Where I come from

I was born in 1949 in Italy, in a village of the Frioul region called Magnano in Riviera. My life began under the skies of total freedom, enjoying a childhood between my paternal aunts’ country house and my maternal uncle’s farm. My parents then decided to move to Switzerland and I started going to school in the Jura. After obtaining my Swiss Maturity Diploma, I applied to the University of Geneva committed to becoming a Medical Doctor.

My ten years of study, training, internships and specialisations were spiced-up by a sabbatical year in the early 70s during which I travelled in the Middle East and Africa, and crossed the Sahara Desert. Soon after my homecoming I met Barbara, my wife, a fellow medical student.

I started to specialise in Dermatology in 1978; this choice brought me to Lausanne and Brussels where I had the opportunity to work with great Professors. In 1984, Barbara and I pack our belongings and our three first daughters Ada, Cyrille and Rachel, aged 2, 4 and 6, and fly to Boston, USA. We lived there 2 years in a perfect mix of fun (for the girls) and hard work (for us). That’s where I met my mentor Dr Rox Anderson and discovered by his side the use of laser therapy to treat various skin diseases. Rich of new knowledge from oversees I returned to Geneva in 1986 and opened my private dermatology practice right across the central railway station. My first lasers – actually Europe’s first lasers – were immediately put to work. Some of my patients came from all over the world (eg. from Mexico, Germany, Italy, UK, South Africa) to receive treatment. I keep great memories from all these special encounters. And by a stroke of magic laser wand, my fourth daughter, Roxane, joins and completes the Polla family.

During the following ten years I pursue my work in the development and practice of laser therapy. In addition to dermatological diseases, I started to treat telangiectasia, rosacea, brown spots, and to remove tattoos. I had the honour of being an invited speaker at various international congresses on laser applications in Dermatology, and then in the field of aesthetic medicine as well. These opportunities allowed me to fuel my growing passion for aesthetic medicine and all the new ways lasers could be used to rejuvenate the skin. In 1997, I opened a centre for medical aesthetics called Forever Laser Institut. For the first time I collaborate with beauticians, nurses and other therapists that made-up the “Forever team”. Together we were able to propose a large pallet of treatments and skin-care to my clientele: laser hair removal, peels, body treatments, fillers and botulinum toxin (Botox ®) injections.

With the dawning of the new millennium and Barbara’s extensive research in the field of anti-oxidants, we begin a new adventure and create a skin care cosmetic line. My main motivation: offer our clients the possibility to extend, at home, the benefits of the treatments they received at Forever Laser Institut. Ada, the eldest of our four daughters, decided in 2003 to export our brand Alchimie Forever in the USA. Still today she is responsible for its development.

Today, Forever Laser Institut has moved to a bigger space and the “Forever team” has grown to a total of about 30 collaborators, including 4 Doctors and the European Alchimie Forever team. At the corner of Rue du Rhône and Place du Molard, in the heart of Geneva and precisely where I dreamed to be one day! That’s where I share my time between my role as Forever’s medical Director, Dermatologist and aesthetic Doctor. My top 3 specialties: botulinum toxin (Botox ®) injections, fillers (hyaluronic acid injections), and my Softlifting technique. All my dreams have come true, and I am infinitely grateful to my family, my loyal colleagues and my guardian angel.