Baby boomers, who inundated schools, housing and job markets, are driving yet another industry — medical spas. The generation, turning 40-to-58 years old this year, is receiving partial credit for a surge of interest in the medical spa industry, which combats cosmetic flaws and health conditions in a fusion of a doctor’s office and a spa.
“Let’s face it, the boomers today aren’t growing old gracefully,” said Dee DeLuca-Mattos, president of the Medical Spa Society. “They are doing everything to live longer and look great while they’re doing it.”
The medical spa, loosely defined as a spa with a doctor on staff to perform treatments that require a license, is the fastest-growing aspect of the spa industry. The number of medical spas doubled in the past year to 600 in the United States, said Susie Ellis, president of Spa Finder Inc.
Because the 82 million baby boomers represent nearly 30 percent of the U.S. population, according to 2000 census data, their presence has commanded the attention of the industry.
Spas are tinkering with what they offer for baby boomers, who, armed with plenty of expendable income, want to be youthful and healthy. Coincidentally, technological advancements have made the procedures more effective and less invasive.
About two-thirds of medical spas offer primarily aesthetic treatments, such as the wrinkle-erasing Botox, Thermage — a noninvasive face-lift — traditional massages and, in rare cases, nose jobs and liposuction. The other one-third focuses on preventive and wellness medicine, including bone-density scans and nutrition classes, Mrs. Ellis said. The “spa” aspect adds a calming atmosphere, massages, facials or other therapies designed to relax or rejuvenate the client.
“Today, the medical and the spa industries are meeting,” said Ms. DeLuca-Mattos of the evolution that began about five years ago. “Each component complements each other.”
David’s Hair and Med Spa opened its doors in Bethesda four months ago. In addition to traditional spa treatments, the business offers some of the most popular medical treatments: Botox, Thermage and laser-hair treatments, all of which must be completed by a medical practitioner, said co-owner Massimo Quartararo.
A doctor visits the spa once a week to do the procedures. In a month, he does about 10 Botox treatments, five laser-hair removals and four Diolite treatments for veins. Although the medical treatments are done only once a week, they account for an estimated 10 percent of the spa’s sales, Mr. Quartararo said. The owners expect that number to jump to 25 percent, especially in the fall when the Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve a nonsurgical liposuction treatment, he said.
A 39-year-old Virginia woman, who asked that her name not be used, gets Botox treatments done about every three months at David’s Hair and Med Spa. The woman said the spa environment — complete with fountains and calming colors — eases her disdain for needles, something she feels she wouldn’t find at a doctor’s office.
“It’s more relaxed than when you go to the doctor,” she said. At a doctor’s office, “I think you feel a little more tense, like you’re having something done, something bigger than what it is. In the spa, it’s a little more relaxed. It doesn’t feel quite so aggressive.”
She also gets facials and has her hair done at the spa, making it a convenient one-stop spot, she said. She couldn’t estimate how much she spends on the Botox treatments, but finds them to be effective.
Although most of the medical treatments in spas are done by cosmetic surgeons and dermatologists, other doctors are entering the industry. Some dentists use reflexology to relax anxious patients. Nutritionists and physical therapists are folding elements of the spa into their practices, said Hannelore Leavy, president and founder of the Day Spa Association and Medical Spa Association.
A dermatologist approached the District’s Celadon Spa looking to rent a room to complete weekly Thermage, Botox, laser-hair removal and Diolite treatments. Owner Judith Kortisas took him up on the offer.
“We wanted to be able to offer that side of the treatment,” Ms. Kortisas said. “There is so much more one can do with these small treatments now [on the medical side], we wanted to be able to offer them in addition to the cosmetic services we are able to offer them [in the traditional spa].”
Most people looking for the medical treatments are between 40 and 55, Ms. Kortisas said, but some can be as young as 20.
The bill after a trip to a medical spa can amount to $100 on the low end, likely for an acupuncture or minimal microdermabrasion treatment, which treats wrinkled skin. On the high end are weeklong trips to wellness spas, such as Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Ariz., which can amount to a few thousand dollars, Mrs. Ellis said.
Medical spas are reaching their peak in popularity, Ms. DeLuca-Mattos said. She said the industry’s move toward corrective treatments — to cover scars and treat acne, for example — will move the perception medical spas, from a luxury to a necessity.
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