FibroCell Therapy:

This is the next thing in non-surgical aesthetics. It involves taking a small piece of skin from behind the ear [“punch biopsy”] and growing your cells in a culture medium. This produces millions of new cells. Then, these cells are returned back to you with an injection into the skin.
It’s going under the working name of “LAVIV” therapy by Fibrocell Science. Preliminary studies for wrinkles and acne scars have been promising. The company has done Phase 2 and Phase 3 studies, which were placebo controlled, multicenter and randomized [keep in mind…they were not double blinded!]
109 patients received Fibrocell treatment several weeks apart. There was a 43% cosmetic response vs. 18% placebo.

My Take: This is still some time off in the future. If it does work, it will work for fine wrinkles and mild acne scarring. It won’t build the volume that fillers do, but may have a role as an adjunct to filler work. Cost is another issue, and I imagine this won’t be cheap!

Update on Cellulite:

What is cellulite? My research has yielded some answers to this question. Cellulite is caused by a loss of collagen in the dermis and as a result the fat herniates upwards through the dermis and causes the lumpiness on the skin. It has nothing to do with “toxins” or “poor lymphatic flow” or other such nonsense. In fact, the study which I published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, which is a peer-reviewed medical journal, has shown that, quite uniformly, that women with cellulite have lost collagen in the dermis. In fact, earlier biopsies performed at Rockefeller University have also confirmed this finding. It has nothing to do with your weight, your shoes or clothing or anything else like this. It’s all about collagen.
So…what can be done? Collagen boosting creams do have some role here, but in my opinion, they work best if done in conjunction with some technology
Here’s a run down of the technologies which I think work: Intense Pulsed Light: for mild cellulite and light skin
Accent: About a 30-50% improvement in the texture of the skin and appearance
Smooth Shapes: All the advantages of the Velashape but it has a diode laser that targets fat.

Just remember….results can always vary and it’s impossible to predict who may and who may not get a response. Also, if it “sounds crazy”, it probably is!