Columbia Gorge Lipomelt Brings Red Light Therapy to the Gorge
Diane Lynn Wanous cuts the ribbon. The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for Columbia Gorge LipoMelt on March 21st, 2023 at 12:15 p.m. at 802 W 6th St #100 in downtown The Dalles. The event featured beverages, cupcakes, and snacks, and was open to the public. Photo Credit: Lisa Farquharson
By Cole Goodwin
If you’ve driven through downtown The Dalles since February 1st, you may have noticed a new business has arrived in the downtown: Columbia Gorge LipoMelt.
Columbia Gorge LipoMelt is a facility that is bringing access to cutting-edge weight loss, body contouring, pain relief, wrinkle reduction, and skin treatment services to the gorge. The goal of the facility is to help people be the best version of themselves and feel great. They use the latest advanced technology to ensure that they are offering their clients state-of-the-art FDA approved equipment.
Wanous (right) poses with her cousin who came to congratulate her on the businesses ribbon cutting. Photo Credit: Cole Goodwin
Diane Lynn Wanous, age 59, who has been a nurse for over 18 years and has worked at the Oregon Veterans Home in The Dalles for the last eleven years, launched the business in February of 2023 after her own search for cool sculpting led her to a high-tech solution.
“I was looking for something for some spot areas that I wanted to lose weight at, I did a little bit of consultation with cool sculpting but it was so expensive for the little tiny area that you get, we’re talking like three thousand dollars” says Wanous.
So she went looking in Portland to see if she could find a better deal and ran across something called red light therapy.
“I tried it and I was getting great results from the red light,” says Wanous.
But then she was injured at work and could no longer make the drive to Portland both because of her injury and a sudden uptick in gas prices.
“I thought, you know what? I’m bringing this to the gorge, I have to, because it’s not only for weight loss. If I can help somebody with alleviating their pain, their self esteem, their weight loss and health goals then I’m going to do it. That was my goal,” she says.
Once she put her mind to it, it only took her six months to get her certification and get the business put together.
Since opening, the positive reviews have flowed in non-stop.
“This gentleman told me that he is actually getting off his narcotics because of our red light therapy,” she says. “He has neuropathy in his foot and he says that for the first time in five years I can feel my toes now. That’s what keeps me going,” she says.
Wanous shares that the patient has told her that copays and all the money he spends on pain medication he could get red therapy at Columbia Gorge Lipomelt once a week.
Part of the selling point for him, as well as many other clients, is the cost, which is significantly cheaper than many other services. Wanous says that businesses in Portland can charge more for the same service because they have a larger service area and demographic there and she wants her services to be affordable for locals. While cost of treatment depends on what services clients need, five sessions can run in the ballpark of about $595.
Wanous says she’s running a special treatment package discount this month in which clients who schedule 10 sessions also get a free 3D body scan, which provides a myriad of health and body information to the client including your BMI.
“It can be eye opening and help people make good decisions for their health,” she says.
How does red light therapy work?
“It’s melting fat with lasers,” says one bystander with a laugh.
While there is some truth to that, the science of it is a little more complicated.
Inside the facility.
“The red-light targets the powerhouse of our cells, our mitochondria, mitochondria and it helps with inflammation, stress, anxiety, and pain. The technology started with NASA. They found that treating astronauts with light was helping them with stress and anxiety, and they were actually sleeping, and they were also losing weight,” she says.
The light causes a process called lipolysis, in which tiny pores open in the cell's membrane and release the cell’s content, causing the fat cells to deflate. The body then evacuates the excess fat during the metabolic process.
An inside look at the facilities.
“It’s kind of like a medical spa, it’s all non-invasive, it’s all safe. Everything I do promotes healing,” says Wanous.
Indeed, Columbia Gorge Lipomelt’s infrared hot sauna blanket treatment is like a medical spa treatment for your cells that enhances relaxation, promotes glowing skin, improves circulation and much more with 15 minute sessions beginning at $19.99.
Wanous also shared what’s next for the business.
“I’m going to be bringing something exciting to the business in a few weeks,” she says “It’s called lipo cavitation, so it’s for small spot treatment areas. It could be used for cellulite, thighs, chins, fine-line wrinkles, and tummies. The red light that I have covers so much of the body, but this is something different. It goes a little deeper in the skin and it’s gonna be great.”
For more information visit ColumbiaGorgeLipomelt.com.
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