The International Beauty Show of New York (IBS New York) opened at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on Sunday April 27th and continued through April 29, 2008.

Their were actual two shows the IBS Show that took the entire main floor at the convention center and the International Esthetics, Cosmetics and Spa Conference (IECSC). Both shows were produced by The Questex Media Group, Inc. and presented by American Salon and American Spa magazines.

IBS New York is the largest and longest running professional beauty event in the country. This show is for the tens of thousands of industry professionals that want to see the latest in products and services in their industry. Last year over 50,000 licensed professionals attended the show and this years shows had to beat those numbers from what we could see.

The two shows reach a wide cross-section of professionals from the beauty and spa industry, which includes the top manufacturers and distributors to salon and spa owners. Of course hair stylists, hair colorists, estheticians, makeup artists, nail technicians, dermatologists, massage therapists and of course members of the media also attend.

Once again we contacted the IBS show team and Tanya Cruz at Questex once again arranged for our attendance at these shows.

This year we knew what we wanted to see and do and it made covering this massive show a bit more manageable. We decided to cover the IECSC show first because it was a smaller show, less people and we knew we wanted to learn and spend more time at some of the exhibitors there.

Four of us decided to go to this show and we wanted to see how effective some of the treatments were, you know the ones that have caught the attention of the public and the media. The first treatment we wanted to cover was Teeth Whitening.

At this show, an attendee could opt to have their teeth whitened in one of a dozen locations on the two floors of the show. At an average cost of $100 and 20 minutes time, you can see your teeth brighten as much as 4 to 6 shades brighter. We decided to check out two companies at the IECSC show because these both claim to produce their own whitening products and both impressed us with their proceedure and the results we were able to see.

Two of our team decided to try the Glitzz Whitening System and one other opted to try the WhiteScience System. A few facts about these whitening systems:

• Tooth Whitening is the number one patient-requested cosmetic procedure in dentistry today.

• Effective whitening systems will remove stains from the surface and from the inner portions of the tooth.

• Basically no side effects of the treatment other then some sensitivity with a very small percentage of patients. This sensitivity will dissappear in 24-48 hours.

• No longer will you need to go to your dentist for this simple proceedure and pay as much as $500 for a treatment. Most progressive spas and salons now offer this service to their clients and can do so because the process is self administered now and no one puts their hands in your mouth.

Both systems and all the others seem to work in a similar manner. You sign a release, you sit in a reclining chair and clean your teeth with a finger type tooth pad. They will then determine your current tooth color using a special chart.

You are then asked to bite down into a mold that contains a molding foam. Once the impression is taken the technician will fill this foam mold with the tooth whitening agent. This is then handed back to you and you put it back in your mouth. You are then told to relax and enjoy a 20 minute rest while the activating light is brought within a few inches of your mouth.

Sara IPA Journalist, Has Her Teeth Whitened at Glitzz

At the end of this process, the technician will show you your original shade so you can determine the success of the process. This is how they can show you how many shades of improvment the treatment has made.

It is really a low tech system and I suppose this is why it has become so popular. No pain, no long and extensive treatments, no side effects, low cost, amazing results. Unfortunately for me and others like me, if you have any dental crowns or implants that were previously matched to your teeth you are not a candidate for this treatment as it cannot of course whiten a dental made crown.

In our personal observation we could not see a big difference in the end results from the two companies we tested. Both companies told us their whitening chemistry was their own, we thought the WhiteScience system had a lot of glamour to it and a very slick looking presentation. They also have a great deal of client support and have their systems in many of the high end spas around the world. Glitzz is a smaller company that also has a nice presentation and affordable equipment. We liked both companies and the results we saw on our staff.

Now we were onto some of the other treatments offered at the show. It is a great show to go to because they are always looking for people they can use to demonstrate their products and services. If you are willing, you can have a facial, spray tan, hair removal, skin imperfections and spots removed and so much more.

Andrew IPA Photojournalist Has His Birthmark Removed

We decided to stop by Martinni Beauty, who was demonstrating their SuperFrecator 6800 Medical Unit. Physicians and certified technicians are trained to recognize different types of skin growths appropriate for treatment with this unit. This unit is used to remove many non-cancerous skin growths like birth marks, skin tags, warts, cholesterol deposits and moles to name a few. Needless to say out of the four of us covering this event, each one of us was a candidate for their treatment and each one had various skin issues removed. My son has a 1/4" birthmark on the side of his face that has been with him for 30 years, zap in a minute it was gone. skin tag, zap, gone on another, raised skin cells, zap, gone. All of us walked away from this booth with little red scabs on our faces.   Their system is quite uniuqe and works by using a high frequency electrical current that delivers a precise spark through a microneedle to cauterize and desiccate skin growths. Because the micro-needle is held above the skin surface this system actually creates a protective scab immediately as it removes the problem area. No blood, no pain and it is fast. My son called me a few days later to let me know he was a bit remorseful that he has his birthmark removed because it was with him his entire life and made him a bit unique. Now he is just another pretty face. I suggested a tattoo artist who could put it back. We will be sure to visit them again next year to have all the other skin imperfections removed.

How would you like to look tan and healthy even in the dead of winter and not have to visit an exotic island? Worried about tan salons and tan lamps or sitting in the sun too long and developing skin cancer? Well the latest and greatest for some time now is the Spray Tan solutions.

We visited one that we thought was very cool indeed. We met Lester Szurko CEO of the company and his sister Teresa, that were both willing to shed their threads for the sake of their company. Of course they both had fab bodies with or without a tan. We have to admit they did look so much better and healthier with their Fantasy Tans. This company specializes in not just spray tanning, but in the hands of one of their trained technicians you too can have great abs, more cleavage, muscle tone and fool anyone into believing you are tan and fit. Great for all of the couch potato's. Imagine, no special diets, no vigorous exercise routines, just a visit to your local Fantasy Tan salon. Look closely at the photo of Teresa and notice her abs are really not her own. Visit their web site and see them on the Montel Williams show and find out more about thier unique system.	Teresa Trunzo and Lester Szurko Demo Spray Tans Body Contouring
	How many readers remember Ron Popeil and is remarkable GLH-9 Hair in a Can Spray. Ron use to bring up a member of the audience and with in a few moments he would spray their thinning hair with this product and they looked like they all had a full head of hair. Well the days of scalp paint have now dissapeared and they have been replaced with a new system by XFusion that actually adds Keratin Hair Fibers to your existing hair. Imagine going to that important event and looking like you haven't aged a day since college. The product comes in all hair colors and is available in a shaker container and has an optional sprayer you can attach to the container if you want to spray it instead of shake it. You have to visit their site to see how amazing this product works. Listen, it won't replace your real hair, but on that first date after your painful divorce or that important interview for that new job, this is a great solution to turn back the clock and make you sparkle. Special thanks to Evan Shafran the actor and company rep who you will see on their web site and in their demo video. .
Ernie Brauchli the Founder of Artizen, gave us a demonstration of his new Dolphin Compact Hydro-ion Surround Heating system. We always enjoy seeing Earnie because he is not one of those giant companies that make thousands of products. He has a great line of hair appliances that work and they are priced right. You can see IPA staff using the Dolphin in this photo. Visit their site and see their complete line of quality products.

After spending so much time having our teeth whitened, skin issues removed, hair curled and eyebrows waxed, it was time to visit the IBS Show. This portion of the show is huge and is great for any hair stylist or salon employee to see the latest hair styles and cutting techniques.

So many companies had demonstrations on the latest techniques on stages and sets that reminded us of some of the Broadway shows we have seen. Imagine 4 stylists cutting 4 models hair with hair flying, scissors snipping and in the back of the stage, demos on hair coloring.

We especially loved the beautiful display of Clairol Professional products on their stage. Their models were magnificent and it was truly a site to behold.

We enjoyed meeting Farouk Shami who started as a hairdresser and now runs his multi-billon dollar company in their Houston headquarters. His company does business in 91 countries and he even designed a one million dollar Chi flat iron with 6,800 diamonds totalling 220 carats. They are one of the top hair color and beauty appliance and product manufacturers in the world. You can visit his web site and see a video of his start in the business and see the one million dollar Chi Iron. Farouk Systems is proud to support the hair department of Ugly Betty where we understand that the cast all love using Farouk Systems products and tools.

It becomes a real challenge to cover two shows like this and not be overwhelmed. We invite you to view our slide show which we hope will give you some idea of the excitement and vitality that we experienced while trying to take it all in while covering this show for IPA.