Facing Future

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Facing Future
Looking to Sit Pretty: Dr. Darshan Shah at the future Sunset Strip site of Next Health

Guessing which celebrities had Botox is becoming easier as many, including actress Robin Wright and fashion designer Tom Ford, freely admit to going under the needle.

While nonsurgical procedures promising fuller lips and line-free foreheads have been popular in Los Angeles for some time, spawning numerous medical spas around the region, a new venture has decided to add a new wrinkle to the industry.

Next Health, which is set to open in May at Sunset Strip shopping center 8000 Sunset, wants to offer the next step in the evolution of medical spas by offering both traditional services such as Botox as well more cutting-edge genetic testing and cryotherapy procedures.

Dr. Darshan Shah, a plastic surgeon at Malibu’s Beautologie Medical Group Inc. and founder of Next Health, said the center will aim to help clients look and feel better by testing for things such as hormone and vitamin levels. He also plans to open additional locations over the next two years as part of a national expansion. Shah is funding the business himself, with startup costs of about $1.5 million.

“We’re going to find out what you’re deficient in and we’re going to optimize that with our treatments,” he said. “That’s why we call it Next Health. We’re taking your health to the next level. You’re already feeling good (but) how do we get you feeling great?”

While celebrities have helped bring awareness to popular procedures such as lip injections and fat freezing, the medical spa industry’s growth is also being pushed by new technologies that offers quick procedures with minimal recovery time, unlike more invasive treatments such as liposuction.

Americans spent a record $14 billion last year on cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures, according to a report released this month by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Forty-two percent of that total was spent on nonsurgical procedures.

Dr. Grant Stevens, plastic surgeon and founder of Marina Plastic Surgery in Marina del Rey, said nonsurgical procedures have outpaced surgical over the past four years. But he thinks the market for medical spas is becoming saturated, so Next Health might have a tough time finding enough customers.

“The proliferation of med spas is outstripping the demand of the population,” said Stevens, who also serves as clinical professor of plastic surgery at USC’s Keck School of Medicine.

Shah said the growth of medical spas has made it more difficult for consumers to navigate the safest and most effective centers. That’s something he’s hoping to change through the establishment of the full-service Next Health brand.

“The med spa, like any industry, is really hot for a while. Then it gets commoditized and then it goes on the decline,” he said. “So, I feel like it’s kind of on the decline and that’s why we wanted to do something different.”

Total package

Shah, who’s been a plastic surgeon for a dozen years, pointed out that most medical spas’ offerings are limited to fat freezing, medical-grade facials, fillers such as Botox and the like.

While those services are available at Next Health, too, clients can also purchase intravenous therapy to receive a custom blend of vitamins that help with a hangover or fatigue, as well as cryotherapy, in which the body is subjected to cold temperatures to aid tissue and muscle damage – an increasingly popular service among athletes. It will also offer genetic testing to help clients learn what type of diet best fits their body type or whether strength training will give them optimal muscle results as opposed to aerobic exercise.

Located next to a Trader Joe’s and Crunch gym, shopping center patrons walking by will be able to see through Next Health’s glass doors and spot its cryotherapy chamber near the reception area.

There will also be two treatment rooms and an IV therapy room that can accommodate three clients. In addition to staff nurses, there will be an on-site physician overseeing the facility.

Prices range from $30 for a cryofacial to as much as $500 for genetic testing, which includes consultations, as well as a five-week implementation guide and meal plan. Monthly memberships will start at about $200.

Kevin Peake, Next Health’s president, said its spa will serve as a one-stop shop for clients desiring a range of treatments.

“We’re offering a full package,” Peake said. “We want to be able to treat as many people as possible. If we’re just offering IV therapy and not cryo, we’re going to be eliminating different needs that people have.”

But much of this technology can be costly. Next Health’s cryotherapy machine costs just under $500,000 and is the only one in California that does not use liquid nitrogen to create freezing temperatures inside the chamber, which is intended to create a safer environment for clients.

Because of the high overhead, Shah said the company would need several hundred members to reach profitability.

Stevens, of Marina Plastic Surgery, said launching a medical spa is an expensive venture that can cost between $1 million to $2 million. But he noted that Next Health’s membership model could be a way to reach profitability and it’s something he predicted would become a trend in the industry.

He said providing an enjoyable and hassle-free experience will be crucial to Next Health’s viability as a business.

“The assumption has been – you buy the technology, you open the space, you throw the technology in the space and it happens,” he said. “But you know and I know as the consumer that the experience that we have really predicts if we’re going to come back or not.”

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