Mastering Skincare: Pre-Treatment and Post-Treatment | Episode 25

Welcome back to the Fill Me In Podcast! In this episode, we dive deep into the fascinating world of skincare and aesthetics. With Jon out sick, we have special guests Melissa LaMarca, co-founder of the exhibit, and Brittany Selementi, our aesthetician, joining us. We discuss the importance of pre-treatments, home care, and the latest trends in regenerative injections. We also cover the benefits of tried-and-true treatments like microneedling and lasers, and why they are essential for boosting your skin's quality. Learn about the must-have skincare products for pre and post-treatment, get insights on combining multiple treatment modalities for optimal results, and hear about Brittany's latest findings and tips for maintaining youthful, healthy skin. 

Follow Brittany on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/britt_aesthetician

Follow Melissa on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melissa.the.pa/

On Fill Me In: An Aesthetics Podcast, Jon LeSuer NP-C and Nicole Bauer FNP-BC dive deep in the world of aesthetics. As aesthetic nurse practitioners with their own medical practices, Jon and Nicole fill you in on everything in their field.

Follow Fill Me In on Instagram!
https://www.instagram.com/thefillmeinpod/

Follow Nicole on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/aestheticnursenicole/

Follow Jon on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/injectorjon/

Exhibit Medical Aesthetics website:
https://exhibitmedicalaesthetics.com/

Tox and Pout Aesthetics website:
https://toxandpout.com/


Jonathan LeSuer, MSN, NP-C 

Jonathan LeSuer graduated from Le Moyne College with his Bachelor’s in Nursing in 2014 and a Family Nurse Practitioner degree in 2017. He began his career at St. Joseph’s Hospital as a Registered Nurse on a cardiac medical-surgical unit. He transitioned to the Nurse Practitioner role in 2017, working for Hospitalist Medicine, where he became the coordinator for the team’s Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners. In 2020, he started his career as an Aesthetic injector and quickly found out that this was his passion. On March 15th, 2022, he opened Tox & Pout Aesthetics. He is now a Master trained injector & National trainer for Allergan Aesthetics, offering Botox, Dysport, Hyaluronic acid fillers, Kybella, SkinViVe skin booster, and Sculptra. Jonathan is known for his empathy, profound bedside manner, and outgoing/warm personality. He has a deep love for aesthetics, and his patients’ confidence is his main priority. 


Nicole Bauer, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC. 
Family Nurse Practitioner 

Nicole graduated with her Associates in Applied Sciences and began her journey as a registered nurse 10 years ago in 2014. She worked hard to combine her love for beauty with her passion for caring and healing others, attending aesthetics school while working as a hospital night nurse. After graduating as a licensed aesthetician, Nicole left the hospital where she had been for 3.5 years and began working as a registered nurse for a plastic surgeon. An experience of over 6 years that would leave her with so much knowledge and respect for the aesthetic world. It was during those 6 years that she pursued her Master’s Degree and obtained her license as a Family Nurse Practitioner, leading the way for where she is now; owning a state of the art medical aesthetic practice and being a national Allergan Trainer. Nicole takes pride in treating her patients holistically, focusing on facial balancing and enhancing one’s natural beauty. She believes education stands as the cornerstone of aesthetics and is why she is dedicated to both training others while always focusing on expanding her own knowledge as well.  

Producer of Fill Me In: Joseph Ginexi

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction
• 2:44 Skincare Regimens
• 4:09 Patient Experiences and Results
• 9:48 The Role of Lasers in Skincare
• 12:30 Personal Skincare Journeys
• 16:09 Commitment to Skincare
• 20:57 Growth Factor Serems
• 22:48 Monthly Treatments
• 25:39 Recommended Skincare
• 34:57 Exciting New Skin Care Products

Transcript

  All right guys. Welcome back to the Fill Me In Podcast where we dive deeper into the world of aesthetics today. Unfortunately, John is six, so we have some special guests with us. I have our co-founder of exhibit Melissa and Brittany, our aesthetician. You can find them on Instagram at melissa dot the PA and Brit.

I think it's just Brit aesthetician.  Esthetician. Perfect. So thanks for joining today, guys. Of course. 

Thanks for having us. Yeah,  

we did a couple episodes on um, PDGF and treatment stacking and all that good stuff, and I feel like on TikTok and Instagram right now, what's really trending is pre-treatment. 

And the importance of home care and things of that nature. And I feel like people don't realize the difference you can make in your skin by just one doing skincare and two doing skin treatments. So I really wanted to talk about the importance of pre and post-treatment as well as some of those skincare procedures we can do.

I think a lot of hype right now is around regenerative injections, you know, even like Skin ViiV or PDGF and all these other ones. And we've had things around for years, like microneedling and lasers that produce your collagen too. Um, and aren't something that I. So much of an outside source. So I wanted to kind of chat about those things and the differences they can make.

So, 

yeah, I feel like Britt's gonna have a lot to say about this. Oh yeah. 

I  

just let her go, right?  

No, but I do always say like. I love microneedling because it's been around for so long. Mm-hmm. And there's just like a lot more research behind it. So I feel like everyone's results always trying to reinvent the wheel and hop on the new, like, you know, when it comes to anti-aging, everyone's always excited to try all the new stuff, but like maybe let's just wait until there's more research.

Yes. Yeah. Right.  

Yeah. We, we like to watch and wait. Yes. 

Yeah. 

Yeah. And I think too, like, definitely.  Increasing your growth factors and all that is amazing, but we can do that as well with procedures that we already have. Mm-hmm. Um, and again, have really good backed research and, and evidence space and all of that.

So, um, definitely though pre-treatment, I think that gets lost in a lot of practices. Um, and. Patients don't realize the importance of pretreating for even microneedling laser especially, but even something like microneedling and why it's important, uh, pretreating for those listening patients, listening would be like starting a skincare regimen before the procedure.

So you wanna strengthen the skin, you wanna strengthen your skin quality, and you wanna give your skin. The ability to heal better than it would have. Mm-hmm. If you didn't do that. So I feel like Britt's gonna be a good one to chat about this, but, you know, types of products that we wanna add into a regimen or even building a regimen from, from nothing.

A lot of patients have not even done anything besides wash their face, you know, or put a moisturizer on. So products that  you think are really beneficial pretreatment wise.  Oh, you're asking me, 

what would you say? Like, like I know retinol is a big one, but I think people are really afraid of retinol. Mm-hmm. I 

know, thankfully Alpha RET has helped that a little bit, being, as you know, it is so.  It doesn't have any So tolerable. 

Mm-hmm. Yeah. 

It's very tolerable. Mm-hmm. It doesn't have any of those anticipated reactions.

Um, so that's been really helpful because yeah, retinol is gonna help you build collagen and kind of strengthen the skin. Uh, I will say it's funny 'cause you said it kind of gets lost. Mm-hmm. And I'm guilty of that too, because, but I'll be honest, most of the people I microneedle are clients. Right. So I know what they're using and everything, but. 

Every so often I'll have a consult and I do feel like what the person's already using and like their skin quality, I could see it. Mm-hmm. It's, you know, and I know that they'll be able to handle the microneedling and everything that they're already at a pretty good baseline. But, um, but yeah, I could, it definitely does get lost, the pretreatment.

Yeah, for sure. 

And it does, it heightens the result, and I think that's something that mm-hmm. As a patient, if you're investing all that money. To go home and just use water and cve, you know, like, oh Lord. 

The amount of people that 

say that to me too. Yes. Yeah. Like 

even straight after they microneedle.

Mm-hmm. I've had people.  Oh yeah. I'm just gonna use water this week. I'm like, no, you have to wash your face. No. Yes. Yes.  

And that's another thing too, is people don't really ha realize how dirty our tap water is. Yes. Mm-hmm. Like you really shouldn't be washing your face for almost 24 hours. Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Because there's so much potential bacteria that could get in there, and we're creating these little micro channels that could. Cause infection and you have to use specific stuff and that's why when Brit tells you about these things, she's not just trying to sell it to you, right? Mm-hmm. She's actually, you know, trying to help you.

But retinol I think is a big one that scares people away and I. I am one of those people because of the fact that I've never been able to tolerate it. So I'm super excited when I'm no longer pregnant to try Alpha RET because mm-hmm. Alpha RET is from skin better. It is a retinol, but the delivery system is a lot different.

So you don't get the anticipated reactions of the redness, flakiness, dryness, all that terrible stuff no one wants to go through. Yeah. Um, so I mean, and I 

love it because it has a, you know, the alpha hydroxy does the glycolic, so you're getting even more exfoliation, but. I use it every night. I literally don't, yeah.

Get any reactions at all, so I love it. Yeah. 

Yes. You're still getting all the benefit without. All of the uh mm-hmm. What they call the retinol. Scaries.  

Yeah.  Yeah. 

Remember you 

Nicole, with like the red mask 

you had essentially, and I tried to do my neck and it was like, oh my God. Well, my God, I'll try to find pictures of that.

We could put it in because it was mm-hmm. But I'm just, I'm too sensitive and some people I. I did everything the way you should do, and I started what, every third night? Then? Every second night. Mm-hmm. I worked my web to every night, but I would be dancing in my bathroom, like I'd put it on. I'd be like, 

how on fire? 

I think that's the other thing too, is like people aren't giving these products enough time to work. So true. So. And you did that, you gave it, I think it was like eight to eight weeks. Yeah. I think it was almost 10 weeks. 

Yeah. 

And then I couldn't do it anymore. Yep. Yeah. So when people are like, oh, it doesn't work, you know, I, I had all these reactions.

I mean, maybe, but how do we know that that's,  you know, I.  Doing anything if we're not giving it enough time. And then you're going to get these, you know, procedures done. Mm-hmm. You're doing your microneedling. You're lasering, and you're wondering why you're not seeing results either. 

Yep, yep, yep. I remind people all the time, you know, all those before and afters you see on the skincare websites, those are typically 12 weeks, right?

Mm-hmm. Yep. Um, and I've had people even DM me like after the week they buy something, when do I expect to see a difference? Not this week.  Yeah. Like, not today. Yeah.  

What, that's why it's, it's so tough to get a good before and after for skin, so I'm so happy that we have so many good ones. Mm-hmm. Because it really is tough to, to see it, to have people commit to that, right?

Absolutely. Yeah. So when they do, I mean, it really does.  Yep, 

for sure. 'cause like I feel like I've been sharing a lot of before and afters lately, and the big difference with the ones I've been sharing, they're all people that have a regimen. Mm-hmm. They're all people that have done multiple modalities.

Mm-hmm. Or have been treatment stacking, however you wanna call it. And that's really how you're gonna get the best results. You can't just choose one thing and just roll with it. Um, 

no, that's so true. Everybody 

regimen microneedling peels too. Um, yep. That's been my new thing, having people do peels after their microneedling.

Right. And they've had such nice results. 'cause it's really like tackle the pigment in ways that the microneedling doesn't, so. Mm-hmm. Hey guys, just popping in. If you're enjoying our podcast, 

please subscribe and don't forget to follow us on Instagram injector, John and Aesthetic nurse call.  Yep. Treatment stacking.

We love it. Mm-hmm. And that's why too, I, I wanted to talk about this topic because I had like.  I dunno, maybe five patients last week. Tell me, I hate these little lines like around my mouth or like when I smile, I get these, which again is normal. We all have expression. Mm-hmm. And it, we should see lines and we're not a filter and we're not a still picture, but Right.

When I tell them I can't do filler there, they're like, well, what do you mean? Like, yeah, I could do a little Botox down there, but it's not gonna drastically change anything. Mm-hmm. You know? 

Mm-hmm. 

And I. Bring up the topic of home care regimens, making sure you're doing your skincare and laser and micro kneeling.

And to some people it's such a foreign topic, but it's like you have to work on the skin quality. Yeah. It's happening. 'cause you're losing collagen and elastin and you're, you're getting a little bit of laxity in the skin, which we all do unfortunately. And if you love the sun, yours is gonna be 10 times worse. 

Mm-hmm. It's just you have to work on things that are gonna actually help the quality of your skin. And then our fillers and our Botox and our lasers, and our microneedling, and our peels, everything is going to look that much better. Yeah. And that much more noticeable too. 

Unfortunately, people want, you know, quicker fixes.

Right. But you know, when you put the time in, it's always worth it. Yeah. And I tell everyone, I'm like, look, Botox treats muscle. It doesn't treat skin so.  Your overlying skin can improve, but if it's too lax and then we relax the muscle under it,  it's just gonna get more lax, right? Mm-hmm. So you have to treat the skin in a different way.

Yep. And I think with all the regenerative talk, like we talked about in the beginning, we're seeing that now. Mm-hmm. And I think patients don't realize we've had so many different modalities. Already on the market that are able to do this. Mm-hmm. And these new injectables and stuff are just heightening that result too.

So again, it's still treatment stacking, you still have to do them together. It's not just a one answer. Yeah. With lasers, I think a major thing is making sure that your  inhibiting that pigment prior to treating. Which I think even gets lost on some providers sometimes too. Even when I heard it, I was like, oh, that makes so much sense.

If you're inhibiting pigment for eight to six weeks before you come in for the laser, you're gonna have much less chance of even an adverse event. Yeah. If, God forbid, the laser's a little too hot or you have a spot that just reacts a little bit more than any others, like, it's going to help keep you safer too.

Um, so I think a major will, again, retinol is, is a good one for that. But you might a lot of the time see, um. Hydroquinone, which is also another one that's very irritating and causes flaking and redness. And so Alpha Red is still a good option there where you don't have to do that. And then, um,  Z has Bright alive.

Yeah. Do they have any other ones? 

Um, um, 

I think Bright. Bright Alive is, yeah, bright Life's 

essentially like zero's even tone, I feel like. And then we have even, and Correct  from a Sche Medica. Mm-hmm. So quite a few different pigment inhibitor options we have. And I would say 

even tone, even incorrect and Bri Alive are all non-reactive ones, right? 

Yeah. Yeah. So like, you know, HydroOne, you're taking on a a journey. 

Yeah.  A lot of people don't really like care for it too much, just because, again, 

very similar to that 

retinol. Yeah. And 

you can rebound with hydroquinone, which is why it scares me a little bit. I remember actually last year. Funny enough, 'cause I'm going to I-E-C-I-E-C-S-C today.

Um, last year I took a pigment class. This year I'm taking an acne one side note, but the pigment class, they were very anti hydroquinone and it definitely kind of put the scare in me a little bit too. I'm not gonna lie. But that's a big thing is that people rebound from it. Interesting. Which I never really knew.

Right. Um,  and you can only be on it for a certain amount of time. Really. It's not like, whereas other three months, these inhibitors, they're gentler and you can use it forever. Right. So, 

yeah. Yeah. It's interesting. Yeah. And it's, I guess because it's so harsh too. 

Mm-hmm. 

And you can get, I mean, you can get a lot of lightning with hydro, which sometimes is. 

Not the best thing either. 

Yeah. 

You don't wanna over lighten. Right. So you, so there's so many things on the market that you could be using that you don't have to go through all these  troublesome, how do you hide flakiness? You can't. Mm-hmm. The burning. Oh my God. I don't ever wanna experience that again. 

Do 

you remember 

my eye? Oh my gosh, yes. The 

eye. I wonder if I could find a picture of that. Tell everyone the saga 

of 

the eye. Oh lord. Um, I don't know. I did, uh, a peel, which that wasn't the issue, but then I started using the, like a harder retinol. Mm-hmm. And  I, my whole eye would just like, flake up. It would get swollen, really itchy. 

Then I stopped using it. It would slowly go away. And I was like, all right, I'm taking, I took like three months off from using Retinol, which for me, 

yep,  

we don't do that. Retinol is Mel's baby. Literally.  Um, so I, it got better. I started using it again, and it happened again. So I said, you know what? It's, it's this retinol, which I used to use in my twenties all the time.

I used to use it every night. That 

first retinol was like 4% or something crazy right after the peel. But then the one you normally use, I think was like one, or like the half percent. Yeah. Yeah. Like the 

usual. Yeah. So now I use the alpha ret and I love it. I use the peel pads, I love it. Um, and no eye reaction, right?

No eye reaction, but it's just crazy, like your skin changes over time too. So I think that's important just to, you know, again, give things enough time. Mm-hmm. To.  Really see if, if you can tolerate it. Yeah. 

And I think people forget that too. Retinol travels underneath the skin. Yes. Yeah. I was 

just gonna say, it's so funny because I just had a client who did the ze O three step peel.

Mm-hmm. And she was like, my chest was flaking. And I've had other people tell me that their ears do, and I said.  Yeah, well it does travel under the skin, so that's why even with your retinol, like people are like, should I put it by my eyes? Da da. I'm like, I'm like, you can stop here 'cause it's gonna get there.

Yeah. You know 

it will travel. I remember when I did the three step my, yeah, my ears, everything peeled like it's up through my so crazy. My ear lobe, my eye, my eyebrows peeled. Even though you don't go over the brows. Yeah. Yeah. It's crazy. It just travels through and that's why I too, I think too, they say you can put like, um.

Like a skin barrier if you want. Yeah. Like a Vaseline or something. If you're someone that like Mel has the eye reaction, you could do like your normal skincare, put your eye cream, put Vaseline, and then you dool. But something like Alpha RET allows you to not have to do that. Yes. Mm-hmm. So now I don't have to deal with it.

Yes, exactly. But no, I'm, I can't wait. I have a whole plan. When I'm no longer pregnant, we're gonna redo by Vizient. Vizient is a skin analysis that we have here at Exhibit. Mm-hmm. Um, I think John actually has it at his location too. It's, it takes very like, um, up close and pixelated  pictures of your face.

Like you can zoom in, you can see the pigment, you can see the lines, tells you your true skin age. Like, I'm just curious to see how much has changed. Mm-hmm. And then I wanna start, I can't wait. Right. I wanna start, I'm gonna start skincare only. Then the laser, then injectables and we'll kind of like track it.

I am, because I've gone this long without Botox, I'll live.  But it 

goes to show what good skincare can do. Right? Right. Mm-hmm. So I wanna see 

like all the changes we can get just by doing each little thing. And I'm excited to start skin better because.  I've just never been able to tolerate a retinol, so I'm excited to see.

Mm-hmm. 

Mm-hmm. Yep. 

And my skin has changed so much  through this pregnancy. 

Mm-hmm. 

But you 

have like no pigment issues. Yeah. Thank God. I feel like you're really like, well, look, look at the color of me. I mean, I don't touch the sun.  Even after your vacation, you're still Yeah, 

I'm this white. Um, I had freckles as a kid.

I, I had like. Hundreds of freckles on my face, but because I had such bad acne, I did benzoyl peroxide. Mm-hmm. And I swear that it bleached me. Yeah, I swear to God. Well, looks great. So thanks. Yeah, right.  I'm like, I started really young, apparently. 

Yeah.  Oh my God.  

Going back to like pre and post care, I feel like a lot of people, they, like Mel said before, they want the quick fix, but you  need to understand that it's always about commitment and consistency, and what you do at home is going to be. 

Way more important, really, as much as we hate to say it 'cause we want you here for these treatments. But yeah, that's really 80% of your results right there. Um, that's why I always tell people too, like, yeah, if it's not broken, don't fix it. But  we're also, this is, well this is really the thing that drives me nuts that I'm just gonna say is that clients will come in and they'll complain about their skin. 

Then they'll tell me what they use and they'll tell me how much they love it. But then I'm like, you're telling me doesn't make sense. Love your skincare, but you're telling me not loving your skin, you don't love your skin. Right. And I always just try to say that because I feel like I don't wanna argue with anybody.

Right? Right. I'm not the type of person that's pushy. I do say if it's not broke, don't fix it a lot. When they're like, you know, when I could tell they're really not having it. But I'm also like, at the same token, especially when you're investing in things like microneedling,  laser, they're not cheap treatments.

Mm-hmm. We're all aware of that, and it's not that we want you to spend more money, it's that. We want you to protect your investment and we want your results to last longer. 

Yep. You 

know? 

Yep. 

So it's only going to one, keep your skin quality where you know at a better place, keep you at a better baseline.

Keep your skin maintaining, and, uh.  So, yeah, like, we're not out to get you. We, we've want our skin to look the best. It's a reflection of us too. So. Amen. Don't you feel like people get like excited? Yes. Yes. 

I get so excited about starting new skincare products, new regimens. Yep. 

Absolutely. Some people do.

Some people do, right. Those are my favorite people. I hate 

to say like third, I, I remember someone, it was like two people came in together and I swear they bought like.  Six new products you get to like 

mm-hmm. 

They just were like, I, I, whatever you say, I just Yep. Want a new regimen. They were so excited about it.

I was like, yes. 

No. And especially I feel like if they're not used to using something, it is exciting because mm-hmm. And if you, I, I do like to find that middleman, like four to six products with a cleanser and a moisturizer. Mm-hmm. So it's not too many 

steps. Right. Because it is, it can be a lot too. No, for sure.

And I always ask people too, like, how many steps do you really wanna use? Mm-hmm. Even a woman yesterday I had, she's an example of somebody that. I met her a few weeks ago for a consult. Actually, Corinne recommended her, so thanks, cor. Oh, love you Corinne. 

We love you.  

And the woman already used all skin better products.

It's funny 'cause I talked to her about like, you know, why don't we just start with a facial, see how your skin is and go from there. But I did tell her about microneedling. Mm-hmm. Based on like what she was looking to achieve. We did a Vizio with her, the that and the third. And it's funny 'cause she was so eager for more product.

Mm-hmm. And I was telling her like. You have like a perfect regimen, right? Yeah. What am I gonna sell you? I said you wanna restock on stuff while you're here, right? So it's funny, yesterday she came in for microneedling and I thought we were gonna go with the facial first. And she even said, I'm sure you didn't expect to see me for this so soon.

I'm like, yeah, I thought we were gonna do. She's like, you know. I just have to do the microneedling. And it's funny because, you know, we have a package where you can get skincare at a discount. Mm-hmm. Coupled in with your three sessions and she's like, I think I'm just gonna do that. And, you know, restock, she was asking me about all this other stuff.

Mm-hmm. 

And I said. Do you really wanna add more steps to your regimen? Because like honestly, I love everything you use and I think you're doing the right thing. Like her skin was in good shape, you know? Right, right. Um, even she was so terrified to do the Visia and she was, her skin age was younger, which she was shocked to see.

Yes. And I was like, see, like everyone always thinks it's worse than it is. Right, right. But, but it's funny 'cause she kept asking me about the growth factor serum and this one and that, and I was just like.  Again, if you wanna add another step that's on you, but I think what you're doing is right. It's already good.

Yeah. Like sometimes, like they actually are doing the right thing and I'm not just gonna push you. Right. To be obsessed with something else or whatever. Right. Right. And we just picked four products that she already used, so. Right. 

And sometimes I think like growth factor's great because it's helping support your tissue, but at the end of the day you, you want, especially if fine lines and texture are your concern, you want something that's gonna be renewing that cell turnover.

Yep. Yep. Where growth 

factor's just gonna be more of like moisturizing and, yeah. Like supporting your cells, but it's not gonna be making fresh. Mm-hmm. Skin 

like Yeah. They say, you know, that it does aid in our collagen. Mm-hmm. And elastin production.  And I'm not saying that, I mean, I love growth factor serums, but I just feel like. 

If you don't really need that help there and your skin's looking like it's in pretty good shape, why add something else? Like Right. Right. I don't know. A fifth layer. Yeah, exactly. I'm like, you know, there's just gonna be another step for you and Right, right. Like, 

is it really gonna make that big of a difference?

Yeah. If it's gonna make 

or break you when your skin's in good shape and your microneedling and you're using good product. So you know, as much as it is exciting when people wanna try something new, sometimes you just gotta be honest and be like, you know. Doing the right thing. We appreciate that. Exactly.

And then 

adding in those treatments, so the microneedling and, and things that are gonna, and, uh, for those listening microneedling is really great at boosting your collagen. If you do three sessions or four sessions, I believe it's what, 300 or 400% in, uh, increase in your collagen production, which is crazy.

Um, so that's really great for like the little lines around the mouth, like, uh, any, honestly any fine lines, anywhere. And then just kind of strengthening the quality of the skin so it will look. More luminous. I don't like to say tighter 'cause it's not like you're gonna get tighter, but it definitely does make you feel like your skin is tighter for sure.

Mm-hmm. 

Yeah. Because it's aiding in the collagen and elastin production. So like that's really the proteins responsible for like the structure of your skin. Mm-hmm. So it does, like, people always do this like, like they're looking for a facelift from it and I'm like, it's not gonna do that. But you're definitely gonna be a little firmed up.

Right. But like, yeah. And I 

feel like when you look more luminous, everything looks more lifted. Like, it really does make you look tighter because the quality of your skin is better. 

Yep, 

yep. Where laser is gonna boost your collagen too, but it's gonna, I think, affect pigment definitely a lot more. Mm-hmm.

Uh, but it definitely helps with that, the, the lines and the texture too. For sure. 

Yeah. And then when you go on with your filler Botox, it's gonna. Look even better. Yeah. And you probably won't even need as much. Yep. Which is great. Exactly, 

exactly. So Bri, what are your thoughts on like monthly treatment? So if someone comes in and they wanna do the three lasers or the three microneedling, you can also, which we love, and Olivia has brought this up on a previous episode, microneedling is really much more summer safe.

So doing that in your warmer months and then laser in your winter months and just on that cycle yearly to boost your skin and, and keep you as young as possible. Mm-hmm. Um, so we, we really love to see that and we all honestly do that. But what is your thought on having them come in monthly for like diamond glows or dermaplaning, you know, things like that?

Yeah, because. Back to what I was saying before. A lot of the before and afters I've been sharing, they're all people that have memberships here. So yeah, you wanna take in account like the improvements we've seen from the microneedling sessions, but it's also the fact that every month they're taking care of their skin and they're also using a good regimen at home.

Mm-hmm. So it's not as simple as this is your microneedling before and after, like. Most of the people here really do put in the work and they, they come in monthly for their diamond glows. It's really good to just like, again, it's aiding your skin quality in a different way that the microneedling and the laser aren't.

Mm-hmm. 

Like 

they're not giving you a deep clean, they're not exfoliating you. I mean, maybe the laser to an extent with like a little resurfacing, but these are more like surface level.  Improvements that like you need two, like you can't just do one or the other. Right, right, right. 

It all goes together.

Same thing with your Botox and your filler. It's all treatment stacking. 

Yeah. Yeah. 

And 

like I said, that's why I, lately I've been calling like lighter peels after microneedling, like the icing on the cake because a lot of people do bring up pigment when they come in for microneedling. And I have had people have improvements in pigment, but I always.

Remind them this isn't a pigment treatment. It's a collagen building treatment. Yes. Sometimes people's pigment is kind of corrected as a result of the act of microneedling because it is promoting the cell communication and getting things to kind of regulate themselves. Um, but. I feel like I always kind of tell them like, you know, those people kind of almost just got lucky with their pigment being improved.

It's not really meant for that necessarily. Right? Yeah. Yeah. So that's why I'm like, you know, if you still have some suburb pigment lingering, why don't we do a few peels at the end? Mm-hmm. Um, it's really been. Helpful. I've seen a lot of, I've read a lot about, a lot of estheticians like to do the peels first.

Interesting. And then, which like, yeah. Yeah, you can do that too. But I don't know. I feel like the microneedling just puts, like, it improves your skin so much more from the inside out and more at a cellular level that I feel like it puts you at a better baseline first. Right. I would 

agree. I would feel like it would kind of almost bring that pigment. 

Closer to that surface and then, and I feel it does. Yeah, yeah, 

yeah. Makes more sense. Yeah. Yeah. 

And if you have someone that has very stubborn pigment, then the BBL laser is definitely gonna be your best bet. Um, and then after the fact doing something like microneedling or things like that for really, I mean, and we can share some pictures here too, like BL laser alone does a lot for texture of the skin and, and fine lines too.

Um, because it does boost the collagen as well. But I just think there's nothing better than if you're able to do both. Like if you can do that microneedling in the summertime and the laser in the winter, like you are gonna be like, holy crap, my skin looks amazing. I'm obsessed with the BBL that you just did it.

I noticed it already. One session. Good. Oh good. People love it. Yep. Yeah, like the redness in my cheeks and everything. Mm-hmm. I was like, God. I was like, my skin looks so good. Yeah. And that's the whole thing. I'm 

like, you had no downtime either. Great. Yep. Mm-hmm. Yeah. 

Yeah. Brit was texting us. We were all asleep.

I'm, I used to be someone that was up all night and I slept late in the morning. Pregnancy has changed that too, so I am on Melissa's bedtime schedule now, so, oh my God. 

Literally, you guys, what's my, what's my excuse  you, 

you children. That's 

what it is. True, true. I'm defeated by the end of the day. So me and Melissa 

are literally asleep by like 9:00 PM but Brit texted the other day, she's like.

I got my BBO laser today. Can I shower? 

No, because I was Googling like, like the hot shower. Yeah, you wanna make it hotter. And it was saying like some stuff was saying that, and I'm like, is this really gonna do something to me like.  I feel like,  

what was it like eight hours later? Yeah, yeah, it was, yeah, it's like you don't 

wanna do the BBL L laser and then put a hot towel on them and then send 'em into the sun.

Right. Because you're gonna, the skin's gonna keep heating, you know, you wanna cool the skin down after that, but, but yeah, the BBL L laser is, is really amazing. Not only for pigment, but like you said, the redness, rosacea, little capillaries, all that good stuff. So.  I'm like, I, I, seriously, I'm over here getting excited because I can't wait to do mine. 

I feel like you're building your regimen in your head right now. I am. 

Oh, yeah. Let's, you're 

like, mm,  

for my pretreatment, Brit, what, 

what would, uh, what would you put me on?  I would say, especially if you wanna switch a skin better. Sorry guys. It's my favorite. Um, I'm now, I'm a ZEO 

girl. Everyone knows I'm a ZEO girly, so, yeah.

Oh, that's true. You are a ZEO girl, so you can do, I mean, we'll see where you're at. Yeah. I, but I just feel like I want you to use Maestro so bad. Mm-hmm. Okay. So good. Um, what is, tell everyone what Maestro is. Maestro's like a skin balancer. So like they, a lot of people call, like  a lot of people will describe it almost as AI for your face.

Like, okay, because it almost, it knows what your skin needs and it helps kind of balance that out.  Since it does this, it almost.  It helps so many different skin concerns. So it's good for texture, redness, pigment. I love it for my pores. 

Your pores, your pores. It's of those few things I, it's huge improvement.

Yeah. In yours for sure. 

Yeah. So it helps so many things. Um, that's the one product that I recommend all the time. Mm-hmm. Yes. Because I love it, but also because every time I've recommended it to someone, they've come back and they're raving about it. Yeah. I've like, it's that one product that everyone loves.

Yeah. So I do tend to fall back on it. 'cause I'm like, all right. Like, I know they're gonna be happy when they use it.  

Right. It's a consistent product, which is important, 

very consistent, like. You know, and obviously everybody's skin is different, everybody's different. Sometimes there is trial and error, but, um, generally I do fall back on certain things a lot.

Mm-hmm. Because when they consistently get good reviews from people, I'm like, all right, well this is good. Yeah. And it's not like you're just seeing it on the website, like you're getting to see it firsthand. Yeah. Mm-hmm. So that, and I love that with even tone together. Okay. Um, and even me like, 'cause sometimes people are like, well, do I really need the pigment inhibitor?

I may need. Uh, but at the same time, they work really well together. Mm-hmm. And I feel like those two are really like, kind of like mm-hmm. Your glass skin serum, you know? Yeah. And at the end of the day, if you're gonna be doing 

laser or something, then you do need the pigment inhibitor. Yep. 

Yeah, for sure.

So if you're gonna do the laser, I would say those two are really good. Okay. Um, you know, definitely alpha rep, but obviously stop using it for bef like a week or so before your treatment. 

Mm-hmm. 

Honestly, you'd probably be fine, but just to, just to go by the books there. Yes, yes. Um,  yeah. One of the things that skim Better actually recommend is. 

Even told Maestro and Trio Lux. Interesting. For laser, pre and post care. Mm-hmm. Um, just get kind of like that extra hydration from the trio. Lux. Uh, it's a little heavy for my skin, but a lot of people do love it. Yeah. I could understand 

maybe like post procedure, but Yeah, before it's interesting about pre Yeah, I guess they're thinking to like really 

condition it.

Right. Yeah. 

Interesting. 

But that is a really good, I actually just had someone damm me the other day like, oh my God, that trio lux. Like I had these red patches that I've had for months and now they're gone. Wow. Yeah. So it is, it's very hydrating. Yeah.  It does the trick. That's for sure.  So yeah, those would 

be my big serums to recommend.

Yeah, for sure. And I have been using the cleansing gel from skin Better, which I've been loving 'cause I've needed That's a good one. I, well, it's just so funny because I've just needed. Moisturizing and gentle. Like, this is not my usual.  Yeah.  I'm like, where are my actives? So I can't wait to, to get back on that.

All right. So maestro, even tone and alpha at all. Right. Mel, what's, uh, what's your current regimen?  

I. Oh God. How much time you have? No, I'm kidding. Um, alright. So it depends on the cleanser. I'm, I'm probably like 85% skin better. Mm-hmm. 85, 90%. Um, I either use, uh, the, what is it? The, the refining foam cleanser.

Then I actually use even incorrect pads from Skin Medica. 'cause I love those in the morning.  Uh, and then I am using the maestro, the even tone. I am using the Alto Advanced for my vitamin C. It's the only one I've been able to tolerate without breaking out. Interesting. Um, or I'll use like daily power defense from ze, depending mm-hmm.

On just what I have.  Um, I like the even tone too, by the way. I don't really have pigment, but like, why am I gonna wait? Right to see if I have pigment issues. I'm gonna inhibit that pigment. I love it. Um, maestro, I use the, either just like the regular trio moisturizer,  uh, the hydration boosting cream is really good.

Mm-hmm.  Uh, tried and true exfoliation polish from Z Oh. Never gonna stop using that. Never. 

Oh, duh duh. Yeah. That will never go anywhere. 

Yep. I don't care what happens. Um, 

I do still use that like twice a week. Because you do. Yeah. Like you get to a point when you wash your face, you can just tell that you need an exfoliation.

Yeah. Like it's the, you know.  Chemical exfoliation is one thing I love the alpha at for that. Mm-hmm. And I use the peel pads too, a few times a week just to get deeper. Um, I like the clearing serum from, from skin better if I'm feeling like I'm breaking out a little bit. But no, sometimes you just need like a good scrub, right?

Yep. Mm-hmm. 

Yeah. 

And for those listening, it's like. A safe apricot scrub for us. Uh, yeah. Nineties kiss. Exactly.  It's not say knives,  but you get that same feeling after like you're like, oh, I'm just so soft.  

Yeah. Mm-hmm. I love it. I actually brought it with me to Aruba 'cause I was like, yeah, sometimes just after being in like that hot weather.

Oh yeah. Yep. Yeah. 

I'm all dry now. Like even mm-hmm. It's just coming from the different environments and like a little bit of sun exposure. I'm like, I have like little dry patches everywhere.  

No, I love it all. And imax? 

Oh yes. Oh yes. From Skin Better. Everyone always asks about eye creams. Yep. From skin Better.

Okay. I've been loving the, um, Bri, uh, what is it? Instant Bra. Yeah. From, uh, skin of America. You've been into that lately. 

I really love it. Or Mel, what about the other eye cream we've been using? Oh, teaser. Teaser. Are we allowed to talk about them? 

Yeah. I, I just, I just put in an order. 

Oh, we did order. All right.

Yeah. So then we can talk about 

it. And Mel has before and after pictures. 

Yeah. I mean, oh, yeah. Yeah. I did take the before and after. Mm-hmm. So my, my under eye's always been my like.  Probably my worst, besides my chin. Um, one of my most concerning areas for me. So, you know, the, the, and I think a lot of people come in Oh yes.

Asking about like, what can I do for my under eyes, the, the lines and everything like that. You have to have some lines under your eyes. Mm-hmm. You have to, um, but obviously you wanna work to prevent them from getting worse and you just wanna strengthen the skin there. It's a very thin skin. So I use the alpha at imax, right.

Is that.  I never know the show name 

of it. Yeah. 

At nighttime to work to actually treat it. But I've been loving the ha i serum right from our self. Mm-hmm. For. The daytime. I, I mean, it's, it's just so hydrating and I feel like it blurred my, my lines. Like you, you looked like plumped almost. 

Yeah, it was very hydrated.

Yeah. Really liked it. And it's lid safe, so I like anything that can go 

on the lid too. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I put it all over, like my orbital bone, my lid, everything. Yep. And we know Mel has eye problems, so. 

Yeah, exactly.  

I know.  So it's been completely fine. It's pretty safe. Yep.  Yeah. No, I love it. Yeah. So 

that's something exciting coming to exhibit.

Mm-hmm. A new line. Yeah. The HA 

serum. Right. Did we order the 

mm-hmm.  

Okay. Alright. Just making sure. Yeah. Give us the lineup. Give us the lineup. 

So we got their cleanser, the replenishing serum, which is an ha, but it has so much more in it. Mm-hmm. So it's, I think they said they're actually changing the name soon, because they don't want people just.

You know, associated it as just an ha. Right. But the ha also with that same technology, they have an eye serum, which is really nice. And, um, a moisturizer. So that could be a nice, easy regimen mm-hmm. For especially for injectable patients. Protect what you inject. Yeah. Yeah. It's got, we'll talk more about it when we get it, but it has really.

Cool and impressive technology and, um, I am excited about it. I think people too like it and like the simplicity of it. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And they have a lip product that helps enhance your lips, whether you wanna help boost the filler you have, or if you're a lip flip person or maybe you're not sure if you want lip filler.

'cause it, it works pretty well. Mm-hmm. Mel popped it on and sent us a picture and lips were they freshly inject.  

And it's great too because you, I think it is pregnancy safe, right? 

Yep. 

So if you feel like I want my lips done, but obviously we can't inject when you're pregnant, then you can use this and it works.

Lemme tell you. Ooh, I'm so 

excited. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So a nice easy, quick regimen for those people that aren't like into too much. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Kevin? Yeah, the 

cleans, the cleanser was really nice too. I love a good cleanser. I try everything. No, because yeah, 

we know  

literally everything. 

No, because it is, it's like, I hate when you use a cleanser and you almost feel like the soap scma on your face after like, this was my God, was so that clean.

Yeah. Yeah. 

This rinsed I  clean after. Yes. Yeah. 

All right guys. Well, this was great. I feel like we, uh, this was fun. Yeah. Hit all the topics, like definitely treatment, stacking. I know we talk about it on like every episode, but it's just so important. Doing your microneedling, doing your lasers, doing your Botox, doing your filler, doing your skincare, doing your mm-hmm skin, Vive and PDGF.

Like all these things go together. Um, but it's definitely, you know, you wanna find the right place to help build you a plan. And like we said, microneedling in the summer, lasers in the winter, your skincare 24 7, morning and night every day. Um, and then your monthlys, you know, a good peel or a good facial. 

Everything, everything goes together. And if you guys ever want help building any kind of regimen or anything like that, Brit is always available for any kind of appointment.  She's a very busy lady. But  yeah, always make time. We'll always make time. Yeah. So definitely you can, uh, we all have the links in our bios to book, um, but you can always give us a call to, uh, dms are hard, they're hard to catch every dm.

Mm-hmm. So we always say, make an appointment much easier. Yep. But, um, Britt, tell us your Instagram one more time. Uh, Brit aesthetician. Perfect. Thank you. And Mel, it's Melissa, do the pa. Perfect. Thank you guys so much for taking the time to sit down with me. We're wishing John feels better for next week. We don't feel better, John.

Yeah, feel better, John. That guy doesn't stop. He's run down. No, he does too much. She does too much. Yeah. So do you. Oh my God. You guys are like, you guys. 

Yeah,  we're all in the same boat.  I say we all go on vacation together next time. I agree. I agree. Yeah.  We need a retreat. 

Yes. Yeah.  

Love that. I know. It's 

so funny.

I just need to add too, like everyone's like, well, now that we're kind of out of that, but especially like January, February, so many people are like, oh, you guys slowing down a little here? Like. No, no, no, no. And I was like, I know it's a blessing and a good problem to have, but no, we have not slowed down at all.

We're probably busier. It's insane. Yeah. 

And it's so funny, right? And the second sun comes out, people are mm-hmm. All of a sudden wanna do everything too. So it's like you just see so many more patients starting to get in. Mm-hmm. But. All right guys. Well thank you. Thank you. Thanks guys. Thanks for everyone for tuning in.

We'll see you next week on Fill Me In Pod.