Since my early days as a dermatologist, I have been studying the ability of various antioxidants, such Vitamin C, Coenzyme Q 10, Alpha Lipoic Acid, and Vitamin E and herb extracts such as Burdock Root, Echinacea, Yellow Dock Root, and Grape Seed Extract to repair and protect the skin against such damage. While all are extremely beneficial, I found the most potent antioxidant power to date comes from Pomegranate Extract, and specifically the polyphenol, Ellagic Acid contained within the pomegranate.

On a recent afternoon, a doctor carefully brushed a laser over Jennifer Summers’ arm, gently erasing a tattoo that she never quite liked and which serves as a painful reminder of a friendship gone bad.

``We like to call them lunchtime treatments,'' says Linda Levenson, a nurse practitioner and founder of Morphosis at Santana Row. ``There's virtually no down time. You can get something done, put on your makeup, and go back to work. It's like running another errand.''

Medical spas such as Morphosis are a fast-emerging category in the spa industry and in aesthetic medicine, proliferating in shopping centers and strip malls in the Bay Area and across the country.