Med Spa Safety
A routine med spa visit and a concerning one can look identical from the waiting room. The first thing to check is who will hold the needle or the laser.
Who is allowed to treat you
The Medical Board of California says medical treatments should be performed by medical professionals only. In California, the board says, that means a physician, or a registered nurse or physician assistant under the supervision of a physician.
The board also says cosmetologists may never inject the skin, use lasers, or perform medical-level dermabrasion or skin peels. It adds that some persons and firms operate illegally, even though it is illegal for unlicensed personnel to provide these treatments.
You can read the board's wording on its medical spa page. The California Board of Registered Nursing keeps a separate nursing practice page for readers who want the nursing side.
Six questions, costliest guess first
The board is blunt that there is risk to any procedure, however minor. The questions below are ordered by what a wrong guess could cost you.
- Is my laser operator a nurse, PA, or physician? The board names three kinds of licensed person, so a clear answer is easy to check.
- What qualifications does my provider hold for this procedure? Once you know the title, ask what stands behind it for this treatment.
- Who is the medical director overseeing this med spa? Supervision by a physician is part of the board's rule for nurses and physician assistants.
- How many of these procedures have you performed? Ask for a number rather than a reassurance.
- Can I see before and after photos from my provider? Photos let you hold a provider's claims up against their own work.
- What red flags signal an unsafe med spa? This page gathers the warning signs readers in West Sacramento send in.
Three requests for the front desk
Put three requests to the front desk by phone or in writing: who performs the treatment, which license they hold, and which physician supervises. Write the answers down and compare them with the board's page above.
If you want the enforcement side, California Healthline ran a story headlined Brown OKs Bill Boosting Penalties for Illegal Medical Spa Treatments.