Even though a medical spa in the state of Illinois is owned and operated by a physician and follows all the same rules as a medical office, a medical spa is not your typical physician’s office. A medical spa is a doctor’s office specializing in non-surgical cosmetic treatments to improve a patient’s appearance. These treatments are by and large not superficial treatments, but they are more invasive and, therefore, usually more effective than what is offered in a day spa or cosmetologist to treat cosmetic concerns.
A medical spa offers medical grade treatments, procedures, and products to treat a variety of aesthetic medical problems. Your typical doctor’s office offers treatments, procedures and medications for general medical problems. They are similar to each other in that you have a consultation with a physician to treat a problem, yet are different in the following ways:
- A medical spa uses aesthetic medicine. The specialty of aesthetic medicine encompasses all cosmetic treatments to improve appearance that are non-surgical. The physicians who are trained in aesthetic medicine usually operate their practice out of a medical spa and perform their procedures within. This specialty focuses on improving a patient’s health from the outside-in. There are numerous studies that have been done on the effect of improved appearance in the mirror positively changing mood and improving self-esteem. Often these outward improvements lead to better jobs and better relationships and overall better quality of life.
- Medical spas are service-oriented. Waiting is unusual. These offices tend to be aesthetically pleasing with beautiful and comfortable surroundings. There is definitely more attention to detail and much effort made to retain the loyalty of their patients.
- Most medical spas do not offer procedures covered by insurance as they are deemed “cosmetic”. Because medical spas do not bill third parties, procedures are the same price for everyone and rather affordable considering the results achieved without surgery and with little or no downtime. There is typically easy financing available for these cosmetic procedures. Care Credit is a form of credit card that can be utilized in medical spas to spread out payments over time, sometimes even without interest.
- Physicians that own medical spas are very interested in prevention of skin disease and anti-aging. Nicole Norris, who owns Nicole Norris MD Medical Spa in Peru, IL, counsels her patients, “Sunscreen and a hat are undeniably the best prescription for preventing aging of the skin. Tanning beds and smoking accelerate the aging process exponentially. I educate my patients on best practices for healthy skin because healthy skin is beautiful skin.”
- Most medical spas offer procedures that are minimally invasive. Needles in medical spas are not for vaccines, but instead for injecting cosmetic botulinum toxin A and dermal fillers. Some medical spas utilize lasers for laser resurfacing of age-related problems of the face, laser hair removal, and now even laser to rid the body of stubborn fat cells (SculpSure®) to achieve body contouring (think liposuction without downtime). Dermaplaning is a superficial exfoliation of the skin with a surgical scalpel, but otherwise, scalpels are for the operating room, not the medical spa. Chemical peels are a controlled chemical injury to the skin to treat loss of collagen and age spots. These treatments can be invasive but highly effective in achieving full correction of cosmetic conditions and even some chronic skin diseases like rosacea, acne, and melasma.
These are at least five reasons to check out what a medical spa can do for you. Improve your health by visiting a doctor’s office focused on improving your health from the outside-in. For more information about Nicole Norris MD Medical Spa, visit NicoleNorrisMD.com or call 815-780-8264.
