By Patrick O'Brien, Legal Coordinator for the American Med Spa Association

Med spas in their quest to provide the best beautifying services to their clients straddle the line between medical procedures and traditional cosmetic treatments. So it is no surprise that traditional salon cosmetic procedures are major part of a med spa's business. In fact, according to the 2017 Medical Spa State of the Industry Report, aesthetic and cosmetic procedures are the 2^nd most common procedure done in med spas and are the 2^nd best revenue generators.

Traditional aesthetic procedures compliment the medical treatments offered by med spas, and since these are not medical procedures they don't require physician supervision. Similarly they don't require a medical or nursing license to perform. And most of the procedures don't require the huge capital investments needed for machines such as laser or IPL devices. However, choosing to offer traditional aesthetic procedures does come with its own set of complications.

As you know med spas are medical practices and need to follow the regulations for medical practices. It follows then that med spas that offer salon treatments fall under spa and salon regulations, too. In some states a medical practice that offers aesthetic procedures through cosmetologists or aestheticians needs to also have their facility inspected and be licensed as a salon.

For instance, in California the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology requires that places offering cosmetology and aesthetician services must obtain an establishment license for the premises in addition to the practitioners holding their own cosmetology or aesthetician licenses. Similarly, in Texas aestheticians are only permitted to practice their art in licensed salon or cosmetology facilities. Typically, to obtain these licenses the facility must meet certain square footage, restroom, and sanitation requirements. This shouldn't be an issue for most med spa locations but it is prudent to review the regulations for salons to avoid any future issues. You wouldn't want to finish your build out only to find that one of your rooms is 5 square feet too small.

If you plan to offer permanent make up or micropigmentation services you will want to check with your state's tattooing or body art board. Permanent makeup is generally considered a form of tattooing and requires a tattoo license for the artist and usually must be performed in a licensed tattoo parlor. A few states have specific permanent cosmetic or micropigmentation licenses separate from their tattoo license.

While in many states physicians are given an exemption from needing a tattoo license this is not always the case, and even if a physician is exempt that doesn't necessarily mean the med spa or other employees are. For instance, in Mississippi the exemption is only for the physician and doesn't extend to delegated health professionals and the facility still needs to be inspected and licensed as a tattoo parlor.

If you are thinking of hiring an aesthetician or want to expand the "Spa" side of your med spa be sure you get the needed licenses. If you have questions about what licenses your med spa might need please contact us. AmSpa members receive an annual compliance consultation call with the law firm of ByrdAdatto.

Has your spa started offering more salon services? What are your most popular procedures? We want to know; data collection for the 2019 State of the Industry Report will be opening soon and we hope to hear from you.