With the hustle and bustle of the everyday world, it’s easy to put ourselves in second place. But as we juggle demands like work, family, extracurricular activities and personal responsibilities, taking the time to nurture our physical and mental well-being is essential in helping to maintain a balanced and healthy lifestyle. Spas and medspas serve as sanctuaries where we can escape the daily grind and indulge in rejuvenating treatments that not only enhance our appearance but also promote a sense of wellness. From relaxing massages to revitalizing facials to revolutionary medical procedures that treat specific skin conditions, these tranquil havens offer a holistic approach to self-care, allowing us to unwind, recharge and emerge feeling our best. Residents of Lakewood Ranch are fortunate to have some world-class facilities available to them. Melissa Beachy from Glow Dermspa and Karen Medford from Sirius Spa, Salon & Med Spa shared some insights into the services they provide.
Glow Dermspa
“I started my career in dermatology right out of PA school,” says Melissa Beachy. “I had the opportunity to join a derm practice in the Naples area and right from day one I was able to do a hybrid of medical and aesthetic dermatology. I hit the ground running in aesthetics really right off the bat, just kind of immersing myself in it as much as I could as far as training and learning the skill set it takes to be an aesthetic provider as well as doing medical dermatology.” Beachy is a physician assistant, who received a Masters of Medical Science Degree from Nova Southeastern University. There are several subspecialties in the field of dermatology, and in the first part of her career Beachy honed her skills in two of them—medical dermatology, which deals with diagnosing, treating and preventing conditions including acne, eczema, psoriasis and skin cancer and aesthetic dermatology, which focuses on improving appearance by addressing concerns like fine lines and wrinkles, age spots and scarring.
After a decade, Beachy realized she wanted to fully focus her attention on aesthetic dermatology. In 2015 she joined Arsenault Dermatology in Lakewood Ranch where she worked on growing the aesthetic side of the business. It was such a success, the aesthetic portion of the business soon outgrew the space. To give it room to flourish, Arsenault Dermatology opened Glow Dermspa and appointed Beachy as director.
“We have a fantastic team of highly-trained and educated people that practice aesthetic medicine with a very high quality of patient care,” Beachy says. “As far as service offerings, we really take a comprehensive approach to aesthetics.” The services at Glow fall into a few different categories, starting with skin care. If you’re looking for something simple and straightforward, you can get a classic facial that’s customized to your skin type and concerns. If you’re in need of more intense exfoliation, chemical peels can remove damaged skin while dermaplaning skims dead skin cells and hair from your face. Looking for something more advanced? Microneedling can trigger the body’s natural healing response and stimulate the production of collagen and elastin which are key components for smooth and youthful skin. Next, there are laser treatments. Glow has several specialized lasers designed for an array of treatments. The MOXI laser can treat melasma and improve skin texture, while the VBeam PDL laser treats rosacea, broken capillaries and spider veins. The CO2RE laser treats scars, age spots, fine lines and wrinkles, while the BBL Photofacial laser removes brown spots.
But perhaps the area that Glow is best known for is injectables. Botox can be used to prevent or correct fine lines and wrinkles, while facial fillers can replenish areas that have lost volume from age or weight loss. Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) is an FDA-approved therapy where a patient’s own blood is drawn and spun in a centrifuge, isolating the plasma. That plasma can then be injected under the eyes to treat hollows or into the scalp to promote growth after hair loss. The Glow team is exceptionally skilled in the realm of injectables—and the industry has taken notice.
“We were honored to receive the Top Growth Achievement award in Florida by Allergan, which is the company that makes Botox and the full line of Juvederm fillers,” Beachy says. “Allergan also ranked us in the top 500 in the country out of over 47,000 other aesthetic practices.” In addition to the accolades given to the practice, Beachy was recently given a position as a national trainer for the Allergan Medical Institute. As part of this select group of trainers, she’ll be tasked with training other up-and-coming injectors. “I think that these things are just a testament to our dedication, our expertise as a team, our quality of care, and the personalized experience that we focus on for our clientele,” Beachy says. Glow Dermspa 9023 Town Center Parkway, Lakewood Ranch, (941) 264-1161, glowdermspa.com
Sirius Spa, Salon & Med Spa
For many years, being on the road was a way of life for Karen Medford. “My whole world was traveling. I traveled all over the place, right? So I was never home,” she says. “I would go to spas as my little bit of quiet time and self-care.” Medford’s travel had been motivated by her career. She started in the music industry before becoming a medical sales executive. But at a certain point her priorities shifted. “I ended up getting married and having children,” she says. “And I was really missing being home and watching my children grow up because I’d be on a plane or leaving the house early in the morning or coming back late at night.” Medford’s husband is an entrepreneur, and while she had never owned a business, the thought of opening something of her own and creating a legacy appealed to her. One day she was driving across the state listening to Sirius XM radio, when she heard an ad for a brand-new salon and spa concept from the founders of Massage Envy and Joint Chiropractic. She flew to Arizona and toured two corporate-owned model salons and fell in love, signing up as the first franchisee.
“However, I realized very quickly that if you are the first franchise, you don’t get the benefits of a franchise really,” she says. “No one knows who you are, so you’re really starting from zero.” Further complicating matters, her vision soon began to outgrow the confines of the business model. “I ended up getting very lucky hiring an amazing team of people, many of whom are still with me today,” Medford says. “My head of aesthetics told me we could be doing so much more here than what the franchise was letting us do. Instead of doing regular facials, she convinced me we could do better. I ended up buying this really nice microdermabrasion machine with microcurrent because people in Lakewood Ranch want more than just your cookie-cutter stuff. But when you’re in a franchise you get locked down. You’re not really supposed to add services.”
As time went on, Medford wanted to grow the business while the founders wanted to scale it back even more. After some legal wrangling, the two parties “consciously uncoupled” and Medford could finally operate fully on her own terms. “We started adding services very quickly,” she laughs.
These days, there are three facets to Sirius. The salon offers a wide array of hair services, including cut, color, balayage and extensions. You can also visit the salon for waxing, manicures, pedicures, nail art and lash extensions. In the day spa, you can enjoy a full body exfoliation with sea salt or a massage. Finally, you can visit the med spa for facials, injectables, laser hair removal and permanent makeup among other services. One of the best features at Sirius is the wellness program, which offers special member pricing to people who are enrolled. Membership also grants you open access to the Serenity Lounge where you can walk in anytime during open hours to relax in a deluxe massage chair and enjoy complimentary tea and guided meditation. There are three membership tiers at different price points, but they aren’t fees. Essentially, you’re just depositing money into your wellness bank account that you can use dollar for dollar on the services of your choosing. The plans are month-to-month so there’s no long-term commitment and unused credits roll over.
“It’s about self care, and a lot of people don’t do that,” Medford says. “It’s a reminder to take care of yourself.” Sirius Day Spa, Salon & Med Spa, 11585 State Road 70 East, Lakewood Ranch, (941) 357-4611, siriusdayspas.com
