We all love a classic #treatyoself spa day: fuzzy robes, hot stone massages, manis + pedis (nails on FLEEK!)…but if you hear the phrase “medspa” and immediately wonder “a what??” just know you’re not alone. Also know that no, a medspa is NOT a place where docs, nurses and therapists gather to unwind (That’s called a bar.)

Alex Talley, Marketing Director at sister offices Ozark Regional Vein Center and Renew Aesthetics at Pinnacle Point, helped explain what exactly you can expect to find from a medspa. Trust me, it’s worth a peek.

How’d you end up at Renew Aesthetics?

“I’m from southwest Missouri – Neosho. I eventually moved to Springfield for about six years. I used to be in sales and I spent most of my sales career there. Then I moved to Arkansas I think in 2015 and I joined Dr. Haney and the team in 2016 as Marketing Director.

I was in a couple different industries when I worked sales, but when I started working here, I didn’t even really know what a medspa was, not to mention half the treatments.”

So what is a medspa?

“We do injectables, so your run-of-the-mill Botox and facial fillers. We offer Kybella that helps reduce “turkey gobblers” as some call it, or the double chin.

Then we have laser treatments, so laser hair removal and we have a new device that’s called LaseMD that brightens skin tone, improves texture, things like that.

We have a couple devices for body contouring. One that we currently have, Vanquish, treats the abdomen and thighs. It uses radio frequency and heat to burn fat. We sell them in packages of five [treatments]. I’ve personally done that one myself and after the five treatments, I lost a couple inches around my waistline, so I can vouch for that one!

And then we have another one for body contouring that’s kind of unique because it can actually be used anywhere on the body – any problem areas where there’s loose skin or sagging skin or a little extra fat. So it’s kind of multifaceted.

My personal favorite is miraDry. It’s for underarm sweat. It’s actually a medical condition called hyperhidrosis, for people that excessively sweat through their shirts or might have bad odor. It is the only FDA-approved device that actually drastically reduces underarm sweat, hair, and odor.”

That’s really cool, I’VE never heard of anything like that!

“Ya! That’s the thing with a lot of these treatments, especially in this area, a lot of people are like, ‘Wow I had no clue there was anything like that!’ But I think a lot more people are open to the idea of having these treatments done, so it’s kind of cool to see that change.

Of course, as a spa we do have all the aesthetician type services: facials, waxing, tinting, dermaplaning, microdermabrasion, chemical peels. Another one of my favorites is the HydraFacial, it’s kind of an advanced facial and people just love it.

So that’s most of our menu. It’s a wide array!”

What makes you stand out from other medical spas?

“I think it’s our people. Everybody from the receptionist to the providers is phenomenal here, and when people come to visit, I think they can tell that.

Kendra’s our registered nurse and aesthetician and she does the injectables, and she’s never had any complaints. She’s always so cautious and yet she can provide the results you’re looking for. It’s kind of a scary thing, you really need to research your injector if you’re thinking about doing that sort of thing. Kendra has over 15 years experience in the dermatology and medical fields with probably six or seven of those being strictly aesthetics and injectables.

And then Amy is our other aesthetician. She has a bubbly personality and she loves skin care. She’s really great at getting to know the people who come in and customizing a skin care plan for them.

So overall, there are places out there where I don’t think you’ll find the personal touch that we offer.”

What are some misconceptions people might have about these treatments?

“When a lot of people think of aesthetic treatments, it still kind of has a taboo feel to it. Once they get here, they can see that we’re not going to give you that Hollywood Botox look – I think there’s a lot of misconceptions about that.

A lot of the staff do treatments on the medspa side, actually, and you’ll see that everyone’s very natural-looking. There’s nothing that’s overdone.

So I think that’s slowly becoming known. Once people realize that it’s not going to be obvious that you ‘had some work done,’ if that’s how you want to word it, or some treatments completed, then it’s actually really cool what we’re able to accomplish.

We get a lot of people who are curious about things but aren’t fully committed yet, so we do offer free consultations on everything. They can come in and talk and see what it’s about and they don’t have to do treatments that day, or even at all!”

The more you know! Find Renew Aesthetics at Pinnacle Point + other locally-owned Northwest Arkansas businesses on Towny, the free online (or phone) app that rewards you for exploring your city and shopping local!