Business: Fresh Start Body Aesthetics and Laser Tattoo Removal
Address: 12000 N. Pecos St., No. 256, Westminster
Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday
Founded: 2010
Contact: 303-457-4777, freshstartskin.com
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Interview with Dr. Chris Willard, owner
Q: How did you get involved in this business?
:I opened my dental practice 28 years ago, and there are two lasers on the dental side that I use for cutting hard tissue like teeth. The company I bought the lasers from also had different lasers that breakup pigment like freckles and ink, and I thought, why not? It started with tattoo removal, and that just started growing and growing. Soon after, we started offering body aesthetics like fat reduction, hair removal, BOTOX and dermal fillers. So we really do a gamut of medispa services now. My dental office and the laser tattoo removal office are next door to each other, but separate practices entirely.
Q: What distinguishes you from other businesses in your category?
:Our new laser has PICO technology, which takes out tattoos typically three times faster than traditional pigment removal lasers. We have a standard laser, but the PICO Enlighten is very rare — there are only three in all of Colorado. A traditional laser can remove a tattoo is about 10-20 treatments, but our laser averages three to six treatments.
Q: What do you like best about your line of work?
:Getting the results that our clients are looking for, and learning their stories along the way. We become friends with these people because we treat them continually. There are some great stories.
Q: What is your business’ biggest challenge?
:Removing turquoise. Different wave lengths take out different colors. Black is the easiest to remove, and blues and greens are just more stubborn.
Q: Something people might be surprised to learn about you or your business:
:People are usually shocked to find out that I’m a dentist. They ask why I’m doing this, and I just tell them the truth — It’s interesting, I meet all kinds of fun people and because I can. I like helping people. We’re doing a new thing now too, it’s called Kybella and it takes away double chins. Basically, it breaks up the fat that stores there and removes it permanently. I do all the injections for things like BOTOX and dermal fillers myself, and all of my dental hygienists are also trained to do hair removal, fat reduction and body contouring.