What is a Medical Day Spa?

A medical day spa is a cross between a doctor's office and a regular beauty spa. Most medical day spas offer traditional day spa processes, including massage, manicures and pedicures, and facials; they also offer procedures like injectable fillers, laser treatments, and microdermabrasion. Many medical day spa facilities cater to a clientele concerned with anti-aging and corrective skin procedures. While medical day spas are operated by and supervised by a physician, the person doing the procedures may not be a doctor.

Injectable fillers are synthetics designed to be inserted under the skin and plump up, filling in any wrinkles. They are most often used for deep wrinkles on the forehead or around the nose and mouth. Procedures that involve injections are not offered at a traditional spa; the only place to get injectable fillers is at a medical day spa or an actual doctor's office. Injectable fillers are less painful than plastic surgery, but the results only last about a year, meaning clients have to return to the medical day spa for additional or supplemental treatments.

Medical day spa clients usually make an initial consultation appointment. During the appointment, a treatment plan is made, which may include several different types of processes. Some of the procedures offered by a medical day spa are more intense than others, so the consultation is a good time for the client to learn about the pros and cons of different services. This is also a good time for clients to ask questions and learn about the cost of the treatments they are considering.

Once a treatment plain has been decided on, the client will visit the medical day spa for the procedures. Depending on the procedures selected, the client may need to visit one time or a series of times to complete the chosen process. Injectable fillers, mild microdermabrasion, and anti-aging facials can be completed in a single session, while laser hair removal, photofacials, and more intensive chemical peels may take multiple sessions to complete.

Patients should ask who will be performing the procedures at a medical day spa. Procedures that involve injections are not offered at a traditional spa; the only place to get injectable fillers is at a medical day spa or an actual doctor's office. Part of the research a patient should do before getting a medical spa procedure is determining who will actually be performing the procedure and what qualifications he or she has. While medical spa treatments are intended to be beneficial, mistakes can be costly and painful to correct.