Cosmetic Treatments Resulting in Complications
and Unnatural Looking Results
As the popularity of MedSpa and Medi Spa facilities rises across the country, so too does the number of patients seeking corrective care for cosmetic procedures gone wrong, prompting Dr. Rebecca Baxt, Board-Certified Dermatologist and Medical Director of BAXT CosMedical®, to speak about this concerning increase in post-treatment complications and unsatisfactory results.
In this blog and her August 2025 podcast, “MedSpa Complications”, Dr. Baxt shares the three major MedSpa mistakes patients seek treatment for by her and other dermatologists and plastic surgeons. These mistakes typically are light source medical devices, injectables (fillers and BOTOX® Cosmetic), and laser hair removal.
What can a cosmetic consumer do? Can these “mistakes” be fixed? It is best to prevent the mistakes. Consumers can educate themselves on how to select a cosmetic enhancement doctor; such as, a board certified dermatologist to reduce the risk of errors from unqualified spa providers. Read on and listen to Dr. Rebecca Baxt’s informative podcast on MedSpa Complications.
What are MedSpas?
Typically, MedSpas or Medi Spas are facilities that offer traditional spa services like massages, skin care, facials, and relaxation therapy, along with aesthetic medical procedures found in a physician’s office, including laser/light treatments, dermal fillers, body shaping, and other cosmetic procedures.
It is important for cosmetic consumers to understand that although MedSpas and Medi Spas are often “overseen” by a medical doctor (MD), most of the treatments are performed by other healthcare practitioners, such as nurses, physician assistants, laser technicians, aestheticians, and others, rather than the MD themselves.
While MedSpas are regulated to varying degrees, the regulations varies from state to state. States have different definitions on what is considered a “medical” aesthetic procedure and who can perform these procedures. Also, spa ownership and the level of supervision varies by state.
Why does this matter? According to Dr. Rebecca Baxt, many nurse injectors and ancillary staff at MedSpas have only completed brief, weekend training courses on how to do select procedures. Unlike board-certified dermatologists or plastic surgeons, they often lack the depth of training, clinical experience, and formal certification required for safe and effective outcomes. While it is true that complications can occur with any provider performing minimally-invasive cosmetic services, the number is higher among patients treated at these MedSpa facilities. 1 And importantly, when complications do arise, board-certified dermatologists and plastic surgeons are equipped with the specialized training and clinical expertise to recognize the issue and manage it properly.
How Can You Fix MedSpa Complications?
Dr. Baxt has helped MedSpa patients who have complications or who don’t like the results of their cosmetic treatments.
The patients primarily fall into three areas:
- Laser/light medical complications
- Improper or poor filler injection techniques
- Bad BOTOX® Cosmetic (neurotoxin) injections
Complications can include burns from laser/light medical devices, redness and skin irritations, facial injections that are over-filled and not natural looking, and neurotoxin injections that are “cookie-cutter” and produce poor results.
Each patient is different and is individually assessed by Dr. Rebecca Baxt at her Paramus, NJ cosmetic and dermatology medical office to determine the corrective treatment. For example, HA facial fillers can be dissolved, and BOTOX® Cosmetic can be properly injected to correct droopy eyelids or “Spock” eyebrows and/or other poor results. In the case of light source skin discoloration and/or burns, there are various potential treatments depending on the circumstance, such as Fraxel® Dual Laser Resurfacing, VBeam Perfecta®, or chemical peels.
Questions You Should Ask Prior to Receiving a Cosmetic Treatment?
Dr. Baxt encourages all patients to do their research and ask questions! Here are some examples of basic questions you can ask prior to your MedSpa treatment prior to making a decision:
- What are the doctor’s credentials and is he or she board-certified? If so, in what speciality.
- How many of the cosmetic procedure you are interested in have they performed?
- Is the supervising physician on site?
- May I see your personal and specific before and after photos for this procedure? (Are the photos shown, the patient of the provider or just generic results?)
- Are the risks and/or complications explained? If not, ask.
- What results can you expect?
- What are the patient reviews and ratings for the MedSpa and/or provider?
If not a doctor, than who is going to be performing the procedure? What are their specific qualifications?
While investigating providers, remember that board-certified dermatologists and plastic surgeons are credentialed, trained, and experienced in performing non-surgical cosmetic enhancement procedures.
Get Natural-Looking Results At BAXT CosMedical®
Dr. Rebecca Baxt offers a large array of non-surgical cosmetic enhancement services and procedures at her premier cosmetic and medical dermatology office, BAXT CosMedical®, located in Paramus, NJ (Bergen County, NJ).
We treat our patients like family. Our motto is… At BAXT CosMedical®, we deliver outstanding patient care and excellent customer service with the best technology available. Learn more, read, “Is Customer Service Dead…Not at BAXT CosMedical®“.
For Unmatched Expert Medical And Cosmetic Dermatology, Contact Us Today!
You can schedule your consultation by requesting an appointment online or by calling 201-265-1300 today.
Feel free to Email or call us if you have any questions.
1 “Experiences With Medical Spas and Associated Complications: A Survey of Aesthetic Practitioners,” Derm Surg, Dec 4, 2020.
