Flavia Lanini — the first to introduce lymphatic drainage therapy to the U.S., through social media with her work with top models and A-listers — is expanding her business in California.
After opening the Flavia Lanini Beauty Institute in Beverly Hills on Robertson Boulevard in 2019 — with regular clients now including Dua Lipa, Hailey Bieber, Jennifer Aniston, Dakota Johnson, Sabrina Carpenter and Elsa Hosk — she’s headed south to Newport Beach. Doors officially open in early January.
“It’s a very good location,” said Lanini. “It’s close to Irvine, and I have a lot of clients in Irvine. It’s a very central area. The same treatments we have here, we’ll have over there.”
Flavia Lanini
Courtesy of the Flavia Lanini Beauty Institute
The 1,000-square-foot space, with five treatment rooms, a sauna and cold plunge, is located at 2537 West Coast Hwy. Offering a personalized approach, Lanini has developed her own method that combines hand techniques and the latest machine technology (Endermology, Exilis Ultra 360 and Emsculpt, among them). Treatments include the “Detox Effect,” encompassing a massage and an ultrasound machine; the body is then covered in clay and special creams while wrapped in plastic, before a 20-minute sauna session. The results include visible weight loss and body sculpting.
“Everybody wants to do the detox before big events,” said Lanini, who’s developed her own products and tools through the years, sold direct-to-consumer on flavialanini.com.
Born in Brazil, Lanini graduated with a nurse esthetician degree, then attended a two-year post-graduate program specializing in massage and the lymphatic drainage system. She worked with physicians in clinics, with nearly two decades of experience in the health field — helping bodies heal through lymphatic drainage therapy post-surgery for optimal immune system function and blood circulation — before moving to the U.S. and starting her business.
The sauna at the Flavia Lanini Beauty Institute in Newport Beach.
Courtesy of the Flavia Lanini Beauty Institute
Lanini began in New York, and through word of mouth, gathered a clientele of Victoria’s Secret models. Her business grew organically as one referred another, while posting their results on Instagram during the early days of the platform — and long before lymphatic massage was widely known in the U.S.
She’ll next open in Jakarta, Indonesia after an opportunity presented itself with a partner, she explained. And with clients globally, she’s looking to continue to grow with locations in New York and Dubai.
“I have that dream,” Lanini said. “But I want to keep my mind open.”
The Flavia Lanini Beauty Institute in Newport Beach.
Courtesy of the Flavia Lanini Beauty Institute
