brain research shows that our lived
experience gets stored in our body
as feeling memories as body memories.
So in order to heal, we
have to go to the body.
So When people are saying, I
feel stressed or I feel anxious.
We explore that from an
inside out perspective.
Dr.
Kira, welcome to the podcast.
Thank you.
I'm excited for our conversation.
I am as well.
I would just, we're starting the
chat and I had to stop myself cause
I get excited and carried away.
I would love for you to share your
journey with listeners because you're what
you're, what you're doing is so unique.
Um, I would love to know how you
came to be integrating all of these
wonderful pieces of the wellness
together along with dermatology.
Oh,
many people, um, your journey evolves
because, you know, stuff hits the
fan and you're like, okay, what I
was doing was totally not working.
Um, so gosh, I've been in, uh,
dermatology for over 20 years and, you
know, was on the academic track, uh,
focused with skin cancer and melanoma.
Um, dermatopathology, right?
So if you had a biopsy, I was
looking at, uh, what was happening
underneath the microscope and thought
I was doing all the right things.
I was running ultra marathons.
I was juggling the kids, the career
thought I was eating healthy and
all the things and my own skin.
Started changing, um, growing
moles, changing moles.
They were becoming more atypical.
I was having chronic pain,
hormonal issues, gut problems.
Um, and ultimately had to
diagnose myself with early.
melanoma, which as a melanoma
specialist is a very humbling
and horrifying experience.
And so that really was my invitation
and wake up call that, um, how I was
living was not necessarily working for
me and really brought my attention to
to that mind skin connection to, um,
the significant impact that chronic,
uh, stress, later on, you know,
traumatic stress brings to our lives.
And it led me down this path
of diving deep into integrative
medicine, more of functional
approach and mind body medicine.
And we've known for a very,
very long time, the skin and the
brain are embryologically linked.
They're communicating with each other
all the time, but it's a part of a
skincare routine that gets overlooked.
And so I really, um, have decided for
myself and for so many of the women that I
work with, that's been the missing piece.
And so the focus of the work I do
now is using a mind body approach to
support the emotional and mental well
being of individuals struggling with
chronic skin conditions, because we know
that stress can trigger a skin issue
and or worsen an existing skin issue.
So our skin affects our mood, our
mood affects our skin, and no one's
really supporting people in that way.
So that is how I am here today.
it.
I love it.
And I love, I I'm always grateful.
You know, it's never fun when we're in it.
Right.
And then it's the, the beauty and
the journey is now you're, you have
this unique approach to serve others.
And.
I love that you said, you know,
I thought I was eating healthy.
You know, I thought I was
doing the right things.
Um, I have a run, we have a running joke
at the clinic because almost everybody
I meet says, you know, I eat healthy
and I'm like, okay, what does that
mean to you, you know, tell me more.
Um, and then we give ourselves a grace
of we're, we all do the best we can
with the knowledge we have at the time.
Right.
And that's why we're having
this conversation to give.
People probably some new knowledge, the
things that they haven't thought about.
So you're, you know, the audience is very
familiar with autoimmune conversations
and, and, you know, they, we talk
about the, the, what's going on in
your gut is reflected on your skin.
You know, to me, it's like, Oh, of course,
stress, gut, gut, skin, all the things.
Um, but not even.
Just autoimmune.
So we're not just talking about, you know,
psoriatic arthritis or things like that.
This is just in general using that
mind body approach to improve skin
health, skin condition, all the things.
Yeah, so it's really interesting.
So if you think about, you know, I
think with gut health, there's been
such a focus on gut health, um, as
kind of the center of things because
people consider it the second brain.
Yeah.
If you think about it, the, the, the
brain and the skin are derived from
the same embryologic layer of tissue.
So.
You've got your primary brain.
Maybe your gut is your second brain.
Your skin is actually
like your outer brain
I like
and they're all communicating
with each other.
And when it comes to chronic
stress, traumatic stress, our
body goes into survival mode.
Uh, whether it's flight, flee, you know,
shut down and freeze, uh, so, so many
different strategies that we've developed
on, you know, on behalf of our survival.
So nothing has gone wrong.
Yeah.
But
the gut motility and
gut function shuts down.
when we are in that survival mode.
So for me, looking at nervous system
regulation, looking at how to soothe
the nervous system, soothes the skin.
And it also would help, you know,
quiet the internal engine that is
driving all of your other systems,
including your gut function to
decline or to be negatively impacted.
Sure.
So, so yes, it's, it's, it's all
connected and it isn't just autoimmune.
You know, when we think about skin
cancer, at least in the United States and
Canada, they're the most prevalent cancers
out of all the, there are more,
skin cancers than all other cancers
combined on an annual basis.
Most people don't know this because
it's not talked about all that much.
Most are easily addressed.
You know, you scrape it, you cut
it out, um, and, and you move on.
But there is a lot of research
on chronic stress, um, on the
cancer biology life cycle.
in terms of formation,
progression, response to treatment.
And again, not just
limited to skin cancer.
We know this to be true for breast
cancer, lung cancer, all sorts of cancer.
So, um, this is why I feel that it's
so, um, helpful to bring awareness.
To the power of our own body's capacity
to support our ability to heal with
that mind body skin connection.
This is not an either or.
I think we talked about this before.
I'm not in a camp where I'm just like,
just breathe, just meditate, just
be with yourself and you will heal.
No, that is a bunch of, you know,
Yes.
You can say it.
B.
S.
I know I'm a New Yorker, that I'm
biting my tongue right now because
from Jersey.
Don't
I'm like, okay, oh, okay,
Uh huh.
Uh
there's some, there's some expletives
that really just want to come out.
but, but I think, you know, we
need a comprehensive approach and
we live in a society where we've
been told to like, just do it, just
push through, like, you're fine.
You know, you survived cancer,
you should be grateful.
It's like, yes.
I am, and there's also this other
stuff that I've pushed down,
suppressed, repressed, and no one
ever made time, space, I never gave
myself permission to move through it.
And it is now showing up in a myriad of
ways, hair loss, eczema, you know, so
many different manifestations that we see.
So, so important.
And, and we were saying before we hit
record, record and listeners know, you
know, my view, there is not an either or.
any of it.
Like we're, we are not,
we're very complex beings.
So there's not one thing,
there's not one root cause.
There's not, you know, we need
a fully integrative approach for
consistent true wellness, right?
And, and, and health span
as opposed to lifespan.
Um, and, and our skin is, you know,
whether your perspective is, you
know, outside in, inside out, you
know, but it, it is, it's, it's
a huge organ and it is an organ.
Yeah, absolutely.
And and there again, it's a both end.
So if you think about your skin as
your ultimate barrier between your
internal environment and your external
environment, and there's many ways we
can interpret this, especially when it
comes to interpersonal relationships and
boundaries like interpersonal boundaries.
I cannot tell you how many women I work
with where we work on, um, embodying
like doing the work of what it feels
like to to set boundaries with your body.
Um, because this is where a lot
of the skin issues come from.
But if you think about your skin
as an ultimate boundary, you do
need to fortify that boundary.
boundary from the outside.
So you do need emollients.
You do need to hydrate.
You do need to moisturize your skin.
And there are products protected
from UV radiation and air pollution.
The things that you know, 90
percent of visible signs of
aging are from UV exposure.
We know air pollution is a close second
because those poly aromatic hydrocarbon
like particles settle into your skin.
They've been shown to
cause hyperpigmentation.
Blue light from our devices can
also cause hyperpigmentation.
breakdown collagen.
So we definitely need some protective
barrier measures like sunscreen, um,
antioxidants, but really also fortifying
that resilience from the inside out.
And that is definitely an
integrated approach of nutrition
and movement and sleep.
And attuning to your emotional
well being, which usually we're
like, we'll get to it later.
We'll get to it later.
I'm too busy.
Mm.
that's, if you are butting up
again, you've done all the things,
you're on all the drugs, your
diet is, you are exercising.
It's that missing piece.
That's
love that you said that because
you, it's, it is so important and I
joke, I throw myself under the bus.
You know, I always incorporated it
into my coaching, um, but in the
beginning it was incorporated in.
Now we start there because
then everything else.
Um, and so it is, it's an, and it's the
one thing I've seen people, you know,
come in and diet is actually really
dialed in and movement is really dialed
in and sleep is great, you know, and
stress is through the roof, not healing.
You can't, you can't heal in that state.
Um, and, and we see that reflection in
the skin health as well is what you're,
is what you're teaching us today.
Absolutely.
And it's interesting because a lot of,
um, people that I encounter, they'll
name, they're like, I'm doing great.
I'm not stressed.
And I think, um, listen, on a, on a
day to day basis, if you ask me if
I'm feeling stressed, like I'm not
wearing, you know, I have a whoop, I'm
wearing my aura ring, all the things.
And, um, it'll like my whoop will
tell me, oh, you only spent like nine
minutes in a high stress zone today.
Right.
So if you look at the, the
scheme of things, I'm not,
I'm not that super stressed.
I live in a state of hyper vigilance.
I have learned my own internal milieu
based on my childhood experiences,
based on my lived experiences.
I live in a stress state.
And you're from the East Coast.
And I'm wired into my DNA.
Um, this is, I know my parents live in
I understand!
Like, it's just a part
of the internal makeup.
live in New York City.
And um, now I live on the West coast
and I go to visit them and I feel my
engines start revving so much faster.
I become so much bitchier
and like short temper.
I'm like, get me out of here.
I gotta get out.
I gotta get out.
But I want to highlight, because I
hear this all the time as well, there
is a difference between becoming
aware that all of us are in some
kind of a chronic stress state.
If we're, if you can hear this, a promise.
You are, unless you're really
taking active steps to manage that.
And that doesn't equal feeling
stressed out all the time or being
bitchy or whatever, you know,
however you express your stress.
Um, they're not the same.
We don't have to feel stressed
out and out of control.
when we're experiencing
these chronic stress levels.
And, and so I love that you highlighted
that because I've had people come in and
same thing like, Oh, I'm not stressed.
And I'm like, okay, tell me a little bit
about what's going on in life, you know?
And, and I'm like, wow,
well now I'm stressed.
So you're just clearly not very in
touch with what's going on in your body.
So how, how does, because if it's
affecting all the things, um, I don't
know, share your approach a little bit
and does, does this include things like
acne, you mentioned even dry skin, um,
pigmentation issues, hair falling out, all
the things, those really all the things.
Yeah.
So to your point, I think many of
us operate on a level of high stress
all the time and it's become our
norm and just name fantastic, right?
Like celebrate the fact that our
bodies know exactly what we need
in service of our survival, we have
figured out how to navigate and
cope doing the best that we can.
Given our circumstances.
Oftentimes, we have a very normal
reaction to very abnormal situations
and you're here and you've made it
through 100 percent of your hard days.
Let's celebrate that.
Now is an opportunity.
I always tell people, you know,
what showing up on your skin does
not mean that your skin is flawed.
I think flawless skin in marketing.
All this shit is like marketing, right?
Flawless skin is a fallacy.
All have something, some mark
on our skin, and it doesn't mean
there's something wrong with you.
What it does mean is that
you have an invitation and an
opportunity from your body.
To pay a little more attention, turn
your kindness and compassion and
your curiosity towards yourself.
If something is showing up on the
surface of your skin, it means
that some system, some part of
you is under resourced right now.
It needs something.
That's where the fun can begin,
if we look at it as fun, right?
It's not, um, and listen, this, I,
I'm not trying to be Pollyanna, right?
Doing this stuff is hard work, but it
is work in service of our happiness,
health and happiness, not just surviving.
We've been surviving an opportunity, maybe
put a little fun, a little bit more joy.
Um, so what's showing up on
your skin is an invitation to
be like, huh, how am I sleeping?
How am I moving?
How are my relationships?
Do I, am I living in alignment
with, you know, my, my purpose?
Like, you know, do I need to make some
shifts and changes to support myself?
And I love that you even included the
word joy because it is, it is an essential
part of wellbeing and health and it
becomes so often overlooked, especially
in this, you know, busy, busy, you know,
producing and go get it and raising
kids, having a family, all the things.
I can't tell you how often I'll
ask people, what do you, you
know, what, what brings you joy?
And they glaze over.
It breaks my heart.
For a moment, and then we work
on, okay, creating joy in life
again, because it is essential.
It's not a bonus.
Like, it's part of what
we're here to, to experience.
Yeah.
And I think social media has
done us a disservice because.
Um, we see highlight reels
and we see people living their
best life and myself included.
I can succumb to the false belief
that I should be living my best life
All the time.
all the time, that it should look
like I'm an effing rock star with
my hair did and done and all that.
And my therapist keeps reminding me, Kira,
That's not real.
that's not, that's not the case.
And it's the little moments.
It's the micro movements.
Right.
And I forget, um, the
author of the book, um,
like it's the momentum or something, but
like it's the micro moments that stack
up to the significant shifts over time.
Yes.
Right.
And, and it's that, you know, I also
think that so many of us who have been
on our healing journey, we make it
our full time job and we focus on our
growth and our healing and our diet.
All the things and then that adds more
stress and we forget life is lived.
In addition to all the things
you're doing to help heal yourself
Right.
and we can lose the joy and
it can become stressful.
And so even recognizing, Oh, when you
asked me how, how I work with people,
a lot of it is, you know, they'll say
I'm happy or I'm, I'm stressed and
I'll always invite, how do you know?
Right.
How do you know that?
So even though we are looking at things
that are on the surface, we know from
the brain research and from the trauma
research, I feel like I'm the only
physician who's been hanging out with the
psychologist for like the last, I'm like
the only one in all the trainings, right?
Um, because they are light years ahead
of us in terms of traumatic stress
and how and, and from a body first
perspective, because When we are
stressed our thinking brain goes offline.
This is what top therapy alone
may not be sufficient for a lot of
people because we, we reach a limit.
We get stuck in thought loops.
Why prescriptions alone may not be enough
because the brain research shows that our
lived experience gets stored in our body
as feeling memories as body memories.
So in order to heal, we
have to go to the body.
So When people are saying, I
feel stressed or I feel anxious.
How do you know?
How do you know that?
And we explore that from
an inside out perspective.
And I'll name that people who are
struggling with, um, you know,
skin issues going into the body
can be a very scary experience.
Very uncomfortable place because the
belief is my body has sabotaged me
Yeah.
Well, it's the same with even non
skin related autoimmunity, right?
That's, and, and that's why, as I
mentioned, I, we, we start with this
work because we need to get back on
the same team and, and your body's
just trying to give you information.
literally
And I love the fact that, you know,
if it's showing up on your skin,
that's really clear information.
and it can give you
very Good clues, right?
Certain things show up
in certain locations.
So thyroid disease an autoimmune
condition in many ways.
There's autoimmune thyroiditis Hi.
Hi, hypofunctioning.
So low functioning of your thyroid
can show up as a loss of hair in
the lateral third of your eyebrows.
Dry skin.
There can be depositions of, um, certain,
uh, materials underneath the skin.
Can give us clues.
Um, hair loss, right?
There's scarring, hair loss and nons
scarring, hair loss, and that the
two types of hair loss and when they
happen, um, can give us clues about.
Lots of functions that are
happening within, um, the body
metabolic function, right?
There are certain conditions that give
us clues to blood sugar dysregulation.
Um, people who have diabetes, I can't
tell you, especially during residency
because we were, um, a referral center for
like the most complex cases, but it was
always blew my mind when people would come
with some lumps and bumps on their skin.
We were the first ones to diagnose
them with metastatic cancer.
They had no idea they had kind of,
I've been not, I've been feeling tired.
I've been feeling run down and what
have you lost a lot of weight, but
no one was connecting the dots and
lo and behold, they show up and
it's, we biopsy it and there it is.
Yeah.
So it's really important, I think,
to pay attention to what you're
seeing, not as something that
is wrong or flawed or broken.
But to serve your higher good, to be able
to bring awareness and attention so that
you can take inspired and empowered action
for your overall health and well being.
I love that.
And that's where, and I'm not
saying you're going to listen to
this and you guys are going to nail
it, but that's where curiosity.
And compassion.
Really, it's a game changer, right?
Because we're, we're so, you know,
you talked about the, the loops we
get stuck in and I, I don't know
anybody who, who has a, a stronger,
kind, compassionate inner voice.
Then I call it the mean girl
voice or the mean, you know,
there's a million names for it.
But Steve, but
Oh god.
it made it right and just made
me giggle, made you giggle.
We can hold it lightly.
My clients in the beginning think I'm
nuts when I'm like, hear it, you know,
start to notice and answer and you
can be nice or you can be not nice.
You could tell it to F off.
Great.
Whatever serves you or thank it.
Oh, that must've served me once.
Doesn't anymore.
Thanks.
I know, but that curiosity, you
know, ask yourself, you know, huh,
why I keep thinking, and maybe
it's because you're a dermatologist
and we're talking about skin.
I have a fabulous client who is awesome.
Also lives in New York.
Um, and she, she had, um, eczema.
And which wasn't really, you
know, why she came to see me.
And, and, you know, we did labs
and I was like, Oh, and look,
you also have Hashimoto's.
Um, and, and it was so fun and she was
so resistant to Some of the process, and
now she is like, she sings it from the
rooftops and tells everybody, you know
what they need to, because she lives in
New York, what they need to be doing.
But it was fun to watch her get to this
point where, you know, skin cleared,
and then something would pop up and
that curiosity would arise of like, huh.
What's this from?
You know, that, that question, what is
my body telling me instead of like the
doom and gloom of, and, and for her,
you know, it, it pops up on her face.
So that it's upsetting
for a lot of people.
And now she's just like, okay, let me
think about, you know, what's going on.
What, you know, what have I changed?
What do I need more of, you know?
Um, and it's really Fun because
she can hold it lightly now and
know that it's, it's information.
It's always information.
right.
And it's important to know that, that
you have some agency and some control.
Yeah, I, you know, I deal a lot with,
um, because I'd been in the menopause
space for, for, for a bit and I
realized even though I was prescribing
hormone, um, replenishment, it was,
there was still the anxiety, the
insomnia, the relationship issues.
And I kept leaning into that
mind body, um, practice.
And I realized that's where
I need to spend my time.
This is where women really need support.
So a lot of my, um, clients are
forties, fifties, sixties and above.
Um, and it's so interesting because
of the, you know, the visible signs
of aging, like, and because they
know I'm, I'm dermatology, they're
like, Oh, What creams do I use?
What can I do about these wrinkles?
And for so many women, especially maybe
they're not partnered in their divorce.
I had one client in particular, she
came to me because she would spend
hours with that negative voice,
beating herself up in the mirror.
She wasn't good enough.
She could never go out on dates.
And it was, I mean, she was getting up
in the middle of the night to work out.
Like it was consuming her.
And when we began to work together,
helping her recognize how to listen
to that voice, to turn towards it,
to be able to, that having feelings
in general was not a problem.
Right.
Because she had been taught in
her family, culturally, it was not
it down.
Stuff it down.
Yeah.
so after working together and
kind of empowering her with
like, oh, this is totally normal.
We all have feelings.
And I now know how to navigate and
be with them, make space for them.
She's like, I feel like
a different person.
You know, she even, and I look,
the best part was, you know, she
was another one, no boundaries.
So that embodied experience of boundaries.
And we practiced that she
started closing her door at work.
She was saying no, she was
putting on her email notification.
Like I'm only available.
I was like, you go girl.
Then, you know, setting up her
dating profile and actually going.
It was no longer, her skin
was no longer, um, a source of
keeping, holding her prisoner,
Right.
she was leveraging what she
was seeing to be like, Oh,
I can do something about how this is
making me feel, or do something about what
I'm seeing from an empowered standpoint.
And that doesn't mean Botox fillers and
procedures to change her appearance.
I mean, to, you know, accept
what, what was here for her to be
in a better relationship with it.
Which is amazing.
I, you know, I earned
every gray hair on my head.
I did.
Um, and I'm sure as I continue to get
more, I'll, I'll say, you know, um, but
we do, we all have those stories, you
know, my partner also has an aesthetic
clinic and, and I, I'm a horse girl
who lives in dry, sunny Colorado, um,
and, and I, even I, I, you know, we
all, have moments I, where we aren't
practicing what we preach or, you know,
we, we have these protocols because we
know we all need these protocols too.
Right.
And I've caught myself, you know,
several times of like, well, I don't,
you know, if I, if I go to a conference,
an aesthetic conference with him, I
don't look like any lady in the room.
I can tell you that right now,
you know, and then it's like, Oh,
because I, I don't need to, you
know, but I still need to become
aware of what feelings come up in me.
And, and, you know, I
am in that place where.
I am so impressed and amazed with my body,
with how much younger and better I feel.
I'll be 55 in a few weeks.
Um, I didn't think I'd be alive to see 50.
And so it's like, okay, my life is full.
I get to sail and scuba dive and
ride horses and, and do work I love.
And I, I have an amazing relationship.
I have fantastic family, friends,
you know, all the things.
Yeah.
And I have some wrinkles.
Yeah.
I, I don't look like an Instagram reel.
I just don't.
And I, I'm okay with that.
I know most of the time and those
moments where I'm not, I get back to
the place where I'm okay with that.
Um, And so I, I want to, unless it's going
to be a really long and maybe we, maybe
we do a second, a second segment, um,
because I, I do want to know specifically,
um, You know, the, the hormones, we talk
about hormones a lot on the podcast.
They have such a huge role in
all the things autoimmunity.
Um, but you, you mentioned the, the
post menopausal or maybe perimenopausal
and post menopausal skin, all, all the
things, um, You have like a tip specific
for this group of the population.
Like, is there something
different we should be doing?
So I had a hysterectomy four
years ago and my ovaries out.
So I went from like, Fully cycling
to postmenopausal in a day.
Um, anything I'm missing?
If I'm, if I'm just kind of whole health,
you know, but, but is there anything
different that we need to be doing?
Well, you know, the influence that
estrogen has on the hair growth cycle
on production of high uranic acid.
This is why, um, as our hormones
diminish or in your case,
kind of just rapidly poof.
I mean, I had
They're replaced.
Okay.
Yeah, I had a hysterectomy when I was 42.
That was where I discovered autoimmunity.
Like, I had no idea.
Endometriosis, adenomyosis, and fibroids.
Like, trifecta had no idea.
Gee, a little estrogen dominant perhaps?
Yes, totally didn't, didn't know and
this is what was so frustrating because
I kept going to all my physicians
and not once they're like, Hmm, I
wonder, you know, like, you might
need some, some, some progesterone
support and help your body clear out
the estrogen that you are producing.
No, there's none of that.
Um, but, but estrogen has that influence
on, on the hair growth cycle, which
is why a lot of women will notice, um,
increased shedding or winding apart
because the androgen dominance, um,
relative dominance on the scalp, there's
miniaturization of the hair follicles.
So the hair follicle, the hair becomes
thinner, finer, and almost will, um,
uh, appear like male pattern hair loss.
On the face, the androgen, um, relative
androgen dominance has an opposite effect.
It stimulates the facial hair more
you fix that for us?
right?
So it's like, okay, I'm going
bald, I have a beard, what the F?
You know, you're like,
why is this happening?
Um, so, so I think it's understanding.
Um, number one, nothing
is going wrong like
Right?
Right.
you know, and and depending on
what your internal terrain looks
like, you may experience more or
less of some of these symptoms.
Your skin pH changes.
Typically, our skin is slightly acidic.
It becomes a little more basic.
So some of the products that you've been
using, you're like, I've been using this
for years and now my skin is irritated.
Not your imagination.
Also, companies may be
changing their formulation.
So using gender.
and especially with the l from
the estrogen influe your face,
it's your extr your intimate bits.
This more uncomfortable becaus
Spending out.
lack of action.
So there's also we lose collagen, um,
not just on her face, but in all areas.
And so this is also why urinary
tract infections become, uh, more
prevalent because there's, you know,
things are shifting and supportive
tissue is, you know, all the things.
So, um, Knowing that you're going
to want to use gentle cleansers, use
products that are more hydrating.
Um, you know, uh, you want to use
humect products that have humectant
properties that draw in the moisture.
This is why some mini products have
hyaluronic acid in them to draw the
moisture in and then an emollient
that helps seal that moisture in.
So this is where you might find
you're using creams and ointments
more often than lotion because
lotions have higher water content.
You just may need
something a little heavier.
a little bit more moisturizing, um,
things that are more gentle and all
these menopause specific products.
Um, some of them may have some anti
inflammatory, uh, components, more,
uh, hydration, but, um, you don't
need to spend a ton of money either.
A lot of products that are at
Target or CVS, um, you know,
they can be very helpful too.
It's just knowing that your
skin has more hydration needs.
As your estrogen level is going down.
That's kind of a big one.
That's a huge one.
And that is not a personal problem.
It's just a fact.
Um, I will add the little caveat if you're
going to Target or CVS or somewhere.
Check with one of your clean
product databases and just make sure
you're not also putting toxins on.
Because some of those products
that feel good and create a nice
barrier also are loaded with toxins.
So,
yes.
And, and, but there are, there
are always some that surprise me.
Um, you know, it could be a
product line where, you know, 80
percent of it has extra junk in it.
And then they've got a, you know,
some of their products not labeled
differently, just specific products
that are as clean as can be.
And they're not expensive.
So homework, do some homework.
I wholeheartedly agree
wholeheartedly agree.
And just circling back to your point
of not looking like the others.
I just came back from the American
Academy of Dermatology meeting and
presenting and, and yeah, talk about
like, I, I totally don't look like, uh,
a, it's a social media reel
in person, is what that is.
it definitely was, but I will say,
listen, I am not anti Botox or
filler or any procedure, but we
have been sold a big old fat lie.
Society says, If you
look good, you feel good.
That is not what I have discovered.
the opposite.
It's the opposite.
When you feel good, you will look good.
And from a place of feeling good, going to
get the Botox, the filler, the procedure.
Because that stuff is expensive.
It requires maintenance, and I want
everyone to get the best return on their
investment as possible, because I cannot
tell you how many clients I have that
they look drop dead effing gorgeous.
They've had all the things done.
But when I ask, you
know, how are you doing?
Or how does this, you
know, how are you feeling?
well, oh,
what I'm thinking of
one woman in particular.
She's always in her mind.
She's always asking the question.
Do you love me now?
Do you love me now?
I've done this.
Do you love me now?
I've done this.
Do you love me now?
that's
It's so heartbreaking because
The question you should be asking
right is like do I love me now?
I need so that I can have a felt sense
of my own care my own concern And you
still may want to have the procedures
and all but from that place Um
Yeah.
From this place of self
love, but also wellness.
Um, we just had that have somebody
was coming in for a fabulous.
I think it's a, it's a great tool.
Um, an RF microneedling procedure, because
again, we want to be stimulating collagen.
We need a little extra help and, and
the girls, she wasn't a patient at
the, on the functional medicine side.
And, and, The girls, I think, did
like two rounds and, and they're good.
And, and they were like,
she looks like she has smokers skin.
Come to find out.
Yup.
Active, you know, pack a day smoke or
she's not going to get the results.
She's wasting her money.
Um, and, and so, you know, it's
like, okay, no, we need to be
asking in the consults, some more
of these lifestyle questions.
Because to, to drop money on a
series of, of, again, I think
it's a great, it's a great tool.
Um, but if you're not healthy,
you're not going to get the
results you're looking for.
And some people are okay with that, right?
It's kind of knowing where they're
at and what their perspective is, but
Yeah.
Oh, and I'm not saying like, you don't
deserve to feel like you look good.
If you smile, I'm just saying
like, no, that, that everything
we're doing has an impact and yeah.
And there's no magic wand.
No.
absolutely not.
Absolutely not.
Yeah, the opposite.
It's so it amazes me that people did
not get that memo that smoking is bad
for your overall health, but especially
the oxidative stress that it creates.
Um, for skin.
It is, you know,
That's a real uphill battle for sure.
UV exposure, right?
The classic photos of, like, smoking
a cigarette, getting the magda from,
you know, something about Mary, like,
it's just, there are certain things
that will just age you a lot faster.
right.
I love it.
We could talk for hours, but I promised I
was going to get you out of here on time.
Um, I so love, love, love what you're
doing, because it's, you are, and I
love that you were just, you know,
at the conference you were presenting
at, because this is how we change
medicine and make it even better, right?
And, and, um, you're pioneering Kind
of a new direction for dermatology.
And I, I celebrate you.
Thank you.
It is.
It is lonely.
Yeah, I present
It's lonely.
I'm sure it's lonely.
I presented at the, the
association meeting about
shame and skin disease because.
So many, that is like the primary
symptom that so many of the women
I work with experience is shame.
Um, and nothing has gone wrong again.
That is,
Right.
you just need to learn how to,
and, and you can heal that.
Um, but at the Academy of dermatology,
I present a session, mind, body
medicine, what's the evidence.
And I tell you, I am alone.
It is lonely, but I will
not give up because,
singing.
um, yeah, it is, it is so important.
We need.
We need a comprehensive,
holistic approach, right?
We need the, the physical, the mental,
the emotional, the spiritual, we
need all of it to feel at home, at
ease and comfort in the skin of ours.
It's the only home we've got
that, you know, so we want to,
we want to, we want to love it.
We want to feel good in it.
We, you know, we might
And allow it to love us back.
Like it really, it is,
it becomes a win win.
So.
What is one step that listeners
can take before we let you go?
And it could be anything under the
sun to start to improve their health.
Yeah, I think the thing is, I've said
it a few times is just to, um, from
a place of curiosity and compassion.
When you look in the mirror,
instead of criticizing.
Perhaps, and having contempt, just
look at what you're seeing as an
opportunity and an invitation of,
um, to turn your kind awareness.
Um, towards what you might
need in this moment, right?
What's showing up is, is just a sign that
maybe you're under resourced in some area.
Maybe you all haven't been sleeping,
maybe you've been scrolling on.
So, I mean, listen, I'm guilty of staying
up too late watching Hulu or whatever.
Um, but I would say of see if you can just
approach what you might see on your skin
from a place of curiosity and compassion
about what you might need in this moment.
Love it.
I love it.
That is, and that alone,
that's a huge step.
Um, and, but it, it's something
that all of us can do.
one or two others can do more of.
No matter what.
And if it's.
You know, if you've never even, um,
Thought about it and mirror work
is, is amazing, but, but really
shifting, holding that curiosity.
Curiosity and compassion.
I mean, just think if we
all showed up in the world.
And it always starts within us.
Right.
Which is, is what you're focused on.
Um, but imagine the change.
I know we're talking about dermatology
and health, but really the change in
the world that would be if everybody
learned to show up with curiosity
and compassion instead of criticism.
Yeah.
It, it, you know, there
is a huge ripple effect.
Yeah.
Uh, that was beautiful.
So before we wrap up for people that
are listening on the go and aren't
going to check the show notes,
where's the best place to find you?
So on instagram, um, dr Kira bar,
I'm certain I'm not always the most
active, but I'm starting to put more
information out there because it's
very clear there's education needed.
My website drkeirabarr.com.
And then I have a quiz.
Actually, if you're curious about, does
your skin care routine need an upgrade?
This will give you a down and dirty
quick Way to figure out what might
need a little bit more of your
attention and it's yourskincarequiz.com
Love it.
Awesome.
Uh, thank you so, so much.
You, you really have shared a may I.
My curiosity is peaked, which
is what it's all about, right?
That's what will drive us to take the
next step and dig in and learn more.
Um, so I'm sure listeners got a
ton of value out of this as well.
So, thank you so much
For everyone listening, remember
you can get the transcripts and show
notes by visiting inspiredliving.
show.
I hope you enjoyed this
episode as much as I did.
I'll see you next week.