In the Lake Travis-Westlake area, aging is optional. At nearly every turn, residents can find services that promise to treat, prevent, minimize, beautify and reverse the effects of aging.

The gist

In 2023 alone, Community Impact reported 10 new beauty and wellness centers arriving to the area, offering nontraditional healing modalities like cryotherapy and chiropractic care, as well as noninvasive aesthetic procedures such as laser treatments and injectables.

"Anti-aging is huge. People want to be self-sustaining. ... They're making wellness a lifestyle, instead of just a short-term fix. They want options besides going on medication," said Jack Chandler, the director at Kokoro Wellness, which opened in Westlake in August.

Kokoro Wellness offers personalized physical training programs and wellness services such as red light, contrast and cryotherapy, a combination that Chandler says his clients find highly convenient.


"You don't have to work out and then rush over and go to another appointment or drive all the way into Austin," Chandler said

How did we get here

While Westlake's plastic surgery industry is long-established, Dr. Gregory Nikolaidis, the founder of Westlake Dermatology, said the influx of California residents has increased demand for more alternatives to traditional medicine.

"California has always kind of been ahead of the curve with respect to noninvasive aesthetics. People are looking for a more natural look than they would get from cosmetic surgeons in Houston or Dallas," said Nikolaidis, who has worked in the Austin area since 2002.


Nikolaidis said the older population of the Lake Travis-Westlake area contributes to the demand for anti-aging treatments, with most of his patients falling between 35 and 65 years old. Meanwhile, much of Central Austin has a median age below 29, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

"A lot of health care in Austin is more focused around the university-aged crowd, so what you're getting is these sort of hubs outside of Austin. Westlake is one of them, but Georgetown and Round Rock are also becoming hubs," Nikolaidis said.

With 13 Austin locations and five other locations in Texas, Nikolaidis plans to expand Westlake Dermatology into Georgetown in 2024.

Quote of note


"For a long time, medicine has been too focused on treatment. It's effective, but it's not preventative. I think in the next 10 to 15 years, you're gonna see a lot more regenerative medicine that will actually turn back the clock to slow down the aging process," Nikolaidis said.

Dive Deeper

Here are 10 new beauty and wellness businesses open and coming soon to the Lake Travis-Westlake area in 2023: