Stop Buying, Start Learning | The Real Secret to Better Skin

Cheap skincare isn't always a deal — and expensive doesn't always mean better. Kim Laudati and Angel break down how to actually spend your money wisely when it comes to your skin. Cut through the noise around social media skincare products, miracle creams, and influencer-driven recommendations — and make the case for something that costs nothing: education. So if your bathroom shelf is full of products that promised everything and delivered nothing — start here.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hey Kim, how are you?

SPEAKER_01 0:03

Great, great to see you, Angel.

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Alright, so Melanie and Monica were discussing chasing the better deal. And they had a lot to say about it. And I wanted to know, what do you think about finding something that is a lot cheaper for a service that normally does cost a lot more? Like, should someone be weary of that? If so, why?

SPEAKER_01 0:21

Well, you know, I haven't been a skincare provider my whole life. I've been on the other side of the camera. I've been obviously someone on a budget that's been chasing the best I could afford at the time. But all those years ago, from when I was a preteen, a teenager, my early 20s, etc., to fast forward to now, all these years later, it's still the same problem. There are so many BS ads, and we're bombarded with all of this miracle, this and that. And how you're like, how are you supposed to even figure it out? So I I feel like in our in my side of the profession now, considering that we get so much bombardment on a daily basis, every single second of every day when you go online between your social and what you can Google and what you can AI, it's like ridiculous that there's not more specific guidance. I feel like it's more complicated and more upsetting now than it was from when I was in my, like I said, preteens, teens, in my early 20s.

SPEAKER_00 1:22

Like for example, on TikTok, a lot of people I know go to TikTok for their skincare regimen or what products to get. Right. Based on an influencer and not actually a dermatologist or, you know, an aesthetician.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

Absolutely. And then there's also a problem when the advice is coming from a professional, but you don't look up the credentials of that professional. So it might be like my piece, right? Like what gets my gears grinding is the skin expert that has zero education other than then what they're reading online because they want the views, they want to go viral, and that's and they're getting paid to run ads because they've built up a following. So those are always red flags number one. Red flag number two to me is the professional licensed fill-in-the-blank, whether it's a doctor or a nurse or a nurse injector or what have you, speaking on skincare products and skincare treatments that they literally know nothing about, especially when it's paid advertising. What you're hearing, what you're seeing from us is actually it's just raw, real material. We're talking organic, we're talking that we're showing off our education that we invest in constantly. You know, we're here grinding our education every single day, literally. I used to be an avid reader. I could rip through a 500-page book in a day, easily. The only thing I've read for years is trade because there's too much information now. So if we don't keep up, how are we gonna help you to keep up? Right.

SPEAKER_00 2:47

And a lot of people that are giving out this information, they're not even doing the research, they're just actually regurgitating what the next person said. And it's just over and over again. So even if it's misinformation, it almost seems like it's true because this doctor said it, this influencer said it, and then that's where we go downhill from there.

SPEAKER_01 3:03

Right, exactly. Quite often I see with these social media influencers that are medical professionals, is that um I'll see a post or a story where they're like, I'm against filler, but then you go three stories forward on their page and they're like, Come and get filler from me. And it's just it's so contrary. It's just it's ridiculous how contraindicative this is for any kind of decent advice for anybody, for even for a fellow professional, much less somebody that's out on the street. Like, how are you supposed to know what are you listening to?

SPEAKER_00 3:34

Sure. So then when it comes to, let's say, services and products, the price point. Now, is that something that should be highly considered when making the decision?

SPEAKER_01 3:43

Um, absolutely. We're not saying that cheap is bad, because again, I'm I'm like a blue-collar girl, right? I've always had to figure out the best that I could get, whether it's a treatment, a product, a car, food, whatever it is, um at in my within my budget. But there are some tips and tricks that I'm sure Monica and Melanie were sharing. Uh, one of my favorite pieces of advice is that you could go to a five-star anything and find something there that you can afford. So, for example, if you come to IT intelligent treatment or you're coming for a Soma cell treatment, you're going to get so much education wrapped into that base of whatever the basic treatment is that you can fit into your budget that you're like the efficacy of that treatment now has jettisoned forward by a hundred times. Because maybe you can't afford to come back for our top treatments, but you know why you can do things, you know why you can't do things, you know why your skin responds in certain ways, you've been educated on lifestyle and how that'll help your skin. This is like this a whole relationship that we get into.

SPEAKER_00 4:50

And then also when it comes to the more expensive things that maybe are promised at a lot cheaper value, you're not really getting that. Because a lot of times, if they're cutting the cost, right? Like, for example, like Botox and things like that, they're expensive things. Absolutely. So if they're charging very little, it could be maybe diluted, maybe expired, or something like that, right? That's always a risk.

SPEAKER_01 5:08

All of the above. And and any injector or cosmetic doctor that tells you that never happens, come on, man, really? Like seriously, yes, it does happen. Because the neurotoxin is still efficacious technically right before it expires. So when you see, especially an expensive office, having an out-of-the-blue blitz, you know they're trying to clear a product. Um, I quit being an employee in medical aesthetics or in aesthetics, period, because it was very common to be told as an employee, hey, listen, we have all these brand new products and they're gonna expire. I don't care if they're good for that patient's skin or not, sell it. This is our goal, this is what we're selling this week. I've been told that's my face. And I'm sorry, I just can't, that is not me. I can't live like that, I can't conduct business like that.

SPEAKER_00 5:56

And also another thing that you mentioned said even if it's not good for their face, especially with you do see a great deal, doesn't mean that you have to take it because it might not be right for your face, right?

SPEAKER_01 6:05

Absolutely. And don't be afraid to return products too. Just because um, you know, Amazon has a great return policy, no questions asked, uh, drug stores followed suit, um, big box stores followed suit after that. Everybody's being forced into this no questions asked, return. Um we are like that. And I mean we, the professional skincare and the wellness and the longevity clinics, we're also like that. Don't bring back a product that's empty and ask me for a refund because it didn't work for you. However, if you just opened a product and it's not for you, please bring it back and we're going to exchange that. We're gonna discover why, we're going to educate you on that, we're going to take notes and put them into your patient file. We're going this long route to true patient care. And we're in it with you. So this is a relationship. You know, my biggest problem is when I've had patients that have been with me once a month for literally 15 years, and they'll still say, Uh, did you see my text? I sent you this$25 ad for this cream. What do you think? And dude, I'm telling you, my my response every year to that product is the same response. If it worked, like they advertise this miracle in a jar for$20 or$5 or even$50, if it worked to that extent, you would only be able to get it on the black market. It would be worth millions of dollars per ounce. Like, we need to use our brains because we know that this is just a fantasy ad.

SPEAKER_00 7:37

It's TikTok, I'm telling you.

SPEAKER_01 7:38

Yeah, but we're right, but it's like we want it, right? We're getting brainwashed, yes. So we do get brainwashed into it, and even the most educated intellectual person can fall for it. So I'm not saying I fell for it. And we all have at some point or another, right? So I'm not saying you should be down on yourself, like, oh my god, I'm so stupid because I fell for that. But just be like, wow, that's exciting, and then pause for a second and think about it. What are they trying to tell you in that ad? And is does it really smack of truth? That's that's it. And if you're still confused, then research it.

SPEAKER_00 8:09

Yeah, so what about other people that are sometimes tempted to leave a place because they're offering the same services cheaper? Like, you know, sometimes people are like, Oh, I'm not seeing results anymore, or anything like that. Like, what could you explain to people like why they feel that way sometimes and they're thinking or one of our favorite types, the groupon jumpers, right?

SPEAKER_01 8:27

So they're with you for two or three, and then they go to the next group and the next coupon. But then at the end of a year, like we personally have never had a big problem with that with it when it comes to our patients and retaining patients, because patients understand we're working with your budget and your skin, and your daily skin changes, and your lifestyle, and your nutrition. Like, we're we're really in a relationship with you. So when you're jumping around chasing a bargain here, there, and everywhere, you're you don't have a relationship with anybody. So literally it's like sex, it's like sleeping around, right? So you can have unprotected sex with a whole lot of people, but it doesn't always end well, does it? And here's the same, it's the same exact thing, you know, like people go out and they want to try a bargain and they and then they come, they skulk back here with their funk, and they're like, please can you help me? And we excel at fixing those boxes botches. So we're not gonna embarrass you, we're not gonna berate you, we're gonna be very sad, and it's gonna be expensive usually, unfortunately, to fix those botches. So we go back into that relationship with you, even though you cheated on us.

SPEAKER_00 9:33

Yes, your skin care is not a wham bam thank you, ma'am. It's a journey. Remember that.

SPEAKER_01 9:37

Yes, exactly. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 9:38

There you go.