NJ Med Spa Illegally Performed 'Vampire Facials', Other Procedures: AG

CLIFTON, NJ — The owner of a now-defunct med spa has agreed to accept a 10-year ban on doing business in New Jersey to resolve allegations that she illegally provided invasive aesthetic treatments.

In a consent order, Rasha Abdul N. Basuf also agreed to pay a total of $10,000 in civil penalties: $7,500 to the state Medical Board, and $2,500 to the state Cosmetology Board.

Officials alleged that staff at Skyn Spa of Clifton performed unlicensed procedures between March and December 2023, including Botox and dermal filler injections, body contouring, and platelet-rich plasma injections also known as "vampire facials."

A public tip led officials to begin investigating Skyn Spa, which Basuf owned, last year, according to the New Jersey Attorney General's Office.

Officials said Basuf is not a licensed cosmetologist or physician, and that her salon did not have a license to do business from the state Cosmetology Board.

Basuf told enforcement officials that her shop performed various treatments including teeth whitening, body contouring, laser hair removal, eyelash extensions, conventional and permanent makeup, and skin care therapies, officials said.

During a visit to the shop last March, investigators with the Division of Consumer Affairs noticed pharmaceutical drugs, medical equipment, and other supplies indicating that more invasive treatments were being offered, AG Matthew Platkin said.

The investigators told Basuf that Skyn Spa "could not remain open while providing unlicensed services, including those that require a medical license to perform," the AG's office said.

The next month, Skyn Spa applied for a skin care specialty shop license, and inspectors noted that the medical equipment and supplies had been removed from the premises, according to officials.

The Cosmetology Board issued a shop license in June permitting waxing, eyelash extensions, conventional makeup applications, and skin-care facials.

"However, when investigators conducted a follow-up inspection of the salon in December 2023, they discovered evidence that Basuf and Skyn Spa were again offering and performing services outside the salon’s approved scope as a skin care specialty shop, including services that require other professional licenses," the AG's Office said. The medical equipment and supplies had also returned, officials added.

In February 2024, Skyn Spa began the process of dissolving its corporate entity and surrendered its skin care specialty license a month later, the AG's office said.

“No matter how elegant or professionally staffed a ‘med-spa’ may appear, without proper supervision and guidance from licensed, authorized medical personnel, consumers may be exposed to dangerous treatments that could have serious long-term consequences,” Platkin said in a statement. “As the med-spa industry continues to grow and evolve, we will continue to investigate and hold accountable individuals providing aesthetic services they are neither licensed nor qualified to perform.”

You may view the final consent order here.