On a busy afternoon at The DRIPBaR Troy, the scene feels less like a medical spa and more like a family gathering. Children jump on the chairs. Sisters talk over one another. Someone is hungry. Someone else is annoyed. And in the center of it all, owner Ruksana Salam reclines peacefully, an IV drip quietly doing its work.
The moment captures both the rhythm of her life — and the philosophy behind her business.
“Wellness isn’t just about feeling better physically,” says Salam, owner of The DRIPBaR Troy (thedripbar.com/troy-mi). “It’s about finding calmness when life is loud.”
Raised in a large, close-knit Bangladeshi family, Salam grew up surrounded by constant activity. Her sisters — Gina, Amina, Syeda and Farjana — are, by her own affectionate description, “incredibly opinionated.” Her brother, Shahan (“Sean”), nephews, nieces and her mother, Shalina, add to what she calls “pure chaos — in the best way.”
That natural, chaotic energy carried into the Troy City Lifestyle photo shoot. “This is what it’s all about,” Salam says. “Supporting your body so you can stay calm and grounded, even when life is busy.”
Salam’s path to IV therapy began years ago while working alongside Dr. George Howard, a Sterling Heights-based medical oncologist. She saw how stress, fatigue, seasonal changes and Michigan winters quietly deplete the body long before illness appears.
“We don’t realize how run down we are until we finally give our body what it needs,” she says.
That understanding led her to open The DRIPBaR Troy, offering IV vitamin therapy, injections, red-light therapy and compression therapy — all overseen by medical directors. In addition to Dr. Howard, now her business partner and mentor, the practice is supported by Dr. Victor Farris, a physician with a sports-medicine background.
With their expertise, Salam focuses on serving everyone from cancer patients to athletes to moms — people who are often giving more than they’re replenishing.
“That medical oversight matters,” she explains. “Not every treatment is right for everyone, and physician involvement allows us to personalize care responsibly.”
And comfortably. Clients frequently comment on the warmth of the studio. Salam credits her team — whom clients affectionately call their “heroes” — for creating that experience.
The menu of treatment options quickly reveals just how much modern life asks of the body. There are IV drips designed for energy, immunity, recovery and anti-aging, along with options featuring NAD, vitamin C and other nutrients. Choose maternal wellness support, even heavy metal detoxification — there are so many choices, made easier by monthly memberships that include unlimited red-light therapy.
For Salam, the mission is deeply personal. As a mother to a toddler, she understands exhaustion on a cellular level. She opened the business the same year she gave birth — finalizing leases while in labor and learning to balance entrepreneurship and motherhood in real time.
Her husband, Sul — also an entrepreneur — never hesitated with his support. “I’d rather you try and fail than never try at all,” he told her.
That encouragement echoes the pride she felt when her mother attended the shoot, watching quietly from the sidelines. “Seeing her there,” Salam says, “seeing her proud — that meant everything.”