Spa owner sanctioned for violations tied to ‘medical laser’ care

The owner of an Iowa skin spa who promoted medical laser services has been fined and sanctioned for a lack of certification and oversight.

The Iowa Board of Barbering and Cosmetology has suspended the license of Melissa Kriesel, an esthetician who has owned the Skin Spa and Shop in Cedar Falls.

The board alleges that in August 2024, it fielded a complaint that the Skin Spa and Shop was performing services that were outside of Kriesel’s scope of practice and was also doing business without the required oversight of a medical director.

The board alleges that Kriesel “provided documentation showing that on Feb. 24, 2017, she received certification from the board of directors of the National Laser Institute” and later received “an additional certification from Sciton Laser.”

However, the board adds, when an investigator asked Kriesel to provide certification of training to perform the specific medical services she advertised, she did not do so.

When asked who the business’ medical director was, Kriesel allegedly informed the board that a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, Morgan Huls, was serving in that capacity.

When contacted by the board, Huls allegedly denied the claim and said that in April 2024, Kriesel had talked to her about serving as the medical director but “negotiations did not go beyond theoretical.”

According to the board, Marcia Corson, an advanced registered nurse practitioner, utilized a room at the Skin Spa and Shop to perform Botox injections on patients, but was never employed by Kriesel.

In deciding to sanction Kriesel, the board noted that a licensed esthetician is only allowed to perform medical aesthetic services in a medical spa under the delegation and supervision of a medical director.

“The evidence shows that the Skin Spa and Shop advertised medical laser services, and (Kriesel) acknowledged that she performed laser services,” the board concluded, adding that Kriesel had also falsely claimed to perform such services under the delegation and supervision of a medical director.

“The board has a duty to protect the public and when a person performs services without the proper certification,” the board stated in its decision to suspend Kriesel’s license indefinitely “until she provides proper certification.”

Once she has provided verification of proper training and certification, as well as the name of a medical director, her license can be reinstated, subject to three years of monitoring by the board.

The board also imposed a $2,000 civil penalty against Kriesel.