The Glossy 50 honors the year’s biggest changemakers across fashion and beauty. More from the series →
The Innovators: These thought leaders advanced their respective industries with groundbreaking products or ideas.
Among all the wellness trends of 2023, there was prominent attention paid to aging. Whether it was the terms “reverse aging” or “aging well,” the idea that a person’s latter half of life follows a predetermined pattern is quickly being upended. Modern Age, the nearly 2-year-old health and wellness clinic, is at the forefront of getting people to rethink what it means to get older. Melissa Eamer, founder and CEO of Modern Age, said the idea behind the company is showing people how they can prepare themselves to have the best second half of their lives. And the promise of Modern Age is to show people the connection between how they look, how they feel and how optimistic they are about the future.
“Those three pillars drive this very virtuous cycle around behavior that ultimately results in extended healthspan,” said Eamer. “There’s a growing awareness that aging is a process that people can take more control over. But the first step is getting educated on how to do that.”
The concept of Modern Age came to Eamer as a result of seeing her mother’s health and quality of life decline as she got older, and feeling helpless as a bystander.
Modern Age has two clinics in New York City — the second opened in the Upper East Side in Oct. 2022. This year, Modern Age began offering a $500 aging wellness assessment, which includes a bone density scan, a blood marker analysis, a subjective age assessment and a diagnostic review with a clinician. Notably, the blood marker analysis displays results based on what is optimal for someone based on their age and gender, rather than based on global averages. This means that consultations can be more personalized for individuals and their wellness goals.
Eamer said the majority of Modern Age patients are women and ages 35-45. During the review, a clinician can suggest therapies like Modern Age’s IV infusions to address certain issues, such as vitamin deficiencies. But the clinic also offers aesthetic services like microneedling and chemical peels, as part of a comprehensive inner-outer beauty and wellness menu. Modern Age declined to share the number of client assessments or treatments it’s performed.
Eamer said the company’s goal is to reach people on a national level, noting that half of Modern Age patients take the aging wellness assessment virtually. But Modern Age will also continue to build clinics, though Eamer said there are no concrete plans just yet for future openings.
Modern Age raised $27 million in a Series A fundraise in Oct. 2021. As modern medicine and the understanding of the aging process become more sophisticated, there is a wealth of opportunity for Modern Age.
“[Aging well] is not necessarily about wanting to look like I did when I was 18. It’s about wanting to feel good about the way I look today, knowing that will drive my behavior toward [healthier habits],” she said.
She added, “The things I’m most proud of have been the women we’ve been able to reach and the texts that we get from patients saying [we’ve changed their life]. That’s what makes all the hard work of building a new business worthwhile.”
Click here to see all 2023 Glossy 50 honorees.