“What can make us feel better than waking up in the morning and being pleased with what we see in the mirror?” - Shimon Eckhouse, founder of Candela.

I don’t need waxing. Losing weight? No, thank!- said no woman ever. The possibility to wake up every day without having to worry about these pesky issues is the ever-loving dream of everyone.

Shimon Eckhouse understood this problem that every person deals with and decided to put an end to it, by founding Candela. Coming up with devices that are essentially advanced, energy-based solutions to aesthetic problems or health problems, he gave the world magic.

Nowadays, Candela is one of the leading companies when it comes to devices for medical-aesthetic applications. Candela offers services like acne removal, scars removal, IPL treatments, body shaping, and much other beauty and health-related sectors.

Here we will go through the journey of Israel’s crownless king of medical cosmetics. Continue further to dive into the world of medical beauty.

Garnering the Knowledge

As a young Israeli, Shimon Eckhouse always worked ambitiously towards helping people. His love for aid, coupled with his high intellect, brought Shimon to where he is today.

It wasn’t just that he wanted to help people - he needed to figure out how. Seeing that the tech industry was rising, Shinon noted the fact that it would be something big in the future. Ambitious enough, Shimon set on combining these two fascinations of his.

Shimon was particularly spellbound by the world of lasers and how they could be used to benefit people - especially in medicine. And with all of this in the mix, Shimon grew up to be an active entrepreneur, innovator, and investor in medical devices and technology.

Getting his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Physics from Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology, Shimon slowly started working his way up in the business world. Young Shimon wanted to follow his dreams, eventually leading him to land his first job as a scientist, a team leader, and a Head of a department at Rafael.

While working in areas that included lasers and electro-optics, Shimon earned himself a Ph.D. in Physics, this time at the University of California, Irvine. A couple more years in Rafael and a few more in Maxwell Technologies, and Shimon was ready to spread his wings - solo style.

Reinventing the Beauty Industry

It didn’t take long before Shimon gave the world something revolutionary. Few people know, but Shimon is the inventor of IPL technology. We have Shimon to thank for our smooth legs!

This was what skyrocketed his first company - Lumenis. Being the CEO for 7 years, Shimon’s first endeavor proved to be highly successful. No one on the market had ever seen something like this - a laser that could remove your hairy problems.

Unfortunately, Shimon was ousted from Lumenis in a hostile takeover and this led him to establish another company - Syneron Candela. It didn’t take Candela much to surpass Lumenis in its performance.

Through Syneron Candela, Shimon - as co-founder and chairman - continued his previous work. Shimon managed to produce devices that were highly appreciated on the market, winning him many awards.

Even after establishing Syneron Candela, Shimon’s bright mind didn’t stop brainstorming. Shimon continued to found, co-found, and invest in many other medical companies, all garnered in the same field of interest.

Today, Shimon is a holder of more than 60 US-registered patents and several hundred international ones. Shimon has published many papers in esteemed journals, and he also managed to gain a seat at the Board of Governors of the Technion Israeli Institute of Technology.

The Rollercoaster Ride Called Candela

Candela’s journey has been a wild one. Candela Laser Corp. has been established in 1970. On the other side, Shimon founded Syneron in 2000 - also known as Syneron Medical. Both of these companies worked in the same field - using technology to treat many conditions like hair removal, tattoo removal, and other medical treatments.

The main reason for founding Syneron was Shimon’s belief that there was much more that could be done in the area of non-evasive aesthetic medicine. Shimeon strongly believed that combining different forms of energy could lead to massively positive results. By incorporating such an idea, Shimeon wanted to broaden the range of skin color and other features on which IPL technology.

Because Shimon took his knowledge with him after leaving Lumenis and brought it in Syneron, in 2002, Shimon was sued for theft of trade secrets. The lawsuit was settled with Syneron playing $1.5 million and royalties to Lumenis.

In the financial crisis of 2007/2008, Shimeon’s company was on the rise, marking that period as a rather significant one for Shimeon. Luckily, despite the crisis, Shimeon’s company managed to grow, which led to Syneron acquiring Candela in 2010. And that is how the name Syneron Candela came to be.

At that time, this company offered two brands - Syneron and Candela. Although a little confusing, it continued to work under this name for several years. Shimon was Chairman of the Board until 2017 when this company got acquired by Apax Partners, for around $500 million.

The turning point happened when the company took Syneron Candela off the public market and made it fully private.

In 2019, Syneron Candela decided to finally rebrand and go with the name Candela. This new decision shows the unification of these two brands and the goal for everyone to know them as a unified entity.

Building the Financial Pillars

Throughout its growth, Candela has managed to acquire 5 other companies including Orscan Technologies, Primaeva Medical, and 3 more. Their most recent acquisition cost them around $3.2 million.

In 2004, Candela, then known as Syneron, opened its doors to the public and started its first IPO. Registered under the name ELOS on Nasdaq, this company managed to secure a significant amount of funding.

However, since it was acquired in 2017, Candela was delisted from the stock market. Nonetheless, recently, Candela, or Candela Medical, has resurfaced in the IPO world in order to raise up to $100 million. Yet again, it plans to go on Nasdaq, this time under the name CDLA.

Present Day Candela

As it can be concluded, the story of Candela is a turbulent one.

Today, Candela makes sales not only on the USA market but has spread its direct reach to 18 countries. Candela offers its products in countries in Western Europe, China, and Japan, and indirectly to more than 60 countries around the world.

But, before making it big in the world of laser technology for beauty purposes, Candela didn’t have it easy. Shimon’s company had to stand tall in the face of competition from companies like Venus Concept, Solta Medical, and CereVasc, among a few more.

With headquarters in Wayland, Massachusetts, and around 1000 employees, Candela is a leading company when it comes to blending technology, medicine, and beauty. Their vast models of products have reached countless people and emboldened them.

Offering many events in the form of workshops, webinars, or tradeshows, Candela is constantly in the throes of upgrading their devices. Candela is proudly showcasing its products to the world, hoping to reach a broader clientele.

One thing is for sure, present or future, Candela is perpetually working on improving the products it has and making them adaptable for everyone. Although the company still hasn’t worked on making its products home-friendly, it’s something that the company wishes to achieve, by taking small steps towards the goal.

For the future, Candela sees more growth and maybe merging with some other companies in its field. The benefits of laser treatments can be enormous, and Candela is definitely ready to explore them.

So, do you want your skin to glow? Maybe fewer wrinkles, no scars… or maybe you’ve had a night that mysteriously ended with a tattoo? Well, don’t worry about these problems anymore.

Visit Candela Medical and find the closest treatment that would bring your inner beauty out for everyone to see!