Tapping into the demand for skincare in Port

It was an easy decision to start her medical spa More Medical Aesthetics & Wellness in downtown Port Washington, nurse practitioner Arleen More O’Ferrall said.

In Ozaukee County, she said, there were few places for people to go to receive skincare and age-defying treatments including Botox fillers, vitamin injections and facial peels.

“I saw an opportunity with no other injectors in the area,” she said.

O’Ferrall, who lives in River Hills, said she was drawn to Port Washington because of its small-town feel and culture — it’s been a getaway for her and her family for a long time.

“I’ve always loved Port Washington. It’s such a beautiful town,” she said.

O’Ferrall started in the medical aesthetics industry two decades ago after completing a master’s degree in nursing and working at John Hopkins Hospital as a neurocritical care nurse.

She worked at a vein center and medical spa for seven years and a Whitefish Bay aesthetic center for 12. O’Ferrall said she was “at a point where it made sense” to start her own practice last year.

O’Ferrall brought along her colleague, practice coordinator Karen Arcara. Since then, she’s hired two aestheticians, Maggie Pikul and Meg Stewart.

More Medical’s first year has been successful, O’Ferrall said, and especially during the last six months.

The growth has been so rapid, O’Ferrall said, she opened another location in Mequon last month.

Most of her clients are between 40 to 60 year old and women, O’Ferrall said, but “it runs the gamut.”

“We see women who want to be proactive in their 20s and 30s to maintain their youthful look because there’s a lot we can do to prevent signs of aging,” she said.

O’Ferrall has had increasing numbers of male clients as well. Recently, she started treatments for her first 90-year-old client, a man.

“The men category is really growing  across all the treatment fields,” Arcara said.

More Medical offers myriad services, including dermal fillers, micro needling, laser treatments, injectable vitamins, skin peels — “treatments to address pretty much every skin condition you can think of,” Arcara said.

The most important part of building treatment plans is figuring out what the client hopes to achieve, O’Ferrall said.

“Everybody has their own reasons for seeking out our services and their own goals,” she said. “We try to get them to articulate that and then give them a customized treatment plan.

“We take our time with every consultation. We evaluate each person’s unique needs and goals.”

More Medical’s treatments don’t go through insurance since they’re for cosmetic purposes, O’Ferrall said, which simplifies the payment process and lets her be up-front about the cost of treatments.

“We can be very transparent with pricing,” she said.

More Medical also offers weigh loss treatments such as compound prescriptions for Semaglutide and Tirzepatide medicines — similar to name-brand Ozempic and Wegovy — which as a nurse practitioner O’Ferrall can prescribe.

“Sometimes it is cost prohibitive through the brand name or people can’t get it because of production shortages,” Arcara said. “So it’s been helpful for people.”

Port Family Pharmacy has been supportive of More Medical as its gotten off the ground, O’Ferrall said.

More Medical is overseen by a plastic surgeon, and O’Ferrall has several medical certifications. She was one of the first three  people in Wisconsin to be recognized as a certified aesthetic nurse specialist.

“(The CANA certification) keeps us current with the safety standards and protocols that guide our treatments,” O’Ferrall said.

O’Ferrall said the aesthetic treatment industry has boomed since Botox was approved for cosmetic purposes in 2004. “But the issue was, ‘were these procedures being done safely?’” she said, which the CANA certification has helped address.

The goal of their cosmetic treatments, Arcara said, is to make it look like the client hasn’t had any work done.

When it’s obvious, she said, “That’s when you know it’s not good.”

Instead, O’Ferrall tries to do the minimal amount of work needed, she said, adding, “a little can go a long way.”

O’Ferrall said she’s proud of the decades of experience in the industry that is shared between her employees. Arcara brings more than 25 years in the industry, Pikul almost 30 and Stewart 20.

“We have a lot of experience even though we are new,” O’Ferrall said.