What is a medical spa?

A medical spa (medi-spa) offers cosmetic medical services, including medical treatments scientifically proven to produce exceptional results. The facility is supervised by a triple-board-certified plastic surgeon, and services are rendered by highly trained medical staff.

A medical spa is far from your typical beauty spa center, which provides a ‘pampering’ experience. Wondering what a medical spa can do for your skin and overall looks? Read on and learn about the benefits, cosmetic services, and best way to choose the best medical spa in your area.

What are the benefits of medical spas?

Getting into a medical spa brings you safe and effective medical treatments for facial aging and related conditions. When supervised by board-certified physicians, including at some spas plastic surgeons, you can expect services from highly skilled, knowledgeable medical professionals. Medical spas combine the tranquil environment of a day spa with the precision, acuity, and safety of a medical facility.

Specifically, here are some of the major benefits of going to a medical spa:

• Scientifically backed treatments: Procedures and products given by medical professionals in the medical spa are based on scientific research and may be regulated by the FDA. This ensures that they are safe and effective in treating signs of facial and body aging.
• Safe procedures: The medical emphasis ensures the highest level of hygiene and the use of state-of-the-art technology in a comfortable setting with well-trained and highly competent medical professionals.
• Relaxing atmosphere: In contrast to a typical medical facility, medical spas provide a relaxing atmosphere comparable to, or often exceeding, that of a regular day spa. This creates a calm and stress-free environment, allowing you to enjoy your treatments.
• Cutting-edge technology: With a higher degree of medical supervision than a day spa, medi-spas can offer medical procedures using the latest techniques and technologies, like laser treatments, chemical peels, and cosmetic injections
• Invasive and non-invasive options: Significant enhancement and rejuvenation can be achieved with contemporary techniques and technology, even without surgery. Medical spas provide non-invasive options that don’t require surgery, involve no or minimal discomfort, have no or minimal downtime, and can even be used in conjunction with surgery in appropriate patients.

What are the most popular medical spa treatments?

Dr. Steven Goldman is one of the few triple board-certified plastic surgeons in the world. At his Beachwood and Westlake Medical Spa locations, the most popular non-surgical aesthetic procedures are:

Face

• Dermal Fillers: These encompass dermal filler injections, facial fillers, and soft-tissue fillers for facial rejuvenation, lip enhancement, and non-surgical rhinoplasty. Our highly trained and experienced injectors have performed thousands of injections using Dr. Goldman’s well established techniques to achieve a dramatic but natural enhancement in just a few minutes.
• Neurotoxin Injectable Treatments: Neurotoxin treatments such as Botox use purified botulinum toxin to relax facial muscles to reduce wrinkles and furrows. It can even lift the brows and enhance the lips. Medical uses include reducing sweating and treating certain types of headache.
• Facial Chemical Peels: If you want a fresher, healthier, smoother skin, a chemical peel may be right for you. It is best for treating sun damage and fine wrinkles. Peels range from light to medium, depending on the severity of the sun damage and other conditions. Deep peels may be appropriate for select patients but are generally performed by physicians.

Body

• Cellulite reduction: Cellulite is a common and frustrating problem for patients. Office treatments, including Avéli^™ Cellulite Treatment and Profound can reduce cellulite. Avéli is a minimally invasive procedure designed to improve the appearance of cellulite by targeting the fibrous bands beneath the skin that cause dimpling. Profound uses radiofrequency energy delivered with microneedles to tighten the skin. Both techniques are performed in the office using numbing medicine. 
• Body contouring: Although surgical procedures like liposuction and tummy tucks are body contouring techniques. Non-surgical options now exist for many patients. CoolSculpting can reduce fat by freezing it in specific areas. It requires no anesthesia and has minimal downtime. EmSculpt uses magnetic waves to cause rapid muscle contractions to help improve muscle tone and definition. Profound uses radiowaves and microneedles to stimulate tightening of the skin.
• Morpheus8: Morpheus8 is a minimally invasive treatment that combines microneedling with radiofrequency energy to remodel and tighten the skin. By targeting deeper layers, it stimulates collagen production to improve skin tone, texture, and firmness. 
• Microneedling: This minimally invasive treatment stimulates the production of collagen, making the skin look fresh and smooth. Microneedling treats acne scars, sun spots, and wrinkles. It also improves skin pore size, texture, and tone.

Skin

• Laser Hair Removal: Laser hair removal is the gold standard for removing excess, unwanted body hair, but patients can get confused by the different types of lasers and other treatments offered. Dr. Goldman’s highly trained nurses use state-of-the-art lasers to maximize safety and efficacy of your laser hair removal treatments.
• HydraFacial: HydraFacial is a multi-step treatment that deeply cleanses, exfoliates, extracts, and hydrates the skin using advanced vortex fusion technology. This treatment can be customized to address concerns such as fine lines, uneven tone, congestion, and hyperpigmentation, leaving the skin refreshed and radiant with no downtime.
• BBL® HERO^™ & IPL Skin Rejuvenation: Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) is a non-invasive treatment that uses broad-spectrum light energy to target pigment and blood vessels beneath the skin, helping to improve concerns such as redness, sun damage, and uneven tone. BBL® HERO^™ is an advanced form of IPL that delivers high-energy pulses more efficiently to treat conditions like rosacea, brown spots, and dullness while supporting overall skin rejuvenation. Treatments are quick, well-tolerated, and require little to no downtime, with a series recommended for optimal results.
• Fractional CO₂ Laser Resurfacing: Fractional CO₂ laser therapy delivers energy in microscopic columns to stimulate collagen and support skin renewal. This treatment smooths and tightens the skin while improving wrinkles, sun damage, and age spots, with less downtime than traditional resurfacing.
• HALO® Hybrid Laser Resurfacing: HALO® laser resurfacing uses a combination of ablative and non-ablative energy to improve skin tone, texture, and radiance. This hybrid treatment stimulates collagen and elastin while reducing fine lines, discoloration, and early signs of aging, with less downtime than traditional resurfacing.

Of course, many patients also want to learn about surgical treatment options, like rhinoplasty, facelifts, eyelid surgery, tummy tucks, and breast enhancement. Since Dr. Goldman is triple board certified, he can offer the most advanced face and body techniques to produce dramatic and natural results.

Because we offer both surgical and non-surgical treatment options and love educating our patients about both, you can feel confident that you are choosing the best options for you.

FAQs About Medical Spas

How do medical spas differ from traditional day spas?

Medical spas can offer more medically oriented treatment options than traditional day spas. The latter often offer facials, massage, and similar treatments; the former can offer cosmetic injections, laser treatments, chemical peels, and similar treatments in addition to relaxation massage and facials.

Nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and physicians may all be part of a medical spa team, although many spas have minimal physician supervision. So, treat a medical spa like any medical office and make sure the staff and setting seem qualified, well-trained, appropriately certified, and safe.

What’s the difference between a dermatologist and med spa?

A med spa typically focuses on aesthetic issues, like facial aging, sun damage, excess fat, or excess hair. Dermatologists, on the other hand, treat skin cancer and other skin diseases, like rashes or psoriasis.

What should I look for in a quality med spa?

When choosing a quality med spa, always check the medical professionals running the center. Know their background, expertise, training, and reputation in the industry. See the services they offer and the reviews from previous clients, as well as the type of facility, instruments, and equipment they have.

Should you go to a medical spa for acne treatment?

Medical spas do have specific treatments for acne. Skin care regimens, light chemical peels, microdermabrasion, and other treatments may benefit acne patients and be used with, or instead of oral medications. But patients with more severe acne that require antibiotics or other prescription oral medications are best treated by a dermatologist.

Who Is a Good Candidate for Medical Spa Treatments?

Most people don’t take great care of their skin. A medical spa can help you to achieve smoother, healthier looking skin, with less sun damage and signs of aging. Patients can set up a treatment regimen that is more or less aggressive, that is tailored to their goals and preferences as well as their skin type and degree of facial aging.

Leading Ohio Medical Spa Services

Dr. Steven Goldman is one of the few triple-board-certified plastic surgeons in the world! He is board certified in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Facial Plastic Surgery, and Head and Neck Surgery (Otolaryngology).

Dr. Goldman has trained his expert Licensed Aestheticians in his esthetic techniques. After extensive medical training and under his skilled supervision, our medical professionals have developed their own loyal clientele. All of our Aestheticians thoroughly evaluate every patient to optimize their treatment based not just on their physical characteristics but also on their personal goals.

Beachwood Plastic Surgery, Westlake Plastic Surgery, The Surgeon’s Spa – Beachwood, and The Surgeon’s Spa – Westlake are among the country’s most comprehensive practices, offering a full spectrum of surgical and non-surgical treatment options and technologies. This allows us to offer each patient individualized care, specific to their needs and goals, whether this involves surgery, laser treatments, cosmetic injections, non-surgical technological treatments, or a combination of options to achieve the best possible results.