We all know what a med spa is—a medical spa. It’s an aesthetic medical center combined with a day spa that provides nonsurgical aesthetic medical services under a licensed physician.
Med spas have long-been a popular concept on the west coast. But in New York City, it’s still very new. One new med spa wellness center in New York City is called B&B Aesthetics (which stands for ‘beauty and body’), and was founded by Dr. Bushra Helmandi, a chiropractor with over eight years’ experience who wanted something more for her city.
“I wanted a one-stop shop where you could get a massage, facial and pre-emptive care,” she said. “It’s like a traditional med spa with a twist—you can get acupuncture, an IV drip, see our dietitian, and enjoy a facial right after.”
“To look your best, you have to feel your best,” she adds. “The inside and outside are connected.”
Set in the heart of Midtown East in Manhattan, B&B Aesthetics is a new take on the med spa format. Since August, their 20 in-house specialists have helped clients with skin resurfacing, body contouring, acupuncture, massage, and chiropractic needs. They also have nutrition sessions, lymphatic drainage massages, and limelight laser therapy, a non-invasive technology that safely treats skin redness and sun damage.
Next up, Dr. Helmandi is releasing a new line of skincare in 2023 called B&B Skincare and is introducing Wellness Parties for private events. She’s also planning to host a B&B Aesthetics pop-up in Zero Bond, a private members club in SoHo in 2023, too. She speaks to Forbes about feeling good, staying healthy and the essence of true beauty.
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Forbes: Your approach is that beauty is more than just what you look like on the outside—you connect the interior with the exterior, correct?
Dr. Bushra Helmandi: Yes, that’s right! It’s very personal to me. If you’re not feeling good, it doesn’t matter how good you look. If you’re suffering from sleep insomnia and anxiety, there’s nothing we can do about your under-eye circles because it’s going to be a recurring issue. From what I observe in New York City, many people suffer from anxiety, sleep deprivation or stress, not knowing how to balance it or have it come into alignment. So my idea was, hey, why not create a one-stop shop where you can get both beauty treatments and acupuncture, which helps people with insomnia and anxiety? From there, I started thinking about what else we could treat internally to reflect externally, so, you not only feel great physically, but mentally, too.
Where is this all coming from?
My own beauty and body health journey. I am the target demographic, someone who believes that health always comes first. I’m a woman in my 30s and, I’m not getting any younger. That’s why I’m always trying to find new ways to be proactive and look my best. I ask myself all the time: What can I do to preserve my youth, without doing something drastic like plastic surgery? What can I do for my well being that’s healthy and medically conservative? We do have traditional med spa options, like Botox and fillers, which aren’t exactly conservative, but it depends on the client, how conservative they want to be.
What are the backgrounds of your in-house experts?
Everyone who works here is a licensed healthcare practitioner. Even our aesthetician is in nursing school right now. Here, we have a nurse, a dietitian, and a physician’s assistant. They’re all people who started in healthcare, so our priority is healthcare. But we all love beauty too, which is built into our core belief: that you have to feel your best to look your best. It’s all connected.
What are a few examples of what makes B&B Aesthetics different?
It's still novel to the city. I’m always thinking outside the box. This is my creative outlet. I’m a chiropractor, that’s my background. I grew my business during the pandemic. It became a multi-disciplinary office, where I brought in massage therapy, physical therapy, acupuncture, IV drips. Patients trusted us. In the past, I would refer my patients out for those things, but I brought them in-house. It was easier to make sure quality assurance was there. I noticed other med spas tried to make this format work, but they hired outside vendors. When I started B&B Aesthetics, it wasn’t supposed to be a wellness center, but a regular med spa. One client who came in wanted a facial and a chiropractor. I thought, why not? Why not have something very west coast in New York? Because everyone is busy. We’re all running around. Why not get three things done in a two-hour time slot in the same place? Sounds way more relaxing than rushing to different offices.
Why hasn’t New York caught onto this type of wellness-focused center yet?
It took me nine years to curate this team of people. If I was an aesthetician in a med spa, it would be harder to bring other practitioners onboard simply because how would I even know what people are good at? I have a staff of 20 people. They were all interviewed by me, this is my taste, tone, and vision. We have everything here; you don’t have to go across town to see an acupuncturist.
What is your vision for founding B&B Aesthetics?
My vision was personal to me. I wanted to step into a wellness office and get a facial, IV drip and acupuncture and be on my way. Life changes, and as women, we change hormonally. How I feel today is not how I’m going to feel in five years. At B&B Aesthetics, I can ask our dietitian Melissa what is going on with me internally. We can holistically work with you for several years to ensure that that trust is always there.
How did being a chiropractor help prepare you for this?
My chiropractic background, and my interest in staying healthy led me to saying to myself, ‘hey, let me combine these two worlds.’ Nutrition is important. When I wanted to create this wellness center, I realized nutrition was the most important thing. We do have IV drips, vitamin B shots and all that fun stuff, but it’s really about getting to the root cause of why people feel the way they feel.
What are some of your plans for 2023 and beyond?
A lot of events, and I’m leaning towards events that help educate people about wellness, skincare and the nutritional aspect of how you take care of yourself on the inside, so you see it on the outside. I want people to get the knowledge they need to take care of themselves.
In terms of beauty, what are New Yorkers looking for?
I think we’re trending towards conservative care and being preventative. It’s about taking care of ourselves and doing what we can to stay healthy internally so that we look amazing externally. Women really want to look like the best versions of themselves. It ties into the nutritional aspect, but it’s also about incorporating treatments like micro needling and laser facials into self-care routines. We also have Diamond Glow facials that hydrate the skin during winter. It's about focusing on the long term, and treating yourself once a month. Lymphatic drainage massages are great, too.
What is some advice you have for people who want to take care of their skin this winter?
Sun protection and hydration! These two crucial factors are what led me to creating a skincare line launching next year, which will be called B&B Skincare.
How hard is it to start a business, as a chiropractor who is now running an entire office?
Starting a business was quite daunting. There were so many steps. You must be the type of person who fails so many times, and you’re okay with persevering, and moving onto the next challenge. Luckily, I am that type of person. It has been difficult, but I thrive when it comes to challenges. I’m a problem solver. The med spa is a fun challenge, but there is no such thing as clocking in and out of your job when you’re an entrepreneur.
B&B Aesthetics is located at 369 Lexington Avenue, check them out on Instagram @beautyandbodynyc.