Above anything else, YOU NEED TO BE COMFORTABLE WITH YOUR TREATMENT PROVIDER, and that can be according to WHATEVER unique criteria sets YOUR HEART / BRAIN at ease. For real.
But.
Perhaps due to all of the horror-stories* that have a way of spreading faster than any happy occurrence — there is a common misconception that laser treatments and injections should only be performed by doctors. We would love to address that urban-legend here.
(Yes, I suppose this is a little bit of a gratuitous grandstand, so please feel free to picture me standing on my soap-box, with a fist raised in the air, and my nasal voice bellowing out the following.)
At About Face Skin Care, there is a medical-doctor on staff. He is available whenever needed, and yet 99.9% of the treatments performed at About Face Skin Care are done by… dun dun DUN… non-doctors.
Our motley group of non-doctors consists of nurses, medical-aestheticians, NPs and PAs, and collectively they have over 50+ years of experience. In fact, many of our team-members are at an expertise-level where they are often tapped to train doctors on how to best perform these treatments. True story: Naomi was a preceptor for Thermage, Isolaz and Fraxel treatments, Sarah was a clinical trainer for Merz injectables, Kellie was an Allergan injectable trainer, etc.
Regardless of the degree on someone’s wall, you want need proof of your potential provider’s handiwork, knowledge and competency. Most doctors in the cosmetic-field have truncated schedules; some days they are operating, some days they are doing consultations, and other days they’re doing the injections or laser treatments.
Us?
We live, breathe and eat (well, not really eat, but you know what we mean) this stuff day-in and day-out.
Our injectors are not doctors, but they inject all day, everyday.
Our laser-providers are not doctors, and yet they do laser treatments all day, everyday.
Sprout is not a dentist, and yet he brightens everyone’s smiles all day, everyday. 🙂
Who would you rather treat your face or body? The person who occasionally dabbles in Fraxel and Botox, or the person who is so familiar with the process that they hear the Fraxel noises in their sleep, and can draw-up Botox with their eyes closed? (Again, hyperbole, but you know what I mean.)
It’s easy to be a snob about this stuff (I was completely guilty of this before I became intimate with the under-belly of the aesthetic-world), and will require some trust to become more open-minded. But, chances are extremely high that you’ll be beyond pleasantly surprised at the results, care, and pricing you receive when choosing a non-doctor for your aesthetic treatments.
This blog-post was born per this recent Yelper’s review. Her initial concerns are quite common, but so are her final thoughts.
I’m new to Philadelphia and was looking for a Dr. to administer Botox. I’ve had Dermatologists in other cities and was hoping to find one here. I went online, called a friend, and then turned to Yelp. About Face Skin Care popped up with rave reviews. Admittedly, I was hesitant and overly cautious in scheduling a consultation as I would not be seeing a physician but a nurse practitioner. This is not written to undermine the importance of this title, but rather, a testament to my fear of needles and especially needles in one’s face…with a substance that could be devastating if administered incorrectly. And so I went to my consultation with Sarah…
What a pleasure and surprise!!! She was absolutely wonderful!!!
She took the time to chat, ease my tension, and then went on to make her suggestion, based on my needs, of what she thought an appropriate treatment.
She was spot on accurate with my previous Dr’s exact treatment. This gave me the confidence I needed to proceed.
She was gentle, precise, and her many years of experience proved I had made the right choice.
I can’t give more than 5 stars, but Sarah and the rest of the staff at About Face were positively stellar!!!
* It’s ironic that most of the cosmetic horror-stories you hear /see come from the hands of doctors. Cat Lady, Joan Rivers (may she rest in peace), Michael Jackson (may he also rest in peace), etc. Even locally, the bad “work” we see is always from doctors. Just because someone has an “MD” after their name does not mean they are intrinsically talented, nor infallible.
Blog post FAQ: Tips?