Many may know Santa Rosa entrepreneur Kelsey Cox Maynard as the owner of local spin studio Rice Cycle Co., a boutique indoor cycle gym she opened in 2020.
But Maynard is trading in her cycling shoes for nursing plants at her True Beauty Therapy + Skin Care Science aesthetic medicine practice in Montgomery Village.
“I want to help break down the stigma around aesthetics,” laments Maynard. “There are a lot of people who say negative things. If you want to grow naturally, that’s beautiful, but if you want to get beauty services, that’s also beautiful.”
Maynard has been practicing aesthetic skin care medicine full time since 2016. She worked as a physician assistant in Nashville, Tennessee before moving to Santa Rosa in 2019.
She previously worked at Allegro Medscape in Santa Rosa before opening her practice in early March just a few doors down from Rise Cycle Co.
“We are thrilled to welcome local and women-owned businesses to Montgomery Village,” Montgomery Village General Manager Brittany Mundarin said in a statement.
“Offering a wide range of services from hair restoration to professional skin care, REAL has all your beauty care needs and is focused on celebrating the real you, and we can’t wait for them to become part of our growing community.”
Having her own practice allows Maynard to mentor future physician assistants and student providers to live out her vision of how aesthetic medicine should be.
Her practice focuses on advanced injectable treatments and natural-looking results, such as Botox, fillers, chin augmentation and facial rejuvenation, along with other types of aesthetic medical treatments.
“You don’t see puffy lips or plump faces in my practice,” Maynard said. “In Northern California, we want to look natural.”
But not all of her patients want bigger lips or smaller skin. Many are transgender and want to have their faces match their gender identity, while others are seeking reconstruction or reconstructive surgery, such as using fillers to reduce scarring from injury or degenerative disease.
“I think that’s the most overlooked part of my job,” she says. “I have patients with scars from dog bites or other traumas, and I use it to reduce the scarring and return the area to pre-wound.”
Maynard became interested in aesthetic medicine at the age of 16. Growing up, she had severe acne which meant frequent trips to the dermatologist.
“Clearing my skin changed my life,” Maynard said. “Once my pimples were gone, it gave me a bit of confidence and that’s what got me into it.”
She completed her master’s degree in physician assistant studies at Boston University School of Medicine—and her dissertation on preventative Botox helped land her her first medical spa job in Nashville.
She eventually moved to Santa Rosa with her husband.
Although she has her own practice, she practices under the supervision of a supervising physician — mid-level providers must open a practice — to step in to help if any problems arise.
Maynard wants to use her experience to mentor and teach students who want to enter the aesthetic medicine and skin care industry by offering teaching opportunities and individual or group training.
“Mid-level providers and nurses are often underpaid and I think that’s not fair,” she says. “Now that I’m out on my own, I can find my own voice. I am using social media and my mission to mentor future service providers and PA students because of the lack of transparency.
Because beauty treatments aren’t typically covered by insurance, she wants to find ways to help people afford her services.
“Sometimes you don’t need plastic surgery, you just need fillers and those aren’t covered by insurance,” Maynard said. “I want to give these treatments to people who can’t afford them.”
Maynard’s practice will be open Tuesday through Friday in Montgomery Village. Appointments, including new-patient consultations, can be made at realaestheticmed.com.
Staff Secretary Sara Edwards can be reached at 707-521-5487 or sara.edwards@pressdemocrat. Com. On Twitter @sedwards380.