If the paper of note (New York Times) says it is a trend then it must be true: buttock facials With the recent fixation on the junk in the trunk, spas are promoting special “facials” for the posterior in Miami, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Boston, as well as in New York.
The treatments are part of a wave of noninvasive services that spas have developed to capitalize on clients who have income to spare, a desire to repair body parts they don’t like and a compulsion to buff, tighten and pamper every bit of skin.
Including there, on the derrière.
They remain largely a novelty, more seasonal — spring and summer, when more skin is showing — than year-round, and more of a marketing tactic to bring clients into spas, said Susie Ellis of Spa Finder Inc., a travel and marketing company.
Some treatments for the buttocks concentrate on cleansing and detoxifying, just as with a regular facial. Others use microcurrent therapy or microdermabrasion in more involved treatments, aiming to reshape the silhouette, reduce cellulite and even lift and tone the backside.
Or so the spa owners claim. Some dermatologists said any tightening and lifting that clients believe they feel from the treatments are probably caused by swelling of the underlying tissue.
“You could take a rolling pin and roll your legs; you would see that your legs look better,” said Dr. Debra Jaliman, a dermatologist and spokeswoman for the American Academy of Dermatology. “It is just swelling. There are less expensive ways to do it.”
