5 Innovations in the medispa business

Posted by Vivienne O'Keeffe on March 8, 2019 in Articles

Medical spas are changing with the times – restructuring the customer journey and bringing in new treatments to attract the younger crowd.

By Vivienne O’Keeffe 

What’s trending and new today in the medispa business? As a professional spa consultant, I get asked this question a lot.

The answer is: lots! U.S. spa revenue hit a record $US 17.5 billion in 2017, up 4.3 per cent according to International Spa Association (ISPA). The medispa industry by itself generates $US 4 billion annually in revenue and, according to AmSpa’s new 2017 state of the Medical Spa Industry Report, will continue to grow at an 8% average annual pace from 2017 to 2022.

Millennials and medispas

Interestingly, according to the 2017 American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), these numbers include a 1% drop in surgical procedures, especially among the 20-29-year olds of the Millennial cohort. My suggestion is, why not ignite innovation in the Millennials’ engagement, customer journey and spa experience? After all, they’ve surpassed Baby Boomers in numbers, and have enormous potential for making the medical spa future bright as they enter prime income-earning years. They tend to be curious about clinical treatments targeting older customers and cautious about ordering them, and they appreciate the non-clinical environment. Feeling social pressure, fear of aging and a desire for prevention, they currently make up some 20% of medispa patients in the U.S., and probably a similar number in Canada. Smart marketing can easily lift that number.

Here’s just one example of what clever innovation in the customer journey can achieve. Alchemy 43 in Los Angeles offers focused micro medical spa treatments in a beautiful non-clinical environment – and without compromising on professionalism. A trendy, one-year-young ‘dry bar’ (aesthetics clinic specializing in cosmetic microtreatments), it features a completely customer-focused website-to-front-counter experience including pink furniture, white marble countertops, free snacks and four upscale locations. Botox and other dermatological treatments are aimed squarely at the Millennial, with the goal of making needles as commonplace as mascara wands.

In Canada (bearing in mind that legal regulations differ from those in the U.S.), there is a fantastic opportunity to take the experience one step further by deepening the bond of the relationship with each client – promoting sales by customer evangelization of the experience, as is already happening with Alchemy 43 medispas where Millennials are bringing their parents in.

Alchemy 43’s innovations may be one of the trends pushing the injectables market to an expected $US 5.8 billon by the end of 2024. The trend is, essential, clinical treatments being delivered in a non-clinical environment. And while taking cosmetic procedures out of doctors’ offices is nothing new, according to the ASPS, the use of Botox alone has increased more than 800% since 2002. ASPS statistics also reveal that minimally invasive cosmetic procedures have nearly doubled since 2000, thanks to new and changing methods for reshaping faces and bodies.

5 Innovations in the medispa business

Dr. Shehla Ebrahim, Medical Director of both Ambleside Dermedics in West Vancouver and Afterglow Physician-Directed Medical Aesthetics in North Vancouver, sees five clear innovations in the medispa business.

1) Using PRP (platelet-rich plasma) to stimulate hair regrowth in both male and female pattern hair loss

You may know PRP as the part of the blood that helps your body recover from injuries. Now it’s being used to stimulate the growth of hair follicles. These quick and affordable injections take just a few minutes, can be done on your lunch break, and don’t require any downtime.

2) Using PRF (platelet rich fibrin) to rejuvenate the skin

PRF Treatments are already being deployed by dentists for implants and bone healing. Although still being investigated by the FDA for cosmetic use, PRF treatments could become a valuable tool for plastic surgeons and dermatologists as well. By releasing growth factors from tiny ‘granules’, fibrin aids the wound-healing process by creating new skin cells, collagen and blood vessels, making it ideal for filling in facial folds, helping fat cells survive and promoting healing after a facelift. By releasing growth factors over time (and unlike PRP), PRF could have longer-term benefits by stimulating the stem cells that improve collagen and elastin in the skin.

3) MFR (microneedling fractional radiofrequency)

Microneedling has been used for many years for skin rejuvenation by initiating a repair process that stimulates fibroblasts for new collagen production in skin affected by acne, alopecia, stretch marks and wrinkling. An evolutionary version of it known as microneedling fractional radiofrequency (MFR) is one of the most promising new technologies for aesthetic treatments. The combination of microneedles incorporating heated silicone-coated tips and radiofrequency is proving effective for treating acne and acne scars, as well as fine lines and wrinkles, both on and off the face.

4) Plasma ions

Several new devices for non-surgical blepharoplasty (baggy eyelid correction) are now treating forehead wrinkles, nasal-labial folds, marionette lines and even skin tags.

5) Thread lift

An alternative to a surgical facelift for sagging skin around the face, neck, jawline, arms, knees and buttock, and made famous by actress Gwyneth Paltrow, the thread lift no longer requires anaesthesia, takes only 15-30 minutes and boasts a fast recovery time. Roughly six to nine months after the procedure, the sutures are absorbed through simple hydrolysis, and the results typically last up to two years.

Of course, medispa innovations aren’t all in the area of treatments. From a marketing perspective, today’s consumers are demanding an engaged and very personalized interaction with their medispa. The pathway they’re seeking educates them and delivers results in an innovative, minimally invasive, safe and aesthetically beautiful facility – by engaged, educated staff who have a genuine interest in their customer.

Published as “What’s up with medispas?” in Spa Inc. Winter 2018-19

Vivienne O’Keeffe, AAD, PEA, CIBTAC, is President of Spa Profits Consulting Inc., and an expert in designing successful spa concepts. She is also an international consultant in developing product lines, treatment plans and training programs, a member of ISPA and Spa Industry Association of Canada (for which she won an Outstanding Industry Service Award in 2001, 2005 and 2012), and a member of International Management Consultants Inc.