I think everyone staring out in the aesthetic industry, especially if you are a non-core practice, needs some sort of a guru. Someone to guide you along the way in your decisions on equipment, procedures, pricing, staffing, standard operating procedures, menu of services, etc. Our guru many years ago was Fran Acunzo from Acara Partners. Perhaps Fran's most famous, or successful client, is Dr. Bruce Katz of Juva MediSpa in New York City.

I remember listening to some of his suggestions he had for us at the time and saying "Is he serious? I have no idea what this SmartLipo thing is, but if he thinks it is going to be the next big thing, then we had better trust him as our consultant". Needless to say, Fran was right. And not only about adding SmartLipo to our practice when it was first approved by the FDA, but other procedures and services as well. So, to me, when Fran speaks... I listen.

Fran blogged his predictions for aesthetic procedures for the year 2010 and it's already making it's way across the internet cited and adapted into blogs by SpaFinder.com (Read Susie's comments on such predictions) and many, many others. If you have not yet read his predictions, I'd like to post them here in their entirety:

Here are my 2010 top 10 predictions in the world of Aesthetic Medicine

1. Dysport will become a strong competitor to Botox.  Dysport, Medicis’ new entry into the world of botulinum toxin, was launched in the spring of 2009 and has begun to see increased demand as market awareness grows.

2. Non-invasive body contouring will continue to grow in popularity lead by Erchonia’s Zerona.

3. Face lifts will continue to drop in demand while liquid face-lifts grow in popularity, especially with the younger market (40 -54 year olds)

4. Fat transfer, specifically for natural breast enhancement, will become sought after by women who were previously uncomfortable with implants.

5. Laser Lipolysis will continue to be one of the most in-demand medical aesthetic procedures due to its minimal downtime and great results.

6. The younger audience (24 – 40 year olds) will continue to discover aesthetic medical services for preventive aging.

7. There will be an increase in the number of men having aesthetic medical procedures starting with facial fillers and injectables (i.e. Botox, Restylane, Radiesse, etc.)

8. The tipping point of when men and women want to have their tattoos removed will arrive and the demand will grow exponentially.

9. Facial Rejuvenation will come of age as medical practitioners perfect their skill combining aesthetic medical facial procedures for a complete Medical Makeover including the combination of fractional resurfacing, ablative resurfacing, chemical peels, photofacials, skin tightening, injectables and facial fillers, etc.

10. What was an Extreme Makeover in 2003 when the then popular TV show hit the airwaves will now become the Everyday Makeover.

It is entirely up to you whether or not you place your trust in Fran's predictions. I would guess to say there would be some discepancies amongst professions, but I can tell you I am already beginning to see many of these prove true in our own practice. It's also interesting to me that, upon research, I could find no other person or entity posting such predictions.

So, unless you have a crystal ball somewhere that has worked for you, I'm sticking to what has worked for us!

Author: Paula D. Young RN runs internal operations and training at Young Medical Spa and is the author of the Medical Spa Aesthetics Course, Study Guide, and Advanced IPL & Laser Training course for medical estheticians and laser technicians.

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