The Internet's Favorite Dermatologist Shares Her Secrets (w/ Dr. Idriss)

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Welcome back to Financial T. This is a podcast where I teach you how to build wealth with the side of market drama, money scandals, and of course, financial pop culture. And today we have my very own dermatologist, like this woman had a needle in my face about six days ago. And she's likely also your favorite Instagram follow, Dr. Cherine Edress. Thank you so much. And you are here to talk all things beauty and skincare. We need you, girl. So thank you for being here. All things beauty and skincare and how you can invest in yourself. Yes. Because you're obviously the investment queen. I know. And it's like, there's just so much here, say out there. I feel like every day there's a new product. I'm supposed to get a new treatment. And it's like a lot of noise. Yeah. I need to know, like, we, I need you to tell us and he, like, where do we put our money to actually keep looking good and not just fall for all these charlatans? All right. Let's jump into it. Okay. We'll cover everything. Thank you. We're going to be here for three days. Fine. Welcome to the pod. I always like to start with a few rapid fire questions. Okay. So what was your best and worst purchase of the week and how much should each cost? Ooh. Okay. So my best purchase of the week I did get a 20% discount. And so expensive was a, I bought it on today's Thursday. I bought it on Tuesday because my husband wanted to walk and it was really cold. It was this suede jacket with a little bit of, like, like, a shirling kind of fur on it. And it was 2,500, but I got it, I think, for, like, 2000. Ooh, from where? It was Allison Olivia because it's under my office. Oh, my God. And so I, as I left the office, you told me we were walking 60 blocks and I was like, let me get a coat. And I bought that one because I was like, if I'm going to buy a coat, let it be a coat that I'm going to wear over and over again. I love it. And the worst purchase of the week was, have I bought anything else? I don't really shop that much unless it's like Amazon's. Yeah. Unless it was, like, some stupid, oh, I know what it was. It was a stupid TikTok, like, skin care buy that's complete BS, but I just bought it. Even you thought for those? I bought it just to see. Oh, yeah. It was, like, the dogs from the locks that can something, I'm not even going to give them. Yeah. That's not what I was talking about. It was under eye cream that supposedly helps with discoloration, but it's, it's basically like a concealer. Oh, my gosh. Oh, it's a concealer. But it looks like it's under eye cream. And so it was a silly purchase. It was an impulse buy at like 1 a.m. Yeah. That's what I always have. Use Apple Pay, like Apple be paid. Apple Pay, do you think that? Yeah. You can go even out on Apple Pay. Okay. What is something that you spend a crazy amount of money on, but you swear by? What do I spend? Okay. So I have, as of mid August, it's definitely the, it's, it has a proven track record, but my trainer is very expensive. Oh. I spent money on this too. And I spend money on my trainer and I have decided I do not want to age weak like I want to age strong. Yeah. And so I now lift weights two to three times a week at a gym. Torrible. And I know, but I don't sweat with this trainer and he looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jason. So I'm too scared to like complain. Yeah. So I just do what I need to do when I get out. And I feel like this is what I finally started seeing changes in my body that I've never had a bicep. I'm showing everybody my bicep. You want to see? Yeah. I want to show you guys. Oh my god. I have a line. That's crazy. That's crazy. It was just like softness. So I'm very proud of myself. I'm proud of you too. Okay. So you have this huge social platform that you educate all of us on skincare and aesthetics and I, you're such a trusted voice on the internet. I feel like most people who are listening are familiar with you, but if someone's listening and they don't know you, can you just tell them sort of what you do? Yeah. Who are you? Who are you? I don't know. That's also figuring it out. 42 will say no. Like I told you that. It's actually the Jay Shetty podcast where we go deep. Oh my god. I'm going to start. I'm going to start. We're going to start. I'm going to start. Exactly. Okay. So I'm a 42 year old. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. I'm a 42 year old. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. So that you can really cut through all the bullshit and all the noise and I have a very low barometer for bullshit and I just want people to help themselves for whatever it's worth and so I'm on Instagram YouTube and to talk educating every week. And I also own my practice in New York City, Idris dermatology that I run and I also have a skincare brand called the Dr. Idris and I'm the CEO and founder of that where we are at every available support in the US and Canada. Oh, and by the way, if you subscribe to my YouTube and Dr. Idris's YouTube, then you will get entered into a giveaway to win one of her major fade systems, which are amazing, which is basically all you need to try to target discoloration in three simple steps. It's so good. Even before I saw you, I was using your products. I think they're so gentle, but also they work so well. So thank you. I mean, that's the goal. It's like I wanted them to be effective enough to really see a difference, but not fight your skin. So you want to give up. So I obviously post a lot about money online, but what's so interesting is that every time I cover skincare or like if I talk about how I am resistant to Botox, you guys, I'm not like being brave, I wish I didn't have these. I'm tried really hard, which we'll get into. So much engagement, and I think it's just because people see so much information online and have trouble sort of parsing what pay attention to what to ignore. So my goal from today's episode is to really have you as this expert voice to just cut through the noise and break down the beauty and skincare from a financial perspective. Because like girl, if I was buying all of these 400 creams that the influencers are shelling, I would be broke. We all would be. Yeah. And it's like, and even I like try and be careful about this can come out and I'm still like, I have too much. So we really need your help. So let's start with if you had $70 to build someone's starter routine, what would you buy? I mean, if I only had $70 to build a routine, the most important thing you have to ask yourself again is what is your biggest issue. And let's just assume that your biggest issue right now is just you need a routine for basic hygiene and moisture, right. I would get a cleanser, but I would use the cleanser only at night for the most part as long as your skin is healthy, happy and not inflamed and not oil acting prone. So I've heard this. So you're not supposed to watch the face in the morning. I wash my face with water and I cleanse at night. So I get the day off at night. So I get a cleanser. Number two, as we get older, our skin cells don't turn over as regularly. So it's important that we fully it a little bit more regularly. The older we get, especially post 40. So I would get a glycolic acid exfoliating acid because glycolic acid can also help hold on to hydration and in the long term help promote collagen production. Number three, I would invest in a moisturizer that fits my skin type for the environment that I'm in. So if I live somewhere very humid and I am, let's say a little bit oilier, I'd get something lighter like a gel moisturizer. If I'm very dry and I live in the middle of the desert, I would want something way thicker. And so your environment does dictate how your skin responds. So I would make sure that I get a moisturizer, the thickness based on my skin type and the environment and then obviously a sunscreen. So good. Okay, love. And where do you think that spending more on skincare actually improves the result? Like where are we paying for packaging or texture or the fantasy? Yeah, I mean, I think it's very hard to say that the more expensive a product is, the better it's going to be. So I don't think you can have that blanketed statement, but I do think that brands and companies that are really doing a lot of research and development clinical studies trying to get all of that information to back the products that you're getting. Especially products that are multi ingredient stories are going to just be a little bit naturally more expensive, but I think you want to look for brands that are really having like clinical studies backing their products. Are they referring to ingredients that are tried and true, at least if you're a novice, if it's something that is needed. knew that is like a buzzword, like a friendy ingredient, oftentimes the marketing is leading the science. Sandman sperm. X is all of that stuff. Like one thing one done in a clinic as an injection is very different than something applied topically to your skin. And so I don't fall for that noise, right? And I would much rather that you build a routine on tried and truths versus trends because a trend has not yet stood the test of time. So are there any expensive products that you could name that you're like, okay, those ones are actually really good and worth it? I think there are some. I think there are some, I think, for example, if you're looking at like growth factor serums, right? Skin Medica is a very expensive one. They're TNS serum, but they have years of like their data. It's granted their data to back it up. But it's there. Alastin is another company. I love Alastin. It also has a growth factor product. I think you have to understand what is that you're trying to buy. If it's a $300 hyaluronic acid serum, no. Absolutely not. Yeah, please. But don't even, if someone like brings it in my office, I'll take it and be like, I'm going to throw this, but I feel bad that you spend this money. But you know, I probably would toss it in the kitchen for them so that they can see the visual that they do not need to spend that money on that. But yeah, I think if you're looking for things that have more data behind it, like those, sure, those are more expensive, but why not? Okay, love that. And on the other hand, are there three drugstore products that you would recommend to patient? Yeah. I think once you have your routine, that is targeted. The universals that are always good to kind of plug and play is like Vaseline, as simple as it is. It is a, I have it basically in my bathroom, my kids' bathroom because if you have a nick, it can help. You don't need any support. If you are somebody who's very dry and you have your routine, but you want something extra, you can layer it on top. If you're having a skin reaction that you're reacting to something, stop everything and just use Vaseline almost as an occlusive to get your skin back into what it used to be. So that's an easy one. Number two, for people who have problematic skin, benzoyl peroxide wash, great, 12 bucks. You don't need to do more. And that will keep the bacteria at bay. And on the same sort of spectrum, keto con is all shampoo, and there's a lot of people have dandruff on their scalp, but they also have it on their face where they're constantly flaking right here or in their eyebrows. And so to be able to use that as a face wash is also very helpful to keep all that inflammation quiet. Okay. I love that. So are there certain things that you think you can absolutely get cheap, like a cleanser? Do you think like a cheap cleanser is totally fine, but then get the nicer lotion or we do not need to be spending 150 dollars on a cleanser. Find a cleanser that works for you because it's going to be the foundational step of your skin care team. Yeah. And it doesn't have to cost you more than like 15 to 50 bucks. Okay. And if you're someone with sensitive eyes, that's why I did my cleanse, right? But you can pick your own depending on what you need. Number two, I do not think you need a dedicated like single ingredient serum. I think this was a trend in 2021 when we were all becoming cosmetic, come and stuff. But I think it is time for us to evolve and I think multi ingredient stories that can do multiple things at once are the most beneficial. And when it comes to hydration, there's always going to be some element of hydration from the products that you're getting. So compound your products to really benefit your problem. And if you really need that extra hydration, layer it in at the end, but don't put the investment up front on just a hydrating serum because you're going to have glycerin and products. You're going to have hyaluronic acid products. You're going to have all of that in products. So I think those are probably the two biggest takeaways in terms of like how do you simplify your routine before like spending a lot of money. Okay. Great. So we don't have to spend money. I don't need to spend money also on face masks. Oh, yeah. Face masks are nice to have. I'm not talking about LED. I'm talking about the sheet mask. But nine out of 10 of my patients, at least from my experience and my interactions with them, they're not using these on a regular basis. No, it's before that. So why are we spending $200 on sheet masks that are being used maybe once every couple of whatever. I'd rather you spend the money on something you're getting much more consistently throughout the course of your life than every once in a while. And the eye masks drive me crazy too, where now the influencers are normalizing that you have to have a single use eye mask every day when you do your makeup. I'm like, in what world? In what world? Yeah. How long are you getting ready for? Yeah, exactly. You have to let it sit for so long. And then put it on for four minutes. I have literally like probably on a good day, eight minutes. I know. So that's a good thing when I get to sit down. Yeah. So I don't understand when like when versus to use the eye mask and they're so expensive all the big brands. All of them. And then you just toss them in the trash. What am I doing? Yeah. I feel like a good place to start though with your skincare advice, although we've jumped in, is to sort of break it down by age. So what I was thinking is that you could maybe give us general skincare advice for someone in their 20s, then someone in their 30s, and then in their 40s. And then we can talk about like how that advice sort of differs for each decade. Because like, do we need to get facelips in our 30s? No. We've got to do that. But we'll start there. Okay. So skincare advice in your 20s, I think you really want to shut down the noise and really not give it to peer pressure because you're going to see on social media, you need so many things. You do not. You're 20s. You're never going to be as good as that again. You're going to be a plump little chicken. I know. You're a plump chicken. Not for much longer than that. Enjoy the plumpness. Okay. Oh my gosh. And enjoy your little chicken state. Okay. And really protect what you have. I think that is the biggest thing about your 20s is getting into the habits of learning how to protect what you have and really developing a routine that is based on habits, whether it is washing your face, learning how to moisturize your face. So you're not overdoing it. Maybe starting to incorporate some kind of red annoyed because our collagen all starts to decline starting in our late 20s and using sunscreen, finding the sunscreen that you'll actually want to use, kiss many frogs and figure it out. In your 30s, it's really about being more proactive. If you're noticing things that are starting to become problematic, getting ahead. So for me in my 30s, I went through IVF. I had a lot of hormonal treatments. I also used to burn a lot as a kid because I used to be like, go sit in the sun, get some color. Go be healthy. I noticed a lot of discoloration, hyperpigmentation and then melasma. And so for me, my 30s was really about trying to figure out a routine to start to suppress that hyperpigmentation and that discoloration so that I'm not finding myself in my 40s trying to reverse all the damage. And so that's really was the foundational basis of my Dr. Idris major fade line because I used to be on a 12 step routine. And so for you in your 30s, it was redonculus. And it's documented in a Harper's Bazaar. Go to bed with me. Where I'm half-truths, once my kids started crawling, I was like, I can't do this. Yeah. Like zero time. And so that's how major fade came about and that's how I simplified it. But whatever your problem is, get ahead and start to really figure out how can you get ahead so that it doesn't become a bigger problem that you're constantly trying to reverse. And that's where your 30s are at, right? And then your 40s, I think it's really about how can you like preserve what you have. My goal with aging is, and for me and my patients, it's truly about like, how can I hold on to who I am, you know, while enjoying every stage of life without trying to be 25 at 45? I'm 42 now. And how can you hold on to the essence of who you are and show up? And I think this is what people confuse looking healthy versus looking younger. And I think that's the biggest goal in your 40s. Whether it is introducing in office treatments or if you've already done it in your 30s and you're trying to now just get a step ahead in your 40s or having a solid skincare routine that you're slowly expanding on, whether it's growth factor serums or a different peptide serum or something a little bit stronger, and that's where your 40s are at, preserving who you are, holding on to the quality of your skin and making sure it shows up in a healthy way every single day versus trying to turn back time and be somebody that you're never going to be again because that time has passed. So I love that. And do you think that in your 20s, those people spending on things that they'd be better off saving for later? Like, should we be getting preventative Botox? No. I have never been a fan of preventative Botox. And I think that also is probably why you are so resistant. Yeah. Because I thought it. Not to call you out. No. I thought it for free when I was like in like 26 or 27. And then like this is guys, I'm 35, everyone thinks that I'm like being brave by not having my forehead move, but I've really tried like every kind of, yeah, I've completely resisted. So I think the idea of preventative Botox feeds into fear. You should not be fearing the aging process in your 20s. If anything, it's such a privilege that we can all get older. But let's choose how we want to age. And we have so many luxuries available to us that we can choose to age better if we want to for ourselves, right? And it's not because it's being imposed on us. Because at 20, eight out of 10, 20 year olds don't have built in lines. So you're basically blocking movement altogether because you're trying to never get that line to form. Exactly. Which I can understand the concept. Yeah. That's what they say. You don't want to have the line. I can understand the concept. But again, like, you may never have formed that line to begin with. So what are we doing? Yeah. It's pissing money away instead. Go to Paris. Go have a life experience instead of it. If you are going to try to get Botox at a younger age, let's say you're the two out of 10 that has a deep line and you look angry at rest. I would strongly advise that you space out your treatments. Yeah. That's what it must be told. You need to probably do this every three to four months because the average duration of Botox is 10 to 12 weeks. However, I would strongly encourage you that you let your muscle movement come back. That you let your emotions show on your face and you let your muscle memory come back because you don't want to lose that completely and lose the essence of who you are. on the worst case scenario end up in a place where you're are now. Me, the word is scenarios of some more resistant to it. And then they're going to tell you, okay, but maybe we should try different type of books. However, it's botulinum toxin type A that we are injecting, whether that's Botox, Disport, Javeau, ZMN, Daxify. Right. Nice in the US. And they're all variations of the same type. So you're not really going to avoid that quote unquote resistance by switching the types of books, unless you get botulinum toxin type B, which is known as myoblock, which most people don't inject. And this duration of that is still very short. Yeah. And I heard that you've got resistance to that really fast. You can also get resistance. Yeah. So it's like a lever that you should pull a worth like you're getting married. Yeah. That's our second. And even for the wedding, even for the wedding. Exactly. I'm like, I'm not going to be until I'm walking down that aisle, honey. We'll figure that out. We'll figure it out when we got there. But with being immune to Botox, have you seen that before? Like, is there anything that can be done to turn it around? I'm not just asking selfishly for me because when I post about this, it pulls so viral every time just because a lot of people DM me that their Botox isn't lasting as long as there's two things here. Hold on. Okay. So true immunity is rare. Okay. There is resistance. That can happen. And if you have resistance to what your point, what you've done, you got to take time like over a year where you get nothing and then try it again. Yeah. That could help. However, what you just said about it doesn't last as long as something that I see all the time. And I always warn patients, especially people who've never had Botox. The first time you get it, maybe the first two, maybe even the first five. It will last maybe five, six months. And you feel like, wow, this has lasted so long, but the true duration of Botox is 10 to 12 weeks. And the way it wears off is not like, ding, it's like you get it done. Then you look good. And then one, do you have more movement? Then one, do you have less movement? Then one, do you have more movement? It kind of has this undulating pattern until it finally wears off. So there is a period after the beginning where that happens. And then fast forward 10 years, it starts lasting a little bit longer again. Oh, wow. Because your muscle gives a little bit over time. And so you have to live through the different phases. The danger is once it starts really doing this undulating thing, you start thinking, I need it every three to four months. I would strongly advise that you still push it out. That's why I really get your muscle memory back and not feed into the fear of this. And you having to get it every three months, because you're going to buy yourself a bigger problem. Yeah. And that's also better financially, too, because something I feel like people don't think about with, you know, injectables in office treatments, but also skincare in general, is that like these are subscriptions. Yeah. We all talk about Spotify and Netflix on our balance sheets. But what about the Botox every three months? Oh, you're right. Very smart that you think of it that way. And what I tell also patients is that you don't want to feel like you are beholden to this every three months. You want to view, for example, Botox as giving your face moments of pause, so you're slowing down the aging process. It's not stopping. Yeah. But you don't want to be chasing it all the time where you need it every three months. And I you're spending so much money getting it every three months, but you're not being happy because it's coming back. So if you change your perspective and really just view it as like it's a moment of pause twice a year. Yeah. It's a much happier subscription. I like that feeling married to it every three months on the dot. Totally. So but with the, you know, whenever you have an issue with your skin, then the internet will give you a solution that you've to pay for. So with the Botox not working, the new solution is, oh, should I be face taping? And then I have to pay for all the face tape. And so it's like, do we believe in that? Listen, I mean face taping. If you put any sort of silicone based tape on your face, it's going to hold on to the moisture and your skin slightly better. It's going to minimize the appearance of the very superficial fine lines, at least for a few minutes to maybe an hour or two after you wake up and you take it off. Other takes you 20 minutes to do the whole tape routine. Yeah. Now people swear by it. Is that makes them happy? Great. I'm not going to knock it. Yeah. Do you know? And if you have the bandwidth and the ability and the desire to do it, God bless. Thank you. But if it is going to add more stress, which would add to my plate that I think have to do this every night and figure out how to do it correctly. I'm going to have to not move in my back. I would not, I will, it doesn't fit my vibe. And so I would rather not do it. I love it. Thank you for that. Okay. Let's pivot to hair golf because that is something that's been taking over my group chats for sure and my Instagram feed. I feel like also with all the GLP one usage, there's so much thinning now and shedding. And also just like when you're young, I never thought about my hair when I was little. I had like a big thing. I think there was also stigma. No one talks about hair loss when you're younger. I'm 42. Yeah. But growing up, women were not talking about hair loss. Yeah. So true. And now it's like a thing. And you know, it's a normalization to use minoxidil. And you know, I now it just feels like this other bucket that I'm supposed to be paying into more subscriptions to my beauty routine of my supplements and my, you know, I got to get new shampoo. And should I get a hair serum and minoxidil? And it's just like what is worth the money? And when should someone like skip it? And like how do we keep our hair? Okay. First things first, I'm going to take a deep breath. Okay. We're going to take a deep breath. Okay. Okay. Alright. First things first, you want to make sure that your base is healthy. Are we iron deficient? Do we have a well balanced diet? No supplements is going to replace a well balanced diet. No supplement. Okay. So forget it. Just have a well balanced diet. Are we vitamin D deficient? Have we checked common things that are often affect hair like thyroid dysfunction? So I want to make sure that the foundational stuff are covered before we jump into this. And then there's obviously a million options. But we have to think of it as what is the over the counter form to a little bit more intense to prescription to potentially treatment? And what is it that I want to do for myself? Right. If it is truly female pattern hair loss, there is no cure. And this is just genetic or genetic and hormone related. Okay. And does it come later in life or this is something you would have had your whole life? It tends to start affecting women more so in their early late 20s, early 30s. And if you start to see a shift more so then. Okay. I struggled with hair loss. And I'm currently on treatment. I know you look at this. I know if I show you my before pictures, I'll show you some pictures on my. Okay. But there is many different things that you can choose to do. But I think you have to wonder ask yourself first, how bad is the hair loss? And how much of it is affecting your mental well-being? Yeah. That's true. If your mental well-being is really affected, you will throw the kitchen sink at it and then figure out what is working by pairing stuff back. So you're not doing all the things all the time until you're at a better baseline and you feel happier. And what do I mean by the kitchen sink starting with over the counter? You have hair supplements, which might be helpful, but not really if you're not on a well-balanced diet, right? Number two, skip the neutrophils, skip the wildfire. I'm not skipping it. I was on neutrophils. I did feel like it allowed my hair to stay on my head longer and I wasn't shedding as much. So again, and I had a very healthy diet. Yeah. I'm not someone who doesn't eat. I love food. So I'm like all the things that I did use that at one point. Then you have topical minoxidil. Don't buy the one for women, buy the one for men. Yeah. You want to pay the tax. It is real. Okay. And so buy it five percent and see if that works for you. I developed an allergy to topical minoxidil. So I got very, very flaky and shedding. It looks like I had dandruff. So I couldn't tolerate it as well. And then you have in office, you know, and then the other things over the counter that Kurokana is all shampoo that could potentially also be helpful on the margin. So why not throw it in there and see if it helps you better scalp health. But then beyond that, in office, you have PRP where you take your own blood and we inject it and we see if you respond. I respond to PRP. And so it did help sustain my hair growth in my 30s. And it was helpful there. So if you know that it works for you great, you can do it as little as often as you find yourself. You can figure out your own timeline with it once you know you respond. And then you have as well prescription medications. So in the prescription front, there are medications that can help to stimulate hair growth like minoxidil, pills, not the topical. And then there are prescription medications that help to counterbalance the effects of androgens on hair loss. So like spermolactone. And so depending on what your issue is, we can then decide to go on a pill or not. But it's important to understand it's not a cure. So this is something we're subscribing to for the course of our life. So this is a real subscription. It's a real subscription. Yes. Can you stop it? Sure. But you're going to lose your head. And I have the discussion, especially with women if they're choosing to get pregnant or wanting to get pregnant. Do we do this after? Yeah. Because there's, you know, are you so affected mentally by that you want to do it before and you'll deal with the hair loss while you're pregnant? Yeah. Like we have to have those very honest discussions upfront because it's all part of it. And then there are people who are on the very severe end of the spectrum where it's not spoken about nearly enough who are candidates for hair transplants. And women are candidates for hair transplants too. It's not just for men. Not just men in Turkey. Yeah. Yeah. I'm looking for someone from my office who loves hair. Yes. This is if anyone's looking for a job with a transplants. I'm looking for someone. I mean, that is something that is really part of the aging process. You know, that really affects and impacts women very, very deeply. So and so you really have to kind of have this very holistic view of here. Well, I feel like I still don't understand what are the products that really actually move the needle like the supplements or whatever, but your supplements are whatever. So after I switched from supplements to topical, I did PRP to the monoxide. The PRP really helps. For me, it was really the prescription, I still occasionally do PRP. I'm playing now with the idea of hair secret homes, which is you can culture a molecule from the root of your hair. My god, it takes two months to culture it. It's expensive, but you can culture it and then you can reintroduce it. So I did my first treatment like a month ago. I'm neither here nor there. I will let you guys know how that one works. But the science is very interesting there. And how much would it cost to get PRP on your head, do you think? PRP is probably anywhere from $1,500 to $24 or $2500 a session. Okay, depending where and how you're getting it done. Shack here. What's it like to buy a car from Carvano 100% online and get it delivered to your door? Let me tell you, your car is here, Mr. Shack. Thank you, Mr. Carvano guy. Can't wait to take it for a spin. Only the best for you, Mr. Shack. Hey, have you always been so big tall and handsome? Not always. I was 6-10 once. Seven days to live and return it, Mr. Shack. Not that I would. You never do. No, I never do. So buy your car today on Carvano. Delivery fees may apply. See our seven day return policy at Carvano.com. Cool fall nights always make me want to entertain more. A few friends around the table, maybe a fire outside when the sun goes down. Before everyone comes over, I stop at total wine and more. Right now, there's a cranberry flavored wine, a crisp apple wine, even a pumpkin spice cream that's perfect in coffee after dinner. And with the lowest prices, I can bring home a few different fall flavors for everyone to try. Find your favorite fall flavors at the lowest prices at total wine and more. Spirits are not sold in Virginia and North Carolina. Drink responsibly must be 21. Okay, now I want to pivot to lasers because if you thought that I messed up my face with Botox Girl, you're going to love my laser story. So me, skin, no issues, just normal, no pigment, just live in my damn life. I was like 31, maybe 32, and my sister was getting married. So obviously, I was the bride. Okay, so I was like, okay, I need to do an inoffice treatment to get ready for this big event. Okay, and I was so influenced, of course, by all the influencers in my feet, always go into the dorm, getting their faces cinched off, getting the lasers. So I thought, great, I had a friend who had just gotten fractal. I thought, I want to do fractal. Did I think about what my skin needed? No, I just was like, great, she did fractal, that'll work for me. Didn't think about like if our skins were the same or anything. And by the way, the practitioner didn't look at my skin or anything. They were like, okay, if you want to do fractal, we'll do fractal and did it to me. The same day? Yeah, I was just, I always booked it. Like, it wasn't like a discussion. You picked it and you booked it. Yeah, I picked it and booked it, which like, I feel like you should have been allowed to red flag. Yeah, red flag is like when you're why I didn't go to medical school, why I'm telling you what to do. But anyways, he did it. It was a guy, of course. And guess what? It looked amazing for the wedding. But then, ta-da-da, it gave me Malasma. And now your girl, Haley, you can't tell because I cover it up, which is a good thing about Malasma. You can cover it, but I have full Malasma. And I just feel like this is a good example of when you fall for a trend instead of really considering yourself and what you need. And so, and I feel like, I don't know. I speak for my audience when like we are all these are curious. Yeah. So, what should someone ask or check before paying for a laser or any in-office treatment that you see online? Okay. Because I don't know, you really do have to advocate for yourself. And I'm a good example of I got a little botched. Okay. To make you feel better. I'm not defending the practitioner. I don't know who did this. I don't want to know. Oh, he, by the way, every person that's messed me up, top doctors in New York City. I'm not doing like, upon Botox. I will tell you, Malasma wasn't caused by the laser, but it probably woke it up. Yeah, woke it up. So, you were probably prone to it. Yeah. So, don't, don't kick yourself too hard. Yeah. Okay, that you have it. So, it's going to come out at it. It was probably going to come out, you know, through some form in your life. Because Malasma is really tricky. And I say like, Malasma is a bitch. Like she is. Like, one minute she's quiet. When she's like, yeah. And you're like, yeah. And she's permanent. And she's permanent. And heat can trigger it, hormones can trigger it, pregnancy can trigger it, menopause can trigger it, stress can trigger it. So, so many things can trigger it. But I do agree with you that you have to have an understanding of what lasers are. Because lasers are just like a category, right? And if you're thinking about laser treatment, lasers can really do one of three things. If you're really specifically talking about a laser, not a device, a laser. A laser can either target pigment, it can either target redness, or it can target water for collagen. And depending on how the heat is delivered, it's also different for each one. So, again, it's not universal. But when you are prone to Malasma, I personally have found in my practice as well. And personally, anything that is breaking your skin barrier and introducing heat is not something you want to do so cavalierly. Okay. Because it will wake up faster. But can you get other laser treatments? You could definitely get a laser for redness where I'm not breaking your skin barrier down at all. And if anything, I have also seen anecdotally that it can help a bit with Malasma because it's minimizing that heat flush that you get in your face that might wake it up. So, there are other lasers that could potentially benefit you if that's your problem. But so, I don't want you to be scared of lasers as a whole. But I do want you to-- I am. I can only do chemical peels. I want you to approach lasers with much more skepticism, but not fear them. So, it's good to ask the questions to understand, you know, like, how is this going to impact my Malasma? Or can it cause any other issues that I don't need to know about? I think those are very, very good questions to ask before you decide to do anything. Yeah. But I don't want you to be scared of the whole category as a whole because some treatments could still help you without affecting your Malasma or causing another issue. Why don't you know it's time to do a laser? Like, obviously, you're struggling. So, when I think of laser treatments, pigment, redness, or texture, I ask myself number one for pigment. Am I on the right skin care routine? Yes, so start there. Over the counter, that's why I get major fade. Have I boosted it with a prescription, like hydroquinone to see if I can get even more benefit from it? And then I decide, is this something that is really worth it for me for what I'm trying to achieve? So, my skin care routine has to reflect what I'm trying to get out of the laser. When it comes to redness, redness is trickier because redness could be due to an inflamed skin barrier. It could be vascular. If it's an inflamed skin barrier, it's skin care. If it's vascular and reactive and you flush and you get nervous and your ears get red and it impacts how you show up, it's going to be a laser treatment. And I think the V-beam, the pulsed eye laser, is the most underrated laser in a cosmetic derm practice because it can really make a huge difference over time and you don't see it until you see it. And then, number three is texture. And I have to ask, is it fine line texture or is it deeper acne scar texture? Like are we trying to remodel the skin? Because if it's deeper texture, it's not just laser treatments that I'm going to do. I'm going to do a multiple different things, a multitude of different things, affecting your skin from the outside in and the inside out. From subsision to lasers to micronealing with heat to resurfacing, so it's many different things. If it's very fine line situational texture, then we can discuss a laser treatment only if I know you're on the right skin care routine again. Have you tried, have you been on a retinoid? How has, you know, other treatments in office affected those fine lines whether it's Botox, or Sculptra, or filler, or fat transfer, etc. And then we talk about the laser treatments. Okay, so you basically need a good practitioner to help you? I think you have to look at you as a whole. Yeah. It can't just be, you can't look at a detail. That's why I don't have it magnifying. And don't look at an influencer. Yeah, don't look at an influencer. Don't look at a magnifying mirror. I don't believe in getting CO2 lasers at 20 years old, if you've never had acne spurs. Oh my gosh, I see that online all the time. All the time. And you're like, they're going to look wax figurines by the time they hit 40, 50. So crazy. And you're like, what are we trying to achieve here? Four lasers, how much do they cost? Like, how much should you be budgeting for if you want to have your first laser treatment? I mean, anywhere from like 1500 to like $2,500. It depends. And how often do you have to do it? I don't believe in signing people up for a subscription of laser treatments. OK. I think you have to, depending on what the issue is, like let's say it's pigment, and you're on the right routine. Let's do one and see how good we get. And see if now prescriptions can hold it and keep it going. You know, I don't like people doing tour three or four. Yeah. I think you kind of have to see where you're at in terms of like your skincare routine description and how much benefit you get from one treatment. Some person might be so happy with one. Some person might, another person might need tour three. OK. So you just mentioned retinol, which is another thing that really confuses me and probably confuses a lot of people listening to because it's like everyone's always online. Talking about your retinol. Like, such a loser if you don't use your retinol. I don't know how to use retinol. And now there's a new viral trend, Dr. Edris, of retinol, and it's like acid. Yeah. And so should we all be doing this? Can you break the stow? Like, I am a loser. No, you're not a loser at all. Also, you're my doctor. You're not a loser, and I am retinol. You're not one of that doctor. So because the reason you're not on it yet is because I want to really get your pigment down first. And hydroquinone can be irritating. And so I didn't want to irritate you with hydroquinone and I don't like the compounded one that has a steroids because I don't want you using that. And so I'm trying to first get that under control. Yes, we're being targeted. We're being targeted, and we're being systematic. Because we have time on our side. We sure do. That's what we're doing. OK, thanks, love. You're welcome. You're in charge. You're a part of-- Have a part of it. - Yeah. - But I will tell you that red and white are confusing to many different people. I think because we interuse words like red and yellow and threat, but they're both part of the red and white family of vitamin A, right? That is-- - Also red and yellow is a vitamin A. - It's a vitamin A. - Okay, threat is a vitamin A. - Okay. - And a red and yellow is a weaker form of vitamin A that has to get converted twice to become threat. - Okay. - Okay, so it's inactive versus threat is active. - Okay. - And people in the US and abroad all think that stronger is better, if not. Because stronger can come with inflammation, irritation, purging, flakiness, redness, and actually stronger can maybe inflame your melasma. So consistency over intensity when it comes to the red and white game. - Yeah. - And I'm so happy because I feel like in the past year, I'm seeing a shift in the literature and also among dermatologists online where they're finally saying it more as well, where like less is more. If you can tolerate a lighter red and all or something that is a little bit gentler within the vitamin A category on a much more regular basis, you're gonna have better long-term outcomes. - When it came to starting your skincare line, how much did it cost to start it? - It was expensive, 'cause I wasn't just doing one product. I was working on at the time for different products. - And that was cash. You made that you say that you were like, I'm gonna invest back in myself. - And it was a big discussion to be had. Like I was sitting with my husband and I was like, we have two kids. You know, it was 2021, 2021. The world was a little bit unstable. He knew I had this money saved also for the office. And he was like, listen, you don't have to spend the million all at once. It's not like you're spending it all at once. But ultimately, you are your own best investment. And if you think this is something you wanna do, he's like, I believe in you. And we're still young enough that we can take this risk, that we can try to put it towards the brand. And if it doesn't work out, you can always, it's always good that you've tried it, 'cause you don't wanna live with the regret of not having tried it. And we were fortunate that he had a job and I had a job. And so we had to do it. - The cash flow, yeah. - Where it wasn't like we were sitting on this, hoping and praying. And so for me, it was like, okay, am I gonna use this money to buy an extra laser, which I didn't choose to do for the practice, 'cause lasers are at least like quarter to a half million bucks, depending. - And do you lease them or you buy them? - I initially lease to buy them, but now I just buy them. So it's just. - And how long do you, there's a laser last for? - I mean, a long time. - Yeah. - A long time. Like, fractals been around for a very long time. - Yeah. - But I chose not to buy two lasers. I kept them for later on purchases. And I didn't take the whole practice. And I took that money instead and said, okay, let's start it to invest it over the next three to four years within the skincare brand. And that's how I built it. - And now how much is it worth? - It's a great question. (laughing) - Those numbers we are, it's an intern, it's private. - Yeah. - But it's cash flow positive. - It is, I mean, it is cash flow positive, but everything you make in the brand goes back into the brand. So I'm not making money from the brand. I'm reinvesting it every year if I'm trying to grow. And that's where like, at this point, you're like, I have a point you take an investment. Because it's so hard to keep up. And if you're trying to grow, it's not like, you're trying to grow. That's where you might need a bigger influx for what I could sustain. 'Cause I've been able to sustain it, but it's been slow and steady, right? And so I'm not, I don't take home a salary from the skincare brand, no. - Okay. And then, it's so amazing to hear about your husband. I love watching you guys on social media. And it really just reminds me that you're the biggest financial decision that you will ever make. - It's where you marry. - Exactly. - It's the most important decision. Because I think about this all the time. Like, if I was married to another human that I've known in my life, right? Would they have believed in me or have been able to win to take that financial risk or willing to push me forward or wanting me to have the success that I have as a woman and he's a man? And there are so many people that you see who are threatened by even the slightest success and to have someone who's just confident in themselves. And so happy for my success is like, the best investment of all. Like, really, who are you gonna spend your life with? Who's gonna be your cheerleader and who's gonna be the person by your side? - Well, Dr. Eaters, thank you so much for coming on the show. I feel like this will be the first of many episodes together 'cause we definitely need your way of stuff. - Do I have to just hang out with you? - I know, I know. - All right, I'm hanging out with you afterwards. I'm taking a break. - I was like, what are you doing after your schedule? - Yeah, I did. - I did. - I canceled my face. - I can't wait. Thank you so much, Sippers, for listening and reminder that we are doing an amazing giveaway of Dr. Eaters' products. We're getting away. - I'm so excited. - Yes, to tell them what it is. - Okay, so you guys are gonna be getting the major fade set, which is three different products that target pigmentation through different ways. Two of which, the serum and the moisturizer are used every day twice a day. And the mask, the exploiting mask, probably like-- - I love that mask. - That's the one that keeps winning awards. It's so funny, but for me, the serum is the powerhouse. But the mask I use probably two to four times a week at night, only at night. And so you guys can be brighter humans from the outside in. - All you have to do is subscribe to both of our YouTube channels. And then just comment your favorite part of the episode and we'll read them all and choose 10 winners. And like, the better your comment is, you know, the more major fades come in your way. - Yeah, you'll stand out. - You're gonna stand out. Okay, stay rich. - Thank you. You never know who's going to show up on For the Love with Gin Hatmaker. From Mel Robbins to Tignitaro, Kate Bollard is Stanley Tucci. I'm Gin Hatmaker, and every week, my dear friend Amy and I dive deep with incredible guests, who make us laugh, and cry, and think a little bigger about life in the middle years. For the love, where great stories meet unforgettable people. Follow and listen wherever you get your podcasts.