Injecting Confidence, Inside & Out: The Business of Beauty with Jennifer DiLandro

0:00Legitimately, I had nothing. I thought I was like, the better thing that I could do for my kids was just kill myself because they could get my insurance policy. That's why I decided, I said, you know what, I'm going to try to do this. I'm going to start this business. I got to do something that's going to pick me up. And I got to do something that I think that will make me feel better about myself because it was, it was a dark time. It was a really dark time. Women do so much and people don't realize how much we rise above. We have to be, like you said, have to be everything. We have to be, I have to be mom, dad, provider and start this business.

0:32And it was not easy. It was not.

0:53Welcome back to the BILF pod where authenticity trumps authority. Today's guest is actually one of my favorite things to do. That sounds really bad. But her name is Jennifer Ann DeLeandro. She is a famous injector, but she's the founder and CEO of Dolce Aesthetics in New York. She has several locations. And I'm just excited because I love it. If you can nip it, tuck it, pluck it, fuck it. I'll do it. I don't care. I love that. So welcome to the show. Thank you for having me. Yeah. All right. I love it. Thank you for having me. I mean, let's just get down to business. I got to get comfortable for this because I'm waiting for some good questions.

1:31Yeah, let's go. Oh, I got some good questions. So I am a huge fan. I always laugh. Like everybody, I tell everybody that I meet. I'm very, very authentic about injectables and that I use them. I always say everything on my body is fake. Everything, the hair, the tan, it's all fake. But, you know, one of the biggest feedback that I get from critics is that it's not authentic when you're using injectables. So I want to start there. How do you feel about that? It's injectable if you buy it, right? Basically, if I bought it, I own it. It's mine. So it is authentic, right? Yeah, it is. Definitely authentic.

2:03And you're doing it to your own body. And what's the difference of coloring your hair or, let's say, doing your teeth? What's the difference if you want to make your face look a little bit more zhuzh? I like to say, I call it a zhuzh. Oh, I like this word. Isn't that a good word? Let me try to say it. A zhuzh? A zhuzh. Yes, I love the zhuzh. It's a great word. It's a good word. I mean, listen, there are people that are going to be totally against it. I get that. And there's people on the other spectrum who totally love it or totally off the wall when it comes to it. I mean, believe me, I get patients where I have to say, listen, I don't want to see you for six months.

2:36You can't come back because you're getting too much. You look good. You don't need any more. Because that's another problem is that people and patients, they want to. I have patients who come in with their phone. I want to look like her. I go, she doesn't even look like her. Yeah, this is a filter. It's a filter, and it does become where it does look, and it can be fake-looking, but you don't want it to be that way. Yeah, you want it to be natural. And you started as a nurse, right, a nurse practitioner. So what made you switch over into injectables? I mean, I just always loved aesthetics. I worked as a labor and delivery nurse, and that runs hand-in-hand with plastic surgery, and women's health runs hand-in-hand with that.

3:22and I was just, you know, I was friends with a plastic surgeon. He was like, hey, I'm going to this training class with this company called Allergan, which is the big company that makes Botox, trillion-dollar company, for Botox injections for cosmetics. She's like, do you want to come with me? I was like, yeah, I want to come with you. So I went. I loved it. This was 2001, and that was it. For some reason, it was like me and was like riding a bicycle. It was just like I was supposed to do it. It was love at first sight. Oh, my God. Love at first sight. A match made in heaven. It was total match made in heaven.

3:56I can definitely relate because I love Botox. Love it. Filler. Love it. I'm not even afraid or ashamed. I don't care. I love it, too. Right? So now you are really the injector of the stars. So can we talk about that? Sure. I know you're probably not going to put anybody out, but let's talk about it. So when the stars come in, do they go incognito and they're like, don't say you ever saw me? Or how does that go? I mean, I have people who obviously I post on my page that I collaborate with that I could say that I, you know, inject them. But there are people that don't pay. There are people, actors, because I do a lot of actors, too, not just reality stars.

4:31So they come in there. They don't want they don't really want people to know that they're doing anything. You know, it's which I understand. Yeah, no, I get it. Just I get it. I totally get it. I don't agree, but I get it. Like, just why not own it? Who cares? Yeah. Some people just don't. They get a little funny. I think in certain worlds and genres, everybody wants to pretend that they look so young without anything. It's like, dude, you didn't look that good 10 years ago. Now you're telling me you're going to look good now. I'm telling you. You look more transparent if you say the truth. So it's like for some reason it's this thing that they want to look good without having to, oh, yeah, right, juice every day.

5:06That's why my skin looks like this. No, your skin does not look like that. Yeah, just stop. Because you juice every day. Stop. No. Stop the wise. I know, just stop. I cannot. So how many locations, because you have quite a few locations. How many locations do you have? I have four. Four locations? That's incredible. Ready to open five. So you really are a bilf. You're a bilf, not me. You're the bilf. Thank you. You're the bilf of injections. Thanks. Oh, I love that. The Botox lady I'd like to follow. Oh, I love it. The Botox lady I'd like to follow. That's great. Yeah, you are the bilf of Botox.

5:38I love that. You are. I was going to be my new catchphrase. You can steal it. I love it. I absolutely love it. but you know what's so funny is that you are actually super funny your personality is so dynamic so when the clients come into you are you, some of the, because I've been I've been to lots of med spas how do you tell somebody like enough, enough is enough what, like they've done enough I'm just honest, I say stop it you look like Joan Rivers, you gotta stop you can't do it you want to look like you went through a wind tunnel no, I'm totally honest and that's why my patients love me because I say the truth I can't with the Joan Rivers.

6:15No, stop. No, you're going to look like Plastic Man. You need to stop. I cannot because then you see these people and their face is so frozen. But I like to be frozen, but not to the point where you can't even just move. I don't like that. No, I like to be a little overdone, but not too overdone. Like I like my lips a little bit extra, but not too extra. But then there's too extra where you look like an alien. You know what I mean? That's what starts. You start to look like a cat lady or a cat person. I can't. And it's also my, you know, reputation. So I don't want them to walk out and say, hey, yeah, Jen Dolce just did this to my face and they look like they're a cat.

6:52You know, I don't want that either. They look crazy. So I do tell them, I'm very honest. I'm brutally honest. And I tell patients the truth, what they need. That's important. Not what they need to hear. I tell them what they have to do. Is there a specialty? Are you like a lip lady? Are you like a cheek person? Like, what is your favorite? I mean, I love doing lips. I mean, I guess that was like, you know, during like the Kylie Jenner craze that was like, I was love your lips at Dolce and the whole thing. But I mean, I think I love to do everything. I love to do noses. I love to contour noses.

7:25That's just, you know, because there's a specialty to it. You know, there's an artistry to it. And that's what a lot of people don't understand. I mean, all these, there's everybody's an explosion now with everybody trying to do this. And it's like, you can't just do it. It's not like, I'm going to go to nursery school. Now I'm just going to go out and I'm going to start injecting opener practice. It's like, no, there's, there's, okay. And I always use this analogy. There's, here's George Clooney. He's going to go out and he's going to learn how to sing for a movie and he'll be able to carry a tune.

7:55He'll take singing lessons. And then there's Mariah Carey. She's the eight octave. She was born with it. She's, that's it. I'm Mariah Carey in the Botox world. I love it. That's it. That's who I am. I'm Mariah Carey. I'm not George Clooney. And I'm not, yeah. And it's like, and it becomes now like a Taco Bell for everybody. When you have too many locations. They're everywhere. It's just, it's becoming too over flooded. And there is going to probably be, especially in New York. I know a lot of doctors are coming together and MPs. And they're going to say there has to be a cap where you have to have at least five years experience in a hospital or in a clinical setting to be able to do this legally.

8:34because, you know, it is dangerous. First of all, people don't realize how dangerous it can be. It looks easy. I make it look easy when I'm doing it, but it's not. I mean, you have a whole, you know, you have nerves. You have vessels. There are things that could go wrong, very wrong. Yeah, hit a blood vessel, you're done. You hit an occlusion, forget it. Somebody could go blind from a wrong hit vessel. So it's, you know, it's dangerous. but everybody seems it's so easy, but it's not. No, it's not easy. And what about these, you know, I used to see, I don't know if it still is because I haven't seen Groupon in a while.

9:10What about these, I'm dead, I can't. The Groupon, I'm just, what about somebody, not that I would, no, maybe I did when I was, listen, I was broke. Because, you know, my hairstylist said, he always says to me, he goes, I go, I look so much better now. He said, honey, because you have money and you can't afford. So I always laugh. But when I didn't have money, I had to use a Groupon special. So what do you – okay, give the advice. Go ahead, go. Okay, I'm one of the top injectors in the city, especially Brooklyn and Queens. That's my – I'm top. I'm number one. For what they're charging for Botox on Groupon, I couldn't afford to do that because I wouldn't make any money.

9:52I would be giving it away. Yeah. So that just shows me that they're using, A, fake product. It's not really Botox that they're using. they're watering it down or be they're getting it from Russia or China. And that's the truth. I mean, there's no, it is because you, there's no way. There's no way. It's so crazy. So if somebody's looking. And again, that's cheapening it down again. Taco Bell, like, you know. I know, Mariah Carey. I got George Clooney, Taco Bell. But what about, so if you're trying to find an injector, you're trying to look for a med spa that is credible or somebody. How do you go about, how would one go about doing that?

10:32Finding like the perfect person to go to. Well, I mean. Or reputable, not perfect, reputable. You know, like I said before, you know, there is a lot of injectors. You have to be careful. And a lot of people don't understand. They don't know what they're looking for because especially if they've never done it before, they don't know what to expect. They don't know what they're looking for. But you want to probably go to somebody who's been doing it for a long time. See how long they've been in business. see how long you know what their what their credentials are before you just go jump to somebody uh that hey this this place just opened up around the block for me and it looks really beautiful but the person's been only been injected for six months you know you got to be careful of that yeah so i would go to somebody who's been in business for a while obviously and has a reputation that that that they know what they're doing and there isn't a lot of people that are on that elite level.

11:20I'm a trainer too, so I could tell you that. There's maybe a handful of people who are on that elite level. I mean, not everybody who plays soccer could be an Olympian. That's just it. It just can't. Not everybody's Massey. Not everybody's. Or Pele, that shows how old I am. Oh my God. Oh my God. So what age, so I've been doing Botox probably since I'm 25 years old. So quite a long time I've been doing it. What age would you recommend somebody goes and starts, Is it true what they say is that it's like preventative? I mean, I would say 25 to 27 is probably the age. That's the age that I usually would stop patients.

12:02You know, I don't like when, not that I don't like it, but patients come in, they're like 20, like, can I have Botox? I'm like, you don't even deserve Botox. Like, you don't have a wrinkle on your face that deserves Botox. Come back when you get married, have some kids, do something that deserves Botox. But no, I just think that maybe like 25, 27 is a good, you know, a good age to start it. Like you said, prevention. But you are going into your 30s, so that is a good time to start. I feel like it's a good starting point. It just kind of gets you used to what, you know, what it is. And then it kind of gets you in the routine.

12:37How often should you be going? Three months. Yeah. Three, four months. It starts to work and stops, you know, repeat and stops working. Yeah, because I find, you know, sometimes with Botox, like, I'll go a good three-month round. but then sometimes it's two months so why does that happen do you work out a lot yeah okay that's why metabolizes yeah if you work out a lot and if you're stressed i mean uh the time of year has a lot to do with it in the summertime obviously if we're sweating more right we're doing a lot more activities outside that can overturn you know overturn it quicker to metabolize it quicker so there's all those you know key factors that can you know take that that does take you know it does cause the effect to diminish.

13:18Now, there's different types of Botox, right? There's different, isn't there like different brands? Well, Botox is a brand, so that's... Well, there's different types of injecting. Yes. There's different name brands of injecting. Neurotoxins, yes. Thank you. And I'm not trying to say that to correct you. I know, you're the Mariah Carey. You're the Mariah Carey. I'm saying it because Botox is a brand name. Because when people come in, well, what kind of Botox do you use? I go, I use Botox. Right. Botox is a brand name. And, yes, there's four or five other brands that's out there. There's Javel, which is garbage, Dysport, Xeomin, and Daxify.

13:52So I do offer other neurotoxins too because, yes, the companies do give it to you for a better price because they are in competition with both drugs. I love how honest you are about that. No, I'm very honest. And I say I offer it to patients because some patients don't want to spend$15 a unit on a Dysport. Dysport, no. I use Dysport. I turned yellow. Yeah. But I just don't like it. It's just too diluted. That's what I don't like about it. Yeah, it turns yellow. I literally used it and turned yellow. Yeah. Never again. I like Botox. Love Botox. Botox is the mothership, man. The mothership. It's the mothership.

14:25You are the OG. You're the OG of it. Thank you. I want you to talk a little bit about that, though. You've really started doing injectables way before, like, since the beginning of time. So how did that, or since, I mean, since the beginning of the time when it started. No, it's true. So how did that even like, here you are, you decide you're going to do this. Not many people are doing it. So how did this, like, where did this whole trend come from? I mean, I started doing it. I just took a chance and said, this is, you know, something I want to do. I was working. I was working as a nurse administrator, making big, big salary.

15:02I was running two surgical suites, two big ones in Brooklyn, one in Manhattan. and I just said, you know what? I can't do this anymore. I said, I got to do something that I love and I took, I had like 10 week vacations owed to me because I didn't take a vacation for like eight years and I'm like, you know what? I'm taking a vacation. I set up shop and I said, let me just try it. And what's the worst that can happen? I can always go and get another job and it just, it flourished. It just, it just worked. It took off. But I busted my ass. Yeah. I busted my ass. And I still bust my ass every day.

15:39That comes to the business side of it, because obviously if you have four, first of all, it's expensive to run. But if you have four different med spas, that says a lot about who you are and what you're doing. So where are you going with this? Are you trying to be, like, international? Are you trying to go on the West Coast? Are you trying to go down to Florida? Like, what are we doing here? Because you have a lot going on. I like to go to Florida. I like to open in Florida. I do maybe want to, at some point, maybe open in Vegas, I think. But I think that's it. I don't think I want to open up too many.

16:06I want to kind of keep it boutique, but not too, like I said, I don't want to be a Taco Bell. Like that's, you know, I don't want to be all Dolce's everywhere. I want to keep it tight. And I want to have maybe two or three more locations, and then that's it. Yeah. Call it a day. Because there's other things I like to do too. Oh, like what? So, you know, I mean, now I'm getting into more production, and I'm taking acting lessons. Well, you do have your own podcast, so let's talk about that. So now not only the OG of inject, like the OG of this, okay? Now on top of that, you also run your own podcast.

16:41Yes. Well, that started. How did that come about? From injectables to podcasting. I mean, you know, it just, I think, just like somebody was like, why don't you do a podcast, Jen? You love to talk about what you do. You love to talk to people. You're hilarious on IG. Why don't you just go and start a podcast? I'm like, do I really want to start a podcast? I said, do I really? But you know what? I do like to talk. I do like to talk to people. So I said, let's do it. Let's try it. And yeah. So what's that about? What do you talk about on there? We talk about everything. Anything? From Cats to Pudding.

17:16That's the name of the podcast. That's hysterical. Where did you come up with this name? Oh my God. So I'm sitting on my sofa one night. And I have, that's how it's the Italian in me, the sofa. Sitting on my, my cat's sitting on me. My fiance, I don't know what he is anymore. my fiancee, my significant other, whatever he is. He's making me pudding, and I eat hot pudding out of a pot. And I'm sitting there. Like how they used to make pudding? Yeah, hot pudding on a pot. Yeah, he's making this for me. He brings it over to me. I'm sitting there with a towel eating pudding out of the pot with a big wooded Italian spoon like this.

17:49And my cat's laying on me, and I'm going, Jesus, this is what my life has become, cats and pudding. So I'm going, that's a great name for a podcast because it's everything from cats to pudding, you know. I love that. So, yeah, that's where the name came from. And you just talk about whatever. Whatever. Who are your guests? Like, what's your favorite guests? I do a lot. I have reality stars, people in politics, just interesting people, women in business, you know, actors, artists. Yeah, they just, you know, whoever. I just, I think those looks interesting. I'm going to invite them to be on the show.

18:25You're going to be on my show next. I'm going to come. I'm gonna come I'll be the bilf the OG of the bilfs you are the bilf I don't know I'm bilfing it you are bilfing it I'm just bilfing it right now you are bilfing it how many episodes have you done oof I think 64 already ooh yeah so you are you're like in there you're like the bilf of podcasting now I'm trying to break it through I mean it's hard I mean it's hard you know it's hard yeah I think anything in life that you want is hard yeah And anything worth having is hard. And the podcast, I think it's a great platform, though. I think the thing about podcasting is that you, I think you're right.

19:03You get to meet very interesting people, which I've been so fortunate. I've met the most, and I love to talk to people, and I love people. So you meet, and it's a great way to advertise for your business. It's true. But more importantly, like, it's a great platform to just talk shit. Like, you just talk shit about whatever you want. I do like that part of it. I do, too. I like to, we call it yunting. Do you know Yenta? I'm from New York it's the same thing but I love to yenta I love it too just yenta about bullshit all day long I think we could just sit here and just yenta I could sit and talk to you for the rest of the week without taking a breath same thing me too even my kids are like do you ever shut up mom stop talking do you have children I have three I have three I have three girls Bless your heart.

19:57Oh, God. Oh, man. I have a girl. I have one girl. God knew better. She's the oldest? She's the oldest. God knew better. If they would have given me three girls, God would have been a sad place for us all. No. I have a 17-year-old. We're actually here going to look at colleges for her. That's your oldest. Yeah, that's my oldest. I have a 14-year-old son. And then I have who I call the baby. I have a 7-year-old. Oh, that is a baby. Yeah, he's the baby. My baby's 19. Gonna be 20. That's the baby. And all girls, they must love what you do, though. Are you like the cool mom? No. You know, you would think so.

20:28I'm not. Not at all. They're like, Mom, please stop. They're like. Enough, right? Yeah. I'll like dance. I'll start like dancing and they're like. Yeah. This is my daughter. Embarrassed. Yeah. They get. I mean, they are. They get. You would think that. But no, they get embarrassed of me. And they all live locally or. Two live with me still. And while they all technically live with me, because one lives in one of the apartment that I own. So she lives there. So technically she still lives with me. But, yeah, they're still close. They have to be proud of you, though. I mean, you're showing them.

20:59No, they are. I shouldn't say that. You're showing them, though. You have these med spas. I mean, you're there. You're a boss. And now you have this podcast. Have you had them on? No. I haven't. You know what? They're not like me. They're not like the public eye as much. They're more like, you know, they're more quiet, like that way. But my one daughter, she runs my business. So she works for me. And what are the other two? The other one is a nurse and going to a nurse manager. She actually runs Jacoby Hospital ICU unit. She's only 25. Wow. Yeah. And now she's going back to school to be a nurse anesthetist.

21:34So, which is big money. Yeah. Big money. I think I'm going to go back to school to do that now. Really? Oh, my God. No, it's a good. It's a great career. It's a great career. I'm sure. And well, the nice thing about your degree, too, is that you can literally do anything. Yeah. So if, heaven forbid, this didn't work out, what would you do? if, like, let's just say aesthetics, it just wasn't it anymore. I mean, you could do any, you really could do anything. Yeah, I could, and I've done a lot of, I've done everything. Nursing, you could go so many different avenues. You know, it's really, it's really good.

22:03I'm a DMP, so I have my doctorate in nursing. I mean, I could do administration. I could do research. I could do, you know, I could do so many different things. I could be a professor. I love that would be great. Yeah, you could be, that'd be your next, I think you should do it, like, on the side of NYU if you're hiring. That the next professor. that would yeah you could do that the professor of botox it's it's um it's it's hard to be to do that i think that's it's rough yeah i do i do do training classes too but it again it's it takes a lot of time and it's hard you know anything you do i like to done it you probably the same way i am if i'm going to do something i'm going to do it all the way and it's got to succeed or else i'm uninterested i lose right i lose complete interest and i don't want to do it anymore so what do you do i mean you're working you have a lot going on so what do you do when you're off time no i mean i I stay with my kids.

22:53What's off time? There is no off time. I work seven days a week. Yeah, same thing. And if I don't go, I'm doing events or I'm doing my podcasts or I'm dealing with, you know, I have three girls. One's getting married so I'm dealing with that. So now you're doing the whole wedding thing? Yeah, doing the whole wedding thing. No, yeah. That's, it's a lot. Is there anything you don't do? I don't sleep. That's what I would do. Me either. I don't sleep either. I go days with, this is like, I feel like it's like a hormonal problem but I don't sleep. It's because your brain doesn't shut off no it's i'm always looking like what's the next thing never shuts off i mean i was on the phone with my friend last night she's uh she actually does another great podcast growing up italian podcast i don't know if you've heard of it i'm shouting you guys out um and she hears me she's talking to me and i'm like talking to her like this she's like you're texting somebody else aren't you what are you doing right now what are you answering i go i go arm you gotta stop i'm answering my emails right now you gotta stop it never stopped but that's the life of the bill That's really what it comes down to is that we're just constantly going.

23:50And it's not – because I feel like if I'm not doing something, if you're stagnant, then what are you doing in life? Nothing. I'm like a shark. If I stop moving, I'm going to die. That's basically it. I can't. I just – some people – some of my girlfriends are going into retirement because they did really, really well. And I just could not imagine doing nothing. I would be a menace if I didn't do anything. I would be a total menace to myself, my children, everybody around me if I just stopped. When I stay home from work for five days, like if I go just take a mini vacation, I become like, I feel like I'm doing something wrong when I'm not doing anything.