Aviora Med Spa
By
Lee A. Litas

As a tri-athlete for the past eight years, Dr. Russell Craig, Doctor of Osteopathy and Fellow of American Osteopathic College of Otorhinolarygology (D.O., F.A.O.C.O.), knows something about necessary regenerative maintenance. 

In October he completed the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, finishing the grueling event comprised of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike race and a 26.2-mile marathon run through tough ocean waves and lava-covered terrain in 12 hours and 18 minutes.

He calls it a ‘hobby’ but while he may be a modest athlete, as a double-boarded ear, nose and throat (ENT) and facial plastic surgeon for the past 11 years, Dr. Craig had no reservations when it came to creating an environment that would at once provide post-operative maintenance and pamper his clients with highly-expert and medically-supervised personal attention.

“The whole idea came out of a need to provide the entire follow-up care after plastic surgery. If patients trust their doctor, they want to come back to the same source and get the same kind of care for maintenance as they continue to age,” said Dr. Craig. 

Drawing on the architecture of ancient Greece where perfection in mind, body and spirit was epitomized by the first Olympians, Dr. Craig and a team of experts created Aviora Medical Spa. This 6,900 square foot facility in Macomb Township, Michigan, backs up to Craig’s plastic surgery medical practice and together, the two centers combine to provide complete pre- and post-operative care, as well as everyday maintenance for clients all within an elegant and luxurious environment. 

Not surprisingly, “Integrating therapy for the body, treatment for beauty, and relaxation of mind and spirit” is a maxim that permeates every facet of service at Aviora.

Clients enter the 18-room spa through the main galley, subtly lit with an eternally sunny sky in its main archway. It curves gently upward and is held up by Doric-style Grecian fluted columns underscoring the notion that ambience and service are on a par with the quality of treatments offered by Aviora.

The spa’s clientele is made up of both men and women, with a ratio of 30% to 70%, respectively. The men’s and women’s facilities are situated separately to provide for maximum comfort and a discrete atmosphere in which clients can feel uninhibited.

The signature treatment at Aviora is Laser Facial Tightening for which the spa uses the Yag laser, a leading implement recognized for the gentle way in which it penetrates the skin. The laser operates at a wavelength that is readily absorbed by water thus allowing it to scatter the heat effects of the laser light.

Running a close second to the laser facial treatments and dermabrasions at Aviora are the sports massages. As an athlete himself who understood the strains prolonged physical activity can have on a body, Dr. Craig wanted to provide individualized care to professional athletes and work-out aficionados alike by also offering professional-grade sports medicine.

As a result of his participation in triathlons, Craig counts many professional athletes, both at home and abroad, as being among his closest friends, including German-born Andrea Brede, Ironman European Champion 2006. Aviora Spa is a proud sponsor of Brede who also cross-promotes the Aviora name with her sportswear line in Europe. Dr. Craig hopes his signature product line will catch on in the European market as a result.

“I stand by my products. They are of very high quality and they can compete with any of the major products currently on the market,” he said. Dr. Craig began developing his line of herbal products in parallel to the spa. Working with Integrated Research, an independent firm out of California, he has spent the last three years developing the signature Aviora line.

So devoted was he to the idea of proprietary products, that he even put off opening the spa for nearly a year until the products could be ready.

“You have to go through a long process before you can formulate your own private product,” explained Dr. Craig. A Cum Laude in chemistry as an undergraduate at Wayne State University, he created all the product formulas which were then sent to IR where they were in incubation testing for six months to a year.

“We tried to plan for everything to come together at the same time but it didn’t work out that way,” he said. Unwilling to wait any longer, Dr. Craig and his team decided to open the spa in February of this past year. Their high-end herbal product line which contains no animal proteins and is also not tested on animals followed within three months.

“My abiding principle is ‘if you do good quality, people will seek you out’,” insists Dr. Craig. He sets his sights on someday competing with international companies like Clinique. In the meantime, he has two qualifiers coming up for events in Boston and another Ironman competition set up for next year in New Zealand and Australia. “As I get more international I hope that the word of mouth that has always built my practice and is helping to build the spa now will continue,” said Dr. Craig.