No Groupon Botox Allowed

In this week's episode we take a detour from the spiritual realm and dive deep into the physiology of medical aesthetics.  Our discussion with Jody Work, RN and founder of Beauty Lounge Med Spa will cover an overview of the field and recommendations for treatments.  We discuss commonly misunderstood industry options, even who should seek treatment and who should not.  The answers may surprise you!  Listen in for a practical, ethical roadmap for medical aesthetics and whole-body wellness.

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Transcript

Welcome And Meet Jodi Work

Venessa 0:00

I've got your permission. All right, great. Hey, I'm so excited. Um, so I'll walk you through how this will go. It'll be very easy.

SPEAKER_00 0:10

I wish I didn't need glasses, but I do. I can't see you.

Venessa 0:13

Oh, put them on.

SPEAKER_00 0:15

I don't make you look all like I don't wear glasses normally.

Venessa 0:20

It makes you look even more official. Okay, okay. I actually should be wearing glasses and I don't have them on because I'm I'm in between prescriptions. And so I'm like, do they make it worse right now or better? I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

Yeah.

Venessa 0:35

So what will happen is I'll read your intro, I'll introduce you, and and then I have an opener question for you that I ask every guest on the podcast and I'll walk you through all of that. Okay. And then I just have some really basic questions set up. We're just simply going to talk about your you, your background, the services you offer. This is going to be your platform to pitch whatever you want to talk about here. And I have kind of some bullet point ideas that we can go over, but I'm happy with wherever the conversation will go organically. And then we'll we'll wrap it up in an hour or less. Um because if there's more to talk about, we can always do another episode. Sounds good. Love it. All right. Okay, let's do this. Welcome to today's episode of Squats and Seances. Today we are talking with Jodi Work. Jodi is a registered nurse and an established anesthetic nurse with over 12 years of experience specializing in injectables, laser treatments, and regenerative skin therapies. She is the founder of Beauty Lounge Med Spa in Aptos and has a thriving practice for over four years. Her approach is rooted in subtle natural enhancement by helping patients look refreshed, rested, and like the absolute best version of themselves. Jodi is known for her comprehensive full-face assessments and long-term treatment planning, guiding patients through 12-month customized journeys to achieve results that look effortless and undetectable. Over recent years, Jodi expanded her practice to include vitamin and peptide IV therapy, which sparked a deep passion for internal wellness and the connection between how we feel and how we age. This inspired her decision to return to school and pursue her nurse practitioner license, a two and a half year program she began three months ago. Her future focus is centered on women's health, specifically optimizing hormones, gut function, and metabolic wellness supported by peptide therapy. A lifelong Santa Cruz resident, Jody has built lasting relationships within her community and is known for meticulous clinical standards, warm bedside manner, and her ability to make patients feel like family, not just clients. She believes beauty begins internally and feels privileged to help patients age confidently, gracefully, and authentically from the inside out.

SPEAKER_00 3:11

Welcome, Jodi. Wow, thank you for that intro.

Venessa 3:16

I love it. I for our listeners, I've known Jodi for a long time before she even had the practice. And I will attest personally to everything there. It is 100% true. She's fabulous. She has the best bedside manner, and she's really invested in her patients that she sees. So I'm excited to chat with her today. We are going to talk about all things medical aesthetics, different services that are available, questions that I often get from people that want to know what is medical aesthetics? Where do I start? Um, so we're gonna cover a lot today. We're gonna try to keep it in under an hour. But before we get into all of that, the first question that I ask every first-time guest on the podcast is what does gritty mean to you?

SPEAKER_00 4:08

That means rolling up my sleeve and my sleeves, that is, and um dedicating all of my energy uh while I'm awake and asleep, um of just of knowledge. Um you know, uh what does gritty mean? Gosh. It can mean many things to different. Yeah. Yeah. It means you're gonna yeah, roll up your sleeves and get dirty and do what you have to do to make things happen.

Venessa 4:44

Yeah, get it done, right? I love that answer.

SPEAKER_00 4:47

Thank you.

Venessa 4:48

Okay, you ready to get into the fun stuff? Let's do

How She Built Beauty Lounge

Venessa 4:51

it. Okay, let's chat about all things medical aesthetics, but I want to start with you and your backstory. Where did you first get exposed to this field of work? And where did you transfer from, you know, registered nurse if you were in a clinical practice into the field that you're in now?

SPEAKER_00 5:09

Yeah, I fell in love with the aesthetics uh field early on in my career. Um, out of uh college, they weren't hiring in the hospitals, and so I went to work um at California, I'm sorry, uh Central California Alliance for Health, where we managed Medi-Cal's money. And I was the prior authorization nurse and quality improvement nurse. And after doing that for about three years, I was like, what am I doing? This is not why I ran into nursing, and I need to touch and feel people and you know make people feel good. Um, so it was a good learning uh lesson, but I then went into pediatric home care, and that was very rewarding um and very challenging as well. And then that for about a year, um, and then I started obsessing over dermatology. And I've always loved just uh, you know, fashion and beauty and skincare, and saw this whole world that I didn't even know existed going to nursing school and um got hired on with California Skin Institute and was there for about three years um as their aesthetics nurse in um Ryan Ranch and Salinas. And it was a great foundation to really learn from the ground up by great practitioners, but they didn't let um nurses at the time inject. Um, so it was just solely like treatments and procedures, and which I actually was grateful for. Um, because as a nurse, I didn't, you know, going into a new field, I didn't really know what I was doing anyhow. But after about three years, I was like, okay, now I want to start injecting. Right, I'm done watching. I want to do it. And so um got hired on with somebody here back in Capitola and um realized how much I missed working in my community, number one, um, you know, being down in Salinas and Ryan Ranch. Um, and then went on to another place. And after being there for about four years, I was like, man, if she can do this, I can too.

SPEAKER_01 7:22

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 7:23

And I can I saw a lot of gaps that needed improvement and was on a mission to um partner with you know a medical director um and found one and and it's been the best thing ever. Um so I yeah, I originally did it just to work a few days a week and have my own schedule. And now we are just growing at a fast rate. Um, I just hired my second nurse and have a wonderful office manager, and um yeah, so I'm obsessed.

Venessa 7:56

It's amazing. I can attest to watching that growth happen too. And um it's been really neat to see that the the quality of the care you provide, I think is really what differentiates, right? Because you could potentially go and get most of these treatments anywhere, but but your investment in um helping your patients understand what it is they're getting and maybe what it is they need or don't need, you know, that makes a huge difference. So thank you for sharing the backstory.

SPEAKER_00 8:25

Yeah, thank you. I am all about the experience and I want the five-star experience and I want a place where patients don't feel rushed. Um, I don't want them to be a number. Uh, you know, everybody is like family here, and um yeah, and I love it.

Venessa 8:43

And for those listeners that are wondering, um, we have a pretty wide listener base. This is in Santa Cruz, California on the West Coast. So sorry guys if you're not in this area. But if you come visit, you should come see her. All right, let's talk about the different treatments.

Aesthetics 101 What To Try First

Venessa 9:00

I have some big bucket groups that I put together, and I would love to chat briefly about what each one of these things are. Um, and we're just gonna approach this from the standpoint of maybe somebody doesn't know. They don't know anything, they've never heard about this before. We've got laser treatments, toxin injections, filler, skin lightening, microneedling, and kind of the MAC daddy of things now, peptide therapy.

SPEAKER_01 9:23

Yes.

Venessa 9:24

Those are like big buckets, and I think within each of those are going to be many different types of treatments. Are there any other major treatment groups I'm leaving out that you offer specifically?

SPEAKER_00 9:33

Yeah, I would say um laserslash IPL is one of my favorites, um, or a BBL. And then a CO2 laser we do not offer. Um, they're pretty expensive and a lot of downtime, but um an amazing treatment in itself for sure.

IPL Light Therapy For Pigment

Venessa 9:49

Okay, so let's start with laser treatments. Um, we've got all these different types. Let's focus on the the ones that that you offer specifically. Um, what do you do in-house? And maybe just here's what this treatment is, and like this is the name of the treatment, and this is what the main thing is. What it does grasses.

SPEAKER_00 10:09

Yes. Uh so we have an intense pulse light device. Um, most people might think it's it looks like a laser, um, but it has it's amazing for building collagen um as well as getting rid of um broken capillaries, rosacea. And then my favorite is um pigmentation, which I think it's the best for. Um, and usually it takes about three treatments uh to start about a month apart, and um, it's incredible. Like during the treatment, the pigmentation usually will get darker, and then over a few weeks it'll start to flake off. Um, and then the pigmentation is lighter underneath, and then you come back in a month and we jack up the energy and we hit it harder and until it's gone. Or with the broken capillaries, if I get it with the right amount of energy, it just disappears right before my eyes, and it's so satisfying. Yeah, it is, and then when they don't respond, then they make me really mad.

Venessa 11:08

That's it. We're gonna turn it up. Yeah, okay. So that must be IPL. Yep. Okay, and what was the other one that you mentioned?

SPEAKER_00 11:15

Um something. Uh BBL. We don't have it, but very similar. Um, so basically, with the IPL or the BBL, we have different filters um that we can push or uh on the handpiece itself, and they reach different depths and layers of the skin. And we uh so for instance, it has a laser hair filter or a collagen-inducing filter where we're activating that process during the treatment. And then people like two weeks later will notice a little glow, and it's because we've activated that collagen production um uh and then it's vessels, and then it's pigmentation, then it's uh acne scar. So it starts like with this the deepest to the most superficial, being the acne and the in the pigmentation.

Venessa 11:59

Great. And interesting note on the collagen, you know, that is such a buzzword right now. Everybody's like collagen this, collagen that, put it in your coffee, drink it, inject it, whatever. You know, but we essentially were born with a finite amount, right? And then as we age, it it degradates down, and then we start to see those losses in our face and in other places in our body. Do you know what is specific to the laser um treatment that helps regenerate? Or how does that work? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:29

Yeah, that's a great question that I probably don't know that well, although I just know that it's that yeah, that the filter is reaching as I the energy I push with joules, um, it goes to that the exact like um location in the dermis that activates that collagen reproduction.

SPEAKER_01 12:48

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 12:49

And and pretty much all of our treatments, whether it be microneedling or even sculptor or everything is inducing collagen. We're just doing it kind of differently. Yeah, targeting all the different ways we can try to get those cells to wake up.

Venessa 13:02

Awesome.

Botox Dysport Daxxify Basics

Venessa 13:03

All right, let's talk about tox next. So tox being shorthand for Botox, which is like the the original, the OG. Um, I know there's a few different types, or maybe there's even more than I understand. Could you speak on what are the different types that are available? What are they used for generally? Yeah, so there's like a huge part of the populace. You know, my mother's generation in particular, never done it, never tried it. And um and so this is I think something that's really kind of unique to our generation, or maybe the first generation of women that are going to age very differently than our predecessors.

SPEAKER_00 13:40

So yes. Uh yes, the Botox, like you said, is the OG. Um, then we have Desport, um, which I'm a big fan of. Um then we have uh Daxify. He's the new kid on the block with a peptide um that makes it last longer and gives you a really nice glow. Um, there is Zeomen, and then uh the new kid on the block is a Letty Bo. And so I'm a big fan of Disport and Daxify. Um, for the reason being is I find that they act faster. And when I want it, I want it now. So I don't want to wait two full weeks for it to kick in. Um Zeomen, um they kind of target that they're cleaner because it doesn't have this unnecessary um I'm gonna forget the words to it. Yeah, but um from what I learned in dermatology is that honestly once we reconstitute it, it doesn't even matter, but it's a good selling point. Um, I could be wrong on that, but that's what I understand. Um, and then Letty Bo, like I said, just came in from Korea, South Korea, and I've played with a little bit, but I don't like it as much.

Venessa 14:50

Are all of the different talks uh formulations or brands are they made by independent pharmacies, or is it essentially different formulations, but they're all kind of made by the same pharmacy? And yeah, they're the labels are slapped on.

SPEAKER_00 15:03

Yeah, different manufacturers and slightly different. They're all this botulum A category, but they're slightly with little different concoctions.

Venessa 15:13

Okay, interesting. And for those that have never done it before, could you walk through what it's like to get um a tox injection the very first time?

SPEAKER_00 15:23

Yeah, um, well, in our office, we start with a full face assessment. And so I basically go through muscle movement um from glabella to forehead to crows to lower face, and we just I educate on um what each muscle does uh and how Botox really, and I say Botox generically, but um relaxes muscles and making sure that they understand that it doesn't get rid of wrinkles, it causes muscles not to contract so that the appearance of um the lines soften. Um if we do that a couple times and you still have these lines that bother you, then we talk about other modalities such as filler or other things that might help with that. So um, yeah, generally we go through a first um an initial assessment, and then on our first appointment, I'm always very conservative because it's our first time together. And then I bring you back in two weeks and we reassess um your muscle movement and see if we want a little bit more. Um, and then I just always make sure that they are aware, though, that dosage um equals duration. And so on average, Botox is supposed to last three to four months, but if we do a little less, then it might not last as long. And there is no norm, everybody's so different.

Venessa 16:46

Um and based on lifestyle, right, and environment. Um obviously I I love my Botox listeners. That's my connection with Jody. Um, but I work out in a heated room seven days a week, and that expedites the metabolism of the tox. And so, in and let's chat a little bit real briefly about that dance between building resistance to the tox and and the duration, right? Like you said, um, dosage equals what did you say, dose duration. And so if you have, if you have a lifestyle, you know, where you're aggressively sweating and clearing things through your pores for someone like me, it's not gonna last as long. Yep. However, I make a conscious decision to try to stretch those treatments as long as possible because the more often I go in there, the less response I'm gonna get. Right. Am I understanding that right? Okay.

SPEAKER_00 17:42

Yep. And we will always recommend that you wait at least 90 days in between treatments. Um, there's a great uh image that I need to get printed out here because people think that it lasts three months, but really it's like kicking in the first two weeks, and then it looks really good for like six weeks. So now we're at two months, and then really that last month it's declining. Yeah. Um, and so what we want to wait that 90 days, even though you might still have muscle movement coming back. Um, I've also heard that sometimes switching it up, so like getting discord, discord, discord, and then throwing in a Daxify so that your body doesn't build that tolerance. Yeah. I've heard that can help too.

Venessa 18:24

Yeah, this is why Jody's great, guys. Uh

Filler Sculptra Microneedling Strategy

Venessa 18:28

let's talk about filler. That seems like a great segue. So yeah, tried the talks. You know, maybe I'm somebody that waited a long time. I have some really deep set wrinkles in my face as I age, which is natural, guys. Like we're not we're not trying not to age here. We just want to sit gracefully and feel comfortable in our bodies while we do that. Yes. So now I've got these wrinkles. I tried talks. I've essentially kind of slowed or almost halted the progression of new wrinkles forming from the deep holding patterns of the muscles, you know, my frown lines or my titties are stressing me out again, or my husband didn't get something right and going on, right? Whatever that might be. It's still there. Yes. Filler? Is that kind of the next category we want to take?

SPEAKER_00 19:11

It can be. I would say that um filler is the last tool in my toolbox. Um, and and I feel like the older I get, the more demanding I get with um, I had I argued, not argued, but I had to educate somebody a couple of weeks ago for a half hour why I was not gonna put filler in your face.

SPEAKER_01 19:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:31

Um, and it really starts with um you need to be on medical grade skincare. Like if you're not even gonna do that, I tell people it's like going to the dentist um twice a year and not flossing and brushing. Like it starts with you at home. And so you're investing in all of these treatments, and so now I'm yeah, becoming a little bit more demanding. Um, or you know, I get pretty much a fifth of a teaspoon for let's say $750. And I'm supposed to make magic happen. Um and so what I am now recommending is that you know, you do your microneedling, which we'll talk about, um coming up with radio frequency, which helps tighten. We're gonna do your IPL because we need to get rid of the pigmentation and really have that canvas set. Um, and we're of course we're gonna do our talks, and then really everybody needs sculpture. And so that's why um you briefly mentioned that I am now, especially going into 2026, um, focusing on our treatment plants. And you know, people will come to me and it's like, I need a year, I need a year to do all the things because nothing is one and done. And if you really understand the aging process and what's going on, it's happening at all these different layers in the skin too.

Venessa 20:46

And I feel that that is a financially responsible as well as medically ethical, right? But in there's there's always this weird, it's it's a challenge to maintain ethics in for-profit industries. I I know that intimately with veterinary medicine and I met and I've seen it in certain healthcare circles. But you know, it is important to be like, no, like look at the bigger picture. If this is where you want to be in a year, better that we have a structured plan to get there than you're just throwing money at things out of order that don't make sense. Like, right? I I actually think that that is a wonderful idea. And I wish that there were maybe more clinics that were doing that. I've been around to a few of them, and I don't, you know, a lot of them are just happy to give you whatever, walk in, take your money, okay, sure. And then you're back three months later, like, well, how come this didn't get fixed? Or it's totally back where I started.

SPEAKER_00 21:37

Or a lot of people just want lips, and it's like, no, actually, lips is like the last thing I think.

Venessa 21:43

You should be doing right.

SPEAKER_00 21:44

Yeah, it's just like we got to build the structure, and that's like the icing on the cake to me.

Venessa 21:49

And I imagine social this is a tangent, but I'm sure social media in general doesn't help it, you know, propagates these ideas of like this is what it looks like when you have your lips done. And all I did was my lips, and now my whole face magically looks 20 years younger. Totally. That's a filter.

unknown 22:06

Yes. Yes.

Venessa 22:07

Yes. Um, so of the different types of fillers, because I know that there's many. What when you get to that point with a client, yeah, what is your preferred one? And what does that look like in the session with you?

SPEAKER_00 22:20

Great question. So I'm obsessed uh with the RH collection, and it's pretty much I did a Restalin uh hands today, actually, but um RHA. It's uh by Revance is the company, and they do they have four different ones. Yeah, I say I have my RHA four, which is like the quarterback, and he helps, you know, build structure. And then I have my redensity, which is like it's like honey. You know, I can do an upper lip and you wouldn't even see it. Um, but it has changed the ball game. And it actually, for the first time in my life, I like filler. Um, or if I'm going to like filler, it's really the ideal one for me. You can place it superficially, um, and it moves with dynamic smiling. So it's not, you know, some people think filler and it's like I got this, these fish lips and these big cheeks. And yeah, but here it's just like it just moves with their dynamic smiling. So I'm obsessed with it.

Venessa 23:18

Oh, great. All right, let's chat about skin tightening. Is this sculptra?

SPEAKER_00 23:25

Um, so sculptra, I I plan to be the queen of sculpture here in Santa Cruz.

Venessa 23:31

Okay, what is sculpture? I've never done it.

SPEAKER_00 23:33

Yeah, great question. So um it is a polylactic acid. It's an injectable. Okay, it's mainly meant for uh the temples and then pre-auricular, some down here, marionette. You may not inject it around the lips or the eyes. Um, but really it's like inducing collagen. It's like throwing the the grass for the or the seeds for the grass to grow for your collagen. Okay. So basically, so I inject in these areas this polylactic acid, your body says, Oh my gosh, I'm injured. What is this foreign subject in my body? And then over the next six weeks, um, your body induces collagen, and then your um the collagen is excrete. I'm sorry, the polylactic acid is excreted and the collagen replaces where the polylactic acid was, if that makes sense.

Venessa 24:24

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're stimulating an immune response on that level in the face.

SPEAKER_00 24:29

Exactly. And so generally we'll start with like two vials um and then come back in six weeks, most likely gonna do another one. And then it you may need up to one vial per decade of your life. Um, and that's just there is no norm, right? Everybody presents so differently, but I'd like to tell people, you know, that, and hopefully they don't, but um, I'm all about realistic expectations. Um, and then it's like once a year, you just need one, so it's an investment up front, but everybody over 35, in my opinion, um, okay, should make that investment.

Venessa 25:07

Yeah. And have you done it on yourself? You've done it of course. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 25:11

It's probably been I'm due. I'm due. This is why I have two new nurses, and I'm training them so they can do certain things on me that I can't do on myself.

Venessa 25:20

There you go.

SPEAKER_00 25:21

Yeah, it's been a good five years or so. I'm I'm due.

Venessa 25:24

I was gonna say a vial every 10 years sounds like a screaming deal to me, but not not every 10, every year. Oh, a vial once a year. Okay, got it.

SPEAKER_00 25:33

All right, that also seems pretty good considering after you do that initial investment up front, yeah, where you do the three or four or five or whatever, yeah, then once a year. And people love it.

Venessa 25:43

Is this in the category of microneedling or is this skin tightening? It is not.

SPEAKER_00 25:47

Um yeah, it'd be more just collagen-inducing. Um skin tightening, you know, radio frequency helps tighten. Um, maybe some ultrasound helps tighten, but there's just nothing like surgery. Yeah. And, you know, I um so yeah, kind of going into the microneedling or skin tightening.

Venessa 26:09

Let's chat about that.

SPEAKER_00 26:10

Yeah. Um, so we have our microneedling device, um, which has radio frequency. And so the micro needles themselves, um, it's not just like a little pen, it's a big bad boy on steroids.

SPEAKER_01 26:21

Oh boy.

SPEAKER_00 26:22

And I um basically program what depth to go to and how much energy to be delivered, which is the tightening aspect of it. So it's going down, let's say two millimeters deep, or however I program it, and it's causing these micro injuries. Your body's saying, Oh my gosh, I'm injured, let me induce collagen. And then at the same time, it's tightening at each one of those levels. So I'm deep. Yep. Okay exactly. So I go deep, then middermis, and then superficial. Um, and you get improvement 100%. Um, I think what has taken it to another um level for me as far as end results or my exosomes um that I infuse in after. That's what I was gonna ask.

Venessa 27:06

If there was anything during the process that was being infused, or do you do the microneedling and then you put something on the face with all of the openness that you've created? Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 27:16

Now you're this open wound. Yeah. And I used to like make my own concoction of vitamin C and glutathione and CBD and B12, and that was good. But now these exosomes, which are like stem cells, and they love injury and inflammation and repair. And so they get so excited when they have this inflammation. And so I infuse five billion of them and they go get to work, and they for about six weeks, they're down in there because they have these channels that they've outright delivered deeper into the dermis. Um, and then we throw on this CO2 mask that it's a carboxy treatment, and it pushes all the exosomes deeper into the dermis and it hydrates um and oxygenates the tissues. And it's one of my favorite treatments right now. Yeah.

Venessa 28:06

I'm like, that sounds amazing. Nummy. What about what are your thoughts on some of the home microneedling kits that you see all over the internet right now?

SPEAKER_00 28:17

I think there are uh I think that any injury can help cause a little collagen induction. Um, so you want to get a little derma roller or something, if you use it as directed. Yeah, whatever that looks like, you know, it's every two weeks on a Friday night. You do it, nobody's gonna do it. And so therefore, it's a waste of your time and your money, and it's gonna sit in your drawer. Um, but could it do a little something? Sure, but you write it's not a it's a waste of time.

Venessa 28:51

Yeah, I know that there's there's a lot of them right now that are out there that market different infusion serums and you know, before and after, and um yeah, but it doesn't have that radio frequency element that you have.

SPEAKER_00 29:04

Yeah, it doesn't have that in the yeah, and I kind of take that back. I mean, those little things that you fill with some serum, they could give you a nice little glow, you know?

Venessa 29:15

Yeah, if you do it, yeah, but it is a lot to poke your face over and over again.

SPEAKER_00 29:20

Yeah, and those of us are so busy and we wouldn't really gonna do it.

Venessa 29:25

It could be for a before like once in a while. It it would be hard. All right, let's chat about peptide therapy. I'm

Peptides And IV Wellness Therapy

Venessa 29:36

excited to because I know that there are so many things that are out there. Where should we start?

SPEAKER_00 29:45

We I mean, yeah, where should we start? So we've been doing peptides for a couple of years now, um, mostly injectables. Um, it all started during COVID, actually. For me, I was going to Bewell IV and spending a lot of money on the vitamins and peptides and IVs myself. And um, spoke with uh Dr. Gilbert and was like, man, we need to bring this in our practice. And um, and now it's so fun to be a part of people's journeys um on the results, whether it be a peptide IV infusion. I think half of the time people just feel better, honestly, because they're dehydrated. Right. And just the hydration alone, they feel better.

Venessa 30:27

But um maybe that would be a great place to start if I can just interject real quick. Let's start with the IV options, like an actual IV infusion, and then talk about the injectables, um, the vitamins and the peptides and the different combinations that you can do. So what I love it. Um IV infused.

SPEAKER_00 30:49

Yes. So we start with the Myers cocktail. And I like to say the Myers cocktail is like pulling up to get premium gas. So you're gonna fill up your tank and you're gonna get all the vitamin Bs and C's and magnesium and calcium, and you're gonna feel amazing. Um, and then I say, belly up to the bar and tell me your ailment, and I'll give you up to three shots. So uh, you know, do you want to work on immunity? Do you need energy? Do you know what's do you have an injury? Do you want help with rest and recovery? And then we can recommend um some of the peptides or vitamins. Um and yeah, we have these nutritional gaps, I've you know, I find. So let's say, for instance, um, you know, you're coming in every month um or every other week for Myers, and then it's once a month. Um, everyone's so different, it kind of depends. But um then you can add on, like I said, you can if you wanted to work on immunity, we can do a glutathione push or for to cleanse your liver. Um yeah, there are just so many my favorites. I have peptides.

Venessa 32:09

Yeah, there's a million different ones. So it sounds like the infusion with the IV is kind of um an all-purpose. It's got all of these different things. Do clients have to do, or patients rather, do they need to have any kind of blood work beforehand done?

SPEAKER_00 32:23

Yeah, great question. Okay. Um, so you speak with one of our nurse practitioners prior to treatment, and they go through a series of questions to make sure that you are a good candidate for treatment, which most people are. Um, and then we go from there. Um, so you do not need blood work for the IV vitamin infusions. Um, we do offer the GLP ones with the weight loss, and that you do have to have um lab work within the last like six months, yes.

Venessa 32:48

Yeah. Okay, great. So nothing needed just for the feel-good cocktail. It's gonna fill all of those gaps that might be present. Let's talk about some of the specific vitamin injections. I I've personally, I know I've I'm a big fan of the immunity one.

SPEAKER_00 33:04

Yeah.

Venessa 33:04

Um, can you tell me what's in your cocktail that you use? And you don't have to give dosages or anything to keep all your proprietary stuff. But yeah, no, the vitamin C and what else? Glutathione. Okay. And for those that don't know how glutathione works or what it is, could you explain that?

SPEAKER_00 33:20

Man, well, uh, I mean, it's helping cleanse the liver, and um, but no, I don't know exactly how it works.

Venessa 33:29

That's okay. I'm pretty sure that it's a it's a liver detoxifier because the liver is what metabolizes everything. Uh so you've got vitamin C and you've got glutathione. Is there anything else in the immune one?

SPEAKER_00 33:43

If there is, that's there like a little, there's not much of it in there. I think there are a couple of little ingredients, but those are the those are the go-to's. And pretty much like you've experienced, I think, too, is that you feel a little scratch in your throat and you take a shot and the next day it's gone. That's pretty amazing.

Venessa 34:00

With a toddler and two teens, I have definitely used the vitamin N or the immune, the immunity um vitamin injection when I felt like I was about to get sick and I didn't. It's several, yeah. Um, I know you have vitamin B. You have like a vitamin B complex. And generally speaking, what does that do for support?

SPEAKER_00 34:20

Yep. Usually we'll use that to just uh increase energy. Uh you sleep better. It also helps support your immune system. Um, good to reduce stress. Those would be kind of the main ones.

Venessa 34:33

The main ones. Okay. Um, anything else in the vitamin world before we talk about GLP1s and other ways to support like medical grade weight loss?

SPEAKER_00 34:42

Um, well, we have like a slim shot where we will add this MIC, but those really the C's and the and the Bs, the glutathione, those would be the the main um ones that we use. We have an AL ALA, nothing worth talking about. Okay, that are as good as those.

Venessa 34:59

Yeah, yeah. And then um because I am just personally coming off of uh a pretty significant hamstring injury, you and I were talking about I can't re something with a 70. Okay, what is that and how does it work?

SPEAKER_00 35:17

It is my one of my go-tos. I'm on it now. You do have to cycle on a lot of these peptides. Um, it's amazing for gut health, it's great for decreasing inflammation, it's great for injury recovery, um, increasing blood flow to an injury to help um repair. It's just all around.

Venessa 35:37

Yeah, this the research I did on it said that it was it's literally BPC stands for like body protective compound or something crazy like that. Yeah, and that the more locally it is injected to the source of injury, yeah, that it stimulates the body to rebuild. Okay. So vascularity increases, we're gonna get more white blood cells to that area and get a heightened immune response to try to build back whatever is broken.

SPEAKER_00 36:03

And it really works. I mean, I probably last year this time, I couldn't even walk up our stairs here at work.

SPEAKER_01 36:09

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_00 36:10

And I would say I'm like 85 to 90 percent better. I'm definitely not having surgery anymore.

Venessa 36:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:17

Um, that's amazing.

Venessa 36:18

Can do you mind sharing what part of the body you were on my meniscus. Oh, okay, on one of your knees.

SPEAKER_00 36:24

Yep, yep. So it would just go right to the area. Um, my 18-year-old son had a uh torn labrum. Uh he's not having surgery anymore. Uh, it's pretty amazing.

Venessa 36:36

And you're not injecting into the joint, right? With those things. You're just in the local area. Yep. Okay, I was gonna say because joint and sterility injections, that's on the case. Yeah, you might need to go see a doctor for that. You might need to go into an OR for that one. Yes, yes. Okay. Um, so we've got what else do we

GLP-1 Weight Loss And NAD Plus

Venessa 36:54

have? Let's talk about uh GOP1s. Huge, huge following on those these days. Um no longer just for the those that that struggle with like um genetic reasons for needing to be on it, whether that's blood sugar issues or weight issues. But um, what do you offer and what have you seen it do for patients?

SPEAKER_00 37:20

It has been life-changing and it again, it's been so fun to be a part of people's processes. Um and it's the best thing ever since penicillin.

Venessa 37:34

Sliced bread, since sliced white bread, apparently. So we're gonna get our glucose way out.

SPEAKER_00 37:40

Yeah, so many people. Um, and you know, I have everyone from losing 70 pounds to 30 pounds to that last 10 pounds that you just couldn't get rid of because now I got hormones and even those, yeah, which actually, as I say that, if your hormones aren't regulated, then don't even waste your time getting on the GLP ones because you need to address that first.

Venessa 38:03

But um is that one of the things that your um clinician looks at in the blood panel? Do you check hormones before someone goes on a GLP one?

SPEAKER_00 38:11

We we do, but we do not um follow them for it. I refer out to have them look at their hormones, but we do look at them, yeah.

Venessa 38:18

Okay. And are there any particular hormones that come to mind that it's like if these are not playing well in the sandbox, we're not even gonna proceed with a GLP one? And what would those be?

SPEAKER_00 38:28

Yeah, I am just a nurse that follows orders. So that's true.

Venessa 38:33

Well, as soon as you're the nurse practitioner, we'll get to know the answer to that question.

SPEAKER_00 38:39

That's why I'm back in school. Exactly. I love it.

Venessa 38:42

Well, okay, but that's good to know because I don't think you know, and every you can literally get a GLP one off the internet. You don't have to really be screened by anybody.

SPEAKER_00 38:49

It's a little scary.

Venessa 38:50

It is, it is. Um, and so it I've never heard anybody say, Oh, well, like look, you need to look at these this whole hormone panel before as well. So I'd be really curious to see what's tied into that.

SPEAKER_00 39:02

It's not required, but as we are ordering blood work, it's a little add on why not, just so again they can take their next steps and go get that.

Venessa 39:11

Right, like why not look at that? Because, like you're saying, if you're estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, whatever, it's not where it should be. You're essentially fighting an uphill battle, right? So you're gonna cut your satiety symptoms, but it's like putting a band-aid on something that's just gonna keep coming back.

SPEAKER_00 39:27

Exactly.

Venessa 39:28

I I completely understand that. Um, so for GLP1s, used to be mainly just for people that needed to lose a large amount of weight, needed to get blood sugar under control, they were at risk of being long-term diabetics. Now I'm hearing more long-term studies on blood sugar regulation. And um, is there something else I'm missing?

SPEAKER_00 39:50

I know that there are like a million reasons why I will never get off. Yeah. In in a micro dosing state, um, they are finding that there's so many other um health benefits. The list is so long. I mean, it and there's peer journals that have been are coming out, and you know, decrease in Alzheimer's and dementia, decrease in 13 different cancers related to diabetes, um, decrease in um sleep apnea. Like the list of things.

Venessa 40:21

I think I read something about a tie-in to depression as well. Like this seems to be like a a miracle peptide for a lot of people.

SPEAKER_00 40:27

It really is a lot, and it's been out forever. Um, again, the I have so many, not so many, but I have a handful of people that will get to their desired weight. We stay there for another month and wean them off and down. Um, and they just don't feel as good when they get off of it because the bloating, the inflammation, there's high end lows, right?

Venessa 40:48

Of the blood sugar. I mean, that part alone, that's that's huge for a lot of people. You don't realize how much you're impacted by your glucose levels.

SPEAKER_01 40:56

Yeah.

Venessa 40:56

Um, and and the body's natural processing of, you know, you you eat something, there's sugar, the pancreas releases insulin, drive the blood sugar into the cells and try to, you know, like try to process it. And then you just have this wave you're writing, you feel good, you feel bad, you feel good, you feel extra bad. Like to just kind of be static helps everything feel more calm, right?

SPEAKER_00 41:18

So, yeah, people are just able to like listen to their bodies a little bit more, um, you know, to help with the food chatter and decrease the cravings. And um, yeah, I think it's the best thing ever. Last one that comes to mind.

Venessa 41:33

Yes, NAD plus.

SPEAKER_00 41:35

Yes, yes, you know my story. I'll give you my spiel. You've probably heard it's okay five times.

Venessa 41:42

Tell it, tell it to our listeners. Because if you again, another very popular compound, you can find it pretty much anywhere, been around for a long time, lots of different variants. Um, best route of absorption, hands down, is going to be injectable. Um, so what does it what does it do generally? Like how do people feel when they take it and why do they need it?

SPEAKER_00 42:01

Yes. Um, so NAD is something that our cells naturally um need in order to function, but decrease with age, just like everything else.

SPEAKER_01 42:11

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 42:11

And um, I like the image of uh your of the headlamp to your car being like your cell. And it gets mucky from all the things. And so when I push the NAD um subcutaneously, usually in the abdomen, it kind of washes um that that headlamp clean of all the debris. Yeah, and now you can your um cells can receive their signals better. Yeah, and so you just feel a little bit more clarity, um, more energized, and it is a real thing. Yeah, it is.

Venessa 42:50

I love it.

SPEAKER_00 42:51

Yeah, it's a little addicting really because you feel so amazing on it.

Venessa 42:56

And I I did notice in my own personal experience when when I would be far out from having supplemented with it, I'm like, man, I'm just really tired all the time. I can't figure out why.

unknown 43:10

Yeah.

Venessa 43:11

So big fan of NAD plus. All right, I've got just a few more questions for you. I know we it's I knew this conversation would go fast. So many things. People are going to love all of this wisdom you are dropping on us here and all the different things that we can do. Um, all righty. So we chatted about many of the services. I would love to know right at this moment, of all the things we've talked about, what is your favorite treatment at this moment and why? If you could only pick one.

SPEAKER_00 43:42

My favorite treatment right now is my microneedling device with radio frequency top 25 billion exosomes and VCO2 masks.

Venessa 43:51

This is Sculptra, right?

SPEAKER_00 43:53

Nope. It's my it's my yep, it's uh it's just again my microneedling device. Infuse those five billion exosomes, it's just been the exosomes took it to another um level. Um, I had one lady recently that came to me who had melasma, and we weren't even treating for melasma, and we were treating for tightening of the lower face. And after one treatment, she came back and like 70% of it was gone. It was crazy.

SPEAKER_01 44:23

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 44:23

And so to you know, I see those pictures in the brochures or what have you, but it's I don't believe anything until I see it anyhow. Um, most recently, we have started to implement um hair regrowth with the exosomes too. And so you do little micro channels. In fact, another case just about a month ago, um, we she has alopecia, which is the she's losing her hair and um Hershey's working with her doctors to try and figure out what's going on. I thought, uh, let me just do a little micro needling up here with your treatment, and then let me just spray a little exosomes on there because we're gonna start to offer this service. And normally the hair protocol is infused 10 billion exosomes just in the area. And I just sprayed right in the face is five billion, and I just sprayed it barely a little bit. And last Monday she came in and Shirley has little hairs growing. Oh my gosh. I know, oh, that's so exciting. They just really work. Um, you can actually off-label inject them into torn, um, just like a stem cell, inject them into injury too, because um, as I mentioned earlier, they love injury and inflammation and repair. And basically, wherever you put it, just like a stem cell, it it gets to work and does its job wherever you put it.

Venessa 45:40

Oh, it's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 45:41

So that would be my one favorite treatment. But side note, just internal wellness is my more passion right now, which, like you mentioned in my intro, is why I've gone back to school. And I really want to be able to get into your gut and your hormones and make you feel good because uh, you know, you can look good, but if we don't feel good, then I just want to, yeah.

Venessa 46:06

It's an inside job, right? It all starts there, and so much of what we experience. Um, this is an interesting tie-in, right? There's all of these um physiologic receptors in the gut that tie into our mental health as well. You know, so every we're just it's functional medicine essentially. This is like functional medical aesthetics, is what you're describing.

SPEAKER_00 46:28

Yep.

Venessa 46:29

Is how does how do we treat the body as a whole organism? Yes, versus just looking superficially. We can treat the face superficially.

SPEAKER_00 46:36

Yes.

Venessa 46:37

We could treat any part of the body on the surface level, totally. But if we don't understand what's happening on the inside, yep, those results are transient and like that band-aid analogy again, it's not addressing the root cause of what's happening. Exactly. And we all age, and the point here is not not to not age or to pretend that that's not a thing, but can we age in our bodies comfortably and gracefully? Like we don't have to suffer. And I think that that is huge. And speaking of aging, my next two questions sort of tie into each other, they're age related. The first question I thought is how young is too young to start doing some of these. And then I thought there's a better way to phrase that. What is the beginning we or what is the the treatment option to begin with at what age? And why would you recommend that? And let's start with that as the first part of the question.

SPEAKER_00 47:28

Yeah, I would say 21. Um for me, you know, I have a couple of younger girls that have excessive sweating um that do it for um, I don't have many 21-year-olds coming in for Botox and the glabella or anything.

SPEAKER_01 47:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:44

And honestly, I don't even do their lip filler. I send them to another injector because ethically it's just not my thing.

Venessa 47:53

Yeah. Um but 21 for injections. 21. And then let's say someone waited until they're way on in life. Um, and now they're like, well, for whatever reason, I woke up today and I'm just gonna throw an arbitrary number out there. My 70s, and I'm like, I can't deal with this space anymore. Like, I don't know why I didn't deal with it now, or up until this point, I did nothing to take care of myself. But today is the day I'm gonna make right on seven decades of neglect.

SPEAKER_00 48:24

What do you recommend? What do you tell them? Then I always pick between either my IPL or my microneedling device, and I base it upon if pigmentation is an issue or if tightening is an issue. And so we'll start with a series of those. Um, then we'll throw in some, you know, it's probably one of my chemical peel series um to just help with the overall health and texture and tone and tightening.

SPEAKER_01 48:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:48

Um and a little tox, always a little tox. Always, always a little tox.

Venessa 48:53

And again, this really does go back to the fact that we're not trying to erase the age. It's just like, let somebody feel good.

SPEAKER_00 49:00

Let them exactly to feel like the more well-rested version of yourself. Um, and I think one of my slogans is yes, I want my injectables to be undetectable, not who does your work. You know, I want them already to look just like you, just a little refreshed.

Venessa 49:19

Yeah, like you just like you actually got a full night of sleep and had all of the nutrients your body needed. And okay, just a few more. Um, I wanted to ask a little bit more on a personal level for you, in your personal experience with medical aesthetics, uh, how does that play into your personal life of balancing body, mind, and spirit? And we've we've obviously talked about this a few times now throughout this conversation, but what does that look like for for you, for Jody in your personal life?

SPEAKER_00 49:52

Um what what do you mean exactly?

Venessa 49:55

Like how has using medical aesthetics help you feel more balanced in areas not related to medical aesthetics in your personal life?

SPEAKER_00 50:07

Yes, I think that um I think that it's hard. I think I'm answering your question. It's hard as an aging woman um to like we want to feel good about ourselves, you know. And so um I like I love Botox, it just makes me feel better. Um, and I love all the modalities. And even though men might say, like, honey, you don't need it, you look good, but I'm doing it for me because it again, it's kind of it's hard as an aging woman um with the changes that are happening along with the hormones and the laxicity in your body. And um so I love to have these tools in my tool um box to help me feel better about myself.

Venessa 50:52

Yeah. And I love that you say too that this is this is your decision to do these things for yourself, not not for some outward validation or approval, but it's like I I can do this because it makes me feel good. Yeah, I have the right to wake up feeling like a million bucks every day. And if this helps me feel like a million bucks, then I'm gonna do it. Yeah, I love that.

Vetting Providers And Closing

Venessa 51:15

Okay, so last thing in closing, the second season, when it airs in the beginning of February, is all about choices that we can each make day to day to optimize our life experiences. If you were to choose one takeaway from our conversation, and I know we covered a lot of ground, what would you recommend to listeners as the key point and why?

SPEAKER_00 51:43

Wow, that's a big question.

Venessa 51:46

Of course, it's the finale question. That's I can make a slunch.

SPEAKER_00 51:50

I can go so many ways with that. Um but from a woman community member here, um, to wow, I don't even know where to go with that. Well, you could choose a couple if you need to. Yeah, a key point. You you're you're you're uh what's the right word?

Venessa 52:15

I got you stumped here because there was a lot we talked about. All the different treatment options, yeah. All of the peptide therapies, all of the ways that we can kind of treat our body as a functional whole organism.

SPEAKER_00 52:34

I don't think we really talked about it, but really um doing your own research on finding an educated provider.

Venessa 52:42

Oh, that's a great answer, Jody. Okay, let's say that again. So, guys, if you're to take away one key thing from this conversation, and this is sort of the sequelae or the things that follow, it's clear that Jody is very knowledgeable and she's invested in the patients that come and see her. And so on that note, Jodi, what would the takeaway be for you?

SPEAKER_00 53:05

Yes, to do your research on the provider that you're going to choose to, you know, do your treatments, whether it be um a filler treatment, like have they taken a cadaver course and do they know anatomy? Because when you inject filler, you can cause blindness and there's so many, you know, with the lasers, you don't want a discount on your face or your body or your whatever. And so, yeah, don't get the group on Botox and uh ask your, you know, do your research on your provider because I know a handful of them that aren't aware of um just the basic knowledge of, and I am obsessed. Um, and I will recommend so many practitioners in the area that are amazing here. Um, and I love yeah, community over competition. I think that um yeah.

Venessa 53:55

Is there a directory or anything of people that have done um the the extra work to really educate?

SPEAKER_00 54:05

Great question. So I am a part of so many different groups of practitioners. Um one of the that just not I don't think that you can look at online, but for myself in particular, we have this group that we've all trained under, and we are all on this list. So if I have a you know patient that moves to New York, I can go to them and be like, okay, I know that you trained with so and so, and we can recommend you kind of a thing. But no, I think you have to just do your own research and ask questions, you know, it's yeah, your body and yeah.

Venessa 54:36

This community, the the squats and seances podcast community is community of the gritty, and it highly embrace the idea of asking questions. Don't just settle for something because somebody says that's what it should be. Yeah, do your research, don't be afraid to ask those hard questions. I really love that answer. So, in closing, where can people find more about your services, your medical practice, and how do they reach you? What's the best place?

SPEAKER_00 55:05

Uh, we are at beautyloungemed.com. Um, and we're here in Aptos Village in Santa Cruz, California. And we have big things coming for the new year. I am so excited. We're actually getting ready to rebrand um and all things wellness. And um, like I said, our little team is growing, and I'm and I feel so lucky and grateful to be doing what I love to do every day. And I'm obsessed. It's awesome. It shows.

Venessa 55:35

Well, thank you, Jody. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and all of the information that you've provided for listeners. I'll include links in the show notes for um getting access to to your clinic and where to find you, and we'll connect on social media and all the things. Uh, it sounds like we may be operating under a new brand in 2026, but we'll make sure it's all linked.

SPEAKER_00 55:56

Yes.

Venessa 55:57

So thank you again so incredibly much.

SPEAKER_00 55:59

We really thank you so much. Thank you so much.