Medicine: New Wrinkle

Lasers for sags and bags

Lasers have been used to cut cloth, cauterize ulcers, measure air pollution and guide bombs. Now comes a new wrinkle: laser beams for facelifts. A painless, nonsurgical laser-beam therapy, said to improve facial muscle tone, was developed in the Soviet Union, popularized in Europe, and is currently winning a large following in California and Florida. "It's like taking your face to the gym," says one satisfied customer. But according to the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, it is more like being taken to the cleaners.

The method employs a very low-powered laser, somewhat like the one...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!