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2024 Teddy Ball Host

Shawnda Dorantes MSN, APRN, FNP-C Beauty Lounge Medical Spa Founder, Master Injector

Acclaimed female entrepreneur Shawnda Dorantes, MSN, APRN, FNP-C (family nurse practitioner), is the founder and Master Injector at Beauty Lounge Medical Spa, a leading, full-service aesthetic destination in San Marcos, Calif., a suburb of San Diego. As a powerful force in the beauty industry for the past 15 years and a registered nurse of over 11 years, Dorantes’ tailored expertise and innovative service offerings have paved the way for Beauty Lounge’s proven success. With an impressive 38,000 followers on Instagram, the popular medical spa is best known for its non-surgical PDO thread lifts and minimally invasive lip and nose transformations. Beauty Lounge’s service offerings include botox, fillers, laser treatments, microneedling, non-surgical facelifts, body contouring, teeth whitening, and results-driven skin care treatments.

The passionate entrepreneur is making a huge name for herself both locally and nationally. In 2021 and 2022, Beauty Lounge won four of San Diego Union Tribune’s “San Diego’s Best” Reader’s Poll awards for best: “Medical Spa,” “Cosmetic Dermatology Individual: Shawnda Dorantes, MSN, FNP-C,” “Cosmetic Dermatology Office,” and “Day Spa,” in addition to their 2022 Reader’s Poll awards for best: “Beauty Services: Nonmedical,“ and “Cosmetic Surgery: Group.” In 2021, Dorantes was honored in San Diego Metro Magazine for their “Women of Influence” and top “40 Under 40” awards. San Diego Business Journal announced Dorantes as a finalist for three of their 2021 prestigious community awards, “Rising CEO of the Year,” “40 Next Top Business Leaders Under 40,” and “Business Women of the Year.” In 2022, Dorantes won San Diego Business Journal’s “Business Woman of The Year,” and was honored as one of the “Top 50 Latino Leaders of Influence,” both of which she is very proud of. In the fall of 2022, Ranch & Coast honored Beauty Lounge as a Best of Fashion & Beauty 2022 Medical Spa winner. Dorantes also made the 2022 list of “Top 100 Aesthetic Injectors in America” in the Best Aesthetic Injectors in America’s National Directory of Recommended Providers. Beauty Lounge Medical Spa recently won San Diego Magazine’s 2023 Readers Choice award for “Best Cosmetic Dermatology.”

The renowned beauty expert has treated thousands of patients, including famed reality TV star Farrah Abraham, Heather Minch of MTV’s “Young Moms Club,” Heather Martin of ABC’s “The Bachelor,” runner-up of season four of “MasterChef,” Natasha Crnjac, and many more. Dorantes’ approach is to enhance her clients’ natural beauty and self-confidence seamlessly.

Dorantes credits her parents for her entrepreneurial spirit, which was ingrained in her at an early age when she began helping run their family-owned business. She attributes their guidance to her robust career as a Latina entrepreneur. Dorantes, a former longtime in-demand makeup artist, began as a Beauty Advisor for Estee Lauder and later became a freelance professional makeup artist for several other prestigious cosmetic lines. After securing multiple credits in film, print, and television for her work, she

joined Estee Lauder’s Regional Artistry Team while working her way through college. Dorantes triple majored in Biological Sciences, Women’s Studies, and Nursing, earning her bachelorette from Cal State University San Marcos in 2007 and 2010. She went on to work as a nurse in the acute care setting for over eight years, utilizing her medical, surgical, telemetry, and hospice care skills before founding Beauty Lounge in 2018.

Since merging her background in cosmetics and nursing, Dorantes earned her Allergan Master injector certification and received advanced aesthetic training via master's level injector courses led by famed industry injectors Kelly Choi NP-C, Rio Calvert, Dr. Gideon Kwok, Dr. Thuy Doan, and Erika Berry NP-C. A huge proponent of education, Dorantes participates in ongoing seminars and attends medical conferences throughout the year to stay up to date on the latest non-surgical aesthetic techniques and evidence-based practices. Dedicated to expanding her already well-rounded skill set, Dorantes recently earned her Masters of Science in Nursing in April 2021 from the United States University in San Diego to become a certified Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP). As an FNP, Dorantes provides additional advanced services to her clients, including medical weight loss, medical management of acne, cryotherapy, and more.

Passionate about helping clients regain their confidence, often in less than an hour, the tenacious entrepreneur is driven by the opportunity to mentor and encourage Beauty Lounge’s powerhouse team of practitioners to thrive continuously in the beauty industry. In winter 2021, Beauty Lounge moved into an expansive new state-of-the-art facility with nine treatment rooms for injectables, laser treatments, and skincare services. With the expansion comes a multitude of new innovative laser services, including laser hair removal (specialized system includes more skin types of color), carbon, erbium, Fraxel, laser tattoo removal, and the addition of medical weight loss services. The 2100-square-foot beauty destination also houses an on-site production studio for Beauty Lounge to film and produce insightful service content and educational training videos. Beauty Lounge Medical Spa's new location is vibrant and welcoming, featuring many social media "selfie walls," custom wallpaper, pink marble floors, and gorgeous cake chandeliers.

In ongoing support of the San Marcos community, Beauty Lounge supports their local youth sports by serving as a team sponsor and regularly donates to neighborhood football programs. Always committed to philanthropy, Dorantes participated in a medical mission providing medical aid to remote villages throughout Cusco, Peru, with Flying Doctors of America in 2017. In 2022, she made generous silent auction donations to Father Joe’s Villages' 37th Annual Children's Charity Gala and San Diego Food Bank’s 10th annual Chefs, Cork & Craft Gala: Hang Ten. As a big proponent of continued education, she also stepped up to help Del Norte High School make their Biomedical Pathway Program graduation ceremony extra special by donating the funds for each graduating student to receive an embroidered white lab coat. In honor of Mother’s Day, Beauty Longe partnered with the San Diego chapter of the national charitable Latinx organization, MANA, to provide nine deserving with complimentary pampering facials.

As a former Team Edge Bikini athlete and health and fitness enthusiast, Dorantes spends her free time hiking, lifting weights, visiting local wineries, traveling, and hanging by the pool with her three children, husband, and two schnauzers.

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS

● Aesthetic Nurse

● BLS & ACLS Certified

● Allergan Master Injector

● Certified Public Health Nurse

● Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse

● State Licensed California Board of Registered Nursing

● Masters of Family Nurse Practitioner Student c/o 2021

● Licensed Tattoo Artist

● Bloodborne Pathogen Certified

● A+ Ocean Saline Tattoo Removal Technician

● Professional Make-up Artist

● Les Encres & Mint PDO Thread Certified