BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT:

NEWPORT BEACH — Irene Lupean has two important resources as a clinician: modern technology and ancient wisdom.

The Romania native, who founded the Maji Skin and Body Care Clinic six years ago, uses state-of-the-art Swiss products to help her clients fight dry skin, acne and other problems. Still, the treatments offered at Maji didn’t just originate in a laboratory. The clinic uses the ancient Greek science of morphology, in which a person’s body type determines his or her health and personality traits, to identify a patient’s specific skin-care needs.

“This is a science that’s been around since Hippocrates,” Lupean said. “It’s not something I invented.”

When a client enters Maji for the first time, he or she fills out a questionnaire regarding different parts of the body — skin color, lip size, cheekbone height and dozens of other qualities. Lupean and the other clinicians determine whether the patient fits one of four body types that have their origins in ancient Greek study: sanguine (firm muscles and straight waist), bilious (olive skin and bony upper chest), lymphatic (voluptuous figure) and nervous (pale and skinny).

Once the experts determine the body type — or combination of types — they create individualized creams to get the most effective results. Lupean keeps around a dozen serums on hand to mix and match, and the clinic maintains photographic records of clients’ skin to measure progress.

“Nobody comes here and chooses a treatment from a menu,” Lupean said.

Maji charges $150 for a customized skin treatment.

Lupean, who left Romania in 1990 as the Soviet Union was collapsing, started as a skin clinician in her home country. She made do with limited equipment and enlisted a pharmacist to help her make creams. Upon arriving in the United States, she went to work for Georgette Klinger salons in Beverly Hills and South Coast Plaza before launching her own company.

The clinic plans to undergo a massive renovation in the coming months, starting free monthly seminars on skin care. Lupean said the clinic’s occasional seminars in the past had been well-attended — and not just by women, as Maji’s male clientele continued to grow.

“They’re definitely interested in anti-aging,” she said. “They use Botox just as much.”

SPECIALTIES: skin-care treatments, educational seminars

ADDRESS: 1000 Bristol St. N., Suite 19, Newport Beach

OPEN HOURS: daily, 9 a.m. -7 p.m.

CONTACT: (949) 477-0571 or www.majiskincare.com

MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at michael.miller@latimes.com.