facial Plastic surgeon, dr. sreekant Cherukuri offers patients the “weekend facelift” procedure.
Salon trend:
Botox, pedicure
in one stop
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he nonsurgical nip and tuck has found a spot among curling irons and bottles of nail polish. Salons that sell non-surgical cosmetic procedures to smooth wrinkles and blast blemishes are hitting the region. European Style Salon & Day Spa, 70 Lincolnway, in Valparaiso, started offering on-site treatments in August via appointment with a doctor who travels to the spa. We have a culture where everyone wants to look younger, says spa owner Michelle Mangus. “What’s so great about this is you can get that look without surgery,” she says. Mangus heard time and again about customers’ desires for cosmetic procedures, but many were nervous about attending “procedure parties” or going to a clinic. Having the procedures done on site helps clients embrace the services and puts them at ease.
They know the salon, they know the employees. There’s a sense of comfort. “You believe and trust your stylist,” Mangus says. They offer a host of procedures, including Botox injections to lessen facial wrinkles, Latisse to thicken eyelashes and Sublime, which uses infrared light and bipolar radiofrequency to stimulate collagen growth for tighter skin. Everything is organic, with nothing going into the body and nothing taken out, says medical aesthetician Meghan Pesich. Pesich works with family practitioner Dr. James Joseph by appointment, out of European Style Salon & Day Spa in Valpo, Elements Salon Spa Retreat in Dyer and Gaia Salon Spa in Schererville. Both salons were looking to bulk up their menu by adding some medical services, she says. At 7e FitSpa, the focus is on fitness. The most popular feature at the Highland franchise is the Torc Plus machine, which involves using electrodes to stimulate and strengthen muscle groups, says Pete Rutishauser.
The way a chiropractor or physical therapist uses electrodes to work out a knot or help people recover from surgery can also help in a workout regimen. “It cannot substitute exercise, but it can help people start in the rhythm of exercise,” he says. The business soon will offer microcurrent facials with the same concept of using electronerve stimulations to encourage muscles in the face to tighten, he says. Cost varies. Members pay $59 per month and receive one session each month; the rest are $59 each. There are group specials and deals that members can take advantage of. Non-members pay $89 per session and are not entitled to discounts and group packages. People looking for longer-lasting changes without a full facelift have the option of a mini-facelift. Dr. Sreekant Cherukuri, a facial plastic surgeon who has offices in Munster, St. John and Merrillville, has built his local practice around the one-hour procedure 99 percent of his patients undergo. “We call it the weekend lift,” Cherukuri says. A traditional facelift can mean four to six hours under general anesthesia, a long incision, a month of healing and a $20,000 bill, Cherukuri says. Over the last decade, more attention has been drawn to plastic surgery. “It’s got less of a stigma,” he says. But many patients don’t want to go under general anesthesia. With his weekend facelift procedure, Cherukuri uses local anesthesia, similar to what a dentist would use to numb a mouth. He makes a small, S-shaped incision at the top of each ear, lifts and pulls the skin and trims it, without any facial distortion. It is a long-lasting procedure with reduced risk and downtime. It’s called a weekend lift, because a lot of patients have the procedure on a Friday and return to work the following Monday. They won’t be fully healed, but they will be well enough to work. Some people go shopping the next day, he says. The cost starts at $3,900, increasing if people want to eliminate their “turkey neck.” Cherukuri can smooth facial wrinkles with fillers, such as Botox. But for surface issues, people are better off going to a skin specialist. “We focus on dramatic changes with minimal downtime,” he says. For more information on the mini-facelift, visit www.theweekendlift.com. Pesich can be reached at (219) 798-0654 or ageless.meghan@gmail.com. And to reach 7e FitSpa, call (219) 922-7337 or visit www.7efitspa.com. —Vanessa Renderman
january/february 2013 | GET HEALTHY | 19