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The Future Of Beauty: “Genomics and artificial intelligence should bring us to know things that were never possible before” With Mark Greenspan

The advancement in Genomics and artificial intelligence should bring us to know things that were never possible before. This will allow for exponential improvements that most people cannot fathom. A better understanding of one’s unique genetic variations will allow for the personalization of skincare products and precise pharmaceuticals that will fit each person’s genetic information.

As a part of our series about how technology will be changing the beauty industry over the next five years, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mark Greenspan.

Mark Greenspan combines being a serial entrepreneur, avid anti-aging enthusiast, and futurist into all his beauty and wellness ventures. He has been managing, consulting, and marketing for elite Board-Certified Plastic surgeons and aesthetic physicians for over 15 years.

In 2014 he founded Beauty Fix Med Spa concept in NYC that has catered to an array of celebrities like Cardi B, Becky G, MS. USA, and a host of Instafamous models. He founded BeautyFix Med Spa with the philosophy of combining cutting edge science and technology and merging it with highly skilled clinicians. He is continuously working with medical advisers, and mentors around to the world to hunt down the most innovative and safest aesthetic treatments Additionally, he is launching Genlyft, the only patented face-lift with Yale physician Dr. William K. Boss, to address the needs for minimally invasive surgical procedures with dramatic results. Beauty Fix Plastic Surgery will launch in tandem with Genlyft bringing together a multitude of board-certified plastic surgeons led by Dr. Steve Fallek. This allows for the pairing of each patient with an expert in a specific area of plastic surgery. He is also a Co-founder of Sparq Life, the world’s First Lab tested eco-friendly vitamin inhalation device that replaces nicotine and harmful chemicals with Vitamins, Amino Acids, and Botanicals.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I think the idea for working for anyone else was just not something that had ever appealed to me.

My only job was being a personal trainer at 19 years old, and that was very flexible. It turned into what’s known now as a side hustle while pursuing a degree in nutrition. I think those early life decisions and passions led me into the world’s beauty, wellness, and anti-aging pursuits.

Can you share the most exciting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I think we are all living in that time currently. The current challenges that COVID-19 is bringing will challenge every entrepreneurs’ resiliency and resourcefulness. It is only with those two workings in a synergy that can we find ways to get through and even to flourish.

Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Are there takeaways or lessons that others can learn from that?

I can’t identify an exact typing point, but I think it is an everlasting quest that continues to acquire more knowledge and the game of connecting the dots from all of them. I believe the more insights you can analyze and use, the better the results will be.

None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I cannot point to one individual, but instead, I think it’s just the culmination of ingesting knowledge from an array of brilliant minds of our time through their books, videos, and seminars.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. The beauty industry today has access to technology that was inconceivable only a short time ago. Can you tell us about the “cutting edge” (pardon the pun) technologies that you are working with or introducing? How do you think that will help people?

We have recently begun to work with a new device called CoolTone. It has been developed by pharma giant Allergan that is known for manufacturing Botox and Coolsculpting. CoolTone received FDA clearance for strengthening and toning muscles. It accomplishes this with (MMS) which uses electromagnetic energy to cause involuntary muscle contractions.

Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

An unintended consequence of using magnetic muscle stimulation is that the device could work too well, and some individuals may become overly reliant on technology. This could lead to a neglect of traditional exercise routines, which have even a more extensive array of benefits than just creating muscle.

Can you share three things that most excite you about the “beauty-tech” industry?

I am personally very excited to see what happens in the next decade, not only in the field of lasers and novel compounds that will improve upon the facial fillers of today, but more so with artificial intelligence, genomics, and anti-aging medications. I think anything that can help slow down or reverse biological aging, to some degree, will have a significant impact on aesthetics.

  1. The advancement in Genomics and artificial intelligence should bring us to know things that were never possible before. This will allow for exponential improvements that most people cannot fathom. A better understanding of one’s unique genetic variations will allow for the personalization of skincare products and precise pharmaceuticals that will fit each person’s genetic information.
  2. The emerging breakthroughs that will be discovered in the realm of stem cells should have wide-reaching benefits in regenerating organs. Biologists are beginning to in Japan to grow retinas and cornea from a small sample of skin. I can only imagine what will be learned on how to treat our aging skin.
  3. Augmented reality will help to keep propelling the surge of online shopping for makeup and skincare. Improvements in facial recognition try on apps that will change the online experience.

Can you share three things that most concern you about the industry? If you could implement three ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?

1)The advancement of smart skincare tools and virtual try-on apps could help fuel insecurities when they result in negative feedback to the users. People may not be able to grasp the proper meanings and put them into perspective. It can also lead to people to have less human interaction with beauty consultants and rely just on computers for advice. Although intended to be personalized recommendations, they may be way off the mark until the technology continues to improve.

Solution

Is to have many trusted resources to keep a close eye and give as much realistic, unbiased information to the public

2) The advancement in technology has been occurring since the beginning of time, but now technology is growing exponentially at a rate never known before. I think there are a tiny fraction of the 8 billion people that even have a clue as to what’s to come in the next 20 years. Futurist and well-respected genius Ray Kurzweil, who is also the director of engineering at Google, explains the law of accelerating returns. Our growth is not linear but exponential and that we will see 20,000 years of progress in the 21 st century, not 100. I think technology is impressive when used for improving mankind, but there are always have been unintended consequences that are hard to predict.

This is another area that just needs more coverage regularly to get more people ready for changes, so they don’t seem as abrupt as they will if we stay on the current course. As of now, you need to follow select people and companies like Singularity University, Ray Kurzweil, or Aubrey de Grey to stay on the cutting edge. These names, unfortunately, are not familiar with the masses like our Hollywood celebrities or Instafamous models

3)The explosion of online platforms like Amazon and other ones that use 3rd party sellers may increase the amount of counterfeit skincare products on the market. Aside from just being ripped off, the more significant concern is to what is in these products that we are putting into our skin.

Solution

There needs to be more oversight by these platforms to rid themselves of counterfeit products, and there should also be an agency that just dedicated to monitoring the skincare industry. The ingredients that are used in many bestselling products have a very suspect component, to say the least, that we all have used.

You are an expert about beauty. Can you share 5 ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”? (Please share a story or example for each.)

  1. I think being aware of one’s posture is an essential component of confidence and beauty. I think we all can remember a time when we didn’t feel up to par and noticed our body language change negatively.
  2. Another one would be not to allow yourself to have negative thoughts for too long and to break the pattern as soon as you recognize you are spiraling down. This is something we all have experienced at one time or the other and always need to keep an eye on it
  3. One of the old tried and true ones are just to stay active physically. I think many of us can relate to feeling more beautiful and confident after consistent work at the gym
  4. I think staying up to date on beauty treatments and working with experts in the field is vital as well. It’s empowering and can enhance one outer beauty as well as make you feel better psychologically. I had been injected with some Hyaluronic Acid-based filler under my eyes a few months ago because I’m noticing some hollowing out in the under-eye area. I felt better with my appearance in 10 minutes.
  5. I think the last one I would say is to surround yourself with people who make you feel beautiful and who are your biggest advocates. I think everyone can relate to the feeling different about one’s self around different people.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I have already begun to do just that as a Co-founder at sparqlife, where we are bringing alternative products to create a movement away from nicotine addiction in any form. This could be in the form of nicotine vapes that our youth is addicted to or traditional cigarettes. This can have a substantial empowering impact on the mental and physical well being of vast quantities of people. The other movement I wish had begun would create the most significant impact on society though in my opinion.

The revolution against aging and dying has already begun, Calico funded by Google with 1.5 Billion dollars behind it and the Sens Research Foundation headed by Aubrey de grey is at the forefront of tackling this issue. They are approaching aging as a treatable disease rather than just the inevitable and have already made significant progress. I think the more awareness and money that is poured into this, the faster we will see things that will benefit our lives. I can’t think of a bigger problem than aging.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I think the quote by famous stoic and former emperor Marcus Aurelius has had a significant impact on me.

He said you could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.

The fact that the whole future lies in uncertainty I try to live in the immediate present.

How can our readers follow you online?

Instagram Markgreenspan_ and on linked in

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.

The Future Of Beauty: “Genomics and artificial intelligence should bring us to know things that… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.