E41: Medicine meets aesthetics in this physician-led approach to feeling and looking better.

What happens when healthcare providers decide to expand their mission beyond treating illness to helping people feel genuinely good about themselves? Ashley Chase and Dr. Bauer answered this question by founding Valar Aesthetics, a physician-led med spa bringing medical expertise to aesthetic treatments.

Ashley reveals how their practice emerged from a six-year professional relationship in family medicine that evolved into friendship and eventually partnership. Their shared vision—helping patients feel as good on the outside as they do on the inside—drives everything at Valar Aesthetics. Unlike traditional medical visits that patients often dread, Ashley explains that aesthetics allows them to work with people who actively want to be there, creating a more positive experience for everyone involved.

The conversation takes fascinating turns as Ashley debunks industry myths like "preventative Botox" for twenty-somethings and shares surprising research about oral vitamin E supplements potentially contributing to heart disease. What truly sets Valar apart is their commitment to education, offering complimentary physician consultations so clients understand all their options instead of feeling pressured to research everything independently. Ashley also dispels the misconception that aesthetics is just for women, noting their treatments benefit everyone seeking to enhance their appearance and confidence.

Perhaps most compelling is Ashley's candid discussion about balancing business ownership with caregiving for her father, who was recently diagnosed with liver cancer. Her story of developing emotional resilience while maintaining her professional responsibilities reflects the human element that defines Valar's approach to aesthetics. As Ashley puts it, "We really try to bring the humanity into this aesthetics industry." It's this philosophy—combining medical expertise with genuine care—that makes Valar Aesthetics a standout in their field.

Ready to experience a different kind of med spa? Visit https://www.valarmedspa.com/ to learn more about their services and team, or find them on social media for the latest updates. Your journey to feeling better inside and out begins with a conversation.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Nick George.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of a unique medspa owned and operated by an
experienced local physician?
One might be closer than youthink.
Today I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
ashley Chase with VelarAesthetics.

Speaker 3 (00:30):
Ashley, how's it going?
It's going great, Nick.
Thank you for having us on theshow.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
We're so excited to be here.
Well, we're excited to learnall about you and your business.
Tell us about your company orpractice.

Speaker 3 (00:36):
Sure.
So Dr Bauer and I co-foundedVelar Aesthetics about three and
a half years ago.
We really we worked together infamily medicine and we really
wanted to expand the way that wewere able to help a patient
feel better.
You know, a lot of the timespeople come into a doctor's
office they don't really want tobe there for their blood
pressure.
But you know, if you come in to, you know treat yourself, you

(00:59):
know we are able to help youfeel better that way and that
was something that reallyappealed to us.
So we did this three and a halfyears ago.

Speaker 2 (01:06):
How did you get into the business?

Speaker 3 (01:08):
Yeah, so Dr Bauer and I worked together.
I was his medical assistant for, oh gosh, about six years
before we started this togetherand this was something that he
had always had in the back ofhis mind that he had wanted to
do.
He had always wanted to startan aesthetics clinic and just
seeing how well we work together, he's my best friend now and he
was like, just, do you want todo this aesthetics clinic with

(01:29):
me?
And I was like, absolutely.
And we just, you know, to thegrindstone and got it done and
I've learned a lot, but we gotin from from our healthcare
background.
So that's how we're here now.

Speaker 2 (01:41):
What are some myths or misconceptions in your
industry?

Speaker 3 (01:45):
Oh, that's so interesting.
Let's see.
One thing that Dr Bauer likesto poke fun at is preventative
Botox.
So you will get, you know, somepeople might come in in their
20s, you know, young 20s, early30s.
They're like I needpreventative Botox.
I'm like you don't you know.
So he really likes to dispelthat myth.

(02:08):
Another one that we've recentlylearned about is the dangers of
taking oral vitamin E, becausewe will might take it for, like,
skin, hair, nails, things likethat, but if you take it through
the like, through a pill,through via mouth, like if you
use it topically, great, but ifyou take a pill for it, it can
actually cause contributes toheart disease.

(02:29):
So that was crazy that welearned.
Oh, just a few years ago therewas some study for it, but I'd
say probably.
Those are the first two thingsthat popped in my mind.

Speaker 2 (02:40):
I saw that you do a lot of different things there,
all wrapped up under one title.
But who are your targetcustomers and how do you attract
them?
Now?

Speaker 3 (02:49):
Let's see.
Our target customer is, I wouldsay, a little different than
your standard aesthetics patient, because we are really
targeting just anybody thatwants to just feel better on the
outside that they do on theinside.
It's really anybody.
It's not for only women, youknow we there's a lot of
misconceptions.
You know that this is for womenand men, don't?

(03:11):
You know?
Go do this.
But you know all of ourservices are great for men.
You know, none of these areonly for women.
We treat a lot of men and so Iforgot the question.

Speaker 2 (03:23):
No, I mean you're answering it.
It was a loaded one.
I saw that you did manydifferent things under the
heading of aesthetics, and so Iguess what I wanted to say is,
outside of the usual esthetician, who are your target customers
now and how are you attractingthem, for and for what
procedures?

Speaker 3 (03:40):
Sure.
So, yeah, we're full, fullaesthetics clinic, everything
from facials to plastic surgery,Like I mentioned.
You know, anybody that justwants to feel like they, you
know, feel like they lookoutside the way they feel inside
, and so most of the time it'sgoing to be people in there.
You know, right around 40, juststarting to come in there, like
I started to notice some linesand wrinkles.

(04:01):
You know, what can I do aboutthis?
And we're really big oneducation, and so I think that
our complimentary physiciansconsultation is huge in
attracting the right kinds ofpatients that want to learn and,
you know, really understand allof their options instead of
feeling like they needed to doall the research on their own.

Speaker 2 (04:20):
Have you thought about getting that information
out in a podcast?

Speaker 3 (04:27):
No, it sounds great.
I mean we've thought, we'vebeen.
You know, we've thought aboutradio and all of those things.
I've always been open to it.
I just haven't looked out forit myself.
So it was just a delight thatyou reached out to us.

Speaker 2 (04:39):
Outside of work.
What do you do for fun?

Speaker 3 (04:41):
Oh me, I'm a big nerd , so I, you know, I like to play
video games, I like to read, Ihave a pet lizard that I like to
go take on walks, you know, I'mjust a big so.
And then I'm a caregiver for myfamily as well.
So you know, the the caregivingdoesn't stop when I leave here.

Speaker 2 (05:00):
Nice, let's switch gears.
Sure, can you.
Can you describe a hardship ora life challenge that you
overcame and how it made youstronger?
What comes to mind?

Speaker 3 (05:11):
Of course, yeah, gosh , I mean, life is hard, right,
nick, life is just hard.
But I would say I feel like I'mreally in the most challenging
time right now.
Personally, if that's what youwere asking, it involves the
business.
It's, you know, keeping.
You know, keeping the businessgoing, trying to improve things,

(05:31):
get the word out there, and I'malso.
My dad was recently diagnosedwith liver cancer and so I'm
taking him and doing, and hiscaregiver, and so really trying
to do all of these thingstogether has been Pretty
challenging running a businessand being a caregiver for my
parents and has been quitechallenging.

(05:53):
But I definitely feel like Ihave more emotional resilience
now.
I have more just command of mylife.
Like I can, I'm not afraid todo one thing or the other.
Like I know I can make ithappen.
Now I don't have to worry aboutif I'm going to be.
You know.
Well, what if this happens?
Well, what if this happens?
It's like I'll be all right,I've got this.

(06:14):
So it's definitely, you know,put a lot on my plate that I
have been impressed with myself.
I've been able to handle so.

Speaker 2 (06:22):
Yeah, you're a real doer.
That's amazing.

Speaker 3 (06:24):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (06:26):
Ashley, please tell our listeners one thing they
should absolutely remember aboutVelar Aesthetics yes, please, I
would absolutely love if youremember nothing else about
Velar Aesthetics.

Speaker 3 (06:42):
I would love if you just kept to heart that we
really try to bring the humanityinto this aesthetics industry.
There can be.
You know, you don't know whatyou're going to get all the time
when you go into a clinic likethis.
And we really wanted to bringthe humanity here and we're very
down to earth, we're very open,friendly, we love to educate
and love to answer questions.
So if that's, if that's theonly thing that you take away,
like we've, we've really put alot of effort to bring the

(07:04):
humanity into this industry, sowe'd be proud to show you that
if you wanted to come by.

Speaker 2 (07:09):
Sure, I'd love to.
How can our listeners learnmore about Valar Aesthetics?

Speaker 3 (07:16):
Yeah, so we have a website.
So we're at wwwvalarmdcom it'sV-A-L-A-R-M-Dcom, and you can
see all of our services.
You can learn about our staff,including Dr Bauer and myself,
our nurses, our esthetician, andyou can learn just all about us
there.
We're also starting to work onour social media presence, so
soon here you'll be able to findus on tick tock and instagram

(07:39):
awesome.

Speaker 2 (07:39):
Well, ashley, I really appreciate you being on
the show.
We wish you and your practicethe best moving forward thank
you so much.

Speaker 3 (07:46):
We appreciate you having us on the show, Nick.

Speaker 1 (07:50):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go tognpfortcollinscom.
That's gnpfortcollinscom, orcall 970-438-0825.