West Founder, Emily Bartel, Speaks at Sciton UP Xchange in Austin, TX

Emily Bartel of West Med Spa Speaking at Austin’s Sciton UP Xchange

Our Founder, Emily, Takes the Stage at Sciton UP Xchange in Austin, TX

There’s something special about getting to talk about something you genuinely love in a room full of people who feel the same way.

Recently, our Founder, Emily Bartel, and Amberlie Williams, RN headed to Austin for Sciton’s UP Xchange Aesthetic Leadership Development event. It was a weekend filled with education, connection, new perspectives, and conversations with some of the leading providers and professionals in aesthetics.

But this trip was an especially exciting one for West.

Emily was invited to take the stage for a panel focused on luxury branding and marketing, sharing the story behind West, what makes our practice different, and how we’ve intentionally built a brand that feels as elevated as the experience we want every patient to have.

And with West still being so new, seeing our Founder on stage talking about everything we’ve built together made the weekend that much more meaningful.

Sciton’s UP Xchange brings together aesthetic professionals from across the country for an experience that goes beyond clinical education.

Of course, there was plenty of that. Emily and Amberlie spent the weekend learning from dermatologists, plastic surgeons, nurses, aesthetic providers, industry leaders, and members of the Sciton team.

But what made this event different was the focus on the other side of aesthetics too: leadership, business, patient experience, branding, marketing, and what it takes to continue growing as both a provider and a practice.

As Emily and Amberlie shared after returning home, clinical education teaches providers how to care for patients, but there aren’t always as many opportunities to learn about leadership, building confidence, creating a strong team, and navigating the business side of the industry. Those conversations became some of their biggest takeaways from Austin.

Taking West to the UP Xchange Stage

One of our favorite moments of the weekend was getting to watch Emily speak about West.

She joined Dr. Holman, Dr. Mohan, and Adam Haroun for a conversation about luxury branding, marketing, and what allows a practice to stand apart in an industry where patients have more choices than ever.

And while we love a beautiful brand around here, the conversation went much deeper than how a practice looks.

West was intentionally built around the idea that an elevated experience should extend into every part of a patient’s journey.

It’s the way you feel when you walk through our doors. It’s how our providers listen before recommending a treatment. It’s investing in technology and education we genuinely believe in. It’s creating treatment plans around the individual instead of following a formula. And it’s making sure our patients feel comfortable, educated, and cared for along the way.

Those decisions are what have shaped West from the beginning, and getting to share some of that story on stage at UP Xchange was such an exciting moment for our entire team.

It was such a full-circle moment! West had only been open for about seven months, yet there was Emily on stage talking about how it came to be and what makes it different.

We’re pretty proud of that one.

Why Sciton Means So Much to Us

If you’ve been around West for a while, you probably already know how much we love Sciton.

Emily’s relationship with the company began well before West opened, and today she is a Sciton Luminary and National Trainer. Our relationship with Sciton has given our team opportunities to continually learn, train, connect with other providers, and stay involved in an industry that is constantly evolving.

And as Emily and Amberlie talked about after the event, one of the things that makes the Sciton community so special is exactly that: community.

Throughout the weekend, they connected with providers from across the country who use the same technologies in completely different markets. Those conversations created opportunities to compare treatment approaches, discuss pre- and post-care, share what's working within different practices, and learn from one another.

There isn’t always one approach that works for every patient, every practice, or every market.

Being able to sit in a room with experienced providers and openly talk about those differences is one of the ways we continue getting better at what we do.

A Few Things We're Bringing Home to West

There was a lot packed into the weekend.

Emily and Amberlie heard conversations around laser and light treatments, injectables, treatment combinations, rosacea, patient experience, leadership, and emerging topics affecting aesthetics.

One presentation that particularly stood out focused on GLP-1 medications and their effects on the skin.

With medications such as semaglutide and tirzepatide becoming increasingly common, providers are seeing new aesthetic concerns associated with significant weight loss and changes in the skin. The presentation gave Emily and Amberlie new insight into what may be happening and how aesthetic providers can better support patients experiencing these changes.

They also heard providers discuss how they approach the same skin concerns differently, which is something we really value at West.

Great aesthetic care isn’t about following the exact same protocol for every person. It’s about having the education and experience to understand the options available and then deciding what makes the most sense for the patient sitting in front of you.

Leadership, Grit and Taking Care of Your People

Some of the most memorable conversations of the weekend actually had nothing to do with a specific treatment.

Sciton CEO Aaron Burton spoke about gratitude, grit, leadership, serving others, and taking care of your people, and those ideas really resonated with Emily.

They’re also values that feel very familiar to us at West.

Because as much as this industry is about technology, treatments, and results, it’s ultimately about people.

Our patients.

Our providers.

Our team.

And the people behind the scenes helping us continue to build what West is becoming.

Emily shared after the event that none of these opportunities happen without her people, and we couldn't agree more. West has been a team effort from the beginning, and every person involved has played a role in bringing the vision to life.

Bringing It All Back to Our Patients

We’re proud that Emily had the opportunity to represent West on the UP Xchange stage.

But we're equally excited about everything Emily and Amberlie brought home with them.

Fresh ideas. New perspectives. New relationships. More education. And plenty of conversations about how we can continue improving the experience and care we provide at West.

That’s ultimately why opportunities like this matter to us.

We want our team to continue learning from some of the best in the industry, asking questions, challenging the way we do things, and staying connected to what’s happening in aesthetics so we can bring that knowledge back to our patients here in Oklahoma City and Edmond.

We’re incredibly grateful to Sciton for inviting Emily to be part of the conversation, to everyone who made UP Xchange such a meaningful weekend, and to our West team and patients who continue to support everything we're building.

We’re still learning. We’re still growing. And we’re really excited about what’s ahead.

Experience the West Difference

Whether you’re looking to address a specific skin concern or simply aren’t sure where to start, our team is here to help you create a personalized plan built around your skin and your goals.