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Nashville beauty buffs know Complexion, a cosmetic dermatology boutique, is an aesthetic oasis for fillers, laser treatments, microneedling, facials, and more.
But Complexion gives its patients more than just good face—they’re working to help them look and feel their best from head to toe. That mission has been further enhanced with the addition of two new treatments: EmSculpt NEO and EmTone.
Complexion Co-Founders and aesthetic nurse practitioners Natalie Copeland and Beth Higney have been working to expand their aesthetic repertoire for the past three years, bringing in new treatments and practitioners to perform them.
“We’re constantly trying to think, ‘where are we going next?’” says Higney. “You attract who you are—we have some [patients] who are younger, we have some that are older, but for the majority, you’re going to attract who you are. So, as we get a little older, we’re thinking about what are we needing next? When you’re 24 to 33, you need a little Botox. Maybe you put a little filler in your lip. There’s no other needs. That’s how we started bringing in [PDO] threads. We were like, okay, now we’re getting an additional lift without constantly treating with more Botox or Dysport. Now we’re going to continue to attract women who are losing elasticity in the skin—in this case in their stomach, above the knees, the legs, cellulite, and then post-baby.”
It’s with that loyalty to their clients and their needs that the two have built a strong reputation for being compassionate, competent, and—for many patients, most importantly—conservative in their treatments. Since opening Complexion in 2018 their mission has been to help their patients look like the best versions of themselves...not like someone else. So, they have been cautious about what treatments they integrate into their business and the motives behind them—including EmSculpt Neo and EmTone.
“I was of the belief that there’s no quick fix, you just have to eat healthy and workout—there’s no gimmick to it, and I didn’t want to absorb a clientele that just wanted an easy quick fix and would be disappointed in their results,” says Higney. “But we went to see an EmSculpt Neo demonstration, and the rep started talking about its effects on the diastasis recti [where the right and left halves of a woman’s rectus abdominus muscle spread apart at the body’s midline] after having a baby, and to see [it used] for an actual medical diagnosis was amazing.”
But they weren’t. And with stunning before and after photos from doctors around the country, the Complexion team was sold on both procedures—which are fundamentally and mechanically different but work beautifully in tandem.
EmSculpt Neo is a non-invasive body shaping procedure that provides simultaneous fat elimination and muscle building. The patient lies down on a comfy bed and paddles are strapped to the chosen area (or areas) as the machine emits both synchronized radio frequency and high intensity electromagnetic energies. That means they heat up the muscles—think a warmup before a workout—and cause the muscle fibers to contract. Essentially your body is doing the work of a full workout without ever lifting a finger. (One procedure has been likened to doing 20,000 crunches in 30 minutes.)
EmTone is the first and only device to simultaneously deliver both thermal and mechanical energy to treat all major contributing factors to cellulite. (And to date, Complexion is the only place in Nashville to get it.) Cellulite—as many women know—defies logic. Fitness, food, cosmetic procedures—nothing ever seems to work. Until now. EmTone’s mix of radio frequency and targeted pressure energy has been proven to shrink fat cells and reduce the appearance of cellulite dimples. For this procedure, the patient lies down while the practitioner applies cooling gel to the desired area (or areas). The machine heats up to around 111 degrees—the temperature at which collagen undergoes structural changes. For the patient, the heat level feels like that of a hot stone massage and is distributed to similarly small patches of the skin for short periods of time on a repeated basis. And if it ever feels too hot, the patient can ask for a moment to regroup: the heat is not lasting. The heat is dispensed by a wand that also emits acoustic waves that disrupt and stimulate the skin to encourage circulation via a vibrational tapping on the skin.
In the case of both treatments, a series of multiple sessions is recommended for maximum results and the team at Complexion can speak to the best number for each patient’s needs. They can also help a patient decide if a combination of the two treatments is best.
“We always think about adding on things based on our patient needs,” says Copeland. “More and more people—especially new moms—were saying I just feel like I’m holding onto it here or the diastasis recti. We had first reached out about the EmSculpt Neo. When we went to the demo, we thought it would pair really well with the EmTone for the cellulite and skin tightening because there’s nothing really out on the market that does what it does. It’s dual technology.” “There’s no swelling, no bruising, no downtime,” adds Higney. “The results feel too good to be true, but it’s true.”
(Complexion, 158 Rosa L Parks Blvd., 615-757-8060; complexionnashville.com)