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What one therapy can promise everything from younger-looking skin to thinner, sleeker thighs to a fuller head of hair? The answer is mesotherapy, a versatile technique invented in the 1950s by a French doctor named Michael Pistor. In mesotherapy, combinations of different medications are injected into the mesoderm, the layer of fat and connective tissue under the skin, in minute quantities. Although the technique was initially used to treat medical ailments like osteoarthritis and chronic pain, practitioners of Pistor's technique discovered its applications to aesthetic concerns, such as cellulite, wrinkles, hair loss, and fat deposits. Mesotherapy formulas for these conditions consist of vitamins, homeopathic medicines, herbal extracts, and pharmaceuticals.

Dermatologist Patrick Bitter Jr., M.D., is one of aesthetic medicine's pioneers. In 1998, he developed and introduced the FotoFacial. A few years later, he collaborated with Toronto plastic surgeon, Stephen Mulholland, on the improved FotoFacial RF, a series of intense pulsed light treatments that improve the texture and appearance of skin troubled by rosacea, sun damage, age spots, and photo aging. Bitter has trained over 3,000 physicians to use his technique. Celebrities and other well-heeled Californians seek him out because of his reputation as a dermatologist. So when Bitter began to contemplate opening a medical spa, it was with his clients' health, as well as appearance, in mind.

UBS Aesthetics, the company that brought the medical spa community the first FDA-approved microdermabrasion treatment is continuing to refine its equipment line. The latest offering, the PowerPeel 1500M, offers an ergonomically correct, angled delivery handpiece as well as a crystal delivery system that ensures even exfoliation during every use. The unit is also quieter than its predecessor, a benefit that is appreciated by both users and clients alike. (800) 925-5022;