SKNRGY Aesthetics, a new cosmetic spa in Main Gate Square, offers botox injections and lip filler and allows University of Arizona students to pay with CatCash.  

CatCash is a form of student payment that allows for purchases to be made via a student’s CatCard. UA students can digitally deposit up to $1,000 of CatCash to load onto their CatCards, which then can be used like a debit card on campus or at select few businesses off campus. 

Kyra Kazantzis, an employee at SKNRGY, said this method of payment is the most popular amongst students.

“Freshman girls have definitely been using it [the most],” Kazantzis said. “I tell them about it and they’re like, ‘You guys take CatCash here? Oh my gosh!’ Lots of girls will use their CatCash to even get lip flips too, which is probably our cheapest injection.”

A lip flip is a procedure that uses botox to relax muscles in the upper lip, causing the lip to turn upward, giving the appearance of a fuller upper lip. At SKNRGY, this service retails for $79. 

Aubree Amoriello, a junior at the UA, has found the option to use CatCash at SKNRGY convenient. 

“I normally go to Skinjectables,” she said, “but I heard that SKNRGY was using CatCash and I was like, ‘Oh I’ll just go there, it’s basically free — it’s CatCash.”

The owner of SKNRGY, Cami Quist, is the previous owner of Fuku Sushi and the current owner of Jimmy’s Pita and Poke, both of which are popular spots on University Boulevard for students. Like SKNRGY, both businesses allow students to make purchases using their CatCash. 

“It is expensive, it’s on University. Obviously students are gonna be like, ‘I’m struggling, I can’t spend all this money,’ but you also know, for a lot of them, their parents support them through their CatCash. It’s a pretty good marketing idea honestly,” Kazantzis said. 

While many students seem to be using their parents’ money for SKNRGY’s services, the charges remain transparent. According to Lexi Czopek, the assistant director for the UA’s meal plan office, any purchases made at SKNRGY should come up under its name, just as other CatCash-eligible businesses do. However, the exact service being provided under the charge, like the lip injection or botox, remains hidden. 

“It shows the retail location, the charge and the date,” Czopek said. 

According to Czopek, in order for a business to apply to use CatCash, they must fill out an application for Transact, a third-party company that administers the University of Arizona’s meal plan software. Transact also will actively recruit for retailers who are in the geographic area.

So far this year, there have been no complaints made to the CatCash office regarding any vendors, including SKNRGY. While specific services charged at SKNRGY are not visible on CatCash bills, the CatCash office is thinking of changing that agreement in the future, according to Czopek. 

Quist has said the mission of her business centers around making students feel beautiful inside and out by providing them with accessible skincare and other beauty services. 

“I do have a lot of strong feelings about building self-esteem. I didn’t want it to be like, ‘Oh, if you look like this, then this is what beauty is.’ We wanted it to be what beauty means to you,” Quist said. 

Regarding the use of CatCash, the Tucson business owner said it was more about convenience for students rather than anything else. While the charges do come up on a student’s account as the name of the business, Quist says HIPAA laws prevent staff from legally handing that information over to parents if they were to inquire. 

“I would hope they would be honest with their parents with what they are doing there,” Quist said. “CatCash is expensive for businesses to carry. Fiscally, it’s not as good for me as a VISA or debit card would be. I did it as a convenience more than anything, because I am on University Boulevard.”

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