Fragrantly Beautiful

YOU WANNA DO WHAT

By TRACEY LOMRANTZ

Monday, June 26th, 2006

In their endless quest for physical flawlessness, New Yorkers have been known to display a near-religious devotion to the gym, the salon and the spa. But the farm? Not quite. Even the most jaded city dweller might raise an eyebrow at the latest beauty treatment hitting Manhattan's spa scene — the bovine embryonic stem cell facial.

At the upper West Side's newly opened Nabi MedSpa, guests can treat themselves to a $250 Frozen in Time Stem Cell Facial, a process that involves covering the face in a formula that includes stem cells harvested from pregnant cows.

The claim is that the facial renews and rejuvenates tired skin, and Nabi's owner, Ivy Cho, is hoping women take to the treatment like, well, a cow to grass.

As new day spas open at a rapid rate, the latest crop are competing to keep up in a market that has abandoned the pampering ideal and become increasingly results-oriented.

While that mean spas are raising prices and swanking up their facilities, it also means they must come up with new ways to avoid the "so what?" category that trite processes like the seaweed wrap have fallen into.

"People are now more aware of noninvasive, nonsurgical procedures that can make them look years younger," Cho says. "And everybody's interested in stem cells because they have the best rejuvenative properties."

Embryonic stem cells have been a hot-button issue in both scientific and political circles because although they can be used with great success to repair tissues and grow new organs, harvesting human cells requires the destruction of an embryo. The bovine stem cells used in Frozen in Time (which is available only at Nabi and considered a pioneering procedure in the beauty industry), however, are collected from the cow's umbilical cord and reportedly cause no harm to the animals.

The process begins much like any other facial, with exfoliation, steam and extraction. But instead of moisturizing you and sending you on your refreshed way, the esthetician applies a frozen formula made of natural skin ingredients — lipids, collagen, proteins — and some less familiar ones (namely, cow stem cells).

The formula is said to be absorbed by the skin. It reaches its maximum effectiveness around 144 hours after application. Skin cells are said to "regenerate, producing a carbon copy of themselves." The result is "biological supremacy over aging skin," says the company's literature. In other words, these natural building blocks will help skin turn itself over at a pace so brisk, it's like turning back the clock.

"We're creating an influx of nutrients," says Dr. Noel Santana Aguilar, who developed the line of DNA products used at Nabi. "You're using this to enhance what the body is doing, and it does it in a very effective way."

Experts, however, are not convinced.

"I hate to use this word, but it's impossible," says Dr. Richard D. Gran­stein, chair of dermatology at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell. When stem cells are frozen, he says, they die, and lose any ability to be effective. Not only that, but the chance of any kind of cell-to-cell communication involving DNA (which would be required for the cells to be effectively absorbed) is virtually impossible.

"These cells are dead. They come from a cow. And you're rubbing them onto the surface of the skin, where they could never seep in," says Gran­stein. "It's just not going to happen."
But for those with a weakness for The Next Big Thing in beauty, the purveyors of the Frozen in Time facial will try to change their minds.

Responding to the criticisms, Cho says: "The stem cells are safe, they're effective, and no cows are hurt in the harvesting process." The spa employs a plastic and reconstructive surgeon who serves as its medical director, as well as on-site nurse practitioners. The formula has been FDA approved, although there are no regulations on claims of efficacy.

The notion of stem cells being effective in beauty treatments first popped up about a year ago in Russia, where women flocked to be injected with stem cells from aborted human fetuses, hoping to rid themselves of cellulite forever. The procedures were experimental, illegal and, according to scientists, had a high risk of side effects.

While Nabi's new treatment looks unlikely to cause any damage, its claims should be enough to give consumers pause. "The question is, what do they actually believe these cow cells are doing?" Granstein says. "The whole thing is just not right."

Goop therapy
Stem cells are just the icing on the cake. All over the city, women are lining up for a slew of undeniably eccentric treatments.

THE TAN LEPA$200; Mezzanine Spa at SoHoIntegrative Health, 62 Crosby St.(212) 431-1600This body wrap involves a spa expert determining your dosha, or body type, and rubbing you down accordingly: with an herbal mixture containing goat's milk, heavy cream or yogurt, with the recipe dictated by your dosha. You're then wrapped in banana leaves and left to stew.

CARROT AND SESAME BODY BUFF$165; at Bliss 49 (also available at Bliss Spasin SoHo and on 57th St.)541 Lexington Ave. (212) 219-8970If carrot mulch, hot oil, warm milk and honey, sesame seeds and sea salt don't buff your skin to its freshly exfoliated best, they'll at least inspire your dinner menu.

CAVIAR FIRMING FACIAL$270 at La Prairie at the Ritz-Carlton,50 Central Park South.(212) 521-6135Luxury is the operative word at this swank spa—and that means slathering your face and neck with caviar, said to be chock-full of sea proteins that lift and illuminate the skin.

SINUS DRAINAGE TREATMENT$150 for initial visit, $90 thereafter,at Body Central, 99 University Place.(212) 677-5633Enter a eucalyptus-infused room where your face is hit with anti-inflammatory fluid and a vaporizer, add electrical stimulation to the sinus drainage points, top it off with a cool compress, and say goodbye to stuffiness.

posted by Cheryl Levesque @ 4:47 PM