By Michael Meyer, Writer/Editor; and Madilyn Moeller, Editorial Assistant, American Med Spa Association

Eighteen months ago, COVID-19 emerged and changed the way people live their lives. Very quickly, "social distancing" became a familiar term, and how to wear a mask and use Zoom became a way of life. Many in medical aesthetics, and in all walks of life, also have experienced the heartbreak of losing friends and loved ones to the virus. Without question, everyone's lives are significantly different than they were before the pandemic began.

QP wanted to learn how the pandemic has affected medical aesthetics, so in this very special issue, dozens of people who work in and around the industry share what they have learned during this highly unusual time. QP spoke with physicians, nurses, physician assistants, lawyers, finance professionals, vendors, trainers and medical spa owners about how their lives and businesses have adapted—and are continuing to adapt—to the "new normal," and their insights reveal that medical aesthetics is resilient, innovative and strong.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 has not yet disappeared, and new lessons are being learned every day as people come to grips with the evolution of this pandemic. However, medical aesthetics is nothing if not resourceful, and as COVID-19 continues to demand thoughtful responses to difficult problems, the industry will undoubtedly be among the first to change with the times.

"Starting with a Clean Slate"

Nicole E. Norris, MD
Nicole Norris MD Medical Spa (Peru, IL)
www.nicolenorrismd.com

"My background is in medicine and public health. I know through studying the history of public health advancements that handwashing and wearing masks in health care have helped to improve outcomes of the sick and significantly increase the average life expectancy. Throughout my career in family practice, I have been a proponent of vaccines, always checking that my patients young and old have up-to-date vaccine records. After opening my own medical spa five years ago and creating beauty full-time, I never imagined that my livelihood would revolve around these basic concepts of public health. It has been my observation that when my current patient population feels more protected from COVID-19 and these basic concepts of public health are in place, cosmetic office visits increase and, therefore, the bottom line of my aesthetic business improves.

"In 2020, my medical spa, along with many other 'non-essential' Illinois businesses, was closed for two and a half months. During that period, there was maximum fear due to the unpredictability of a virus that spares no one, like a cold, but kills many, like influenza. When my medical spa was able to reopen in the third quarter of 2020 with comprehensive hand/surface sanitation and mask wearing, the patients came back with vigor and collections began an upward trend. Through the fourth quarter of 2020, this upward trajectory continued, and when the COVID-19 vaccines became available, the green line of collections jumped up again and continued an ascent to summer as more and more people were vaccinated. During the third quarter of this year, there have been more cases of COVID-19 due to the more contagious delta variant, children returning to school, and lackadaisical attitudes on mask-wearing and vaccination. As my previous observations would predict, the numbers of patients coming for cosmetic procedures notably declined during this same time.

"Our industry, thankfully, does seem to have a buffer in this pandemic, which can only be explained by vanity and the importance of self-care in our culture of health. But despite this buffer, there seems to be a COVID cosmetic consumer confidence index that directly correlates with the number of visits to my medical spa. If my observations are correct, I predict that this index will increase in the fourth quarter of 2021 due to greater availability of the COVID-19 booster vaccination, more of the unvaccinated becoming vaccinated, and the 'get glowing for the holidays' buffer that not even COVID can dampen. I believe that our aesthetic businesses will continue to be the most successful when paying attention to the basic concepts of public health and disease prevention. I would suggest that maintaining this focus long-term will continue to benefit our livelihood, even when the pandemic is deemed over and is another chapter in the public health history books."

"Know Your Numbers"

Stanley Okoro,
MD, FACS
Medical Director, Amachi MedSpa (Marietta, GA)
www.amachimedspa.com

"When this was happening last year, I thought that people would stop doing aesthetic services and plastic surgery would crash. I was prepared, not to close down the office, but to buckle down and possibly let my employees go. I thought we were going to file for bankruptcy at some point, because there was no revenue coming in—zero. So, we furloughed almost everybody, but I kept a few people coming to work every day, even though we were not making any money, just to keep the office open. The phones were ringing, though. That was the weirdest thing—the phones were blowing up, and we had to bring some people back in to answer the phones. We thought we were going to file for bankruptcy and let people go, but that's not what happened.

"I am seeing about 25 to 35 patients on my clinic day. My surgical services are booked out eight to nine months. I'e never had that in my career. The medical spa is busy. This probably will be the most profitable year for our medical spa. My aesthetician is booked out, and we are looking for aestheticians, but it is hard to find qualified candidates. We need the help, but we can't find qualified help to meet the demand."

"The Stigma is Gone"