Spas aren’t just about manicures! The global medical spa market will reach more than $27 billion in value in 2025. Medical spas offer the same services as day spas, but they include medical treatments for common problems like acne and skin irritation.
You shouldn’t pick the first one you stumble across. Your process of selecting the spa should include a few steps so you find the perfect one for you.
What treatments can medical spas offer you? How can you assess a spa’s customer service and qualifications? What should the med spa staff be like?
Answer these questions and you can enjoy all the benefits of a med spa without breaking a sweat. Here is your comprehensive guide.
Assess Your Needs
If you think you have a skin problem, you should go to your doctor and get a diagnosis. Try to set an appointment with a skin doctor, also known as a dermatologist.
Talk to your doctor about what treatments you need and what you need to do besides go to a med spa. You may need to apply cream or avoid sunlight in addition to getting treatments.
A med spa can be your first option or a last resort. If you feel you need immediate care from skin professionals, you should visit a med spa right away. But you can also try services at a spa if you have experimented with treatments and nothing has worked.
Understand Popular Med Spa Treatments
Before you start to compare your options for med spas, you should understand what the most common treatments are like. Read descriptions of them and talk to your doctor about them so you know which ones you need.
Facials
Simple facials can remove acne, wrinkles, and dead skin cells on your face. Dermaplane exfoliation involves using a scalpel-like blade to remove skin cells and fuzz from your skin. It can make your skin seem smoother, and it can remove hair that you missed while shaving.
If you have a lot of acne, you can get an acne facial. An esthetician will clean your face using alpha-hydroxy acids and other products. You may then receive a steam treatment to soften your pores, then the esthetician will exfoliate your skin and give you a face mask to wear.
If you’re in a rush, you can get an express facial with deep pore cleansing and hot towels. You can also try a CBD facial, which uses a CBD cream to reduce inflammation in your skin.
Injectables
The most common injectable skin treatment is Botox. Botox relaxes the facial muscles, creating smoother and younger-looking skin. You can use it for lines on your forehead, around your nose and mouth, or between your eyes.
Dermal fillers are injectable substances that can smooth lines and wrinkles on your face. The fillers go in between the layers of skin instead of freezing the muscles, meaning you retain full use of your facial muscles. You can use several types of dermal fillers, including Juvederm and Versa.
If you have fat around your chin and neck, you can get Kybella injections. The injections destroy fat cells and tighten the skin, making it more youthful.
Start Reading Online Reviews
You should start reading online reviews for med spas as soon as possible. Reviews can help you narrow your options down and get recommendations for therapies you should use.
You can use the star rating as a baseline for your research. But you should read the actual reviews themselves, including both negative and positive ones. A customer with a negative review may have had problems with a specific employee or procedure, and you can avoid doing the same thing.
Get a sense of the before and afters for each procedure. Some people will attach pictures showing how the procedure affected their skin.
Some spas specialize in procedures like tattoo removal. If you need a certain procedure, you should prioritize the companies that have the most experience in it.
Take note of how many repeat clients a spa has. It’s okay to go to a spa that has many satisfied one-time clients, especially if you need only one or two appointments. But a lack of repeat clients suggests problems with customer service or popular procedures.
If you know someone who has been to the spa, give them a call and ask them for their thoughts. You can also ask your doctor or dermatologist for their recommendations.
Tour a Few Facilities
Online reviews can give you a good sense of a few different spas. But you should tour the spas and see for yourself what they are like.
Your spa should be in a convenient location near you. If it’s in an office building, you should be able to find it easily. A spa that is too far or too hard to get to makes it hard for you to attend follow-up appointments.
Try to visit the rooms in which people receive procedures. The floors should be clean and the equipment for procedures should be laid out clearly.
Talk to On-Site Medical Assistants
The medical spa you select should be overseen by a credentialed provider. The spa’s website should have a staff page with a biography of the head provider. Read this biography, then look for reviews of them online.
A medical professional like a dermatologist should oversee each procedure. While you are touring the spa, you should have conversations with the med spa staff. Ask them about their qualifications and specialties.
While you are talking with the staff, pay attention to how they treat you. They should be courteous and willing to answer your questions with clear responses. If they seem curt or unwilling to answer you, you should avoid working with them.
Examine the Beauty Products
Before you leave the spa, you should take a look at the products they use. They should be medical-grade products approved by the FDA and other agencies.
Write down the names you see and do some research on them. If they seem questionable, you may not want to go to the spa, as their other treatments may not be good for you.
Even if they seem fine, you should ask a spa employee and a dermatologist about them. Beauty products can interact with medications or other products.
Start Comparing Med Spa Costs
Before you start looking at your options for med spas in the Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati area, you should set a budget for yourself.
Do not select a med spa just because it is cheap. They may not be offering essential services, or they may be using low-quality products and equipment.
During your visit to the spa, you should get a quote from them. Ask what is included in the quote, including follow-up visits.
Choose a Medical Spa Today
Before you choose a medical spa, you need to do a few things. Talk to your doctor and a skincare expert about what treatments you need. Research these services and find a specific therapy for you.
Read customer reviews and look at before and after photos to see if treatments worked. You should then visit a few spas and interview the staff members. Your final step is to get a free quote for the services.
Give your skin the support it needs. Zero Gravity Aesthetics serves the Cincinnati area.