SPA SISTERS
Twin doctors help patients find the essence of beauty
Twin sisters LaShondria SimpsonCamp and Shalondria Simpson share more than their good looks.
Both women are dedicated to making people look and feel more beautiful through their Tru Essence Cosmetic and Medical Spa, 1725 Main, in downtown Houston.
Simpson-Camp, a licensed surgeon who practices in Dallas, and Simpson, a doctor of pharmacy (which requires more advanced study than a pharmacist) in Houston, opened the spa together in May 2018 to offer beauty solutions without going under the knife. Services include facials and laser-skin treatments, chemical peels, fillers, body sculpting and the Brazilian Butt Lift, among others.
“We want to educate people who don’t know what’s available and let them know there are effective ways to enhance their natural beauty. We’re here to help and to build self-confidence,” said Simpson-Camp, who travels from Dallas weekly to work at the spa.
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 17.7 million cosmetic procedures were performed in the United States in 2018. Of those, 15.9 million were minimally invasive. Botox injections continue to top the list of
minimally invasive procedures with a record 7.4 million injections last year.
“With social media, it seems everyone wants to look like a celebrity, but they don’t know what all celebrities do to get that look. That’s why there’s this misconception that you have to be wealthy to get beauty enhancements,” Simpson said. “But you don’t.”
The sisters came up with the spa concept after Simpson took a trip to Beverly Hills in Los Angeles and visited a luxury medical spa there. She called her sister immediately to share her idea. Ironically, Simpson-Camp had been thinking of a similar business.
“I just knew we could do this together,” Simpson said. “It was like we had the telepathy twin thing happening. We both knew at the same time that we wanted to do this.”
The Houston natives both graduated from the University of North Texas. Simpson-Camp earned her medical degree from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, and Simpson got her doctor of pharmacy degree from Texas Southern University.
Their nearly 3,000-square-foot space has four treatment rooms, modern furnishings and lots of natural light that gives the space a calm and tranquil feeling. It offers facial memberships at $70 monthly and allows customers to pick the facial of their choice each month. Other treatments and enhancements vary in price.
In addition to spa treatments, the sisters have their own line of hair wipes to help clean the scalp of excessive oils without leaving a film, which can be an issue with dry shampoos. The wipes sell for $16.99 for a 12-pack.
Yvonne Pruneda, a 36-year-old realestate agent, visits the spa every few months with her husband, Christian Canto, 38. The couple gets Botox injections and fillers; Pruneda calls it “pre-maintenance.”
“It’s something fun we do together,” she said. “I don’t think I look my age, but I had cystic acne in my 20s. So for the past few months, I’ve gotten the vampire facial, and my skin looks amazing.”
Vampire facials involve drawing blood from a client’s body, then reapplying it to the face, which is touted to promote cell renewal.
Simpson and Simpson-Camp know beauty enhancements can be addictive, but they hope they can help customers celebrate their natural “tweaked” beauty.
“Most of our clients want to feel better about themselves. We’re here to help them get there,” Simpson said.