Find the Best Skin Clinic, Day Spa or Med Spa for You

The skin clinic and spa industry has expanded well beyond the exclusive getaways for the ultra wealthy of many decades ago.

Today you can find everything from personal skin care analysis to comprehensive diet and nutrition counseling. You can also find a skin clinic that will meet almost any budget, many close to home. Some providers even come to offices.

The broad offerings of the skin clinic industry give you a range of options when you want to improve your looks.

Also, if you are over stressed, a skin clinic or spa can help give you an emotional boost and mental break from your daily grind. A good massage can literally dissolve away the tension in tight muscles.

The challenge is picking the right type of skin clinic or spa for you and then locating the best one that meets your location and budget needs.

Day spas are available in almost any town and in many malls. These establishments offer real convenience and the added benefit of allowing you to go when the mood strikes. Most day spas will take customers on short notice and many take same-day appointments. You should call your spa of choice and ask them about their specific operations.

If you become a regular customer at a local day spa, the spa clinician can get to know you and thus provide ongoing personalized advice. If you have a condition that requires several treatments, a day spa is a good option for you.

Typical services available at a day spa include facials, massages, hair removal (waxing or threading), manicures, pedicures, and body wraps.

Facial treatments are often the most requested treatments at day spas. A basic facial will typically cost between $75 and $130. The options for facials includes:

• A collagen facial, which involves applying collagen to your face
• An oxygen facial, which entails blowing oils and purified oxygen on your face to treat adult acne and prevent wrinkling
• A vitamin C (an excellent antioxidant) facial, where the esthetician applies vitamin C to your face
• A deep pore facial, often entails using several steps to get down to the deep pore level of your face.

Massages at a day spa will range from the basic simple Swedish massage to the hot stone message. Many spas will offer their own twist on massage

• Swedish massages are the most common type of massage at a day spa. A Swedish massage will help revive your energy. The costs for the Swedish massage range from $75 in a small market to $125 or so in a large metro area.
• Deep tissue massages help you recover from an injury such as a back strain, frozen shoulder or whiplash. Prices for deep tissue massages tend to range from $55 to about $100
• Hot Stone massages, where a skilled massage therapist uses a combination of heated stone and massage techniques, promote relaxation . Fees for hot stone massage range from $95 to about $145

Manicures and pedicures at day spas typically cost from $20 to $55. At the higher end, you can receive extra services such as a paraffin dips and exfoliation.

Body wrap options at day spas range from anti aging wraps to herbal wraps. For these special treatments, the spa staff uses a full body wrap to promote. Fees will range from $100 to $200+. Body wraps have two basic uses. A skin clinic (or day spay) will wrap your body in

• mud, clay, algae or seaweed to help you clear toxins from your body and to stimulate your metabolism
• rich lotions (and perhaps shea butter) to hydrate and soften your skin

Finding the Right Day Spa for You

One of the real advantages of a day spa is that you can establish an ongoing relationship with a spa therapist. She can get to know you overtime and recommend the best ongoing treatment for you.

The challenge is to find the right spa near you. Some tips on locating potential day spas are:

• Conduct a search on Google with the search term “day spa” followed by the “name” of your city or town.
• Talk to friends. Ask if they have visited spas they would recommend. If they do ask what they liked about it.
• Visit the following links and locate a day spa in your area: Day Spa Finder, Day Spa Directory.
  

Once you identify a potential day spa, visit the clinic’s Web site. Read how they describe the spa environment and look at the photos on the site. When you find a spa you like, search on the name of the spa followed by the word “review”. Or visit a site such as yelp to see reviews from past customers.

You could also check with the Better Business Bureau to see if the spa has any complaints in the registry. Also, before you make the first appointment you could visit the spa to get a better feel of the place and pick up a current brochure.

Medical (Med) Spas offer more medically-based procedures. A med spa should have a board-certified dermatologist on staff. These spas are a mid-point between a day spa and a medical clinic. Most med spas offer the same procedures as a day spa, plus: noninvasive skin treatments (e.g., laser treatments, microdermabrasion, and basic medical procedures, such as: moderate chemical peels).

Fees for med spa services can range widely based on the complexity of the procedure. For example: laser hair removal in small area (upper lip or chin) will cost about $50.

While laser hair removal for the legs can range from $200 for the lower leg to $400 for the full legs.

IPL Photofacial * can cost $400 per treatment and you may need several treatments for a very troubled spot. *IPL is the abbreviation for Intense Pulsed Light. Some people just refer to it as a Photofacial.

People with darker skin and pre-existing pigmentation problem should try other treatments (such as bleaching cream) before they try IPL.

Clinicians use the IPL Photofacial to safely treats a wide range of facial concerns such as: age spots, freckles, acne scars, rosacea, skin discoloration, and mottled pigmentation. As a result of this treatment, patients can see a 70% reduction in pore size; so the treatment offers skin tightening.

Microdermabrasion will often cost about $100 per treatment. Microdermabrasion is a medical procedure to partially remove the dead outermost surface of the skin by light abrasion. A med spa clinician uses this technique to remove sun-damaged skin, to lessen acne scars, to eliminate lesions, fine lines, or to reduce the large pores. In this procedure, the clinician passes aluminum oxide crystals through a vacuum tube to exfoliate the top layer of skin. It is safe for all skin types

Moderate Chemical Peels will typically cost about $125 per treatment with a discount for committing to multiple treatments. Each treatment takes about 20 to 30 minutes. Some folks call this the lunch time peel because the treatment is short and the patient does not need any down time. With this treatment, the clinician applies a caustic l solution to the surface of the skin, which causes the dead skin to slough off. The body regenerates a smother layer of skin, which has fewer wrinkles to replace the removed layer. Only a qualified dermatologist should administer the harshest chemical peels. Physicians can use chemical peels to remove the pre-cancer skin growths and acne scars.

How to Find the Right Med Spa for you

To find a good med spa, you can:

1. Ask friends
2. Talk to your dermatologist
3. Search the Internet for “medical spa” in “your city”
4. Visit these links: Spa Finder, Spa Directory.
   

If you are going to a med spa for any skin treatments above the basic level, make sure the skin clinic has a dermatologist on staff. In selecting a med spa, it’s a good idea to inquire about who owns the spa and the credentials of its staff members. A medical spa should be owned by a licensed physician. A doctor or registered nurse should be on site during operating hours.

Once you have narrowed down potential medical spas for your treatment, check references either with the Better Business Bureau or through online reviews.

Skin clinics can help you improve the quality of life. With offerings ranging from simple massages at the day spa to nutritional advice and medical treatments at the med spa, you can find easily find a spa that meets your needs and budget.