Holistic, beauty, self-care wellness center opens new location in La Jolla

LA JOLLA – Promoting itself as a “rebellious approach” to beauty and self-care, Alcheme wellness center held a recent grand opening for its new La Jolla location.

Guests at the new holistic-oriented facility at 909 Prospect St., Suite 100C, were treated to an evening of interactive self-care, live demonstrations, food and beverages, a bubble machine and a DJ at the Sept. 5 grand opening.

The new center focuses on optimizing health while addressing the root cause of diseases. In its new space in the former Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center, Alcheme, which started in Del Mar, offers a full spectrum of science-backed services combining the best of conventional and natural medicines.

The La Jolla location also offers a range of medical spa services for all ages. Those include IPL skin resurfacing, neurotoxins and fillers, skin tightening, acne and cellulite reduction and laser hair removal. The company employs cutting-edge technical advances in anti-aging, skincare, and beauty.

Alcheme’s CEO, Tracy Younger, founded the company based on a unique approach to healthcare. Her objective was to provide a curated space for whole-being medical services. Her wellness spa fuses functional and aesthetic medicine to restore internal and external health. Younger works with Dr. Roger Schechter, Alcheme’s medical director.

“We’re alternative naturopathic (natural remedies) and aesthetic and regenerative medicine for inner and outer health,” said Younger. “We do stem cells and exosomes.”

“The term is functional medicine,” said Schechter, describing that as “combining a lot of disciplines” to provide an alternative to traditional medical care. Two such alternatives offered by Alcheme include nutrition and vitamins, he added.

Schechter explained that exosomes are tiny bubbles created by cells that contain regenerative cell-signaling molecules. “They’re becoming very popular because they’re the way that stem cells communicate with the target cells,” he said. “Those little bubbles are harvested and can be utilized for various applications directed towards regeneration.”

Younger opened a wellness center as a hospital executive and became “very interested in the aesthetic,” or beauty side of things, after trying naturopathic medicine, which helped her “feel better.” That sold her on the concept and the modality. She got a cool reception when she brought the idea back to a hospital and was told she should just open her own clinic.

“So I did,” she noted.

Of the services offered at both clinics in Del Mar and La Jolla, Schechter noted some clients want “external aesthetic improvements” while others want “internal improvement. The bulk of people are crossing over and doing both internal and external improvement. If you feel better on the inside, you look better on the outside, and vice versa.”

“It’s a lot of fun, it’s a happy business to be in on the preventative healthy side (of medicine),” Younger said.

Alcheme in La Jolla is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“It’s mostly by appointment, but you can walk in to get an IV or a vitamin shot,” said Younger. She added their clientele is currently about a 60-40 split between women and men, though the number of men being served continues to grow.

“We build a custom plan based on their needs,” she said.