When Lisa Ricciardelli started practicing laser hair removal, one of her first clients was a young girl who suffered from the excessive growth of body hair. The condition caused her so much anxiety, she had developed an eating disorder that had her in and out of inpatient treatment.
But then she went to see Ricciardelli and had her problematic hair removed. Watching with satisfaction as her client’s confidence returned, Ricciardelli knew she had found the right career. “There is something so rewarding and fulfilling for me when you can help make someone feel better about themselves,” she says. “It’s not something that is superficial—it goes deeper.”
It is that goal of nurturing self-esteem that has driven Ricciardelli’s work in the decades since, and that forms the founding principle of All Care Laser Center in North Andover, where Ricciardelli is the clinical director. The award-winning practice offers what Ricciardelli calls “just about anything noninvasive that can be done with a laser,” a list that includes hair removal, skin tightening, removal of spider veins, body sculpting, and tattoo removal.
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All Care Laser Center began as a one-room operation in the back of All Care Medical, a primary care practice run by Dr. Azar Korbey in Salem, New Hampshire. As the laser business grew, it expanded into the basement, and then, eventually, into its own facility.
The center combines the calm relaxation of a spa with the crisp competence of a medical office to create a welcoming and reassuring environment. New clients receive a complimentary consultation at which a technician reviews the procedure, the number of treatments required, the costs, and pre- and post-treatment care. Treatments are performed by the same technician who did the consultation, to ensure discretion and comfort for the client.
The center also prides itself on its honesty. Staff will always inform potential clients if they think a desired treatment won’t work, or offer a referral if they think a different approach would be more appropriate.
And they are up-front about a very sensitive issue: There is physical discomfort involved in the treatments. But the way All Care handles this discomfort sets the practice apart, Ricciardelli says. The center uses a system that blows ice-cold air directly on the skin as treatments are being performed to alleviate discomfort.
At the helm of the operation is Ricciardelli, one of the country’s first laser technicians. Though she originally trained as a more traditional medical esthetician, a lucky accident changed her plans. She happened to graduate at about the same time that the first lasers were approved for hair removal by the FDA in 1997. The major laser company at the time was looking for estheticians to be the first to train on the technology; Ricciardelli was recommended by a friend and selected, and 300 training hours later, she was officially a laser technician.
The staff she has built at All Care also has deep experience in the industry—four certified laser technicians perform laser treatments, and RNs and nurse practictioners work with injectable facial fillers. It is these women, Ricciardelli says, who form the real heart of the All Care experience. “Everyone walks in looking forward to seeing my staff,” she says. “That part just reminds me every day how lucky and blessed I am to have the crew I have working with me.”