Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Bourgeois.
Hi Ryan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My path has definitely not been traditional. Before aesthetics, I spent years in emergency medicine and family practice as a nurse practitioner, and before that I even worked in television and acting while still staying connected to healthcare. So my background has always been a mix of medicine, communication, education, and people.
Bougie Aesthetics started in 2020 in a very small space. I was working as a solo injector in what was basically a 10 by 10 room inside a shipping container style building. It was not glamorous, but it forced me to become very clear on what I believed in and how I wanted to practice. I knew I did not want to build a med spa around quick treatments, trends, or chasing volume. I wanted to build something based on education, anatomy, long-term facial aging, and helping patients understand why we do what we do.
That philosophy became the foundation of Bougie Aesthetics. Instead of just asking patients what wrinkle or line they wanted treated, I started teaching them how the face ages over time, including bone structure, fat loss, skin quality, collagen loss, and how everything works together. That educational approach changed everything. Patients felt more informed, more confident, and more involved in their treatment plans.
From that small beginning, the practice grew quickly. By our second year, I had reached over a million dollars in revenue as a solo injector while working only a few days a week. Since then, Bougie Aesthetics has grown into a downtown Fort Worth practice with a team, a training academy, and a much larger platform for education.
Today, Bougie Aesthetics is focused on bioregenerative aesthetics, which means we are not just trying to make people look different. We are trying to support tissue health, facial structure, collagen production, and natural-looking aging over time. I also teach other providers through the Academy of Regenerative Aesthetics, where we focus on anatomy, technique, consultation strategy, and responsible aesthetic medicine.
Looking back, I think the biggest reason we have grown is that I never wanted Bougie Aesthetics to feel like a typical med spa. I wanted it to feel thoughtful, honest, educational, and elevated. I wanted patients to feel like they were part of the plan instead of being sold a treatment. That has really become the heart of what we do.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No, it definitely has not been a smooth road. I think from the outside people can see growth, revenue, expansion, or a nice office and assume the path was clean and easy. It was not.
A lot of the struggles were lessons I had to pay for in real time. Early on, I made some real estate and lease decisions that I did not fully understand at the time. I signed things that, looking back, I wish I would have had reviewed more carefully. That taught me very quickly that excitement is not a strategy, and every signature matters.
I also learned some hard financial lessons with equipment. In aesthetics, devices and lasers can look exciting on the front end, but the financing terms, interest rates, service contracts, consumables, and monthly obligations can become a major burden if you are not careful. There were times I realized after the fact that I had agreed to terms that were not nearly as favorable as I thought they were. That experience changed the way I look at every business decision now.
One of the more personal struggles was hiring a best friend. I think a lot of business owners learn this lesson the hard way. You want to help people you care about, and you assume trust and friendship will make the working relationship easier. In my case, it ended up costing me the friendship. That was painful, but it taught me that business needs structure, clear expectations, accountability, and boundaries, even with people you love.
Another challenge was finding the right medical director relationship. In the med spa world, the medical director fit is extremely important. It is not just about having a name on paper. You need someone who understands the vision, respects the clinical side, supports compliance, and fits the culture of the practice. It took time to find the right fit.
So no, it has not been smooth. But I also do not regret the hard parts, because they shaped how I lead today. I am much more careful, more strategic, and more protective of the business. A lot of my growth came from what I call “scar tissue.” Those mistakes hurt, but they also made me a better owner, a better educator, and a better advisor to other providers who are trying to build something of their own.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
At Bougie Aesthetics, we specialize in advanced injectable treatments, regenerative aesthetics, facial balancing, collagen stimulation, skin quality, and long-term aesthetic planning.
What we are really known for is our consultation process and our educational approach. I do not believe aesthetics should be built around quick treatments or chasing trends. The face ages in layers. Bone changes, fat shifts, collagen declines, skin quality changes, and everything starts to work together over time. My job is to help patients understand that process and then build a plan that makes sense for them.
One of the biggest things that sets us apart is transparency. During consultations, we educate patients on what is happening with their face, take photos, review their concerns, and build a treatment plan with them. They are not just being told what they “need.” They are being shown why certain areas matter, what options exist, and how different treatments can work together over time.
I would say I am most known for a bioregenerative approach to aesthetics. That means we are not just trying to fill a line or change someone’s face. We are looking at structure, collagen support, tissue health, facial harmony, and helping patients age in a way that still looks like them. I want people to look refreshed, healthy, and confident, not overdone.
I am also proud of the training side of what I do. Through the Academy of Regenerative Aesthetics, I teach other providers advanced techniques, but I also teach consultation strategy, anatomy, patient education, business decision-making, and the importance of practicing responsibly. I think there is a real need in this industry for more depth, more honesty, and more clinically grounded education.
What I am most proud of is that Bougie Aesthetics was not built by copying what everyone else was doing. It was built on a philosophy. Education is key. Patients deserve to understand their options. Providers should know anatomy deeply. And the goal should never be to make someone look like a different person. The goal is to help them look like the healthiest, most confident version of themselves.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I do think luck has played a role, but maybe not in the way people usually think about it.
One of the greatest gifts I was given was the ability to see things artistically. As a kid and teenager, I loved to draw, and I was fortunate to win art competitions growing up. At the time, I did not know that would ever connect to medicine or business, but looking back, it absolutely shaped the way I see faces today.
When I entered aesthetics, the artistic side came naturally to me. I could look at a face and understand balance, shadow, proportion, structure, and what I wanted the final result to look like. That part felt instinctive. The challenge was that I did not yet know how to technically create that result, especially in a way that was natural and bioregenerative instead of just adding volume.
So I would say the “good luck” was being born with an artistic eye. But the work came after that. I invested heavily in training, studied anatomy, traveled, watched, practiced, and learned from some of the best injectors and educators in the world. I wanted to understand not just how to inject, but why certain techniques worked and how to create long-term results that supported the face instead of distorting it.
Bad luck, or maybe better said, hard lessons, also played a role. There were plenty of moments where I made mistakes, trusted the wrong people, signed the wrong agreements, or had to learn business the painful way. But those experiences gave me scar tissue, and scar tissue can become wisdom if you let it.
So I believe luck may open a door, but it does not build the business. For me, the artistic gift helped me see the face differently, but training, discipline, failure, and persistence are what turned that gift into something I could actually use to help patients and teach other providers.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bougieaesthetics.net
- Instagram: @bougie_injector
