Each year, the month of April greets us with the soundtrack of spring: birds chirping, chattering in the streets, maybe even a little music in the air. But listen closer and you’ll here something a little less cheery. That’s the sound of women everywhere letting out a collective sigh of dread at the thought of the impending swimsuit season.
A New Hampshire company is hoping to quell some of those bathing suit fears with their new body-shaping invention. After seven years in development, Elemé Medical is launching their SmoothShapes™ System. According to Elemé, the system uses a new technology called Photomology™ to treat the causes of cellulite and give women tighter, smoother-looking skin. Elemé claims results can be seen after six to eight treatments, and their tests indicate patients may not need follow-up treatments for “some time”.
To decrease the appearance of cellulite, SmoothShapes incorporates four different components: laser, light, vacuum and contoured rollers. The device is rolled over areas of cellulite in a massaging manner, and the lasers and light penetrate through skin to shrink and reshape fat deposits. Elemé claims it has no side effects, and the company seems confident that SmoothShapes can provide noticeable results. They say that, though the device gained FDA clearance in 2006, the company pursued additional testing at 16 centers around the world to further optimize treatments before its official release.
Currently, Elemé is marketing the eighty-thousand-dollar SmoothShapes device to dermatologists and plastic surgeons in hopes they’ll offer the service in their practices. Elemé estimates that an eight-week SmoothShapes treatment will cost between $2,400 and $3,400, which is generally considered the optimum price range for non-invasive beauty treatments (go up a little higher and people claim it’s too much). Certainly, the emerging “body shaping” industry indicates there is a market for products like SmoothShapes. The billion-dollar-a-year industry has found a niche by offering people non-surgical alternatives to many body issues.
And, Elemé claims cellulite is a major issue among the majority of women. According to their estimates, 85 percent of women will develop cellulite at some point in their lives. The dimpled, bumpy areas of skin that result from cellulite (most commonly on the thigh and stomach areas) make many women feel self-conscious – especially when wearing a bathing suit. And cellulite isn’t just the result of weight gain or lack of physical activity. Genetics, hormones and vascular changes also may contribute to the development of cellulite.
With devices and treatments to alter body appearance coming out left and right these days, it’s still a question whether SmoothShapes will find a place in the crowded marketplace. But if the invention delivers what the inventors promise, it’s very possible that SmoothShapes could become the hottest innovation of the swimsuit season.
The SmoothShapes device launched at the American Academy of Dermatology annual meeting in February. No word yet on when we’ll begin seeing billboards and print ads for dermatologists and plastic surgeons offering the treatment.
