With the advent to aesthetical medicine, beauty has now been merged with healthcare. Professional doctors with certified degrees are offering treatments for skin and hair care and much more. With this, we now have a new advanced form of spas, i.e. Medical spas, or in short, med spas.
No one knows the true origin of these spas, yet some propose that this term is derived from Walloon term “espa” meaning fountain. Romans used to have public fountains for taking bath and after every bath they used to enjoy the warmth of “warm room” and relaxing oiling massages. These med spas of our days are much more advanced than those espas of Roman Empire and they offer much more than baths and massages, from anti-aging skin treatments like Botox and Dermal Fillers to Body contouring therapies like velashape.
Botox
Botox is brand name of an injectable cosmetic product and this name is actually the short of Botulinum toxin – the main ingredient of the Botox. This neurotoxin had been in use for therapeutic purposes since 19th century but it was only around 1990, just few decades back, when scientists found that it can effectively treat wrinkles on forehead and frown-lines between eye brows. Recently some measures have been taken to ensure that the person who provides this treatment has some professional certificate or degree to do so. So if you are planning to have this treatment from a med spa, make sure they have a professional doctor or nurse in their team.
Dermal Fillers
Although Botox is highly popular, it cannot remove wrinkles in the lower half. So in case of wrinkles around lips or cheeks or chin, med spas offer dermal filler treatment. “Dermal fillers” is an umbrella term for a range of injectable products that can fill up the grooves on your skin that shows up as wrinkle and lines. The main ingredient in these products is usually hyaluronic acid (Juvandium, Radiesse, etc.) or calcium hydroxylapatite (Radiesse).
Skin Peels
Skin peels are another range of medical products used to rejuvenate the texture of your skin. Using chemical solutions, the therapists in your med spa will peel the layer of dead cells off your skin. There are many at-home products and you can have them without any prescription but some types of skin peels – the ones with higher concentration of AHA/PHA – are only performed at med spas or cosmetic clinics.
Microdermabrasion
Microdermabrasion is another skin exfoliation treatment that uses diamonds or other crystals as an exfoliating agent. The machine uses the abrasive property of crystals to blast away the dead cells which are automatically get sucked by the sucking pipe. It’s a non-invasive treatment and is allowed to be performed at home or at saloons and spas.
Derma Rollers
Derma rollers use micro needling technique to treat acne scars, sun burns and spots, age spot and stretch marks. The therapy is usually performed along with other medical skin products like vitamins or amino acids as it can improve the penetration of these products in the deep layers of the skin, thus making your skin healthier.
Non-surgical Nose Job
Surgical nose jobs can only be performed by professional surgeons but at medical spas, non-surgical nose jobs are allowed to be performed. These nose jobs are less invasive and involve only injecting dermal fillers in the weak areas of your nose to reshape it as per your desire. The results of this treatment lasts for 6-15 months depending upon the dermal fillers you choose.
Velashape
Most of the body contouring therapies are much invasive and are not usually offered by med spas. Velashape, however, is safe and FDA approved therapy for cellulite formation. Velashape machine massages your body and through radiofrequency and infrared light remove the cellulite layers from abdomen, thighs, arms and legs. It produces temporary results, though and the results are known to last only 6-8 months.