Beauty is how you Feel: Radiance Medical Spa
Radiance Medical Spa opened almost four years ago as a complementary business to Ricks Advanced Dermatology & Skin Surgery. Dr. Matthew Ricks was working at Stormont Vail as a physician when he began thinking about opening his own clinic.
Friends with Carol Gitto, who was working as Director of Physician Clinics at St. Francis at the time, Dr. Ricks approached her about working with him on opening a dermatology clinic and medical spa in Topeka.
Dr. Matthew Ricks, had a vision to open his own dermatology and skin surgery clinic in Topeka four years ago and complement it with medical spa services. He knew his friend Carol Gitto had the right skills and asked her to join him.
They found a building at 5120 SW 28th St. that was the right size to house both the clinic and the spa, but it took over a year to design the space and remodel it to accommodate their needs. They finally opened the doors in January 2016 with the dermatology clinic on the lower level and the medical spa upstairs.
As the only fellowship trained Mohs surgeon in the area outside of Kansas City, Dr. Ricks already had a great reputation and specialized services to quickly build his dermatology practice. The unknown element was whether Topeka would embrace the medical spa.
“The medical spa was a risk because we weren’t sure whether people would value those types of services,” Carol said. “We were amazed at how much people wanted those services. We were busy from the moment we opened our doors.”
In fact, there is so much demand that Radiance Medical Spa has extended its hours to include three evenings a week to accommodate those clients who need to come after work.
Some say beauty is only skin deep. Others say it comes from within. But most agree it is in the eye of the beholder. No matter the definition of beauty, helping people look and feel more beautiful has become a billion dollar industry. From state-of-the-art skincare procedures and products to 3D fingernail art and eyelash enhancement, local businesses are bringing the business of “beauty” to Topeka.
“People assume only women in their 40s and 50s want med spa services,” Carol said, “but we have people of all ages, from teenagers to senior citizens.”
Student membership programs allows teens to get hydrofacials once a month to help prevent breakouts and improve the health of their skin. Anti-aging memberships allow older members to accumulate points toward Botox and fillers each month as well. And, Carol says, the fastest growing market is millennials looking for preventive care to keep their skin looking younger longer.
With everything from facials to laser hair removal, fillers and Botox to laser tattoo removal, Radiance Medical Spa’s trained estheticians help people feel more beautiful. They go through extensive training on every procedure and every piece of equipment. Anyone operating a laser has to be certified by that manufacturer and undergoes online and hands on training.
“Christina, who is in charge of our esthetician hiring and training, won’t let anyone touch a patient for three-months after they are hired,” Carol said. “She puts them through weeks of training on each service. They have to do at least 20 hydrofacials on each other before they can perform one on a patient.
Continuing education is vital, Carol says. All of the estheticians attend workshops with Skinceuticals, the medical grade skincare product provider and Jane Iredale, the medical grade makeup line. They attend conferences every year to learn the latest trends and products. They also stay on top of the legal requirements for supervision and procedures to make sure they are ahead of the curve on meeting regulations.
“We never have anyone operate a laser if a practitioner isn’t on location,” Carol said.
Which is not usually an issue because Dr. Ricks, a physician assistant and a nurse practitioner are all onsite downstairs. That proximity also benefits visitors to Radiance Medical Spa because if an esthetician
sees a spot that is of concern during a hydrofacial or other procedure, one of the practitioners can pop up into the spa to take a look and decide if a follow-up appointment needs to be made in the dermatology clinic.
“It’s so nice to have a dermatologist in the building,” Carol said. “It elevates the level of professionalism and what we can offer patients as a med spa.”
