Medical Spas: Waxing Adds 20% Revenue by 2026

Dr. Evelyn Reed, who owns “Radiant Skin & Wellness” in Atlanta’s packed Buckhead district, had a problem she couldn’t shake back in early 2026. Her medical spa, known for its laser treatments and injectables, had schedules booked solid for its main services. Still, the waiting room was often quieter than she wanted, especially during off-peak hours. She saw a clear opportunity to improve client flow and make more money. The real question was how to add a popular service like professional hair removal without watering down her high-end brand or burning out her existing team. She needed to boost her medical spa’s efficiency and figure out how to integrate waxing properly.

Adding waxing sounded simple. It wasn’t. Her facility was already set up for sterile, high-tech procedures. How do you fit in a service that some clients might see as “basic” without lowering the tone? She worried about losing the refined atmosphere her clients, who were used to the precision of a hydrafacial or the craft of dermal fillers, had come to expect. On top of that, it was tough to find skilled estheticians who got the subtleties of a med spa versus a regular salon. “It’s about the whole client experience,” she explained to her practice manager, Marcus, “from consultation to aftercare, and it all has to meet our standards of care.”

The Strategic Imperative: Why Medical Spas Need Complementary Services

The med spa market is exploding, projected to hit over $33 billion globally by 2027, according to a report by Grand View Research, Inc., and competition in cities like Atlanta is intense. Diversifying your services is how you stay in the game. Dr. Sarah Chen, a consultant who specializes in medical aesthetics practice management, notes that spas focusing only on big-ticket procedures are missing out on steady, recurring revenue. Lower-cost, frequent services like professional hair removal become touchpoints. They bring clients in the door more often, giving you more opportunities to build loyalty and cross-sell other treatments.

Evelyn’s own numbers backed this up. Her clients, mostly women between 30 and 60, were already going somewhere else for hair removal. So why wasn’t she capturing that revenue? A 2025 survey from the American Med Spa Association confirmed her hunch: nearly 70% of medical spa clients said they’d get professional hair removal services at their main spa if it was an option. This was a ready-made market sitting right in Radiant Skin & Wellness’s existing client files.

Overcoming the Operational Hurdles: Staffing and Training

First, she had to get the right people. This was a huge hurdle. She couldn’t just hire from a local salon. She needed estheticians who were experts in hair removal but also understood skin health, contraindications with medical treatments, and obsessive hygiene protocols. Her solution had two parts. First, she took two of her best front-desk employees who already had some esthetics training and paid for their advanced certification. Promoting from within was great for morale and meant they already understood the Radiant Skin & Wellness service philosophy.

Their training was intense, focusing on professional hair removal techniques, specialized methods for sensitive skin, and post-procedure care. The program drilled down on client consultation, identifying contraindications (especially important for clients getting other medical work done), and providing clear aftercare instructions. Second, she hired Maria, a seasoned esthetician with over 15 years in high-end spas, to run the hair removal department and mentor the new hires. Maria’s experience paid off immediately, especially when it came to choosing products.

“You can’t use just any wax in a medical setting,” Maria advised Evelyn. “We need a gentle, high-quality hard wax made for sensitive skin to keep redness and irritation to a minimum.” They settled on a specific brand known for its hypoallergenic formula and soothing ingredients like chamomile and calendula, a choice that fit perfectly with the spa’s commitment to skin health.

Designing the Client Journey: Integration, Not Addition

Evelyn knew just adding waxing to the menu wouldn’t work. The service had to feel like it belonged. To do this, she considered everything from scheduling to the physical space itself. She converted a smaller consultation room into a serene, private waxing suite, using the same muted tones, soft lighting, and comfortable furniture as the rest of the spa. The goal was to make it feel like a natural extension of their premium services. This was no afterthought.

Pricing was also a deliberate choice. Instead of trying to compete with local salons on price, Evelyn positioned the hair removal services as a premium offering, justifying it with the medical-grade environment, her staff’s expertise, and the quality of the products. She then rolled out tiered membership packages. For instance, a “Radiant Glow Membership” bundled a monthly professional hair removal service with a quarterly hydrafacial and a discount on all skincare. “The bundling strategy was a huge win,” Marcus reported three months after the launch. “Our clients see the value in combining their aesthetic treatments with their regular hair removal, and it makes their self-care routine so much simpler.”

Technology as an Enabler: Simplifying Operations

The whole operation hinged on smart scheduling and client management. Radiant Skin & Wellness was already running on Mindbody, so adding the new hair removal services into the platform was straightforward. Clients could book appointments online, get automated reminders, and even pay in advance, which took a huge load off the front desk. The software’s detailed client notes were also a lifesaver, making sure the estheticians were aware of any skin sensitivities, allergies, or other medical treatments a client might be undergoing (a non-negotiable part of the job in a med spa).

“The data from Mindbody is incredible,” Evelyn observed. “We can track which clients are using the new services, identify popular times, and even see how many hair removal clients are converting to our other medical aesthetic treatments. It’s given us real, actionable insights we wouldn’t have had otherwise.” That ability to see cross-service use helped them refine their marketing and promotions.

The Payoff: Enhanced Client Experience and Revenue Growth

Six months after launch, the results were clear. The hair removal services were consistently booked at 80% capacity and bringing in a healthy new stream of revenue. Better yet, client feedback was fantastic. They loved the convenience of getting multiple services at one place they already trusted. “It’s just so much easier,” commented Sarah Jenkins, a long-time client. “I used to go to another salon for my waxing, but now I can get everything done here, and I trust their hygiene standards completely.”

The cross-selling started happening, too. Marcus noted a 25% jump in product sales, as estheticians recommended specific aftercare products and sun protection. Several clients who first came in only for hair removal had since booked consultations for laser treatments or injectables, having become comfortable with the spa’s professional environment and staff. The once-quiet waiting room was now buzzing, a direct result of boosting the medical spa’s efficiency by integrating waxing.

Evelyn’s experience at Radiant Skin & Wellness shows that expanding your services, even into areas that seem outside your core business, can drive serious growth if you do it right. It all comes down to knowing your clients, investing in good training and products, and using technology to tie it all together. The combination of high-end medical aesthetics and expert hair removal was the right formula for her Buckhead practice.

For any med spa owner thinking about expanding, the lesson from Dr. Reed’s experience is straightforward: add services that make sense for your clients and your brand, never compromise on your standards of care, and your practice will do just fine.