The State of the MedSpa Industry

I read an article today entitled 'The MedSpa Bust' and was not surprised to be reading it. The medspa industry has grown like mushrooms over the past five years, being touted as a field laced with gold and unlimited business success. Numerous medspa companies selling franchises as well as many individuals have open their doors on nearly every corner in the hopes of catching some of these gold flakes. But the reality of the past few years have been more sobering and it should surprise no one as to why.
Many medspa treatments are actually medical procedures using injections, lasers, and other device-related therapies. Their effectiveness and safety is dependent on good patient selection, sound and experienced technique, and proper patient education. Many medspa owners have no medical background, have never seen a patient, and even if they are physicians, are not trained in cosmetic surgery or medicine. Many of them know as much about the cosmetic medicine as I do about raising cattle. How could they have expected to thrive? Many now have not. I have seen four here in the Indianapolis area that have closed in the past year, all run by non-cosmetic physicians or non-physicians.
It was my belief four years ago when I open my medspas, and the surrounding business landscape now makes that ring true, that the long-term survival of many medspas will depend on their direct association with an established plastic surgeon or dermatologist who is in the biz, so to speak. It is very difficult to separate medical procedures into a pure beauty business and run it like a retail store.....without the expertise on-site to do so. Eventually, poor results or complications will put you out of business. If you get a bad haircut for $90, you are unhappy but life will go on. If you spend $4,000 for a non-surgical facelift and get no real results, you are more than just unhappy.
In the long-term, many medspas will close or merge into an established and well-qualified physician's practice. It takes a blend of medical expertise with the knowledge of retail marketing to make a medspa business work. It will not work as a turnkey operation set up by someone else.
Dr Barry Eppley
http://www.eppleyplasticsurgery.com
http://www.ologyspa.com
Clarian North Medical Center, Carmel, Indiana
Clarian West Medical Center, Avon, Indiana
Indianapolis