a good practice to ask if the doctor is on site and to know who the doctor is and whom to contact in a medical emergency.

4. Day Spas or Resort Spas are owned and operated by licensed Estheticians, Resort Management Companies or in some states licensed Cosmetologists. States have different laws as to what services can be preformed by estheticians and cosmetologists. Cosmetologists are limited in what aesthetic services they can preform. If you unsure, check with you state’s board.

5.Day Spas’ services are non-medical and focus on beauty and relaxation while offering an array of skin and body treatments. Though many day spas today employ highly skilled and trained estheticians that can preform non-medical grade light chemical peels, basic micodermabrasion treatments, light based therapies, and use a line of medical-grade skincare products.

Laser treatments, chemical peels, injectables, and microdermabrasion are the kinds of medically-based procedures that need to only be performed in a doctor’s office or a medical spa with an on-site physician. It just isn’t safe any other way.