Pix credit: Reuters: Sari Gustafsson/Lethikuva

A Russian man died in the finals of the world sauna championships in Finland after spending some six minutes sweltering in temperatures of 110 degrees Celsius (230.00F), organizers said Sunday.

“After this incident we decided that this game is over and done,” Saija Jappinen, cultural secretary at Heinola city told Reuters, announcing the end of the event.

The world sauna championships, where competitors try to outlast others in the heat and steam, have been held 12 times in Heinola, some 138 km (86 miles) northeast of Finland’s capital Helsinki.

Dozens of competitors were whittled down to just two, but six minutes into the final judges noticed something was wrong with Russian champion Vladimir Lazyzhenskiy and dragged him and Finnish finalist Timo Kaukonen from the sauna.

Police are investigating the cause of Lazyzhenskiy’s death.

Kaukonen was treated for burns in hospital.

Article Credit: www.reuters.com

There must be literally hundreds of foot reflexology shops in Xiamen, ranging from small 4 person palours in small shops, all the way to establishments that employ hundreds of foot masseurs with their own building.

Whenever I am in Xiamen, I will visit one, both to relax and to get my regular dose of foot massage. I’m always spoil for choice amongst the hundreds of foot reflexology palours in Xiamen and I normally visit one that is near to my hotel. My last visit was to Le Zhu Tang, literally translated as Happy Feet Hall, which is just adjacent along a busy street where I was staying.

Front entrance to Le Zhu Tang

It was my last day in Xiamen and I should be leaving for the airport in a couple of hours. I normally spend the remaining time in a foot massage palour to kill time, relax my tired feet as well as get some free food.

We chose a 1-hour session as we wanted to have more time to have lunch. We were lead to a private room that had 3 massage chairs, a LCD TV and an en-suite toilet/shower. There were two of us but typically in Xiamen, you’ll be given such a private room even if you were to visit alone.

The massage routine was similar to other reflexology palours I had been to in Xiamen. The usual routine consist of a hot water foot wash, the actual foot massage, a short, quick back and shoulder massage and a hot towel wrap of the feet and leg.

The private room we were in; complete with LCD TV and toilet

The masseur use fire to sanitize the massage rod

Once the foot massage was over, we had a choice of relaxing in the room or have lunch at the cafe. (Most other palours serve food to your room; for Le Zhu Tang, you have to go to a cafe).

The cafe was not packed as we were there during a lull period. Unfortunately, the choice of food was also minimal for the exact same reason. We had local porridge, a specially cooked noodle dish as well as some juices.

Some of the other larger places I had visited in Xiamen had double-boiled herbal soup, bento sets, dim sum, dessert and other delicacies. In comparison, Le Zhu Tang seem to fail in the food and beverage department if compared to other similar establishments in Xiamen.

It was soon time to leave for the airport. We paid up, said our goodbyes to the cafe ladies and was soon out to the hustle and bustle of Xiamen streets.

While Le Zhu Tang has good number of rooms, they are not the biggest or the swankiest in Xiamen I had been to. Their massage and service standard are average and so is their price of RMB75(US$12) for an hour of foot massage.

Will I come back again? I guess not; not when there are hundreds of other similar places I can visit in Xiamen, many of which are newer, bigger and swankier for the same price.

Location of Spa:
Jiahe Road, Xiamen, China

Size of Spa: Many rooms within a 2-storey shophouse
Facilities: Private room with LCD TV and en-suite toilet and shower. Common cafe area
Friendliness: Friendly
Pricing: 1 hour foot massage starts at US$12. Other treatment and massage services start from that price onwards.

Are you a professional in the spa and wellness industry? Or a very curious onlooker?

Well, you’ll be glad that a trade exhibition for the spa and wellness industry will be held in Singapore soon. Beauty and wellness trade visitors can check out the spa and wellness industry in Singapore and Asia at the Intimate World Asia from 15 – 16 July, 2010.

The two days will see fashion, spa and beauty industry players and operators search for potential trade and partnership opportunities. Members of local Singapore Spa associations as well as neighbouring spa associations can take part in networking sessions, seminars and product presentations and future entrepreneurs can pick up a tip or two about the industry and increase their product knowledge.

Intimate World Asia also incorporates Health & Alternative Asia where health products and services like organic food and supplements are showcased. Traditional remedies and alternative treatments like addiction and holistic treatments are also offered in this Trade show.

The exhibition will be from 15 – 16 July 2010, Hall B at the MBSS from 10am to 6pm

I can’t believe that I started this blog in June 2007. This means this blog is now exactly 3 years old!

As of June 10 2010, I have posted 65 spa and massage reviews. An average of 22 reviews a year or 2 reviews a month! This is not counting places which I found too lousy to write a review or places where I have been too busy or lazy to follow up with a proper review. What a number of scrubs, massage and facials I must have gone for! What a lot of money I must have spent!

Really, it was all in good fun! Before I started this blog, there were many times when I have always said… ‘how I wished some-one had made an objective review so that I do not need to throw good money after a lousy spa’… well, I couldn’t find that some-one and so it became me…

And can you believe it that I went from a reader of 1 – myself – to an average of 500 readers a day after 3 years? It is a good feeling that I know 500 like-minded ‘spa friends’ are visiting me each day!

Along the way, I have made many friends. Spa owners, other spa reviewers, spa customers and even a couple of magazine editors. We have exchanged views, traded opinions and lamented at spa industry practices.

Most of all, I appreciate readers’ feedback, encouragement and suggestions.

More than a year ago, another reader and myself decided to collaborate on a couple of other websites. These are not spa reviews but rather, websites that collect and collate health and wellness articles – articles which has been written in simple and non-jargon language.

Just like my spa reviews, I like to keep a a catalog of personalised information tugged away for perpetual and repeated use. I like them neat, clear, organised and easily available.

Sarah and myself share that passion. We also believe that too much information and too much jargon can kill one’s enthusiasm for a subject. Just like my spa review, we decided to take matters into our own hand and organise our own library of useful information and knowledge.

Initially, we wanted to include these health and wellness articles into my spa review blog. We decided it would dilute my spa review direction and decided they should have their own website to keep the message clear.

Hence, two websites were born: http://www.health-wellness-care.com and http://www.beauty-fitness-secrets.com

Here’s a sample of articles for health-wellness-care:

	Vitamins and our Health
	What is Diabetes?
	What is Prostate Cancer?
	Arthritis
	What is Hepatitis C?
	Overcoming Addictions
	Stroke (New!)
	Lower Cholesterol
	Skin cancer
	Breast Cancer
	Malignant melanoma
	When Lymphoma strikes!
	Conquering allergies
	Sleeping Disorder (New)
	Depression (New)and many more…

These are day-to-day health issue articles written in clear, concise, layman language. Put it this way; these are everyday health issues you or I may encounter to ourselves, loved ones or friends. When we need these information, we want them to be easily available, easy to understand and easy to refer to seek further specialised help from that point onwards. I hope http://www.health-wellness-care.com can fulfill that task.

Here’s the sample for the beauty-fitness-secrets.com website:

	Nurturing Self confidence
	Start a running regimen
	Muscle Building
	Healthy Smile
	Beauty Secrets Revealed
	Skin care secrets
	Sun Tan dangers!
	Causes of Hair Loss
	Speed reading
	Quit Smoking!
	Let’s Do Pilates!and many more…

As much as we go for massages and spas to rejuvenate ourselves, this is not enough. We need to exercise, eat well and follow certain skin and toning routines to keep us in good confidence and shape. These articles bring you the basics of fitness, food and beauty that will enable you to remain young, healthy and certainly beautiful in mind and body. Go check out: http://www.beauty-fitness-secrets.com

Thanks once again for your readership, feedback and encouragement. Keep your emails coming, in private or through the public comments.

I’m very keen to see if readership continue to grow because I am thinking of starting a discussion forum for spa and wellness in Asia once we reach a certain critical mass. Let me know if you want to encourage the start of a reader discussion forum.

Let’s see what else we can do in the next 3 years…

Disclaimer: Sarah and myself are not medical professionals. We are collecting and collating information articles related to health and wellness. Please do not use these information as a substitute for professional medical advice. Always see a medical doctor for all health and wellness related matters.

We know that China has taken the capitalistic route for a long time and is on it’s way to becoming a rich country. We can see the rich and famous spending serious money on all sorts of luxurious items – cars, fashion, food, housing, entertainment…. and high-end spas.

I was in Xiamen, China recently and had the chance to catch a taste how the noveau and rich live in China – by visiting one of their most upmarket spa.

I had been in Xiamen before and really enjoyed visiting Riyuegu – an open air hotspring resort out in the countryside. This time, I did not have the luxury of time and will need to make do with a visit to a spa within Xiamen itself.

There are many foot reflexology places in Xiamen and I have been to their hotel spas previously. This time round, I wanted to go where the locals go and not where tourists will go. I ask my hotel concierge to direct me to an upmarket spa where the rich and famous in Xiamen will go. He promptly recommended that I try the RI-Star spa. (The spa is pronounced as Li-Jing in Chinese).

The taxi driver had difficulty bringing me to the spa. Not a good sign that this is a famous upmarket spa in Xiamen – not when a taxi driver is not aware of it’s existence.

Eventually, we found the spa. Or should we say the building… because the spa occupies it’s own building. No doubt it’s a small building and located in a side-street but the entrance to the building tells you it’s a place to be reckoned with.

The entrance and lobby reeks of opulence. You can feel that it is different from other spas. This was confirmed by the price list – everything are priced at least 2 to 3 times that you’ll need to pay at most good quality spas in China – and matches the price of upmarket spas in Singapore. Even the entrance price to the spa – without any treatment thrown in – cost a hefty US$20.

I decided to check out it’s grandiosity.

There are separate spa entrance for male and female. Once past the entrance, attendants jump to attention to serve you from clothes changing to showing you to the showers to pouring cups of tea. By the way, the changing area is where an offer was made to wash and dry my socks… and where the impression scale begin to take off!

Once past the changing area, you enter the wet area which includes cold and hot pool, steam and sauna rooms, a small lap pool and in the middle of it all – a live aquarium and food area.

It was obvious that the spa is not brand new but was definitely opulent when it first opened and despite it’s age, attained a certain level of class. (I later found out that the spa is more than 12 years old but still remain as one of Xiamen’s highest-end spa).

I used the facilities and then hit the shower. Unlike most spa which kept one or two choices, you had a whole selection of brands of shampoo, cleanser, tooth-paste and even facial scrubs and toners to choose from. The towels are soft and fluffy – closer to hotel towels then the typical thin towels you find in spas.

The Wet Area

The food and rest area

This was the first time I see food and drinks served in a wet area. As soon as I sat down, I was offered a choice of tonic soups and a selection of local delicacies including steamed sweet potatos, stewed eggs and oyster noodles. I tried all of them and they were delicious.

I was then lead to a 2nd level where the massage treatment area were.

Each treatment room has a TV… not that I would want to watch TV during a massage. I had opted for a 1 1/2 hour Royal Jade massage; which is very much like a hot stone massage that you may find in Japan or Thailand. However, instead of hot stone, heated Jade were used, which the Chinese believe to have detoxification and medicinal effects.

I never had a hot stone (or Jade) massage before; believing it to be a gimmick and also because it tends to cost a premium. I’m glad I did try it this time because the effect of hot jade on the body does have a therapeutic effect you may not get from other forms of treatment.

After a very satisfying massage, I was lead to the rest and food area. I had complimentary fruit juice and Chinese dinner. The dinner was very satisfying with attendants again on full alert to my every move and request. In most other places, you need to stand up, wave your hand or look around for an attendant to come to you. Here, a mere look upwards mean an attendant will appear at your side!

You can then choose to relax in one of the soft sofa available, watch TV or listen to the live performance of a Chinese Pipa performer. (Pipa is an ancient Chinese musical instrument – and yes, it’s a live performance). Or choose to smoke a complimentary cigarette or cigar. This is also the area where you can mix with your partners – if you are visiting with members of the opposite sex.

At this point, a guest relation officer approached us, to talk to us about membership schemes. Apparently, this spa sells membership, and membership entitles you to treatment discounts as well as a whole private section area within the spa. Members are also entitled to visits to similar LiJing spas in major Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, Qingdao, Zhejiang and Hangzhou.

The GRO tells us the spa is known as a CEO spa as apparently, many top CEOs within China are members. The spa chain even publishes it’s own magazine and list major movie and TV celebrities such as Zhang Ziyi and Li Bing Bing as members. Hmmmm…

I decided to check out the audio-visual room where a high-resolution projector was showing a movie. I had a choice of smoking and non-smoking section and again, attentive attendants will set you down comfortably and pour you drinks. I told the attendant I would like to rest and to wake me up an hour later.

An hour later, it was time for me to get up to change to leave.

A quick choice of the varied shampoo and cleanser and a shower later, I was refreshed and ready to hit the streets. I paid at the reception area and was offered a salute from the security guard as I stepped out. This is a special spa indeed.

Will I come back? Yes and No.

Yes, because this is obviously a very special spa with superb facilities, service and massage standards. Despite being a little bit dated and expensive, it’s well worth it.

No, because I simply don’t like that smoking is allowed in both the wet area and rest area. And no, because I am sure there are still many good spas waiting for me to discover in Xiamen and in China.

If you are a first time visitor to Xiamen, go visit Riyuegu. Only then should you choose the RI-Star spa. Have fun!

Location of Spa:
128 DongDu Road, Xiamen 361012, China

Size of Spa: Hugh. Has it’s own 3 storey building
Facilities: Full spa facilities. Wet area, rest area, movie area and private member area.
Friendliness: Extremely Friendly. Extremely attentive.
Pricing: Spa entrance at US$20. Treatment starts from US$65.

Note: I receive emails from readers and one of the top questions has been: Where is the best Thai massage spa in Singapore? Read this article for your answer…

I’ve been a keen fan of Thai massage for a long time. Once or twice a year, I’ll make a trip to Bangkok or Phuket to indulge in my Thai massage fantasy and have always returned home refreshed and recharged.

What happens when I am too busy to make a trip to Thailand? I look for a local Thai spa that can deliver to the same quality of massage and service as an authentic Thai spa. I’ve checked out quite a few in Singapore and had hesitated to make a recommendation – until I came across Ayuthaya Royal Thai Spa – which matches a good quality spa in Thailand when it comes to ambiance, decor, quality of spa products used and the quality of the masseur.

The Filipino receptionist who picked up my phone call was polite and knowledgeable and we quickly firm up a date for my visit. Ayuthaya Royal Thai Spa has 2 branches; one at Pan Pacific hotel in Marina Square area and the other at Gallery hotel near to Clemenceau Avenue. I decided to visit the Gallery Hotel branch.

Ayuthaya Royal Thai Spa is located at Gallery Hotel

Gallery Hotel is an interesting avante garde hotel located near to Havelock Road. The spa is located at an annex of the hotel and I was able to find it only upon making a few inquires with the hotel staff. Even then, I ended up entering the spa via it’s back entrance and not the main entrance.

The spa is typically Thai; with lots of Teak furniture, flooring and colourful Thai cushions and curtains. The receptionist informed me that there is an ongoing promotion and I paid less than S$200 for a 45mins body scrub, 1 1/2 hours of Royal Thai massage and 45mins of foot massage.

The spa has about 6 treatment rooms, including 1 couple room. All rooms come with en-suite showers. I was lead to a room and a Thai masseur entered soon and started my session.

The scrub was quite standard. Nothing to shout about. Then the Royal Thai massage session started and my-o-my, this was one of the best Thai massage I had anywhere in the world; be it Thailand or otherwise. The masseur put in 101% effort and her strokes were just out of this world. Definitely a 5-star effort.

It ended all too soon and the foot massage started. Unlike other places, I was able to lie on the bed while the masseur carried on the foot massage. I had forgotten that traditional Thai foot massage uses a stick instead of fingers and it can be quite painful. I had to endure a good 45 minutes of pain as the masseur carried on poking the stick on my foot.

I came out of the room thoroughly refreshed and recharged. The foot massage hurt a bit but pain is always inversely proportionate to the light floating feeling you get after a good foot massage.

I am a cheapskate and there is also no tradition of tipping in Singapore. However, the Thai massage I just had was absolutely wonderful and I ended up giving my masseur a generous tip! That tells you how good it was.

Location of Massage Palor:
1 Nanson Road #02-11 Singapore 238909

Size of Spa: Moderate, with 6 private treatment rooms
Facilities: None
Friendliness: Extremely Friendly
Pricing: Single massage treatment starts from US$45. Combined packages available.

While we associate massage with therapeutic and relaxation purpose today, massage did not have such connotation when I was growing up.

At that time, massage was more associated with Tie-Da Shi Fu or literally, Iron-Strike Master. In those days, people with bone, tendon, ligament or muscle injuries usually do not go to a hospital but would rather visit a Tie-Da clinic.

Tie-Da clinics are not run by Western or Chinese trained physicians but more often than not, some-one who is a bone-setter that has come out from a pugilistic, acrobatic or lion dance background.

In those days, troupes or schools that practised Chinese martial arts, acrobat performance or lion dance will usually have one or two resident experts, often time the school or troupe master (Shi-Fu), in bone-setting or massage that comes with treating falls, injuries and sparring mishaps suffered during training or performances. The usual injuries are broken bones, slipped joints, injured ligaments, bruises and sore muscles and they are usually treated with Tie-Da You (Massage ointment), Kao Yao or Koyok (Medicated herbal patches), bandages and vigorous massage.

As the skills and reputation of these resident experts spread, they began to expand beyond their schools or troupes and started treating members of the general public; usually from the premises of their schools or troupes. Soon, every large resident area would have a Tie-Da clinic that see long lines as people with broken bones (work injuries), slipped shoulder or elbow (sporting students), twisted ankles (office ladies), muscle pain (falls and injuries) come for treatment.

Most treatments consist of local application of herbal ointment or medication and the vigorous rubbing of these ointment onto the affected muscle or joint. There are also pulls and stretches for slipped joints, tendons, ligaments and bones. Many will come out wrapped in bandages and reeking of herbal medication smell.

Long lines of patients, muffled screams while under treatment and the strong herbal smell of the herbal ointment and medication used remains etched in my childhood memories.

Herbal Medicated Ointment and Plaster are popularly used in Tie-Da treatment

Many of these Tie-Da clinic would make and manufacture their own concoction of Tie-Da ointment and Tie-Da Koyok. Most will only use it within their clinics, some will make patrons buy them home for self-application and some go on to become millionaires by mass-producing them in factories for Asian markets and consumers all over the world.

Till today, modern version of these medicated ointment and patches remain immensely popular with Asian consumers. (You can purchase some at this website)

We call such Tie-Da clinics as Wai-Shang (External injuries) clinics and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) clinics, which employ traditional Chinese-trained physicians, as Nei-Shang (Internal injuries) clinics.

As modern Western medicine becomes popular, such Tie Da clinics began to recede from the limelight.

At the same time, TCM clinics which were also beginning to lose popularity to Western doctors and clinics, began to emphasise the massage aspect of their treatment repertoire such as Tiu-Na(literally Push-Pull massage), Ba-Guan (moxibustion) and Gua-sha.

Soon, a new industry, which solely concentrate on Chinese massage and treatment, sprouted forth and became popular. Such treatment centres are the subject of many reviews within this blog. Do read them.

Pix credit: http://www.solsticemed.com/

What happens when you cannot get enough of Thai massage when leaving Phuket, Thailand? Simple, you get a last minute massage at the Phuket International airport!

Do you know there is a small massage palor at the Phuket Airport?

I just did not have enough of Thai Massage & Foot Reflexology on my last trip in Phuket. Yes, I went to Phuket to get plenty of Thai massage but I got so caught up doing the rest of fun stuff in Phuket that I just did not find time to indulge in Thai massage. Thank goodness I found this palor at the Phuket Airport which ended my short vacation on a high note.

Massage Palor at Phuket airport departure lounge

This massage palor (I think should be new; wasn’t there on my last trip 2 years ago) offers standard massage treatments like Thai Massage, Foot Reflexology, Manicure and Pedicure. Although their prices are a bit steep compared to outside the airport, it’s still worth the last minute indulgence; especially if you just can’t get enough of Thai massage.  Apparently, many people must have felt that way too; so much so that it’s worth it for the owner to invest in a shop in the departure lounge of the Phuket airport. Rental surely cannot be cheap.

Although the place feels small outside, it is ingeniously designed that it is able to take about 10 customers for foot massage in 2 separate halls and four customers for Thai or aromatherapy massage in small private cubicles just behind the reception area.

When we entered the palor, there were no customers. We chose Thai massage and let the therapists knead our bodies just nicely for the plane journey back home. As usual, Thai masseurs never fail to live up to expectations. It was almost as if Thai ladies have natural genes to provide a good massage anytime.

It did get uncomfortable after a while as more customers entered the palor. You can hear loud customers and screaming children through the thin partition walls of the massage cubicles. So while the massage was good, the noise factor of this place is something to consider if you’re thinking of having a last minute massage.

Overall, this place does have my recommendations if you have plenty of time to kill at the Phuket airport. Or like me, you simply could not get enough of Thai massage or foot massage and need some last minute indulgence!

Location of Massage Palor:
Departure Lounge, Phuket International Airport

Size of Spa: Small, with 3 private treatment rooms and 12 reflexology chairs
Facilities: None
Friendliness: Friendly
Pricing: Single massage treatment starts from US$15

April 29, 2010 by Rajesh Joshi

A team of military doctors backed by India’s national defence research centre is studying an 83-year-old holy man who claims to have spent seven decades surviving without food or water.

The long-haired and bearded yogi, Prahlad Jani, has been sealed in a hospital in the western city of Ahmedabad where he is under 24-hour observation by 30 doctors and will be subjected to a series of medical tests.

“The observation from this study may throw light on human survival without food and water,” doctor G. Ilavazahagan, director of India’s Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), told AFP.

The DIPAS is part of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, India’s state defence and military research institute also behind a grenade packed with chilli powder that recently hit headlines.

“This may help in working out strategies for survival during natural calamities, extreme stressful conditions and extra-terrestrial explorations like future missions to the Moon and Mars by the human race,” Ilavazahagan said.

The tests on Jani include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, measuring brain and heart activity with electrodes and other neuro-physiological studies, in addition to blood tests.

The experiment started on April 22 and will take 15-20 days. Since the beginning, Jani has neither eaten nor drunk and has not been to the toilet, Ilavazahagan said.

“The exercise of taking this yogi under the medical scanner is to understand what energy supports his existence,” he added, explaining that soldiers could benefit from his apparent ability to survive.

“Jani says he meditates to get energy. Our soldiers will not be able to meditate, but we would still like to find out more about the man and his body,” he said.

Neurologist Sudhir Shah, who studied Jani in 2003 and is part of the new experiment, said that the extremely skinny but apparently active man faced round-the-clock observation.

“Two stationary 24-hour video cameras have been set up in his room, while a mobile video camera follows him whenever he needs to step outside,” he said.

Jani, who dresses in red and wears a nose ring, grew up in Charod village in the Mehsana district in Gujarat and claims to have been blessed by a goddess aged eight, which has enabled him to survive without sustenance.

Shah said that Jani told him the key to his survival was a mystical and unexplained process by which he receives drops of water through a hole in his palate.

Analysis of data, to determine his secret or expose his fraudulence, will take at least two months, the doctors said.

Fasting is a part of Indian culture, made famous by independence leader Mahatma Gandhi, who brought himself to the brink of death on several occasions by refusing food and water to protest against colonial rule.

A monk from India’s minority Jain religion — devout followers of which undertake frequent fasts, sometimes to death — claims to have deprived himself of food for one year, which is believed to be a record

“If you’re busy with something you don’t feel hunger, thirst, or the heat and cold,” said Sri Sahaj Muni Maharaj, who took daily glasses of warm water during his fast which ended on May 1998.

“I’m busy contemplating the infinite,” he told India’s Outlook magazine one month before the end of his experiment.

Article source: www.physorg.com
Video source: www.reuters.com

“Fat dissolving” spa treatment no such thing: FDA WASHINGTON Wed Apr 7, 2010

Fri, Mar 19 2010 WASHINGTON (Reuters) – So-called fat dissolving treatments offered by spas do not eliminate fat and the companies should stop saying so, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday.

The procedures, called by names such as lipodissolve, mesotherapy, lipozap, lipotherapy, or injection lipolysis all involve unproven injections of drugs, the FDA said in a statement. “We are concerned that these companies are misleading consumers,” Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.

“It is important for anyone who is considering this voluntary procedure to understand that the products used to perform lipodissolve procedures are not approved by the FDA for fat removal.”

The agency issued warning letters to Monarch Medspa in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania; Spa 35 in Boise, Idaho; Medical Cosmetic Enhancements in Chevy Chase, Maryland; Innovative Directions in Health of Edina, Minnesota; PURE Med Spa in Boca Raton, Florida, and All About You Med Spa in Madison, Indiana.

The FDA also warned a Brazilian company that markets so-called lipodissolve products on two Web sites: zipmed.net and mesoone.com. “The FDA will notify regulatory authorities in Brazil of this action,” the FDA said in a statement.

“The agency has issued an import alert against the zipmed.net and mesoone.com entities to prevent the importation and distribution of unapproved lipodissolve drug products into the United States.”

The treatments usually consist of injections of two drugs called phosphatidylcholine and deoxycholate, the FDA said. “In some cases, other ingredients, including drugs or components of other products like vitamins, minerals and herbal extracts, are added to the mixture,” the agency added. None has been shown to work in credible clinical trials, it said.

Article credit: http://www.reuters.com