Welcome to Skinside Out, where science meets beauty, the ultimate dermatology podcast! Dive deep into the fascinating world of skin health with expert insights, evidence-based discussions, and myth-busting truths. Each episode explores the medical, cosmetic, and surgical aspects of dermatology, while keeping you informed about trending skincare topics. Whether you’re a skincare enthusiast, medical professional, or just curious about how to achieve your best skin, Skinside Out is your go-to resource for staying informed and inspired.
35 - Skinside Out - How to Map Out a Year of Skin Treatments
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[00:00:27] Dr. Zain: Welcome to Skin Side Out where Science Meets Beauty. I'm your host, Dr. Zane, with Heather and Courtney. So it's a new year and we're gonna talk about a new skin plan. So I think that if we can talk about how to structure our cosmetic treatments to give you the best skin possible, I think that's always a great idea.
So think this as your aesthetic planner for the year. So let's get into it. Why do we need an annual skin plan?
[00:00:52] Courtney: I think it's so important to kind of plan ahead for your treatments because there's certain treatments that you might want to do more in the winter time versus the summer. There might be certain concerns such as melasma or um, pigment that maybe you wanna treat with certain devices that will be better again during those months.
And then I think also just coming from a standpoint of mapping out financially maybe yeah, how you want to, um, pay for things and what order you want to go in is very important.
[00:01:20] Heather: I think it's also important to strategically plan for like if you have an event coming up mm-hmm. Or anything like that. Like obviously you don't wanna do a chemical peel like three days before like a wedding or something like that.
So
[00:01:33] Courtney: Dr. Hussein's rule is how long for a bride?
[00:01:36] Dr. Zain: 12 months. 12
[00:01:37] Courtney: months? Mm-hmm. Bridal bootcamp. I mean, it
[00:01:40] Dr. Zain: is ideal if I get even more than that, I'm even happier. Um, I am kind of seeing brides like doing two years, three years out. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So we have a lot of. Latitude to kind of really perfect, um, and improve their skin in that timeframe.
But, you know, we can help even in shorter timeframes, but it may limit what we can do.
[00:01:59] Heather: And I think the skin, um, shows results with consistency. So it's not something that's going to rebound or respond or completely change overnight. Yeah. And so having that, um. Time to get your skin where you want it to be.
I think
[00:02:15] Dr. Zain: it's helpful. Yeah. And also the synergy with certain treatments like some, um, you know, work well together and sequence. So we may be able to get like optimal results, um, by timing it the right way.
[00:02:27] Courtney: Yeah, it's hard when you have a patient who tells you, oh. I wanna look good before this wedding or this event, and then you ask them, when's your event?
Next month? Yeah. Oh, okay.
[00:02:40] Dr. Zain: So good skincare is consistent care, not crisis care, correct?
[00:02:43] Courtney: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I like that.
[00:02:46] Dr. Zain: All right, so let's go step by step on how to build your annual skin plan. So let's go with defining our aesthetic goals. So Courtney, what are some of our aesthetic goals that we talk about?
[00:02:58] Courtney: Um, you know, I think we see a variety of conditions.
I think when we're thinking about planning out what we wanna do throughout the year, we think about conditions, for example, like rosacea or melasma. So we know certain seasons might flare these conditions more than other seasons, and that might go hand in hand with. Treatment during the seasons. Um, other things we see acne, of course, that's I think throughout the year.
Mm-hmm. Um, some patients just want kind of a, um, rejuvenation and just to keep their like annual kind of glow going. Mm-hmm. So I think those varieties kind of will help dictate when and what to get done. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
[00:03:35] Dr. Zain: And I think one of the advantages of. Having this plan in a dermatology office is that we can treat the medical conditions and really help to improve the inflammation.
So for instance, like acne, rosacea, we can really get that under control, have a consistent medical plan, while also incorporating aesthetics to get the optimal result. Mm-hmm. Um, many times when patients are getting treated at a MediSpa, for instance. Um, their provider may not be knowledgeable about the medical treatments and sometimes the treatments that they may recommend can actually make things worse.
Mm-hmm. So I think if you are able to consult with a skin expert, it's really important that, especially if you're mapping out like for like a big event or just kind of getting the optimal results, you're investing a lot of money. You wanna make sure you get the best bang for your buck.
[00:04:26] Courtney: Yeah. And going back to.
You know, the medi spas and not being able to kind of, um, provide. Kind of that extended care. You know, things like, um, with the lasers, let's use rosacea as an example. Mm-hmm. I mean, you might have the benefit, let's say you do a series of three ipls, you might get that benefit, but if you're not doing, um, maybe prescriptions at home with your dermatologist, you're not going to maintain those results.
You're just gonna kind of end up back in that. Realm of needing more treatment.
[00:04:53] Heather: Mm-hmm. And you know, it might be worthwhile trying to prioritize certain things versus trying to do everything all at once. Mm-hmm. Like if you have acne and PIH or post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. Yeah. Some of the acne treatments can help improve the PIH, but some of the best treatments for PAH are done, you know, post acne.
[00:05:16] Dr. Zain: And many times, like for acne, for instance, like. Patients go to the muddy spot to treat their acne with, you know, whatever devices or procedures and. Many times those procedures can actually exacerbate. Mm-hmm. Um, because you're causing trauma to the skin, inflammation, your skin's already inflamed and you're just creating a bigger problem.
Mm-hmm. So sometimes it's also knowing when not to treat. Mm-hmm. Um, and really getting the acne quiet, getting the inflammation under control where we can actually do the treatments that can get the results that you're looking for.
[00:05:50] Courtney: Yeah,
[00:05:51] Dr. Zain: a hundred percent.
[00:05:52] Courtney: So I think it's always good, um, to get kind of like a baseline skin assessment, number one with your skin exams.
I think that's so important. Mm-hmm. If you have not had a skin check, I think your goal for this year should be to set one up. Mm-hmm. Um, from a medical standpoint. And then, you know, cosmetically, I think having baseline photos is always, um, encouraged. So you can kind of track your progress. Um, you know, we have like a photo booth at our office that we utilize, but even sometimes taking selfies at home, you know, you wanna definitely be.
Cognizant of the fact that lighting's gonna change in those kinds of settings. So I think going to see your provider with like a standardized setting is really important.
[00:06:29] Dr. Zain: Yeah. What are your thoughts on those like Visia devices where they're kind of measuring different qualities of the skin?
[00:06:35] Heather: I do like the Vizient.
I think it's nice for people to see the sort of like sun damage that can pop up or, um, you know, deciphering whether something is. A normal pigment versus something more like melasma. I think it helps to point out and make it more apparent to the patient. Mm-hmm. Um, I actually had a visia done a couple years ago and I.
I think it was really helpful because I found that I have like a line of sun damage right along my hairline, so I was,
[00:07:10] Dr. Zain: that sunscreen doesn't happen horrible with
[00:07:11] Heather: like blending my sunscreen and I think that's tough because some sunscreens like you don't wanna make your hair greasy. Mm-hmm. But it kind of gave me, it, it allowed me to take a step back and rethink how I'm applying my sunscreen.
[00:07:23] Dr. Zain: Yeah. I got a Vizio scan done once and. It showed me texture. I mean, 'cause I had an extensive history of acne, acne, scar. So I can kind of see how the topography of my face, um, was. And then I did another one a few years later after doing some treatment that I could see improvement. Um, which is nice 'cause obviously I'm aging, but we see improvement in, you know, the depth of some of these, you know, scars and just overall smoothing, um, of the texture.
[00:07:53] Courtney: I think my one. You know, qualm, I guess about that is when you go to like a med spa, I feel like sometimes if the person doesn't know what they're looking for mm-hmm. Or what they're doing, sometimes I almost feel like they weaponize it against you. Yeah. Like I've been to a few places before and they're like, Ugh, see all of this?
I know. Yeah. Sun damage.
[00:08:12] Dr. Zain: Oh my God. Yeah. Yeah. I'm
[00:08:13] Courtney: like 30 years old. I've worn sunscreen since I was a child. I've gotten so many procedures, so I'm like, what? Sunday? I would like, I do laser like once a month. It's like you need co2. And it's like, yeah, I don't think so. At 30 I need co2. Like, I hope not.
[00:08:29] Dr. Zain: Yeah.
For Erbium. Yeah.
[00:08:31] Courtney: So I think going to like a trusted
[00:08:33] Dr. Zain: Yeah.
[00:08:33] Courtney: You know, professional is so important.
[00:08:35] Dr. Zain: Yeah. And you know, to that point, if. You are going to a medi spa. It is a place where, you know, I think sometimes they don't have your best interest at heart. Um, it is a business at the end of the day. Whereas in a medical facility, um, you know, we take an oath.
Um, you know, do no harm and, you know, we're supposed to be ethical. Mm-hmm. Um, I don't always see that in the, um, aesthetic industry. Mm-hmm. At large.
[00:09:02] Courtney: Yeah. Yeah. So I think you can kind of categorize the treatments, um, into kind of segments of how, I guess, invasive they are. Um, you know, things that I kind of look at your, you know.
Maintenance or bottom tier are things like facials, um, you know, medical grade facials especially. I know we use, um, the Bella MD in our office, which is similar to, you know, HydraFacial or Diamond Glow. So I think that is definitely an easy, like monthly treatment. There's no downtime. Um, it's something that you can do throughout the year easily.
Um, and even things like some very light chemical peels, like I love, like a light glycolic acid, like a glycolic 20. Love, um, no downtime. It's just a nice little refresh. It's things you can just do, um, throughout, you know, the year that I think is really helpful.
[00:09:50] Heather: And I think they're foundational to see results over time.
Mm-hmm. With the other stuff too. Yeah,
[00:09:57] Dr. Zain: absolutely. And they optimize penetration of some of the active ingredients mm-hmm. For your skincare. Mm-hmm. So it just optimizes that and other treatments as well.
[00:10:05] Courtney: Yeah.
[00:10:07] Dr. Zain: Um, so next we look at more corrective treatments. So these are, you know, going beyond the surface, like the epidermis.
Um, we're actually, you know, working on, um, you know, also the dermal level, um, trying to help with improving pigment. We're trying to improve texture. Um, so these are things that you know, you can do such as lasers. Um, we can do acne scar procedures. That, you know, will help to minimize the appearance of scars.
Um, you know, melasma, safe modalities non-ablative fractional lasers are really helpful. Um, and deeper chemical peels. So your medium depth peels, um, can be very helpful. Yeah.
[00:10:49] Heather: I think one of the other, um, tiers of skincare or aesthetics is like enhancing treatments, whether that's, um, injectables or biostimulatory products.
And so these are things that we can use to enhance certain areas. It might not be like a full face rejuvenation, like you might do Botox for your forehead. Mm-hmm. Or like. Sculpture for your lower face, um, threads, lip filler, I mean mm-hmm. The list goes on. But I think these can help accentuate areas that you're trying to do a little more concentrated.
[00:11:24] Dr. Zain: Yeah.
[00:11:25] Courtney: Yeah. So with all of these treatments, um, you definitely wanna consider downtime mm-hmm. And the seasonal factors. Yeah. So, you know, winter is a great time to do a lot of the procedures that will, you know, create sun sensitivity or that you wanna stay out of the sun. Mm-hmm. So we look at things like laser, so IPL, um, any CO2 of course, um, laser hair removal.
Um, a lot of people, I, I get a lot of patients that. They see me during the summer for laser hair removal. 'cause that's when they're mm-hmm. Shedding their clothes and they see all the hair. Yeah. And they always wanna start right then and there. And I say, okay, we gotta wait because I don't want you getting sun exposure potentially burning you.
Mm-hmm. Yeah. So winter, if you're thinking about looking, you know, bare for the summer. Yeah. You definitely wanna start in the winter. Yeah. But, um, those are really your, um, kind of resurfacing, um, treatments. So
[00:12:16] Dr. Zain: right now, I mean, we're seeing a ton of cosmetic procedures in the office. Um, people are, you know, done with the holidays now.
Mm-hmm. Um, they have a little bit more downtime to spare. Mm-hmm. And with the sun being not so such a factor anymore, um, you know, this is a great time, especially for resurfacing. So I do a lot of my CO2 resurfacing cases, you know, this time of the year. Um, you know, you kind of look like a burn victim for one to two weeks.
Um, so, you know, people aren't as social at this time and people are hibernating.
[00:12:49] Courtney: Yeah. January is the ideal month, I think, because people wanna look good for the holidays. Mm-hmm. But the struggle is that there's so many functions Yeah. And parties that you don't have the downtime in January, I feel like.
Yeah. It's pretty dead. Yeah. No one's going out. It's cold, it's dark at like 4:00 PM so it's the perfect time. Everybody has their New
[00:13:09] Heather: Year's resolutions in
[00:13:10] Courtney: place. Yeah.
[00:13:11] Dr. Zain: Yeah. It's like one of those months, I mean. Probably the only month or Yeah. Nothing's really going on. Yeah.
[00:13:16] Courtney: Might as well do your procedure.
Yeah. Unless
[00:13:18] Dr. Zain: you like to ski, I guess. Yeah.
[00:13:21] Courtney: Um, spring, I like sometimes I'll kind of continue out some of the treat depending on my patients. Um. On their schedule. I mean, some patients are really good about in the spring being able to kind of maintain not being so exposed to the sun to kind of finish out maybe that last series of like an IPL treatment or something like that.
Mm-hmm. But you do wanna be cautious as the sun starts, um, kind of coming out a little bit more and people are starting to go outside a little bit more, that you're not going too heavy handed on treatments.
[00:13:51] Dr. Zain: Yeah.
[00:13:51] Heather: Yeah. I think summer's a great time too. Focus on gentle things, something that's not gonna be super resurfacing.
So. Maybe a chemical peel, maybe microneedling. I think those are nice to, um, alternate, but obviously you do still have to be cautious about sun exposure after those treatments.
[00:14:09] Dr. Zain: And summer times are pretty social times. Mm-hmm. So I feel like, you know, people really just wanna look really good for events, parties, things like that.
So. I mean, this is a great time to enhance. Mm-hmm. Um, you use those injectables. Mm-hmm. Um, you know, help to smoothen nuts and lines. You can, you know, do your lips, um, you know, kind of get that lift and that extra glow.
[00:14:28] Courtney: Mm-hmm. Summertime, I feel like my schedule is exclusively facials. Um, glycolic or salicylic.
Peels and microneedling. Yeah.
[00:14:39] Dr. Zain: But, you know, I think. Even the non-ablative fractional laser, like the Laser MD Ultra. Mm-hmm. I love that treatment. Yeah. Um, and, you know, you could just use lower energy settings. It's safe, it's effective, and you can use it in the summer. Mm-hmm. Um, as long as you're, you know, very careful.
Yeah. Yeah. If you see some great results.
[00:14:55] Heather: Yeah. And then fall kind of goes into, you know, rethinking some corrective treatments. If you're targeting pigment or sun damage, maybe you're trying to, um, you know, reverse any sort of sun exposure that you had that summer. Mm-hmm. Um, so it just kind of gets you rethinking about lasers especially.
[00:15:15] Dr. Zain: Yeah. I mean, the holidays mm-hmm. You know, are around the corner.
[00:15:19] Heather: Mm-hmm.
[00:15:19] Dr. Zain: So fall time's a good time to plan. I mean, I feel like October's a great month to start because. You know, you've lost your tan, hopefully from the summer, um, you have enough time to recuperate from any treatments, especially if there's a series.
Mm-hmm. And you'll look great for Christmas.
[00:15:35] Courtney: Yeah. I think it is so important to know your timeline and know how long it takes for, for things to take effect. Mm-hmm. So if, you know, let's say that you have a wedding in October. You wanna get your toxin filler, you don't wanna do it one week before the wedding.
You want, you know, time for that tox to kick in. You wanna make sure you don't have any risk of bruising or swelling. So, um, or let's say you want to maybe do a biostimulatory, okay. You wanna maybe do it months in advance so that it is, you know, essentially kicked in by the time, um, you're getting to that event.
So just being cognizant of timing, I think is important.
[00:16:12] Dr. Zain: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Um, and. You know, while we're thinking of it from a seasonal standpoint, we also have to look at the foundation of a daily routine. So, you know, looking at everything from globally, but also looking at, you know, your daily routine, your skincare, um, it's so important.
People shouldn't forget about that. I mean, all this is kind of a waste if you're not wearing your sunscreen and not optimizing your skincare regimen. Yeah.
[00:16:36] Courtney: Yeah. So you can always add in things for that kind of consistent monthly routine. Like we touched on facials, some like chemical peels, even some red light sessions I think go a long ways.
Um, but you can also kind of think of things in like quarterly sessions. So example, your neurotoxins tend to be quarterly, um, maybe some light microneedling sessions. Um, I do find myself. Recommending to patients doing like an initial series. Um, but I think when we're talking more about maintenance, that's when I do kind of look at like things like the microneedling.
Mm-hmm. Kind of quarterly or every couple months, something like that. But I do typically like doing like that initial series of three to kind of jumpstart that collagen production. Mm-hmm. And then at that point we're kind of maintaining. Mm-hmm.
[00:17:22] Heather: Yeah.
[00:17:24] Dr. Zain: Um, so let's talk about budget. Um, so how can we, um, kind of plan for.
This year of treatments, um, how do we kind of build that budget?
[00:17:36] Heather: Go ahead.
[00:17:38] Courtney: Don't ask me. I'm not good with my money. No, I think when you're looking at the year ahead, it does take a little bit of, you know, um, planning because. A lot of times I think we see patients again that come in, they know they have an event and then it's like crunch time.
Mm-hmm. And then maybe there is like crunch on money and things like that. So I think by putting away a little bit each month towards these procedures is really helpful. I really like how we have structured our membership program, um, so that you are putting a little bit of money away each month and then you can use that money.
Towards whatever product or procedure. And it kind of accumulates over time because it's easier to put away like $50, a hundred dollars a month, then you get that like sticker shock when mm-hmm. You're getting some of these procedures. So by budgeting I think it helps out, um, future you. Yeah.
[00:18:28] Heather: Yeah. We also use a lot of like laser energy based device combo treatments, um, which I think is really helpful not only for getting everything done on one day.
But also helping with cost too. 'cause a lot of times if you're bundling things mm-hmm. You get further discounts. Um, so this could be like bundling, um, a laser that targets pigment or redness with the um fractional non-ablative laser or microneedling. And so you can get. Different benefits out of these, but safe to do on the same day.
[00:19:07] Dr. Zain: Yeah. And also you cut down on recovery, right? Yeah. So you only have to recover once as opposed to like, you know, splitting them up and having multiple potential recoveries.
[00:19:15] Courtney: Yeah. Yeah. Um. I was gonna also, um, touch on like tax season. Like I feel like after tax season, I always joke with my tattoo artist because he always says tax season is like his biggest, um, mud people using
[00:19:28] Dr. Zain: refunds.
Oh
[00:19:29] Courtney: yeah. People get, that's, they go get tattoos and I feel the same. I feel like after tax season people are coming to see me. I think that's, it lines up with the laser hair. People want the laser hair, they get the tax money back. It's right before summer. They're like, yeah, let's do it. Um, so yeah, being cognizant of like, if you know you're getting maybe like a.
A Christmas bonus or, or like tax season, like tax returns. Like knowing when you're getting a little bit more money to maybe put aside a little bit more if you want to pursue these things. Mm-hmm. So yeah, I wanted to touch base on like recovery time, um, because I think we get a lot of questions on how to space out procedures and what the recovery time kind of looks like for each one.
Yeah. I think a majority of. Times people don't know how far apart they should space out. They'll come see me maybe for a chemical peel and then say, okay, how long do I have to wait till I can do my, um, my s sculptra or my mm-hmm. You know, laser. So I think let's talk a little bit about that.
[00:20:29] Dr. Zain: Yeah, I think that's a, a great point.
So. It really just depends on how invasive the procedure. I mean, these are all pretty non-invasive procedures. Mm-hmm. But, um, you know, some have a little bit more downtime than others. So we kind of look at it like, what are we treating and how aggressive it is. So like with your facials and light chemical peels, we are just really just, you know, on the surface and it's a very minimal recovery.
Mm-hmm. Right. So next day you're fine. May have a little redness immediately after, but that's about it. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And then, you know, with a peel you may have a little bit of dryness, um, but that would be it for that. Now, as we kind of go in a little bit deeper, um, say with your microneedling, so you're creating channels or using non-ablative fractional laser, um, you actually have a wound to the skin and you're kind of penetrating into the dermis, so.
By virtue of being more aggressive, you're gonna have a little bit more downtime. But 'cause it's fractional, like not the entire skin surface is completely injured. There's just smart, like little segments and you know, the skin, um, and the surrounding areas that are not injured actually help facilitate the healing.
Of those injured areas. So that wound response is a lot faster. So you're looking at a couple of days. Mm-hmm. You know, typically our microneedling, non-ablative fractional laser, um, they, they tend to heal up pretty quickly. And then especially if you're using boosters like PRP mm-hmm. Um, you know, the PDRN or exosomes, it can be even faster than that.
Now if we're doing something more aggressive, like say resurfacing, like CO2 laser resurfacing, I mean, you are ablating a large portion of. The top layer of the skin. Mm-hmm. So you're gonna have a lot more recovery. Um, even though we use the fractional CO2, I mean, you can really dial up the density, the power, um, and energy.
And you can have like a recovery that looks up to, you know, two weeks. Mm-hmm. Um, where you're kind of looking like a burn victim.
[00:22:26] Courtney: Yeah. Yeah. I think, you know, when you think about kind of stacking treatments, I think, you know. Coming off the cusp of, um, holiday season, we have a lot of patients who are doing as many procedures as they can in that time period.
And so they'll ask, how long do I need to wait after a chemical peel? Or How long do I need to wait? You know? So I think it's easier when you are able to do these things throughout the year so that you don't have to worry about that overlap so much. Mm-hmm.
[00:22:58] Dr. Zain: Yeah.
[00:22:59] Heather: Mm-hmm.
[00:22:59] Dr. Zain: Great. I think that we kind of, you know, talked extensively about how to structure and plan, you know, your skincare regimen, um, your skin treatment regimen and how to optimize it.
So any last words on, you know, advice for people who are creating their first skin treatment plan of the year?
[00:23:23] Heather: Um.
I think just, you know, maybe jotting some things down as far as what you are interested in, what your goals are, and then creating that plan. Like it, you might not be able to do a treatment every single month, but if you can plan it out and, and plan accordingly, I think it's gonna, um, help in the long run.
[00:23:49] Courtney: Yeah. Yeah, I think taking advantage of different membership plans can be incredibly helpful. Um, like I said, it's so much easier to put aside. $50 or a hundred dollars a month. Then once you get up to that point and it feels so big, at least you have some money to put towards it. Um, and you think about $50 as like a night out at dinner.
And so, um, it feels a lot more, um, easy to structure it that way than just paying all at once. But, um, yeah, just looking ahead, I think sometimes. We get tunnel vision in caught up in the moment of what we're doing now instead of looking at kind of the future. And so, um, just trying to be more aware.
[00:24:28] Dr. Zain: Yeah, and I really do think that getting a cosmetic consultation, um, with your board certified dermatologist or other skin specialists, um, is a great idea.
I think that not only are you gonna get a clear and concise plan that's effective. We can also structure the optimal timing and it'll save you a lot of aggravation. 'cause you're gonna get a million different opinions from other people. Oh, you should do this, that, but you know, you have a plan with someone who can take you on that journey and be there with you, um, to really make sure that you're achieving your goals.
So I do think it's a great investment. Um, you know, that 30 minute consult I think is worth every penny. And ultimately I think it helps to save you money because you will get the results you're looking for.
[00:25:19] Courtney: Mm-hmm.
[00:25:20] Dr. Zain: Yeah. Yeah. All right. So I think that, you know, we now know how to make a skin treatment plan, so if you guys have any questions, I would welcome any, you know, comments, um, like subscribes.
But until next time, skin inside
[00:25:36] Heather: out.