Bluewater cosMedic Bar

Caring for others is nothing new for Marcel Blais. He has, after all, been a nurse and a nurse practitioner for nearly two decades. Before that he worked with individuals with disabilities. So it made perfect sense to everyone that knows Marcel when he opened Bluewater cosMedic Bar in Sarnia. "My main profession is nurse practitioner," Marcel says. "I had lots of friends and family members who would get Botox for both cosmetic as well as medical reasons. You can use Botox for strictly cosmetic purposes; for wrinkles and anti-aging reasons. But it is also very good for things like migraines, excessive sweating and TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint Disorder)."

Marcel opened Bluewater cosMedic Bar in 2019. "I wanted a place where people could come into a small, quaint setting so they don’t feel overwhelmed or insecure about doing it," Marcel says. "I did the training, which is a certification course in Toronto, and started offering it to family and friends. I focus on having a stress-free, low-key environment where people can feel comfortable. I take pride in the fact I do every single injection. I do them all myself with a full consultation and try to make people feel as comfortable as possible."Marcel credits his wife, Julie Blais (who operates Renue Laser Aesthetics out of the same facility as Bluewater cosMedic Bar) with giving him the push he needed to join the medical world. "I always wanted to get into the medical field, but I didn’t think I could do it academically," Marcel says. "Julie convinced me to give it a whirl, so I went back to school and became a nurse. I worked as a frontline nurse for 13 years and then went back to school part-time to become a nurse practitioner. It took me almost 12 years to finish my education, but it was worth it."

While continuing to work full-time, Marcel works at Bluewater on weeknights and weekends anywhere between 10 and 25 hours a week. "It started off slowly with me helping a few people here and there," Marcel says. "But over the past few years, I have built up a client base of well over a few hundred people." Many of his patients are heavy sweaters and he loves to offer them relief. "I have clients who are high-level CEOs and would have to change their shirts three times a day," Marcel says. "With simple treatments of Botox every 3 to 4 months, it changes their lives."

Marcel loves satisfied customers and recalls a friend who does everything for others and little for herself finally decided to get Botox. "She had the procedure done and I told her she wouldn’t see a huge effect for seven to 14 days," Marcel recalls. "I reached out to her after day 9 and she said she was disappointed. About five days later she sent me a note saying she was on a Zoom call and a co-worker told her she looked fantastic. She ran to the mirror and it was like, ‘Oh my God!’ She has been a client ever since."