Tulsi Kotecha, MD - Med Spa Owner & Internal Medicine Doctor in Chicago, Illinois

Eva Sheie (00:03):
The purpose of this podcast is simple. We want you to get to know your doctor before meeting them in person because you're making a life-changing decision and time is scarce. The more you can learn about who your doctor is before you meet them, the better that first meeting will be. There's no substitute for an in-person appointment, but we hope this comes close. I'm your host, Eva Sheie, and you're listening to Meet the Doctor. Welcome back to Meet the Doctor. My guest this morning is Dr. Tulsi Kotecha, and she's the owner and founder of Refined by Tulsi in Chicago. What part of Chicago are you in?

Dr. Kotecha (00:42):
Hey Eva. Thanks. So I am in West Bucktown, South Logan Square, so not too far from the city.

Eva Sheie (00:49):
That's a pretty fun part of Chicago, isn't it?

Dr. Kotecha (00:51):
It is. It's a lot of fun. We have the younger population, very upcoming and just amazing restaurants.

Eva Sheie (01:00):
So can you walk to restaurants from there?

Dr. Kotecha (01:02):
Yes, we have a bunch of restaurants down the road from us and then the main Logan Square area has some really nice places as well, farmer's markets and just amazing in the summer too.

Eva Sheie (01:13):
Is it like a destination? People come to that part of town just to hang out and stuff?

Dr. Kotecha (01:18):
So it's weird because when people come to Chicago, they want to go stay more downtown around the river with the high-rise buildings and do the tours and things like the Bean. So Logan Square is more for people who live in Chicago and who know where the good food is because a lot of the new upcoming restaurants are in this area and they're just very boutiquey, so really nice.

Eva Sheie (01:41):
Do you have a favorite?

Dr. Kotecha (01:42):
I do, and I haven't been there for a while. It's called Giant. The food is excellent, hard to get in just because it's very small, but the food is always consistent.

Eva Sheie (01:51):
Do they know you there yet?

Dr. Kotecha (01:53):
No, and it's not far from me, so I should go back.

Eva Sheie (01:58):
You're going to have to start doing memorable things so they know who you are.

Dr. Kotecha (02:01):
Exactly. Need some collaborations and things like that.

Eva Sheie (02:04):
Yeah.

Dr. Kotecha (02:04):
And it's nice. Yeah, everyone's really friendly because we're all very young in this area. All business owners I think are between thirties to fifties, so it is a nice area to build up a business too, and make friends.

Eva Sheie (02:20):
So how long have you been there and what made you decide to open your own med spa?

Dr. Kotecha (02:27):
So I had a location closer to Wicker Park. I start there in 2022 and then I moved to Logan Square last year in August just to be a new location. I got a suite on a ground floor. I noticed that there was no med spas in this area, so I was like, well, why not try and be the first upcoming female owned individual? I own it on my own. So I was like, I can give it a try and just people are my age in this area. It's easier to get to know them. So I decided to open the location there.

Eva Sheie (03:05):
Does it feel easier to be here where you are now?

Dr. Kotecha (03:08):
It does feel a lot of easier. First of all, the main thing is parking. So in general, having people turn up on time because parking is easier and free. I know it sounds silly, but when you live in a big city, it is one big major issue and then it's very residential, so a lot of people come straight from home with, post covid, people working from home and things like that, so it's easier for them to come into the office.

Eva Sheie (03:34):
So are people finding you by walking by or telling each other? What do they usually say when you ask them, how did you find me?

Dr. Kotecha (03:42):
It's a mix, and especially coming into the business the first, when they walk into the door, I do usually ask, how did you find, me so that I can work on building that. A lot of people are, it's like med spa near me or Botox near me, and like I said, there's not many med spas in that area. And then it's also walking by because I've got a storefront, so I've got some good advertising out on my window. Keep the windows open, the curtains open as well so that people can see through. A lot of people don't mind being treated with the curtains up. Obviously some people want privacy, but it just helps trying to get people through the door. And then also word of mouth obviously. And I think that's one of the biggest things in aesthetics because you want to go to someone who's good, who's well known, who you can build a relationship with. So that is one of the big parts.

Eva Sheie (04:32):
How do you help people understand who you are and what you're all about when they're new patients? What does that look like?

Dr. Kotecha (04:41):
So when a new patient comes in, I love it when they've never had any treatments before. And that's my location because a lot of people have never tried the aesthetics way. So when they come in, I want to make sure that we build this relationship with them because we're going to start a whole journey together. It's not just going to be an overnight fix and I need them to understand that. So I need to make sure that I'm a good fit for them, but they're a good fit for me. It needs to work both ways because it'll just make things easier and it'll make them gain their trust in you and you just want to build this rapport with them for your journey. So working with them, you need to be honest. You need to explain all the risks and benefits, explain that things can go wrong, and as long as they're able to understand that and able to commit to a journey or, it's months, to years, then it's great because then there they find it easier to contact you. They find it easier to approach you. So that's the kind of relationship I want to build with my clients.

Eva Sheie (05:49):
It's like a treatment plan, but it comes with an expert, right? You're not just making a list of things that they should do, but really a partnership.

Dr. Kotecha (05:59):
It is a partnership and you need them to understand that when they come in, I can do 30% of the work in the clinic, but the 70% they have to do at home. So I need them to understand that I'm not going to just fix them and then they just forget about everything. When they go home, they need to continue things at home. They need to continue skincare, they need to continue even just exercise and eating healthy and all these things because that's the way forward.

Eva Sheie (06:26):
When we were younger, we could just do whatever and it didn't really affect how we looked, especially on our faces.

Dr. Kotecha (06:33):
Exactly.

Eva Sheie (06:33):
 I noticed that, you can see when I'm tired now.

Dr. Kotecha (06:37):
For sure. You can tell when anybody is tired.

Eva Sheie (06:42):
Yeah, everything affects us, the sun, sleep, nutrition, drinking,

Dr. Kotecha (06:50):
And that's why moving towards the whole wellness way, people don't understand. Yes, stress, sleep, all these things affect, weight, affect changes in the face, and you need to fix everything together to be able to get that whole rounded approach.

Eva Sheie (07:08):
What does holistic look like in your practice? What are you doing in terms of what the menu looks like?

Dr. Kotecha (07:14):
Sure. When I began my career in medicine, I never knew that I would find myself at the crossroads of, oh, medicine, aesthetics, holistic medicine. And I guess as a doctor, I've always been used to treating chronic conditions. When a patient has something wrong, you try and fix it. And now I'm moving more towards the preventative, right? And that's where you look at the entire holistic approach. You want to support the mind, the body, and the spirit and putting all that together. When you feel better, you look better, but in order to feel better, you need to make sure you're doing the right things and only you can do it for yourself. Nobody can do it for you.

Eva Sheie (07:53):
When you see somebody for the first time, is labs one of the first things you do? Are you looking at numbers?

Dr. Kotecha (08:00):
So yes and no, and it depends on what they come in with. If from the medical aspect of things, if they want to come in and we're discussing weight because that's one of the major things that I am dealing with, then yes, I need to make sure that their blood work is up to date, that they don't have any other reason, like I said, for not being able to lose weight. Could it be thyroid? Could it be that they're diabetic and they just don't know it? The cholesterol levels. So I do need to make sure that I have the basic blood work. I don't initially check hormones and things like that just because they are very expensive and some clients just don't want to do that yet. So if they do go on the weight loss journey and start medications and still find it hard, then yes, we go ahead and check more advanced blood work. But if they come in for the concierge medical wellness, then we work towards the healthier clients. Those are the people that you have who want to come in earlier so that they prevent any diseases happening. And that's when we'll check them if we need to, if they haven't had them done in the past and when it's necessary. It could be immediately, it could be a few months down the line.

Eva Sheie (09:14):
Do you have a concierge membership where you're actually doing primary care?

Dr. Kotecha (09:18):
So we're working on that right now. We have it in addition to the weight loss. So we have a comprehensive weight loss plan where we do have an extra membership every month where we would check up on extra blood work, regular visits with me, vitamins, supplements. But in terms of opening the entire concierge wellness, that is a plan for the next couple of months and hopefully by the end of the year we'll have that set up.

Eva Sheie (09:45):
There's so much need for that. That's really exciting to hear that you're headed in that direction.

Dr. Kotecha (09:50):
Yes.

Eva Sheie (09:51):
Okay. So let's talk about the aesthetic side. Give me an overview of all the things that you do, both injectables and devices.

Dr. Kotecha (10:01):
Yes. So in terms of injectables, I do the neuromodulators or the toxins or also known as the Botox. So I do that, which is, it's a gateway drug for a lot of people because they're like, I have wrinkles, I want Botox. And that's a good way to get clients into the door, gain their trust, gain their relationship to see what other treatments that they would benefit from. So in terms of injectables, it's the toxins. We do fillers, and now with fillers, it's all more of facial framing and not making it obvious that you have a lot of filler in the face. And that's what clients do need to understand. And then we have collagen stimulators. We have PRP and PRF microneedling treatments. And then from the more skincare, we have chemical peels, hydro derm facials. In terms of devices, as a small business owner, you need to go slow, you need to make sure you're not breaking the bank.

(11:04):
So I went for a device which is a laser machine, which works great on all Fitzpatrick types. Fitzpatrick, meaning the light to skin to the darker skin. And I have that population, I have a lot of Hispanic population, a lot of African-American population. So this was a great investment for me and my business because it doesn't have any risk of burning and very low risk of hyperpigmentation in the darker skin type. So that's the first machine that we invested in. And we're now planning on investing in an RF microneedling device. And then probably with the weight loss clients, maybe some body sculpting and body tightening as well.

Eva Sheie (11:43):
It sounds like you have a long to-do list of things that are coming.

Dr. Kotecha (11:47):
Yes, in the past few months it's just picked up a lot more and it's getting difficult running, you know, me working there on my own. So we're also looking to hire and have an aesthetician to help out, and then a nurse as well.

Eva Sheie (12:01):
So you've been doing this all by yourself?

Dr. Kotecha (12:03):
Yes.

Eva Sheie (12:04):
Yeah. That's great. Your training path was a little bit different than what we normally run into in the United States. Will you tell us a little bit about your journey maybe from college forward?

Dr. Kotecha (12:18):
Yeah, sure. Well, my college experience, I went to university in the UK. So I was born in Kenya, went to high school in the UK, and so I ended up staying there. I completed a bachelor's in medical physics and bioengineering because I thought that would help me with medicine and becoming a radiologist, which I then decided not to. I love people and I just wanted to be around them. And so I was like, radiology isn't for me. Couldn't when I did my rotations and sitting in a dark room, couldn't do that. So finished my undergrad and then I went to the University of Bristol in the UK where I completed my medical degree. And then I worked there in the UK to get registered under the General Medical Council before moving to Chicago. Crazy. I was dating a guy who is now my husband, and this is in 2010.

(13:15):
So I moved here and had to go to residency here and completed my residency in internal medicine. Worked as a hospitalist through Covid, worked in rural hospitals and tried to help out in the community as much as I could. And then I think after Covid just got a little more tired, like I said, of treating the chronic conditions and patients who were actually sick. And I was like, well, how can I prevent them from getting sick? And that's where I started thinking about the whole preventative and the holistic medicine side of things. And then the aesthetics came in as well. You look better, you feel better and you are better.

Eva Sheie (13:55):
You said the guy who you were dating was your husband, became your husband?

Dr. Kotecha (14:00):
Became my husband. He had no choice, I guess. I moved across the world. I'm kidding.

Eva Sheie (14:08):
He followed you to Chicago?

Dr. Kotecha (14:10):
No, he was in Chicago.

Eva Sheie (14:11):
He was already in Chicago. I gotcha.

Dr. Kotecha (14:13):
So we tossed a coin to see who would move across the world, whether he would

Eva Sheie (14:17):
Really?

Dr. Kotecha (14:17):
Whether he would move to the UK or I would move to Chicago and I lost. And that's how we're now 10 years married.

Eva Sheie (14:27):
Do you still think you lost?

Dr. Kotecha (14:31):
I think the experience maybe in the UK would be a lot different, and maybe I would never have had the opportunities that I do here and maybe I would be working in a hospital and not having aesthetics practice. So I think everything happens for a reason, and this is why I am where I am and I have no regrets.

Eva Sheie (14:50):
All the risk of being a business owner aside, do you like being an entrepreneur? Does it make you happy to have your own business?

Dr. Kotecha (14:59):
Oh, I don't even know how to answer that. It's tough, it's very tough. And I think many doctors will agree with me or many healthcare practitioners would agree with me is that we don't work in a business. Our minds just don't work in a business way. So I'm happy that I have my husband to help me with these kind of things and decisions and finances and all these kind of things because I just wouldn't be able to handle it otherwise.

Eva Sheie (15:28):
I think no matter what you're doing as a doctor, you always have a team around you. And so it's just one more really important person on that team that has to do that part.

Dr. Kotecha (15:39):
Exactly, yeah.

Eva Sheie (15:41):
Are you looking forward to having more providers around you?

Dr. Kotecha (15:45):
Yes, definitely looking for some help, excited to have that, especially with the business growing and seeing more clients daily. I am excited to have a second helping hand, and I think it's always nicer to have someone who you can train, who you can work with, and then just help grow your business together.

Eva Sheie (16:02):
We're coming into fall and it's going to get cold there in Chicago. Do you see the seasons change the way that people ask for treatments and what they want to do in the fall versus during the summer?

Dr. Kotecha (16:15):
Yes, and I think every aesthetic provider will agree is that during the summer, things are slower. People don't have time, they're traveling, they're out and about and they want everything to be done before the summer. And then we get to this part where everyone's back in and wanting to get to their best before the holidays. So things pick up around September, October because of the holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas coming around the corner. So things do change. They come back, it's usually time for their repeat injectables treatment. The toxin usually lasts anywhere from three to six months, so they're back in the door for that. And then just having their more, oh, let's get some filler done in time for the holidays. And my aim at, for example, the weight loss journey is people who are not on any medications and are interested, I always say it's a great time to start now because it takes about three months to get everything going. And by then you've reached the time where you're starting to eat a whole Turkey and you're like, well, now I can try and refrain from that. And so it's a great time to start that as well.

Eva Sheie (17:25):
Thanksgiving on weight loss medication is very interesting.

Dr. Kotecha (17:30):
Exactly, exactly. So maybe in the future we'll have less turkeys going around.

Eva Sheie (17:37):
I hadn't thought of that, but you might be right. How long have you been helping people with weight loss medication?

Dr. Kotecha (17:45):
With the weight loss medication, it's been just over a year.

Eva Sheie (17:50):
So you've seen a fair amount of people now go through the journey since you started?

Dr. Kotecha (17:55):
Yeah. Yes. Some have successes. There's some that are slower and that those are the patients that are much harder to work with, where you have to explain to them that you need to work your diet out, you need to make sure you're exercising, and not only just taking the medications because it's an all-rounded approach. There's many factors involved.

Eva Sheie (18:16):
If you're on it and you're looking around online, I think you only see the people who are like, I lost 70 pounds in one month, and I'm exaggerating a lot. But a lot of what you see is people who are very quick to respond and not people who are saying, nothing happened for two months or three months. But I think there's many more people who go slowly than go quickly. Just as an observer for the last almost two years now, I've been close to that topic because I did it myself. So I would encourage anybody who's not moving slowly to just hang in there because that's what happened to me too.

Dr. Kotecha (18:56):
And that's where you get in with why is it slow, is other factors involved. And I think that's when seeing a physician rather than getting the medications just online, I think that's where we come in, is to say, well, why is it slow? There are other factors. I'm not just providing you with your medications constantly and you're paying me on a monthly basis where things aren't going in the right trajectory. You need to make sure that we are checking, for example, hormones, which play a big role in weight loss.

Eva Sheie (19:24):
You're making a really good point, and I think we're sort of drowning in telemedicine ads for that weight loss medication. It seems like, oh, I'll just go online and get it. But you're forgetting that you really do need a doctor and you need to be able to ask someone questions and have someone watching what you're doing, so that you do get results and you don't hurt yourself.

Dr. Kotecha (19:45):
And that's a big competition out this way is we sometimes struggle to get the people to understand that.

Eva Sheie (19:52):
And also when you start losing weight, you need somebody to be your cheerleader. And I would bet that you're pretty good at that part too.

Dr. Kotecha (19:58):
I hope. Yes, for sure. And speaking about cheerleading, I think it's when people in your household understand what you're going through and are able to push you through it, it makes a big difference because there is a stigma out there against these medications too, but now there is evidence that it does reduce risk of cardiovascular disease, risk of strokes, renal diseases. So it's like a no brainer. Why not? If you're able to tolerate it and exercise and change your habits, then why not be on it if you want to lose the weight.

Eva Sheie (20:33):
Yeah. Who doesn't want to lose the weight.

Dr. Kotecha (20:36):
Exactly. Agree.

Eva Sheie (20:38):
It's been amazing and I'm glad that you're helping people with that because I've had a great experience and I think it's important that we find great to help us with it. And so good on you.

Dr. Kotecha (20:51):
Thank you.

Eva Sheie (20:53):
Okay. Is there anything that we haven't talked about that you want to make sure people know about you if they're coming to see you?

Dr. Kotecha (21:00):
So I think that one thing we need to make sure people understand is the same thing with the stigma with a weight loss. There is a big stigma with aesthetics and gone are the days where people could tell when you've had work done. We are now moving to the more natural way. And the best compliment is no compliment. We want to do facial framing, we want to just make things more subtle. And you don't want people to know what you've had done. And that's the approach that we're going for. So just the word filler people like, oh my God, don't do filler. Why do you do filler? But when it's done properly, you don't know it's been done and you look younger. We want to age gracefully. We want to reverse the aging process and just slow it down. So I think that's extremely important for people to understand.

(21:52):
And then going back to the weight loss and the doctor, same thing with aesthetics. I think it's just choosing your injector wisely. Some people hop around from injectors from one to another with discount codes and Groupons, and those are the ones that you want to avoid because you'll never build a relationship with them. It's very, very hard to, because you know they've been going to multiple providers. So you want people out there just to make sure, choose your injector wisely, understand that aging is a slow, we want to slow it down and do it gracefully. And I think when you look and feel better, you'll be healthier as well. You'll change your habits, and I think that's how it should be.

Eva Sheie (22:36):
Well said. I agree. If someone is interested in coming to see you, how should they find you online?

Dr. Kotecha (22:44):
So we've got our website, which is refinedbytulsi.com, and on there there is the phone number you can call or text directly. Like I said, I own the business on my own and I'm the only one, so I reply to texts pretty quickly. We reply to emails. And you can also just book directly on the website.

Eva Sheie (23:03):
Do you even answer the phone?

Dr. Kotecha (23:06):
I do, and I do, but obviously not while I'm seeing somebody. But I always go back to somebody within the 24 hours.

Eva Sheie (23:18):
Great. That's not the right kind of multitasking.

Dr. Kotecha (23:21):
No. Which is why I need a second hand See my point?

Eva Sheie (23:26):
That's fantastic. And your Instagram is beautiful, so I'll make sure we put your website and your Instagram in the show notes so they're easy to find.

Dr. Kotecha (23:33):
Perfect.

Eva Sheie (23:34):
And I'm going to follow you right now because this looks amazing.

Dr. Kotecha (23:38):
Thank you, Eva.

Eva Sheie (23:40):
Thank you, Dr. Tulsi is so nice to meet you.

Dr. Kotecha (23:43):
And you take care. Bye-Bye.

Eva Sheie (23:48):
If you are considering making an appointment or are on your way to meet this doctor, be sure to let them know you heard them on the Meet the Doctor podcast. Check the show notes for links including the doctor's website and Instagram to learn more. Are you a doctor or do you know a doctor who'd like to be on the Meet the Doctor podcast? Book your free recording session at meetthedoctorpodcast.com. Meet the Doctor is Made with Love in Austin, Texas and is a production of The Axis, theaxis.io.