Ep.194 Stop Wasting Money on Skincare: What Actually Matters After 50

We spend a lot of time and money chasing better skin.

But what actually matters after 50?

In this episode of Asking for a Friend, I sit down with board-certified dermatologist Dr. Brooke Jeffy for a practical, no-nonsense conversation about midlife skin health.

We focus on what truly moves the needle:

• The non-negotiables of an effective skincare routine
 • Retinol vs. tretinoin — do you need a prescription?
 • Sunscreen myths and why protection still matters decades later
 • What early melanoma can look like — and why vigilance matters
 • Hair loss in menopause and what actually helps

We also discuss Korean Beauty (K-Beauty) and why this segment is intriguing to Brooke.

Dr. Jeffy also shares how her own recent melanoma diagnosis has reshaped her perspective on prevention and patient care.

This episode isn’t about 12-step routines or viral trends.
It’s about protecting your skin, making smarter decisions, and avoiding expensive hype.

Because midlife skin health isn’t just cosmetic, it’s preventative.

You can find Dr. Brooke Jeffy at https://www.brookejeffymd.com/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/brookejeffymd/

Dr. Jeffy's teen skincare line, bwtn, can be found at https://www.instagram.com/meetbtwn/

Her favorite eye cream can be purchased at https://retrouve.com/https://retrouve.com/

_________________________________________
If you’re doing “all the right things” and still feel stuck, adding a layer of support may be an option. I’ve partnered with a trusted telehealth platform offering modern solutions for women in midlife—including micro-dosed GLP-1 and other peptide therapies.

https://elliemd.com/michelefolan - Create a free account to view all products.

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Like to connect? Email me at askingforafriendpodcast1@gmail.com 

Transcripts are created with AI and may not be perfectly accurate.

Disclaimer: This podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional healthcare services. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions regarding a medical condition.

Transcript

Foundations Before Peptides

Michele Folan 0:00

The information shared on this podcast is for educational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. Please consult a qualified healthcare professional regarding your individual health needs. You already know I don't believe in shortcuts. If you're not lifting, walking, eating enough protein, managing stress, and prioritizing sleep, peptides are not the answer. Lifestyle is the foundation. Always. But here's the truth midlife biology can be stubborn. Hormones shift, recovery slows, body composition changes, and energy dips even when you're doing the work. That's where medically supported peptide therapy can be layered in, not as a replacement for discipline, but as strategic support. Physician prescribed, clinically guided, compounded through an FDA-regulated pharmacy. This is about optimization, not escape. If you've built the foundation and feel like you've hit a wall, this might be the next intelligence step. Lifestyle first, strength mandatory, support biology when it needs backup. If this resonates, send me a message and let's have a real discussion. Or check out the link in the show notes. We spend a lot of time and money chasing good skin, the right cleanser, the right retinol, the right serum that promises to turn back time. But what if the real conversation isn't about glow? What if it's about survival? Today's guest is someone who has built a reputation as the no-nonsense dermatologist best friend you wish you had in your group chat. She's practical, she's accessible, she cuts through the noise and tells you exactly what works and what's just expensive hype. But this conversation hits a little differently because she's not just talking about melanoma from a clinical standpoint. She's walking through her own melanoma diagnosis right now. So today we're going deeper. We're talking about what melanoma actually looks like and how prognosis changes by stage, what every woman should know about skin cancer risk. And we're also going to talk about skincare advice you should ignore, drugstore gems and splurge-worthy products, hair loss in midlife, and what actually helps, and the procedures that truly are worth your money. If you've ever felt overwhelmed by skincare advice, if you've ever brushed off a changing mole, if you've wondered what hype is and what's rural medicine, stay right here. Dr. Brooke Jeffy, welcome to Asking for a Friend.

Brooke Jeffy, MD 3:02

Thank you so much for having me.

Michele Folan 3:04

It's really nice to see you. I was telling Brooke that, you know, I've been following her for quite some time. And it's always so fun to like see people in real life on right here in the podcast land. So anyway, it's really great. So for those meeting you for the first time, what led you to dermatology? Was that always your plan?

Brooke Jeffy, MD 3:28

Definitely not. There were actually a lot of steps along the way where I kind of tried to talk myself out of being a physician. And I definitely had no idea when I started medical school that I would ultimately be in dermatology. I definitely had a lot a strong interest in medicine growing up. Actually, had another chronic condition that I grew up with. But you know, medicine is a long, hard road. So I really tried to figure out other careers that would make me happy. But ultimately in college, I did decide to pursue medical school. Um, but even after going through medical school, I actually did two years of pathology residency training because I really wasn't sure what I wanted to do. And pathology lets you interact with a bunch of different conditions and um, you know, different, different um uh specialties. So it was through that exposure actually, looking at pieces of skin under the microscope that really was my first introduction to dermatology. And through that, I got to spend some time in the clinic and pivoted.

Michele Folan 4:31

All right. So that's really fascinating because I was gonna ask you if the pathology kind of led you down that path of dermatology. And dermatology residencies, I mean, those are hard to get because there's so few of them, correct?

No‑Nonsense Skin Advice And Online Hype

Brooke Jeffy, MD 4:46

Very true. I was very fortunate to be able to make that change and even get in, you know, to a residency, a derm residency program. I did not get in the first time. I did some, um, actually worked in a pathology lab as I waited to apply again. But that's kind of a typical scenario, you know, that just really demonstrates to the program that you're dedicated. You don't just decide to pursue something else.

Michele Folan 5:15

Right. And you have built such a great reputation on Instagram, I have to tell you, is you are really the no-nonsense dermatologist best friend. I said that in the intro. Where does that approach come from?

Brooke Jeffy, MD 5:31

Yeah, so I'm from the South. I'm from Kentucky, and I feel like I've always just liked to make people feel at ease. You know, I feel like kind of hospitality and feeling comfortable is important. I really like talking to people and like getting to know their story. And with medicine, that's great because there's just a lot of relevant things that you pick up when you have a conversation with somebody. And then yeah, I've just, I kind of have always just been very no-nonsense, which has led uh itself well to social media because people are really just like they want the facts and then to keep scrolling and move on. Um so, so it serves me well, I guess.

Michele Folan 6:11

Well, it it does. And I know there have to be some things that frustrate you about the current skincare conversation online. What are those things?

Brooke Jeffy, MD 6:24

Definitely. I mean, one thing that I find really frustrating is just there's so many voices out there that often just don't make sense to me why they're even in the conversation. You know, influencers, um, you know, just kind of trying to make a name for themselves or like push products. There's a marine biologist that I see all the time talking about skincare. And I'm like, like, what are we doing here? Um, so you know, there's definitely people who are well suited to talk about this, and those should be the people with the loudest voices. I also think in uh a large part of the skincare conversation or just skin health that we miss is not talking about protection enough, but also just the relevance of the rest of our life choices. You know, what we decide to eat, how we decide to take care of our bodies in terms of like adequate sleep and avoiding alcohol and things like that. All of those things play a role in helping our skin look and feel its best, and also being able to defend itself against um exposures and resist things like cancer development.

Finding Her Own Melanoma

Michele Folan 7:28

You know, I had um I interviewed an integrative health doctor this morning. And of course, everything goes back to lifestyle in in so many ways, right? I mean, there it's it's the whole body approach, and dermatology is not limited to just skin, it's really what we're putting in our bodies and how we're treating ourselves. So this that's really a cool perspective. I like that a lot. All right, I want to hit this topic out of the gate with you because you are currently walking your own melanoma journey. And I would love to know how you found it because you are a dermatologist. I didn't know if you do your own self-exams. And then walk us through what your your mindset was when you got the diagnosis.

Brooke Jeffy, MD 8:17

Yeah, so I mean, I will say I've been saying for many years that um I felt like I was probably going to get a melanoma. So I grew up going to tanning beds very often. I worked in a tanning salon. When we didn't have customers, I would like prop my legs in there and just, you know, study or read or whatever I was doing. I loved being at the beach. I thought it was so fun to get like a burn and be able to peel off that skin. I mean, like, then I go to medical school and I really felt like, yeah, this is going to happen to me. The question is just like when. So I've been uh pretty well, very diligent watching uh my skin in light of this. I mean, I've been strictly protecting myself for like close to 25 years now. So just watching things occasionally I have had skin exams. This is bad. I have had skin exams by other people, but often it's just me, you know, keeping an eye on things. And so what happened was I noticed a new spot that popped up on my left calf. Um, and that's important for people to understand. Most melanoma actually does come up as a new spot. Um, it's much more common than having a mole that you've had longstanding develop, you know, change into melanoma. So I noticed this new spot. I watched it for a few weeks. It just looked off. It looked different from most of my other spots, of which I have a lot. And that is something that dermatologists refer to as like the ugly duckling sign, um, something that pops up that looks different than all of your other spots. And so I actually biopsied it myself because I was like, okay, I need to get this done, but hard to like get in on a you know somebody's schedule and take time out of clinic. Like, I can reach this, let me just do it. So um I did that. So um so yeah, basically I received the report myself. Actually, the pathologist called me because obviously they they knew me and saw me as the patient name. And so uh she called to to give me the diagnosis and chat with me um about exactly what she was seeing. So I mean, it's scary, but and even sometimes people, since I've been sharing online, have been kind of saying, well, like you just seem like very comfortable with it. I wouldn't say I'm comfortable, but it's something, like I said, that I've lived with thinking was probably like I have all this risk. So I've kind of sat with it for like a really long time. And then obviously I diagnose people with this all the time. And so there's almost like a comfort comfort and like almost a detachment, sort of, that allows us to survive, I guess. Um, but definitely it's scary and and obviously something I'll be taking seriously and continuing to get like more routine exams with someone else to be sure that I am seeing everything. But I do feel, you know, it wasn't the earliest, but it was still very early. So I feel very confident that um as long as I keep being vigilant, um, hopefully things will be fine.

Michele Folan 11:26

So, how has this experience personally changed now how you will practice medicine?

Empathy In Practice After Diagnosis

Brooke Jeffy, MD 11:36

Yeah, I mean, I definitely have a different appreciation for people I give this diagnosis to. I uh just this week, earlier this week, um, I had a conversation with another young woman, middle-aged woman, who I um did a biopsy of last week and came back as a melanoma. And yeah, that conversation was the first conversation I've had since my diagnosis, and it definitely was harder. Just the kind of empathy and like go, you know, knowing what she has ahead of her. So I think it's gonna make me a more like empathetic, you know, physician in in that aspect. But I again, like just to be real, to be a physician, you have to, you have to have a little bit of a wall, right? Otherwise, if you you can't survive, like you have to protect yourself a little bit, but I definitely can see that that it has, and I guess I'm gonna say cracked a little bit.

Michele Folan 12:33

You know, we have not really talked about melanoma much. I mean, I've had plenty of dermatologists and and plastic surgeons, that sort of thing, on the show, but we've not really dug into this. And what early signs do we typically ignore that we shouldn't as women?

Early Signs Women Often Miss

Brooke Jeffy, MD 12:51

Well, you know, skin cancers are challenging sometimes because very often people will dismiss them as like even pimples. Like sometimes um a skin cancer called a basal cell skin cancer can often look like an acne type of bump. So they'll kind of brush it off. So, my, you know, what I tell people is like try to keep an eye on things. If you notice something that pops up, it seems like it should heal, you think it's an acne bump. If it's not gone in like a month or so, you need to get it checked out. I mean, nobody's missing these giant, you know, pictures online you see of melanoma where it's like four colors and it's bleeding. I mean, you're not gonna miss that. It's but but things start out much more subtle often. So you just kind of have to be vigilant about that, definitely keeping an eye on your skin. Just if you notice anything off, I think you've got to question it. If you're someone who's had a lot of exposure, you know, you did tanning beds, you um had blistering sunburns, get checked periodically. That's something that's come up a lot with people um since I've started sharing my stories. They think, oh, well, like I stopped doing that, you know, I haven't done that in 20 years or whatever. It doesn't matter. Like your DNA is already damaged from that. So yeah, it's just really watching, asking, asking questions.

Michele Folan 14:13

Yeah. So my story, I had I had a stage zero melanoma four years ago, I think it was. And so I still go every six months. I go this month, as a matter of fact, to get skin checked. Now, that was stage zero. Yours is stage one, correct? Okay. What would be the difference in your approach from stage zero, stage one to three? Like how talk us through that.

Melanoma Staging And Prognosis

Brooke Jeffy, MD 14:40

Yeah, so staging for melanoma, uh, for melanoma relies on certain characteristics that we see under the microscope or that we assess clinically. So, under the microscope, we're looking for things like how deep is the melanoma? So, for example, you're in site to melanoma, what that means is that those melanocytes that um are the cells that give us pigment in the skin, those are what become malignant to cause melanoma. So they're usually in like the very base layer of the epidermis, which is like the uppermost layer of the skin. Underneath that, you have the dermis. So if those melanocytes that are um malignant, if they're staying in the epidermis, that is melanoma in psi 2 or stage zero. Once they break through the epidermis, they're in the dermis, where they have access to other things like blood vessels, that is where you get higher stages. So the depth matters. Um, and even once it's broken through that um into the dermis, we still take measurements beyond that. And that again influences where we stage it. Um, but it's the depth, it's also ulceration. So my pathologist will always comment on whether the tumor has ulcer under the microscope. And then the other things we evaluate when we're staging would be in deeper melanomas does someone need to have their lymph nodes checked with something like a sentinel lymph node biopsy, or do they need to just, you know, have their lymph nodes removed because it's a high enough stage? And then distance spread, like has it spread to other places in the body? So as you can probably imagine, stage zero is going to be much less risk overall to someone. And essentially, if you have an excision, it is um essentially cured. I think like the the 10-year survival for that is 99% of people who have it excised will still be alive at 10 years. And those numbers, of course, like go down as you go up through the stages. So most of the time you're gonna have the lesion excised. Whether or not other treatment, um, other evaluations are done depends on the depth. And then, of course, treatment. So things like stage four melanoma, I mean, you're gonna be talking about like chemotherapy and immunotherapy, things like that. So it's kind of nuanced, even within these stages, there's different levels, but that's sort of like the spectrum. So basically, you go from like almost 100% being cured if it's removed to like stage four, which is about 40% survival. Um, if you do like all the aggressive therapies.

Michele Folan 17:11

Holy shit. I mean, I that that's that's scary. This is that's scary stuff to me. I, you know, I I I think about people who in my own life who I know who have had it and have not survived it. But so we we talk about lots of sun exposure in our younger years, tanning beds. Is there a hereditary component to this?

Brooke Jeffy, MD 17:39

There is a hereditary component. There are definitely some uh genetic abnormalities that can be associated with uh melanoma and often with some other malignancies to kind of like are that are sometimes associated with it. But it doesn't mean that every person that has melanoma is going to have, you know, a genetic abnormality that that we can test for. So um I don't honestly, I mean, when I'm talking to my patients, it's you know, kind of a discussion. Do you want to have genetic testing done? Do you want to know those, you know, if there's associated risk of other things like breast cancer, colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, but like in reality, like you've got to get screened for all those things too. So it's just it just might affect how aggressive uh and how frequent you are screening.

Risk Across Skin Tones And Access

Michele Folan 18:20

You know, I just remembered this. Um, a friend of mine, childhood friend, her father was Arab and he died of melanoma. So it doesn't matter if you're pale with freckles or if you're a very brown skin person, correct?

Brooke Jeffy, MD 18:36

That's correct. It absolutely doesn't. And the thing is, I think part of that is that people with more pigmented skin, they don't think they have the risk. And it often is detected much later when it is detected. So, you know, I think that's that's just that's just in the background of it. Also, people, um, you know, certain um people with um, you know, different access to care is gonna be influenced. They don't think they need uh skin exams or it's harder for them to see a dermatologist. Um so all these all these things definitely play a role, but nobody's risk is zero, I think is like the takeaway. But certainly there are people who are gonna be a bit more at risk, like you said, if you're fair skin, if you've had a lot of blistering sunburns, done tanning beds, that sort of thing.

Community Note And Listener CTA

Sunscreen Safety And Daily Strategy

Michele Folan 19:21

All right. Dr. Jeffy, we're gonna take a quick break, and when we come back, I want to talk about sunscreen and prevention. Before we jump back into today's conversation, I want to ask you something. If you've been listening for a while, you know this podcast isn't fluff. We talk about muscle, metabolism, hormones, brain health, longevity, the stuff that actually determines how we live in our 70s, 80s, and beyond. And the show keeps growing because you share it. So if an episode has helped you rethink your health, send it to a friend, text it to your sister, share it with your walking buddy. That's how this community expands. Smart, curious women bringing other smart, curious women with them. Also, I'd love to hear from you. What topics do you want me to explore? Who do you want me to challenge? What questions are you afraid to ask but secretly one answered? You can use the link in the show notes to join the community or send me an email with your ideas directly. This podcast exists because you're asking better questions. All right, let's get back to the episode. Okay, we are back. Uh, before we went on break, I said I wanted to talk about sunscreen. I know you are a big fan. I think there's a lot of misinformation out there about the safety of sunscreens and help us out here. What should we be using? What should we be looking for in terms of ingredients and how often should we be wearing sunscreen? And I think I know the answer to that, but yeah.

Brooke Jeffy, MD 20:56

So I would say that you want to think about how you're protecting your skin every day. You know, I do recommend that people are wearing sunscreen on exposed skin like every day, even if it's winter, because I mean, part of it is like the habit portion of it. Part of it is if you're busy, I mean you think you're at home, but then like something comes up and you need to leave the house, like then you're not protected. So it's good, I think, to just like at least get an application on in the morning, get it out of the way. Of course, there is a lot of talk and concern about sunscreen ingredients and chemical sunscreens versus mineral sunscreens. And you know, I think the bottom line is you have to be comfortable with what you're doing. The, you know, if you kind of want to avoid most of the controversy, you rely more on sun protective clothing. Unfortunately, though, you can't wear like a mask. And I'm not saying I agree with the controversy. This is like a very long kind of discussion here, but you know, you can't just Wear a mask on your face all the time, most likely. So you have to come up with something that at least you can use on your face, and then maybe you focus on some protective clothing, maybe that feels more comfortable for you on the rest of the body. Um, so then you're like minimizing the use of this product you're rubbing on. But yeah, I mean if you want to kind of avoid the controversy, mineral sunscreens. The issue is that chemical sunscreens, we do know that if you are using them really consistently on large parts of the body and you're using enough of them, which are a bunch of ifs because most people do not use them as intended exactly. But if you were, studies show you're doing that for multiple days in a row, it can be measured. The chemical sunscreens can be measured in your blood. We don't know what that means, if anything, but that idea bothers people. Mineral sunscreens are not. So you can just avoid the whole thing. And mineral sunscreens are titanium and zinc. Everything else is a chemical sunscreen. So just use something that has mineral, uh, you know, a mineral uh filter and feel good about it. Try to protect yourself, you know, with some protective clothing. I mean, it's really hard to keep sunscreen on all of our, you know, all of our body. It's messy. You got to reapply it frequently if you really want that protection. But I am also someone that like I love to be outside. And um, you know, I think we do need sunlight in our lives, right? I'm not someone that's saying like you should be a hermit and stay in to avoid the sun, but you have to do it smart and you have to be protecting yourself, using the shade, that sort of thing. But light is important for our circadian rhythms. We're learning more about it in the longevity space. So you just have to think through the strategy. This is obviously something I'm super passionate about. I love talking about sun protection strategies for people.

Vanity As A Gateway To Protection

Michele Folan 23:43

Well, and I so I I wear sunscreen on my face every day. Now, is that for cancer prevention? Probably not. It's more for vanity. But if you That works, yeah. If you just think of it from look, I I won't maybe my knees won't look saggy when I'm 82 and uh my face will look somewhat decent. You know, my mom, I will say this my mom looked always looked younger than what she was because she wore sunscreen every single day on her face. She also used Vaseline on her face every day, too, which it's a whole nother story. But you know, that's encouraging to me. And because my dad was a redhead with freckles, you know, we we all are freckled and we always wore sunscreen even as kids. Now that didn't mean we didn't have burns, because I did have plenty of burns prior to that, but you know, we keep our fingers crossed too. But I think just from the vanity perspective, if we can just get people thinking in those terms, but you're saying though, if we are out taking our daily walk, whatever, we should be at least covering up, if not wearing sunscreen.

Brooke Jeffy, MD 24:58

Yes. I mean, I think the covering up is what you rely on because it's more fully, it's more full protection. You don't have to reapply your hat. It's just it's on your face. I mean, you know, it's on your head. Right. But, you know, like I said, just there are areas you can't cover. So then you, you know, you do need to have a sunscreen strategy as as part of it. But I love what you say about the vanity. Yes, that's usually how I appeal try to appeal to people, is because like you're coming in, most people they're like wanting, they're not happy with their brown spots. I'm like, okay, well, we're not gonna get anywhere unless you're being really strict about the sun protection. So um definitely the vanity is a useful way to convince people too.

Michele Folan 25:35

Yeah, well, that would be me. So, all right, there is so much advice out there. Instagram, TikTok, lots of red flags, as we were talking about. There are a lot of people that really shouldn't be giving advice or are out there giving advice. What in your mind are the true non-negotiables for an effective routine?

Non‑Negotiables: Sunscreen, Retinoids, Antioxidants

Brooke Jeffy, MD 26:00

So, of course, sun protection, number one. You're not getting anywhere without that. Then I would say a retinoid. So, whether it be an over-the-counter product, a prescription product, um, but these uh a retinoid will help to maintain your collagen. It will also help with pigment changes. And then the other non-negotiable, I think, is an antioxidant type of treatment. So very commonly, this will be like a vitamin C that you're using with your sunscreen in the morning. These I am referring to because I talk a lot about kids' skincare. I'm talking about adults here, but these are non-negotiably that are evidence-based. Um, I also would add peptides. Um, those are uh like the fourth thing I would add in a complete kind of regimen for an adult um trying to maintain healthy skin.

Michele Folan 26:47

Okay. So let's back up to the retinoid. So there's tretinoin. Are there any over-the-counter dupes that are worth their money?

Brooke Jeffy, MD 27:00

Absolutely. I mean, you don't have to have a prescription tretinoin to get benefit to your skin, you know, from from a retinoid. So over-the-counter retinols are very, they can be as effective. Studies show as long as you're using um, I think it's yeah, it's the O25, sorry, the 0.25% retinol, it's equivalent to the lowest strength tretinoin in terms of benefit over 12 weeks. So um, yeah, you don't have to have a prescription. Um, and the issue with the prescriptions a lot of times is that sometimes they will be a little more irritating to the skin. So an over-the-counter retinol uh might actually be a little bit more tolerable for a lot of people. So yeah, there's also a dappline, which is another over-the-counter retinoid, um, more studied for acne, but it used to be a prescription, and now you can get that over-the-counter. But people do use it for anti-aging. It probably does, you know, have an equivalent benefit, but more studied for acne. So there's definitely over-the-counter options.

Michele Folan 27:58

Was that different? Yeah, that was different. Okay. And then in terms of, do you it a favorite brand of over-the-counter that you think is is effective?

Retinol Vs Tretinoin And Budget Picks

Brooke Jeffy, MD 28:07

It of a retinol? You know, I point people to that rock brand. Um, Serave has a retinol now. I mean, there's obviously much more expensive brands that have retinols too, but I think the the bottom line is to be sure it's like a reputable company. But I think, yeah, there's a lot of options out there. But those are the usual, usually the two that I point out to people.

Michele Folan 28:29

All right. And then I know La Roche Posay is a nice brand. I always feel fancy when I'm buying a little La Roche Posey. But there's a lot of Korean skincare products out there, K-Beauty. Is there really a difference between those products and what we typically have here?

K‑Beauty Philosophy And Barrier Care

Brooke Jeffy, MD 28:50

So um I'm very excited about this topic because my my husband is actually in Korea right now. And uh he was just walking me down the aisles of beauty at Costco yesterday via, you know, video, and amazing to me, like just how many products. But yes, I do so the philosophy to skincare is just is different. It's more focused on hydration and you know, simplicity, kind of in terms of the ingredients, more natural ingredients, things like snail mucin and scintella. I mean, so there's just it's just a different focus, where in the US it's more like actives to try to like correct and treat things. So they're just like more barrier focused. I do find it very uh fun. And I do think that um they do different things. There's different delivery systems, you know, they focus a lot on masks and essences. So I think they're fun to think some of those products are very fun to incorporate. Um, and I do think we're seeing a shift in US beauty to more focus on skin barrier health and hydration. So um it's it's interesting how I think that's influenced us over the past few years.

Michele Folan 30:06

So I I have used some K Beauty, and I think there's there is definitely like a glassy kind of look that you get. And I I noticed I was in Europe this summer, and there a lot of the Korean women were there, and they're all covered up, like arms, hats, face masks, the whole deal. But when you did get to see one that wasn't covered, their their skin looks incredible. I mean, obviously they don't get the sun damage.

Brooke Jeffy, MD 30:39

Yeah, I think that's the issue. It's a combination of the fact that like they're staying super covered, right? So that keeps their skin barrier working really well. They don't get they they're not having as much pigment problems, and then they're coupling that with these like really hydration, like skin-drenching type of ingredients, and it does help you get you know that glow. I my favorite type of K beauty product, like I love snail mucin um as an ingredient. Um, so uh yeah, it just imparts that glow onto your skin.

Michele Folan 31:13

I've noticed there, even in the US, we're starting to see some Korean products at Costco. So the I bought some eyelash serum, and I don't know if it's working, but well Jerry's out.

Brooke Jeffy, MD 31:28

I haven't delved much into the eyelash serum, so that's gonna be interesting. I should do some research there. I think you just have to be a little careful with like, are is it actually the same product? I definitely with like the sunscreens, you know, that's it's not the same product that you're getting because in the US, the sunscreen filters that are available there, we you know, are not approved by the FDA. And then I just think yeah, you it might be possible that they're tweaked a little bit to be on the US market.

Michele Folan 31:56

Yeah, all right. Well, and I guess I guess I guess we see that with everything, right? That I mean, even some of the really nice European brands, like even La Roche-Pose, probably wouldn't be the same as what you would get elsewhere.

Brooke Jeffy, MD 32:12

Exactly.

Michele Folan 32:13

Okay. I want to know what's the correct way to remove our makeup at night.

Night Routine And Double Cleanse

Brooke Jeffy, MD 32:19

So I am a big fan of a double cleanse. I know some dermatologists don't think this matters, but especially, I mean, honestly, I don't even want to say especially for women. I think for anyone who's wearing sunscreen, but of course, also if you're wearing makeup, like most cleansers, even though they say remove makeup and sunscreen, like I just don't think they do. And I've kind of tested this myself where I and I pretty much just wear tinted sunscreen, but I've used some of these cleansers, and then I will take like my cellar water or something and and cleanse, you know, use it afterwards, and there will still be things on that pad. So I do think it's important to use a makeup remover first. I like my cellar water, or if you have drier skin, um, a cleansing balm, even Vaseline you can use, and then do your cleanse after that to be sure you get everything off before bed. And that is another non-negotiable. You gotta get everything that you've put on during the day, dirt, oil, pollution that's accumulated on the skin. You gotta get it off before bed.

Michele Folan 33:24

Oh, amen. Woo! Yeah, I'm I'm big on the nightly cleanse. It I don't care how tired I am, it's it's coming off. Gotta gotta get it off. Okay. Good. All right. I I get one point. Yay. I know you have a whole list of unsexy products, and we're talking your your standby over-the-counter stuff. You said Vaseline, which I know is one of them. Which are your favorites that deliver consistent results for you?

Unsexy Drugstore Gems That Work

Brooke Jeffy, MD 33:53

I mean, my top unsexy product is Vaseline. I mean, like, you can use it for everything. Take your makeup off, fix your, you know, cracked heels, slug if you've overdone, you know, your retinoid at bedtime or it's winter, you've got eczema. I mean, like the proudest moment at moments I have as a mom. I have a 16-year-old son now, but when he has anything going on with the skin, he's like, should I just put Vaseline on it? Yes, yes, you should. That makes me feel good. Minoxidil is another just like super cheap and easy uh product that helps with, you know, hair growth, eyebrows, you're losing. Um, so I think that's another um product that I always have. And then Neutrogena is kind of an unsexy brand that I love a lot of their products, particularly like the Hydro Boost line, you know, light moisturizers, light sunscreens, really great products, especially for acne-prone skin or people who just like hate using products or men in particular. And I know you mentioned liking La Roche Posey. I also love La Roche Posey. Um, I don't know if it's an unsexy product or if it's a sexy product, but I love their facial mist. Um, you know, it's really great to hydrate uh to put moisturizer on moist skin. So doing a little mist of that, amazing.

Michele Folan 35:15

You know, I have this, it's a two-phase like oil spray. And I use it in the afternoon when I don't want to reapply my makeup. My face feels dry and in the wintertime, and I'll just spritz some of that on my face and just kind of pat it in, then I don't have to like do the redo the makeup. So I I like, yeah, that that's something that I do. You mentioned monoxidel for eyebrows. Which strength works for eyebrows?

Brooke Jeffy, MD 35:44

Just don't waste your money on anything other than the five percent monoxidil, like just two percent is trash. They market that sometimes for women. Um, but yeah, everyone should just be using the five percent. It doesn't matter if it says it's for men, five percent for everything.

Michele Folan 35:58

If I'm gonna splurge on something, what is your your favorite splurge?

Brooke Jeffy, MD 36:05

Hmm. So I guess I'm just gonna answer this by saying like the most expensive product that I have and like to keep is this brand called Retrove. They have um this eye concentrate that is primarily squaline. It's kind of like oily a little bit, great for like more mature skin around the eye. It kind of just gives this like dewy look, but it also has um some other moisturizers in it and peptides and vitamin C. I always get compliments when I'm wearing that. It just, I don't know, it kind of reflects the light. I don't know. I love it. The founder of that is a woman from the Keel's family. Um, so anyway, that's probably the most, that's the most important most expensive product I have in my bathroom.

Splurge Picks And Eye Area Reality

Michele Folan 36:53

All right, that one's going in the show notes, but I have a question. You talk about eye cream. Is there really anything out there that can address puffy eyes?

Brooke Jeffy, MD 37:03

I mean, caffeine in an eye cream, maybe um, I mean, may have some, should have some benefit, but I mean, like, I struggle with puffy eyes. I just am not gonna lie to people. Like, I just don't think it does much. Um, you could use like all the ingredients I just, you know, rattled off with that oil that I like. You know, I personally like it. It's it looks good on my face, but all those same ingredients are in a lot of other facial serums or your moisturizer. You don't really have to have a separate eye cream. You can just take all these things up to your lash line and not buy another product. But caffeine, you know, cold things, like, you know, gentle um, you know, these like things you can put in the refrigerator to hold over your eye, these eye patches that are just cooling, you know, I mean, that helps constrict a little bit. But I wish, I wish there was an easy answer.

Michele Folan 38:03

A woman I used to work with used frozen spoons. Yeah, frozen spoons. She can put those in the in the fridge and and that that worked for her. So I was like, eh, whatever, whatever, whatever works. What about guasha?

Brooke Jeffy, MD 38:16

Yeah, I mean, I think that we can have some puffiness in our face, that it's you know, nice to kind of like stimulate some lymphatic movement. I I mean, I think try it. If it works for you, great. I just think it's not, you know, it's not a guarantee for anybody.

Michele Folan 38:31

Okay. It'll feel like self-care. It makes you feel better. Sure, yeah.

Brooke Jeffy, MD 38:34

Take a minute. Yeah, yeah. Love that part of it.

Michele Folan 38:37

I want to ask you about this, and and plenty of my listeners probably have teen grandchildren. You went viral talking about teens and skincare. And I think you were just commenting on a video, and it went viral. And so can you talk about that a little bit? What are, and then what are our young girls doing wrong in terms of their skincare these days?

Teens, Social Media, And Safe Routines

Brooke Jeffy, MD 39:03

Yeah, so it's funny. Like, I I think the virality of that video had a little bit to do with like the child that I was commenting on, which is just really funny. I mean, I think people think that like, oh, I'm on social media, I know all these people, I stay on top of all this stuff. I had no idea who this that this was like a Kardashian child. Um, you know, my social team sent me this video and said, hey, this might be cool to comment on. And so I did. And, you know, I had no idea. Like, I was not feeling the best about how, you know, I hadn't done my hair, whatever. You know, I was just like throwing this out there, getting it done. So just very funny because I had no idea that really that's, you know, that this was this child. But anyway. So kids are just, you know, into skincare. I mean, I we're just seeing it younger and younger. I mean, it it kind of goes along with social media being, you know, so pervasive now. Um, kids seeing their friends, they're seeing influencers, uh, they're seeing this young Kardashian child on there talking about their routine. So, you know, they're just trying to fit in and want to want to use these products. And, you know, they're little shoppers and consumers too. I mean, just like adults. It's like shiny product syndrome. You see what you want, you know, you see these things, you want to use them. So unfortunately, with kids, they're using products often that have actives designed for adults. So they're not formulated for the needs of their skin, and they're too harsh for it because kids just have like much more sensitive skin, especially like the tweens. You know, they're not even making much oil, which helps them tolerate some of these things. So um, I think it's really important to try to educate them on what is right and to kind of help parents understand that. And I kind of saw this whole thing coming. Um, I don't know if you um know that I'm also the founder of a skincare line for kids called Between, um, which we launched in 2023. Like I said, because I kind of noticed this in my clinic, people asking all these questions about um how to help their kids deal with what was going on in their skin. And I just wanted something that really encouraged them to focus on the right things, which is just cleansing, moisturizing, and sunscreen, with something that was actually like made for them. Got it. And then the other thing that I hate about the whole kid's sun, the whole kids' skincare controversy is like most people are not talking about the sun protection part of it. And again, we've talked about this in multiple contexts, but like that should be the major part of the conversation when it comes to to kids and how they're taking care of their skin.

Teaching Sunscreen First For Kids

Michele Folan 41:36

Yeah, yeah. And I you don't you don't hear that at all. And interestingly, I think maybe because I follow you, I was in Sephora over the holiday and was appalled at how many really young girls were in there buying stuff, and not that they can't, you know, buy their lip gloss and all that stuff. I get it. But you know, what really? Yeah, and they probably all got Sephora gift cards for Christmas, and they were in there, right? And yeah, and they probably didn't get sunscreen in their stocking.

Brooke Jeffy, MD 42:21

Exactly. So that's where we're like, I you know, I maybe the conversation will evolve um as we start to uh, you know, this is like continues to be a huge segment of market growth, but you know, I don't know. That's not the conversation focus for even adults, really. I, you know, we just kind of like learn that that's something that's important. So that's really what my goal is on on social, kind of always has been. And then now with like my skin cancer situation, like really trying to like educate people. But the other thing that's really hard is that you know, when you're young, like you're a teen even, like it's very hard to think about the future, right? I don't want to say I was excited, but I have a um a good friend of mine, and I know her daughter is a teenager, and she's one of these kids that like chases the UV index, right? And I was like, I I I was seeing her um to help her with something, and I was like, So check out this giant leg scar that I now have, and this is why I try to tell you not to like go out in the sun all the time.

Michele Folan 43:27

And she's just like oh gosh, yeah.

Brooke Jeffy, MD 43:31

You know, it's like so you it's just uh you gotta keep saying saying it, I think. But you know, we've all been there and it's just really hard to think about the future like that when you're a kid.

Michele Folan 43:42

Yeah. Oh, I get it. I I did tanning beds, I I did all the stuff and shouldn't have, but um pay the piper for it now, I'm sure. Where can just as an aside, where can't people find your your teen line?

Brooke Jeffy, MD 43:57

Oh, um, so we sell online. Um, the website is called Meet Between and it's BTWN. Um, so I sell um there and then through my office in Scottsdale.

Midlife Hair Loss: Causes And Patterns

Michele Folan 44:09

Okay, all right, perfect. I'll put that in the show notes. I want to talk about one more topic, and we touched on it a little bit with the roguein and the eyebrows, but hair loss is a huge issue. And people close to me, friends, I mean, it it's and I see it in in myself and other people. What are the most common causes you see, especially around menopause?

Brooke Jeffy, MD 44:35

Yeah, I mean, hair loss is a very complicated topic because there are so many factors that play a role in it. You know, being sure you have like adequate nutrition, hormone changes, your stress levels, all these things. And I think it obviously, like around perimenopause and menopause, there's hormone fluctuations. But also those are times when people are like really very busy dealing with uh, you know, careers and, you know, kids and you know, it's just it's a lot contributing to this. But androgenetic alopecia, which is kind of the patterned type of hormone-driven hair loss that's super common, uh, generally appears around this time. But then also telogen afluvium, which is more of like a stress-induced just shedding, um, which again, for all those reasons, can happen. Um, so I see often one or both of those things. They can definitely be in combination together. So we really it is really addressing and thinking about all these things when you're approaching hair loss in a middle-aged woman.

Michele Folan 45:42

Let's talk about scalp health. You know, are there some things that we can do proactively to really enhance the health of our scalp, that scalp environment?

Scalp Health, Washing, And Dandruff

Brooke Jeffy, MD 45:53

I do think there are some things. And it's a good point because I am always telling my patients, like, your hair follicles are like little princesses. Like they are, they need a perfect environment to work. You need to baby them. So we want the scalp in general to be as healthy and like inflammation-free as possible. So um, you know, being sure that you are managing things like dandruff if you have it. Even if you don't have dandruff, using something like a ketocondizole or a niserol is the brand that the drugstore most commonly used to get any of that, you know, inflammation that you may not even really appreciate under good control. I think that's like really important. Um, being sure that you're washing your hair periodically. I mean, this is a whole other conversation. There's definitely people out there who don't. And if they're getting away with it, fine. But for the most part, you want to be washing a c at least a couple of times a week to um, you know, exfoliate, um, be sure that there are not dead skin cells clogging up these follicles and to be sure that you're not having like oil that's sitting there causing some low-level inflammation that should then make succles not happy.

Michele Folan 47:06

When you say inflammation, how would we know if we have inflammation in our scalp?

Brooke Jeffy, MD 47:11

Yeah, so if you feel sensitive at all, itchy, flaky, it's hard to see your own scalp. But I mean, like when I'm looking at it, sometimes you'll see like someone would see redness in addition to those things that they might otherwise notice too.

Michele Folan 47:26

Okay. This is this is good stuff. Because there's there's a a real trend out there to wash your hair once a week. And I I I that doesn't seem like that'd be a great idea, but I guess some it works for some people, but uh yeah.

Brooke Jeffy, MD 47:44

I mean, I'm embarrassed. I don't know, embarrassed is the right word, but like my son watches washes his hair once a month. He has been like totally influenced by TikTok, whatever, to do and so I am looking at his scalp constantly. I'm like, this cannot be right, but it's fine. Like he doesn't have any redness, he doesn't have any scale. I mean, I can't see microscopically. There might be like, you know, some clogging of dead skin cells there, but like nothing that I can see visually. So I'm like, I guess this is okay. Like I'm trying to point out to him that this can't be right. But I think if you are struggling with hair loss, um, that would be something I would like amp up a little bit first and see if that uh has an effect. Yeah, but it's a crazy trend.

Michele Folan 48:31

I've been reading about biotin and biotin supplements and how really only biotin is helpful if you have a biotin deficiency. Is that correct?

Biotin Myths And Collagen Limits

Brooke Jeffy, MD 48:42

That is correct. I hate biotin. It is a huge scam, in my opinion, in the hair care world. Yes, if you have a deficiency of biotin, which is incredibly rare, a hereditary disorder, your hair is brittle and it doesn't grow. And if you replace it, you grow hair and great. And that's where this all stemmed from, this whole like market. Um, but if you don't have that deficiency, it just doesn't do anything. And it has some negative effects because if you go to get blood work done, for example, thyroid um testing, um, which is a common cause of hair loss, it affects how that uh lab is interpreted. So you do want to be sure that you're, if you were on a biotin supplement, that you're off that for at least a week before testing. Most people don't know that. And then the other thing that's even more risky is if you were to go to the emergency room, you're having chest pain, the enzyme testing we do to look for um heart destruction, heart muscle destruction is um it's interfered with with biotin. So I tell all of my older patients, but I mean, there's no, I don't know what the age cut off. This is just arbitrary, like, no more biotin. Like, so really, just nobody needs biotin.

Michele Folan 49:54

Okay. What about collagen?

Brooke Jeffy, MD 49:56

Collagen is, I mean, I do think there's reasonable evidence that it helps keep your skin hydrated. So it gives like a plumper look, but it is not going to your skin and making you have more collagen. I anecdotal, anecdotally hear patients tell me that they feel like their hair feels stronger, or their nails, but I don't think there's any like actual studies. There are some studies that show, I mean, small studies, but show that maybe it improves hydration of the skin.

Michele Folan 50:25

All right. I'm gonna keep taking my collagen.

Brooke Jeffy, MD 50:27

I mean, I take it. I mean, it doesn't like hydrated skin. That's great. But it's not improving your collagen. It is not increasing your collagen.

Michele Folan 50:36

All right. And then you did mention niceral. And so I'm almost tempted just to try niceral. Just, I mean, it can't hurt anything, right?

Brows, Lashes, And What Actually Helps

Brooke Jeffy, MD 50:46

Yeah, why not? Nyserol, if so, it's good because if you do have like a little bit of a dandruff situation going on that you don't realize, then it will get that under control because that would negatively influence hair growth. There also is some evidence that ketoconazole, which is the active in there, acts as like a an anti-androgen at the level of the hair follicle. So it can stimulate some hair growth through that mechanism as well. So I think why not?

Michele Folan 51:15

Well, yeah, why not? Does it block it just block what if I can talk? Does it block DHT? Is that yes? There's okay that's kind of the thought. This is really good stuff. I I really like this. Now, let's just talk real quickly about eyelashes because I know there's latisse, but my eye doctor does not uh allow me to use latisse because of the prostaglandins. And I've got dry eye and blah blah blah. Have you seen anything besides Latisse that does anything for eyelashes?

Brooke Jeffy, MD 51:49

I know of and in my patients recommend some growth factor serums that exist, but as far I don't know how effective they are in any individual. I do think Latisse is beneficial. However, like you said, it has those risks. Yeah, I'll I'll be honest, I'm not like really an expert in the eyelash growths.

Michele Folan 52:14

Okay. No, that's fair. That's fair. But again, you know, I I can tint my eyebrows, but the eyelashes is a whole different story.

Brooke Jeffy, MD 52:26

So I do think that you can use Latisse and Minoxidil in the eyebrow area safely. I've used those personally to help and recommend that to patients as well.

Personal Non‑Negotiables And Sleep

Michele Folan 52:38

All right. We just want to keep our eyebrows. I know. Because it's especially, you know, when you wake up in the morning and you're all one color, it's just nice to have your eyebrows that stand out a little bit. So just one of those things. All right. I want to ask you a personal question. What is one of your own personal non-negotiables when it comes to self-care? What do you do for yourself every day?

Brooke Jeffy, MD 53:05

The non-negotiable that I would say I do every day is my skincare routine. I never go to sleep with, you know, without washing my face, doing my routine. And um, you know, I do try to take a minute when I'm doing it and, you know, relax and breathe. There's other things, of course, that I do, but maybe not daily. So I love yoga as a self-care. Um, I'm a big fan of hot yoga. Of course, I do pretty much walk my dog every day. I enjoy that um as a part of self-care. And then um exercising and trying to spend time with my family. These are all parts of self-care. Also, sleep, like non-negotiable, very important for me that I have my sleep. I have crafted my schedule around being able to adjust to my own personal sleep clock so that is not interrupted. I think that is crucial for overall health and good skin.

Closing Notes And Resources

Michele Folan 54:02

And when you say your own personal clock, does that mean you wake up by yourself without the alarm clock in the morning? Yes. Yes, yes. I've been doing that, and it's amazing. It just starts your day off so much better. Exactly. Right? Yes. Yeah. Uh, yeah. This has been such a great conversation. You know, we could talk all afternoon, but we can't, because I know you got to get back to doing what you do. But Dr. Brooke Jeffy, thank you so much for being a guest today on Asking for a Friend.

Brooke Jeffy, MD 54:36

Thank you so much. It was great chatting.

Michele Folan 54:39

Before you go, thank you for being here. If you want to go a little deeper, make sure you check out the show notes for this episode. That's where I link anything we mentioned, resources, partners, or tools I actually use and trust. And if you're not already on the Asking for a Friend community newsletter, that's where I share practical midlife tips, favorite finds, recipes, and the things that don't always make it onto the podcast or Instagram. You'll find the link to join in the show notes. Take care, and I'll see you next week.