Medispas offer the newest in cosmetic care procedures
Dr. Kiri P. Brandy demonstrates Botox on Diana Burt, a stylist at Renu'e Spa and Skincare Center on Washington Street in Watertown. Photo by Justin Sorensen.
When one thinks of a spa experience, they often aren’t thinking of lasers, needles, injections and chemicals. However, the goal of any spa is to have visitors leave relaxed, rejuvenated and feeling 10 years younger. Combining the two ends of the spectrum is where Tracey Bartholomew has found a niche for her business, Renu’e Spa and Skincare Center.
A “medispa,” Renu’e opened in May 2011 at 720 Washington St. in Watertown. Business, and interest in the offerings at the medispa, grew so quickly that Ms. Bartholomew opened a second location, dubbed “Renu’e on the Water,” at 342 Riverside Drive in Clayton. Both locations offer cosmetic services like Botox, Dermal Fillers, laser treatments and sclerotherapy, a treatment for varicose and spider veins, in a warm, private and spa-like environment.
“Opening another location was in the long term plan, I always said, maybe in a couple of years,” she said. “It happened to open a lot sooner than expected. We opened the second location in May and offer all of the same services, except we don’t have a hair stylist in Clayton yet, like we do in the Watertown location.”
Hot on her freshly pedicured heels was Center for Sight, the Watertown-based eye care center with locations in both Lewis and St. Lawrence counties. Earlier this year, Center for Sight opened the full-service medispa, Cosmetic and Laser Medispa at Center for Sight. Housed in Center for Sight’s Watertown location at 1815 State St., Cosmetic and Laser Medispa is also offering cosmetic treatments like Restylane, Juvederm and Botox as well as laser treatment for hair removal, tattoo removal and nail fungus removal.
Registered nurse Brenda Cean runs the Cosmetic and Laser Medispa.
“Dr. [Noaman] Sanni [CEO of Center for Sight] had been doing injections and fillers at the hospital and he wanted to take it a step further,” Ms. Cean said. “I’ve been a surgical nurse for 28 years and worked with him closely for 15 years and he told me he wanted me to help him get a medispa running.”
Tracey Bartholomew, owner of Renu'e Spa and Skincare Center, gives a facial to her daughter, Kendall Carr, 14, at Renu'e Spa and Skincare. Photo by Justin Sorensen.
Ms. Cean said that she was originally hired on a part-time basis but has seen her role at the medispa expand into more than five days a week. She said that since adding the laser treatments the medispa is booking full days of appointments and seeing more than 20 patients a week. Introducing the treatments and offerings of the medispa into Center for Sight’s St. Lawrence locations is an area of growth for the business.
“There is definitely an industry in St. Lawrence County and about once a week we get them into medispa mode,” Ms. Cean said. “We have to get everyone on board and I will do consultations in Massena, Potsdam and Ogdensburg but for now they have to come down here to get the procedures. Once we know that there’s industry enough up there, we’ll look into adding these services to that market.”
In the future, Cosmetic and Laser Medispa plans to offer laser-assisted liposuction. Instead of the traditional method of using a tool to break up fat from the body and remove it by suction, laser assisted liposuction uses a laser wand to melt fat and remove it from the body. Ms. Cean said the procedure is less invasive than traditional liposuction and is meant for contouring and removing small spots of fat, such as under the chin and arms.
Kyle R. Hayes is associate editor of NNY Business. Contact him at khayes@wdt.net or 661-2381.
