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Does a med spa in Louisiana need a medical director?

Oversight · part of The Practice Perimeter

⛔ LOUISIANA NAMES THE MED SPA FAILURE MODES INSIDE ONE DEFINITION OF UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT. R.S. 37:1285(A)(13) makes unprofessional conduct a cause for refusing, suspending or revoking a license, and its enumerated examples read like a list of how a cosmetic practice goes wrong: FAILING TO MAINTAIN INDEPENDENT MEDICAL JUDGMENT, IMPROPERLY DELEGATING OR SUPERVISING, exercising undue influence, ENABLING THE UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE OF MEDICINE, practicing or enabling practice by an impaired provider, and failing to practice within the scope of education, training and experience. A separate cause reaches the arrangement rather than the act: knowingly performing any act which in any way assists an unlicensed person to practice medicine, or HAVING PROFESSIONAL CONNECTION WITH OR LENDING ONE'S NAME TO AN ILLEGAL PRACTITIONER. Physician assistants have their own cause — utilizing one without approval and recordation as required by law, or permitting one within the physician's employment to conduct activities OUTSIDE THE DESIGNATED SCOPE of the assistant's approval and registration. The practice of medicine is defined broadly enough to catch cosmetic work: holding oneself out as engaged in, or actually engaging in, the diagnosing, treating, curing or relieving of any bodily condition, defect or injury in another person, BY ANY DRUG, INSTRUMENT OR FORCE, or any other agency or means. THE COSMETOLOGY BOARD’S RULES THEN NAME THE PROCEDURES A SALON LICENSE DOES NOT REACH. No license or permit issued by the Board of Cosmetology authorizes, in a salon it licenses, the use of lasers, MICRO-NEEDLING, micro-blading, any service or procedure which penetrates or invades the live tissue or dermis by any means — instruments, product insertion, puncturing, cutting, needling or chemical exfoliation — or the use of any mechanical or electrical apparatus classified as a medical device by the FDA. Estheticians shall not perform any procedure which will affect the dermis or skin below the epidermis; esthetic services are the work performed ON THE EPIDERMIS, and the board’s definition of nano-needling is a non-invasive technique that does not penetrate beyond the epidermis by more than .25 mm.

Drawn from 9 verified rules in this section · regulatory monitoring, not legal advice

The rest of what Louisiana says on this

Every other rule we have verified under physician supervision & delegation, each linked to its primary source.

  • Unprofessional conduct, including but not limited to, conduct manifested as sexual misconduct, disruptive behavior, failing to cooperate with the board, failing to maintain independent medical judgment, improperly delegating or supervising, exercising undue influence, enabling the unauthorized practice of medicine, practicing or enabling practice by an impaired provider, failing to practice within the scope of education, training, and experience, intentionally falsifying or fraudulently altering records, or failing to create or maintain medical records, is a cause for which the board may refuse to issue, or may suspend or revoke any license or permit, or impose probationary or other restrictions.

    La. Rev. Stat. §37:1285(A)(13) · verified Sep 3, 2026

  • Knowingly performing any act which, in any way, assists an unlicensed person to practice medicine, or having professional connection with or lending one's name to an illegal practitioner, is a cause for which the board may refuse to issue, or may suspend or revoke any license or permit.

    La. Rev. Stat. §37:1285(A)(18) · verified Sep 3, 2026

  • Utilizing a physician's assistant without approval and recordation as required by law or permitting a physician's assistant, within his employment, to conduct activities outside of the designated scope of the assistant's approval and registration is a cause for which the board may refuse to issue, or may suspend or revoke any license or permit.

    La. Rev. Stat. §37:1285(A)(22) · verified Sep 3, 2026

  • "The practice of medicine", whether allopathic or osteopathic, means the holding out of one's self to the public as being engaged in the business of, or the actual engagement in, the diagnosing, treating, curing, or relieving of any bodily or mental disease, condition, infirmity, deformity, defect, ailment, or injury in any human being, other than himself, whether by the use of any drug, instrument or force, whether physical or psychic, or of what other nature, or any other agency or means.

    La. Rev. Stat. §37:1262(3) · verified Sep 3, 2026

  • No license or permit issued by the board authorizes the performance of any of the following services in a salon licensed by the board: micro-needling; micro-blading; services or procedures which penetrate or invade the live tissue or dermis by any means including but not limited to the use of instruments or product insertion, puncturing, cutting, needling or chemical exfoliation.

    La. Admin. Code tit. 46, pt. XXXI, § 717(A)(3)-(5) (Prohibited Services) · verified Sep 7, 2026

  • No license or permit issued by the board authorizes the performance of any of the following services in a salon licensed by the board: use of lasers; the use of any mechanical or electrical apparatus classified as a medical devise by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

    La. Admin. Code tit. 46, pt. XXXI, § 717(A)(2), (8) (Prohibited Services) · verified Sep 7, 2026

  • Cosmetologists, estheticians and persons authorized to perform microdermabrasion shall not exfoliate or perform any procedure which will affect the dermis or skin below the epidermis. Cosmetologists, estheticians and persons authorized to perform microdermabrasion shall only exfoliate or perform services which affect the epidermis.

    La. Admin. Code tit. 46, pt. XXXI, § 711(A) (Procedures for Esthetics Services — Exfoliation) · verified Sep 7, 2026

  • Esthetic Services—as defined in R.S. 37:563(8), includes but is not limited to make-up application, facials, superficial chemical peels, dermaplaning, microdermabrasion, nano-needling and other similar services performed on the epidermis. Nano-Needling—a non-invasive technique for transdermal serum delivery performed using a skin needling device which does not penetrate beyond the epidermis of more than .25 mm of the outmost layer of skin.

    La. Admin. Code tit. 46, pt. XXXI, § 101 (Definitions — Esthetic Services; Nano-Needling) · verified Sep 7, 2026

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← All Louisiana rules and changes · MedSpaRadar is regulatory monitoring and reference, not legal, medical, or compliance advice. Verify against the linked primary source and consult qualified counsel before acting — rules change and turn on your specific facts. Legislative data via LegiScan (CC BY 4.0).