Picture a trip to the drugstore where, in one aisle, you scrutinize the best cents-per-ply toilet paper sale, and in the next, you get a quick jab of Botox to conquer your crow’s feet. Errands with a side of non-invasive treatments may sound ludicrous, yet that’s the image that sprung into the minds of many consumers and experts upon hearing about Shoppers Drug Mart’s latest expansion: The Beauty Clinic, an offering of non-surgical cosmetic services and treatments that launched late December.
I was invited to visit the new Oakville location and try a complimentary treatment. With nine years of beauty reporting experience, I’ve seen the ins and outs of many salons, spas and clinics and can sleuth out quickly whether I’m in good hands or not.
The services on offer range from chemical peels and laser facials to Botox and filler injections, with all prices listed online (not a general practice for esthetic clinics) and every dollar spent eligible for the company’s PC Optimum bonus points. The costs are comparable to industry standards. The upscale Yorkville medi-spa I frequent charges $12 per unit of Botox, while The Beauty Clinic’s ring it at $10 per unit. I received an IPL (intense pulsed light) facial that costs $250.
The promise touted by the beauty giant is a comfortable experience, transparent pricing and expert staff. “Our piece here was about trying to make [non-surgical treatments] accessible and bringing in really experienced nurse practitioners who can deliver a good experience that you can trust and that’s at a service level that you come to expect at Shoppers,” Sarah Draper, senior director of health care partnerships and innovation, said in an interview.
When my Uber car pulls up to the strip mall on Oakville’s Prince Michael Drive, I assume it will let me off in front of the big Shoppers Drug Mart at one end. I check my address and realize I’m actually heading to a separate brick building a few doors down. Aside from a Shoppers logo on the sign out front, there’s little inside to indicate that this wood-panelled and minimalist white space belongs to Canada’s top drugstore. At reception, I’m handed a seven-page intake form, with four pages of medical history, to fill out before meeting Mara Langevin, the nurse practitioner who will be performing my service.
One of the loudest critiques of The Beauty Clinic is that there are no doctors on site (the company did hire a plastic surgeon as a medical consultant to help develop its operational protocols, Draper confirms). All injections are performed by nurse practitioners, who, in Ontario, are certified to diagnose and treat without a doctor’s order or oversight. In my experience, this is standard practice for non-invasive treatments. My usual medi-spa does have a doctor on site, though I’ve never met him (his focus is on plastic surgery, which isn’t offered at The Beauty Clinic).
Langevin leads me into one of three treatment rooms to go over the medical history forms. She takes careful note of the jaw surgery I had back in 2009, and the fact that I am prone to cold sores. At 35 minutes, it’s the lengthiest consult I’ve ever had, and for one of the least invasive cosmetic treatments I’ve ever had: IPL, a relatively painless facial that uses light energy via a laser device to break down the pigment below skin’s surface that causes dark spots.
I lie on the cushioned bed and slide a pair of metal goggles over my eyes. Langevin tests a patch of skin on my cheek, giving it a quick blast of light, which feels like a tiny rubber-band snap, then waits three minutes to watch for signs of reaction. The IPL treatment itself takes 20 minutes, with about 100 quick blasts of light to cover my entire face, and at least a dozen “are you doing OKs?” from Langevin. After the treatment, I’m left without redness or irritation, just my now-darkened freckle clusters, which have gone from a sandy brown to a deep chocolate from the rising pigment that will slough off within three weeks.
As the Oakville location builds its business — about 100 clients have visited so far, reports Draper — the company is planning its second location, set to open at Don Mills in April.
So, if it all takes off as planned, are the visions of one-stop toothpaste plus lip enhancements something the company is planning down the line? “It’s certainly not the plan right now,” says Draper. “Our plan right now is just these two locations, and then see how they perform from there.”
Caitlin Kenny is the digital director of The Kit, based in Toronto. She writes about beauty and fitness. Reach her on email at ck@healthstationblog.comthekit.ca or follow her on Twitter: @healthstationblog.comcaitlinken
