Miami is often called the capital of Latin America, a culturally rich city where the beautiful people of the Americas work, play, and mingle. Its streets, promenades, and beaches are famously bustling with models, athletes, and celebrities soaking up the sun and energy — a vibrant place to see and be seen unlike any other.
Indeed, looking one’s best is one of the keys to the city, which explains why one Brazilian-born entrepreneur hopes to make premium cosmetic procedures affordable to all of its residents.
Carla Castro spent two decades running her own marketing and PR agency in Brazil, until Covid brought her life to a halt in 2020. Like millions of Americans, she ended up reassessing her life and her career during the pandemic. She closed the agency and decided to pursue a new dream, partnering with Fabiola Lederman and opening a specialized medspa called Botoplace that would be the first of its kind, walk-in, botox only, flat-fee clinic — a place that would empower women to look and feel their best.
“Beauty is self-esteem, and self-esteem influences your physical and mental health, your attitude at work, the way people see you, and everything else,” Carla says. “That’s what Botoplace seeks to offer people. We want to rescue your self-esteem, the moments when you look in the mirror and just feel so good about yourself.”
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Much more than “just Botox”
As it turns out, Carla’s timing could not have been better. Thanks to three stressful years of lockdowns, work from home, and now record-high rates of inflation, Americans are increasingly stressed out and depressed.
While researching Botoplace, Carla had coincidentally discovered clinical evidence that depression could be decreased by using Botox and a self-care routine — though this came as no surprise, since she already knew the importance of getting a “lift” better than most. As a domestic violence survivor, Carla knew the importance of self-esteem to getting back on one’s feet. Indeed, an important piece of Botoplace’s mission, Carla says, is defending women’s rights and helping other domestic violence victims by offering free treatments.
“I want to empower women who have lost their confidence to abuse or violence by giving them back their power and their confidence,” Carla notes. “People who have been through trauma must have a new look at life and at themselves. That’s a big reason why I wanted to make our premium treatments easy, affordable, stress-free, and accessible to everyone.”
Service
One thing Carla says that Botoplace will not do is sacrifice on quality or safety. Botoplace employs board-certificated master injectors who, she says, treat every person who walks through the doors with professionalism, respect, compassion, and attentiveness with a specific focus on individual attention.
“We need to get to know our clients because everyone’s skin tells a unique story, depending on type, coloration, lifestyle, diet, medications, environmental exposure, and so much more,” Carla observes. “This starts with the patient telling their unique story to the injector. All Botoplace treatments start with a diagnosis — not a price menu.”
Botoplace employs Canfield’s VISIA skin analysis system, which uses multispectral imaging to scan the skin and capture key information about surface and subsurface facial skin conditions. Pairing a personal consultation with the VISIA skin analysis system is the first step towards customizing a skincare treatment regiment. Botox can then be injected as needed. Carla is a firm believer in “baby botox,” the trend of starting injections at a younger age though at smaller doses, in order to achieve the most natural look.
To alleviate any anxiety — which might, after all, cause stress lines — Carla decided early on never to add on hidden fees. Instead, she charges a single price for the three areas most commonly injected: glabella, forehead lines, and crow’s feet.
“Some providers rely on pricing botox per unit, which can be worrisome as it tends to leave clients not knowing how much treatment will cost until it comes time to pay,” Carla explains. “We believe that transparency is the ultimate service any business can offer its customers.”
It’s an approach she describes simply as “healthy competition” though Botoplace may lead to an industry makeover. Or, perhaps, a new city slogan: “Keep Miami Beautiful.”
