Palomar Medical

Jeannie Rogers was always embarrassed by the sun damage on her face. The longtime lifeguard was scarred with so many red and brown spots that she had to pile on the makeup to even out her skin tone. Then she enrolled in a clinical trial conducted by Palomar Medical Technologies Inc. (PMTI ), which makes machines that use light-based technology to erase sun damage. After one 15-minute treatment, Rogers was amazed to discover that most of the discoloration had vanished. ``I don't have to wear any makeup at all,'' says Rogers, a restaurant owner in Newton, Mass. ``It's really excellent.''

Many more baby boomers like Rogers are buzzing about newfangled treatments for sun damage, wrinkles, unwanted hair, and other unpleasant trappings of age. And when they go to their dermatologists or plastic surgeons, they're often treated with Palomar gizmos. In the mid-1990s, Palomar was one of the first to win Food & Drug Administration approval for a laser-based hair-removal machine. Now doctors are snapping up the latest iteration of its technology, called the Lux system, which can treat many different cosmetic conditions. In 2004, the Burlington (Mass.) company's sales rose 56.6%, to $54.4 million, and profits more than tripled, to $10 million, helping land Palomar at No.4 on the Hot Growth list.