Day Spas vs. Med Spas

By
Appears in the January 2025 issue.

How treatments and experiences differ

A woman getting a massage and a woman getting a facial treatment, surrounded by a Venn diagram of spa treatments

When it comes to taking care of your skin, hair and nails, our area has a plethora of options, including day spas and med spas. Though similar in name, these two types of businesses can differ greatly when it comes to the services they offer.

For many day spas, pampering visitors and creating a relaxing escape are top priorities. “Our goal is to bring healing, wellness, restoration, and tranquility to our guests in a luxurious spa setting,” says Katrina Morrison, director of Arista Spa & Salon at the Hotel Arista in Naperville. “To me, luxury is bringing guests into a space where they, in essence, don’t need to think. They are carried from service to service, and we just take care of them. We’re really focused on the wellness aspect of unwinding and detaching from everything else we have going on in life.”

At a med spa, on the other hand, the focus tends to be more on results than relaxation. “That’s not to say you can’t have a relaxing experience at a med spa, but we are more results-driven, and that may mean we take a more aggressive approach,” says Kayla Torres, area manager for SEV Naperville, which opened last summer. SEV specializes in laser hair removal and is preparing to add injectable fillers and wrinkle relaxers to its services in early 2025.

Because procedures offered at med spas—such as injectable fillers or laser hair removal—can be invasive and medical in nature, oversight from medical professionals is common. Many med spas have a dermatologist serving as medical director as well as registered nurses or nurse practitioners on staff.

At a day spa, you may be asked health-related questions prior to your service—like disclosing injuries before a massage or discussing skin issues before a facial—but you can expect to spend more time discussing your health history at a med spa. “The state of Illinois requires laser hair removal to be cleared by a nurse practitioner or an MD, so [at SEV] we require all of our clients to sit with our nurse practitioner and discuss their health history and background to see if they would be a good candidate,” Torres says. “The state of Illinois doesn’t require that you be a registered nurse to perform laser hair removal, but we only hire RNs to provide these treatments. When we are dealing with such aggressive treatments and devices we want to make sure that the person doing the treatments has that additional level of medical knowledge.”

Day spas tend to offer inclusive services, that for the most part, any guest can enjoy. At med spas, that’s not necessarily the case. “We are willing to tell a client, ‘No, you don’t need this,’ or ‘I don’t think you would be a candidate for this,’ ” Torres says.

5 NAPERVILLE DAY SPAS

Arista Spa & Salon, 2155 City Gate Lane
ME Spa, 55 S. Main St.
Tricoci Salon & Spa, 1512 N. Naper Blvd.
Michael Graham Salon & Spa, 50 S. Main St.
Solaia Luxury Salon & Spa, 120 Water St.

5 NAPERVILLE MED SPAS

SEV Naperville, 1239 S. Naper Blvd.
Blue Seas Med Spa, 1220 Hobson Road
Radiant, A MedSpa, 30 W. Jefferson Ave.
VIO Med Spa, 2720 Showplace Drive
Luxe Skin Med Spa, 620 N. Washington St.

 

Photos: Hotel Arista; SEV