This week is the AAD 2009 week. American Academy of Dermatology annual meetings (this year in San Francisco) is traditionally used by all developers and manufacturers of laser, light-based and radio-frequency devices for surgical, aesthetic, and ophthalmic applications to announce their new blockbusters of the year to jolt up sales.

Lumenis has announced today plans to launch the LightSheer(R) Duet(TM) Diode Laser System for high-speed permanent hair reduction. “The LightSheer Duet is the most exciting innovation in laser hair removal since LightSheer first revolutionized the industry in 1998. LightSheer Duet reduces hair removal treatments up to 75% and vastly improves patient comfort, eliminating the need for topical anesthetics. These ground-breaking changes will significantly improve practitioner and patient acceptance of hair removal, as well as increase the revenue potential for physician practices and clinics,” said Mr. Robert Mann, General Manager of Lumenis Global Aesthetics and Dermatology in the corporate press release.

The original LightSheer diode laser introduced by Lumenis many years ago was the preferred system used by the first generation of hair removal professionals. The pioneers of the business still swear by it and sometimes use the brand name as a definition of the laser hair removal.

The laser was great for its time, and the second generation of laser hair removal became aware of its obvious limitations: skin type I-III only and pretty expensive for a start-up.

The new LightSheer Duet is the same 800 nanometer diode laser, but faster thanks to the a large 22×35 mm diode array, which is useful for the treatment of larger body areas such as legs, arms, chests, abdomen, shoulders and backs. Dr. Mitch Goldman, a dermatologic and cosmetic surgeon in La Jolla, CA. says, “For example, with the LightSheer Duet, it is possible to treat an entire back in 15 minutes instead of an hour or more. That makes back and leg procedures a lot more viable than before, and will enable our practice to be more competitive in our market”.

The new LightSheer is expandable and can include a vacuum assist technology to lift skin into the treatment aperture prior to applying laser energy. With this approach, the targeted tissue is gently stretched and thinned, minimizing competing chromophores by blanching vessels and spreading skin pigmentation over a larger area, in addition to pulling the hair follicle closer to the skin’s surface.

LaserOffers.com comment

We believe that clinical efficacy may in fact be better than other diode laser hair removal systems. Time used to laser a man’s back has to include the prep work: applying cooling gels, numbing, etc., and if a physician does the procedure himself (no offense, but we do not see Dr. Goldman actually spending his time doing a hair removal treatment himself), he or she will save a few minutes.

Besides the obvious constraint to working only on untanned Caucasian skin, the hurdle in adopting the new LightSheer diode system will be the economics of this investment: saving a few minutes versus a very expensive investment with questionable return on the current market, which is very saturated with cheaper machines and disappearing legs and backs to work on.

Just a few quotes from Men facing up to nips and needles published on FT.com yesterday.

“Anyone who says looks are not important is a liar,” says the 33-year-old account manager, who works for a British marketing agency. “You need to look good – fresh and bright rather than tired and stressed out.”

“I perform better if I feel confident so it may have increased the num­ber of contracts we have won”

“There are definitely more business guys coming in and they have very focused demands,” says Cap Lesesne, pictured, one of Manhattan’s leading cosmetic surgeons. “They are worried about their job futures and their professional longevity.” Typical male patients might be in their mid-forties, he adds. “They’re fairly successful and they’re looking to work into their sixties.”

“I was beginning to look kind of tired and wanted to have something that made me feel refreshed but not surgically altered,” says a 56-year-old maths and science academic. Prolonging his career was a big motivation: “I would like to work for another 10 years.”

In the UK, Steven Clarke, a 25-year-old engineer at Rolls-Royce, has had laser treatment at plastic surgery specialists Harley Medical Group to remove sun scars under his eyes. It seems that younger men, like such as Mr Clarke and Mr Burling are part of a generation that may be more comfortable with the idea of at least the non- invasive treatments.

Mr Clarke says: “If you don’t look after yourself it shows that you’ve got no discipline and that doesn’t reflect well on your work life. I’ve thought that if after lots of late nights working for Rolls- Royce I start to look tired, then I’d probably have an eye lift.”

“People are scared about losing their jobs and they want to look their best.”

“People might say: ‘You look tired.’ What that implies is you’re not as vigorous or energetic, or not as competitive as you might be.”

However, many in the sector are confident that they can weather the storm. “I know we will see a fall-out here even though this is a pretty affluent community,” .

She recentlystimulated demand by offering a 10 per cent holiday discount for facial “injectables”, such as Botox. “In my practice e surgical volume was down so we had to be creative. When the world gives you lemons you make lemonade.

“We’re not recession-proof but we’re recession-resistant,” says Dr Boxrud, who specialises in facial and ophthalmic aesthetic and reconstructive surgery in Hollywood. “There are some surgeons who only do cosmetic surgery and if they are only doing big, cosmetic procedures, they are going to have to rethink their practice.”

US Cosmetic Surgery Procedures Market to Reach $15.1 Billion by 2012, According to New Report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

Americans want to look young. It drives demand for cosmetic surgery, and the aesthetic procedures market is projected to reach $15.13 billion by 2012.

Injectables represent the most vibrant and promising growth area, since downtime and recovery period is minimal to nil and costs are easy-on-the-pocket. Surgical treatments, which provide long-term benefits, are temporality out-of-favor, especially since the US economic slowdown has tightened consumer spending on their expensive in nature, out-of-pocket surgical treatments.

Recent years have been glorious in the history of cosmetic surgery products and procedures, as new product approvals and technology improvements have strived to provide the best to the prospective patient. Although, slightly disturbed as a result on ongoing economic meltdown, long-term forecast promise nothing but a bright future. As the US population ages, and people have access to discretionary income, they are indeed expected to splurge on having a treatment, surgical or non-surgical. While it is always easier to get a shot of botox to smoothen wrinkles, or a dermal filler to plump up under eye hollows, demand for popular surgical treatments would continue with those for whom injections are not enough to get the desired look.

Leading growth would be non-surgical treatments: dermal fillers, injectables, laser treatments.

The US cosmetic surgery products market is home to large number of companies. However, due to the diverse nature of product categories (Equipment, Injectables and Implants), not all companies are active in all market segments. Key players include Allergan, Mentor, Medicis Pharmaceuticals, Dermik Laboratories, BioForm Medical, Artes Medical, Anika Therapeutics, Cutera, Lumenis, DermaMed USA, ExcellaDerm Corporation, Cynosure, Fascia Biosystems, Genesis Biosystems, Genzyme Corporation, Syneron, Thermage, Candela, IRIDEX Corp., Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Lumenis Ltd., Palomar Medical Technologies, Q-Med AB, and Solta Medical.

The report analyzes the US and the European markets in terms of both Cosmetic Surgery Products, and Cosmetic Surgery Procedures for the period 2006 through 2015. Major Cosmetic Surgery Products analyzed for the US market include Equipment (Lasers, Microdermabrators and Other Equipment), Injectables (Botulinum Toxin Type A, Dermal Fillers, and Other Injectables), Implants (Breast Implants and Other Implants), and Other Markets. Cosmetic Surgery Procedures analyzed for the US market include Surgical (Breast Augmentation, Abdominoplasty, Blepharoplasty, Facelift, Liposuction, Rhinoplasty, and Others), and Non-surgical (Botox, Dermal Fillers, Laser Hair Removal, Laser Skin Resurfacing, Chemical Peel, Microdermabrasion, and Others). The European market is analyzed in terms of Cosmetic Procedures (Surgical and Non-surgical) by country for years 2008, 2010, and 2013. Select surgical procedures analyzed for the Europe region include Breast Augmentation, Liposuction, Blepharoplasty, and Rhinoplasty.

Full report is available for purchase from the publisher.

Bad economy is making patients more cost-conscious, and plastic surgeons, the elite corps of lavishly compensated surgeons are going to unheard-of lengths to drum up business.

Some are sending out discount coupons and offering payment plans. Others are turning to less expensive and less invasive procedures. And all of them have to actually market their aesthetic practices.

After many years of steadily growing demand, spurred by increasingly higher standards of beauty, a  30% to 50% drop in the number of cosmetic procedures performed comes as a big surprise to many plastic and cosmetic surgeons. Many of them have boasted annual incomes in the seven-figure range. Dr. Mark Sultan, plastics chief at Beth Israel Medical Center, earned $4.1 million in 2006. That made him the second-highest-paid doctor on the payroll of any New York City hospital, according to a 2008 Crain’s Health Pulse survey of hospital salaries.

After seeing his cosmetic business shrivel by 20%, Dr. Steven Pearlman, who operates at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York says, “For the first time ever, I sent out “To my loyal patients’ discount cards”.

In a city that has long been driven by Wall Street money, Park Avenue facial specialist Dr. Yael Halaas has come up with a spiel that fits with that ethos. “We’re telling people it’s a great time to invest money in yourself [with cosmetic surgery],”she says.

Consumer wants to deal with a medical aesthetic professional who specializes in aesthetic and cosmetic procedures and:

• has experience in the fine arts and appreciates the fine nuances of balance and proportion
• understands that changes in millimeters can create profound changes in facial beauty and harmony
• recognizes that the face of today is youthful and defined, never overdone or stylized
• works with each patient individually to achieve a result that enhances each person, creating a revitalized and rejuvenated self
• delivers the best results that do not look “surgical” and with minimal down time
• specializes in the most advanced and innovative techniques available today

Not easy, hah?

Despite today’s slowing economy and tighter consumer budgets, the future looks bright for the cosmetic and plastic surgery industry.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) recently published their predictions for 2015, and estimate that over 55 million procedures – one for every five Americans – will be performed. Analysts claim that more people will be taking advantage of better technology and more competitive prices.

In 2007, the ASPS reported 11.7 million procedures, and the 2015 prediction is four times the total number of procedures performed in 2005.

Plastic Surgery Interactive also points out that “for ASPS members, 12% of the procedures they perform will be surgical and 88% will be non-surgical in 2015. For non-ASPS physicians, surgical procedures will make up only 3% of their total procedures, and 97% will be non-surgical in 2015.”

So what does this mean for aesthetic professionals?

More procedures performed across the country mean that the market gets bigger and you should invest your time and money into offering more innovative procedures that are safer and more accurate.

Some of us in our 50s are in the workplace with people in their 20s and 30s, and we need to be competitive at a job interview.

The sagging economy has changed the customer landscape for aesthetic professionals. Fewer patients opt for pricey overhauls like facelifts and stuff, but there are more patients, who want temporary, less expensive spruce-ups. Both groups of patients increasingly view aesthetic procedures as a business move, rather than a fashionable frill.

A “refreshed” CEO has more chances of raising funds or getting a bail-out. A real estate agent knows that a younger, rejuvenated face will have more success selling homes. While in between jobs, people use the downtime and part of their savings to improve their look in hope to land a good position. Those in struggling businesses see cosmetic procedures as key to surviving layoffs.

People have to look younger and better for reasons related to their jobs and they are hunting for value.

National trade groups report a surge of plastic surgery over the past decade. Data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons show nearly 12 million cosmetic surgery procedures were performed in 2007, a 7 percent increase from the year before. The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery says Americans spent $8.3 billion for surgical procedures and $4.7 billion for nonsurgical in 2007. Neither group has 2008 data yet. However, there is no doubt that big ticket face-lifts are down, injectables and laser rejuvenation treatments are up.

2009 is the year of laser rejuvenation treatments and injectables, which offer the best value.