Episode 591: Melissa Haloossim: Anti-Aging Treatments That Actually Work for Skin Tightening and Facial Aging

20:13Melissa Haloossim:But what about facials regularly? Do you think they're important? Because there are people who think they are important. Some people think they're not important just to do the lasers. So again, it depends on the person. Right. I'm sorry. I know. God, this is going to be so like redundant. I know. But I do think they are. I think, you know, some of my patients, you know, they rather put the money towards devices and then they kind of forget about facials. And I think it's a great nurturing to the skin. For someone like me where I don't get a lot of breakouts or I don't get clogged easily, I need more hydration.

20:51You know, someone like you, you need the hydration. Yeah. And it would be great for your downtime. So you think I should get facials? Yes. I actually think it would be great for your wellness. you're extremely busy. It's, you would actually lay down for an hour and not pick up your phone. Even my lasers, I have people picking up their phone. I'm like, get down, you know? Exactly. So I turn that more into a wellness.

21:16Melissa Haloossim:So it doesn't make it, like I have this, my hair, my hairstylist dresser, she has like, she's like 72 and she's 40 and she's, I think it's genetics personally, but she swears by this facialist person. Oh, we talked about it. And I went to her. She was going religiously for like 40 years to this woman. What was her name again? You know, I don't remember the name. Anyway, she doesn't, she's not fancy. She doesn't use all the red lights and the blue lights and the wands. It's literally, she's like scrubs your face with like a hundred different scrubbers, I guess. And she swears by it. She says because of that, that her skin looks as good.

21:54Melissa Haloossim:Like how much of this is genetic? Be honest. I do think a lot of it is genetic. I do. But I also can see because I've been in the industry and you go to like, you know, a reunion. And you see there's your age and you're like, you didn't really take care of yourself. Right, right, right. Whether it's the face or the body. It's true. But there are people though genetically like my mom had great skin. She never did anything. You know, other people, like they do a thousand things and they look at their 105. So, I mean, there is something to be said for like habits, genetics, all those things. I 100 % agree.

22:33Melissa Haloossim:What do you think like habitually people should do to improve their skin? Is there supplements that they can take? Is there like some kind of like nightly routine they can do like just to get their skin healthier? So I'm not a 10-step person. And I like to assess their skin to see like, okay, is it dehydrated? Are they having pigmentation issues? I tell some people who are, I'm like, you need to be on something always. That should be just part of your regimen, like a pigment suppressor, especially if they're prone to it. Oh, really? There's a pigment suppressor? Yeah. And it doesn't have to be a hydroquinone or prescription grade, but there's different ingredients.

23:13Like a hydrochlorism? No, kojic acid, even like some licorice or different compounds in a product that are going to brighten up your skin but also suppress the pigmentation. And so I think people who have pigmentation issues should always be on something like that. I do think putting something on in the morning prior to your makeup or your sunscreen is important to keep it hydrated for the day. And then at night, I use growth factors and like a hydrator, you know, because I think when you are, you know, sleeping to have it fully penetrate. And I don't wash my face in the morning.

23:55Melissa Haloossim:Yeah, really? I love that. So you just wash it once a day. Yeah. So what do you wash your face with at night? Like what kind of products are you using? So I use just like a gentle cleanser right now. Any kind? Yeah, I mean, no, there are specific ones. I created my own cleanser, but I did mention to you before that all my product burned. So right now I'm using Skin Better's cleanser. So it's just like a gel cleanser. Then I use TNS by Skin Medica. That's a good one. Because it has growth factors. So it's very healing. So without putting hydration, you're healing it. And when you heal it, then you're not going to be as dry.

24:37And then if I am dry, I'll use a hydration, more like a hyaluronic acid. Because if I use like a heavy moisturizer, then I start to kind of get clogged and get little pustules.

24:48Melissa Haloossim:You use the hyaluronic acid after you put the TNS? TNS. You always put your growth factors on first. Really? Mm-hmm. I'm using, have you heard of Yungoos? I have heard of them, yeah. Okay, I'm using their thing called exosomes on my face. Have you done that? Yeah, you know, I would love to learn a little bit more because the exosomes that I've always used in clinic are like a live exosome, and after a period of time, they're not active. So I'm not sure what they're using, but there's a lot of great brands that have now formulated it, and people are really liking it. So again, changing. Changing.

25:27Melissa Haloossim:What about copper? Like everyone's up into this copper peptide for your skin. Copper has been around a long time and it's coming back. Yeah. Wow. Okay, because I feel like whenever I ask anybody, like I have a few of these girls who are actresses who I'm friends with and I'm like, oh, your skin looks amazing. And they're like, yeah, I've been using this copper peptide, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Which is very healing. Which, does it do anything or is it because they're doing 97 other things too? That's the thing, right? When you do a million things, you don't know what to actually work. Right, right.

26:02You're kind of throwing everything at it, which is fine. And, you know, your skin's tolerating great. We do peptides as well. So we'll do a peptide that has, you know, anti-inflammatory and putting copper in it as well. You know, like a BPC with, you know, the copper.

26:18Melissa Haloossim:What about just topically? Can you put copper on your face topically? You can, but yes, they have certain, you know, products that have copper. We'll use copper ingredients when we're doing like microneedling or some type of opening up the little microchannel so then the ingredient goes into the skin. We're trying a lot of different things. More and more are coming out. For example, when I was in Korea, I tried a combination of polylactic and HA. What's that? Which is, so polylactic, we have a polylactic Sculptra, which is a biostimulator. stimulator. So in Korea, they have that in combination with HA, which is in powder form, not in like you're taking a syringe and mixing another syringe together.

27:00So you put, you know, saline in it and we're now using it topically as well. And in Korea, they inject it, but it's just not FDA approved yet to inject here.

27:09Melissa Haloossim:And so it's basically copper on your face, basically. No, this is something different. I'm just saying like, I'm just saying there's so many different things coming out. What was the thing that you just said, though? Polylactic. And what is that? So it's a biostimulator. Like a Sculptra. Yes. Sculptra has polylactic in it. What's the difference between Sculptra and the thing that you just said? Well, it's just the ingredients the same. It's just a different product. And basically, it's supposed to activate your own collagen, stimulating your own collagen to regenerate it. And on a superficial level, what we can use now in the States topically.

27:43But in Korea, they're injecting both HA and the sculptor together.

27:48Melissa Haloossim:Do you think that's good? I do. I actually tried it there. It was great. It was great? So because it's not FDA approved or not? Yeah. Yeah, okay. A couple years. Yeah. So what's the alternative to doing something like that here? What would you do to kind of get that same result? The sculptor injections. And that works? It does. Okay, so is it now the new trend that people are not getting filler and they're getting sculpture instead? People are still getting filler. I think filler, you know, I still like filler. You do? I do. I do. And I've always liked it. And again, just like everything else, when we're talking about Morpheus, how we're injecting it, where we're injecting it, how much we're putting in.

28:33And this is coming from someone that I 100 % believe in surgery. and I do I do I do so I'm not trying to prevent you from having surgery or do something that is going to prevent you from having surgery I'm on your side there right so I just feel that everything is in moderation okay and what else can give you a certain volume where you have like a divot or you have nothing even if you want to go do fat transfer fat transfer it's going to go away. It's not precise. So again, it's picking the right product, the right area, what you're doing with it. It's just gotten a bad rep. Now, Sculpt has been around for a long time.

29:13It was in the 80s, you know, where people were using it. Yeah, it was the, you know, AIDS victims and they were so gaunt and they needed a product to regenerate. So it's been around for a really long time. How we inject it, how we mix it is totally different. And there can be complications with it, just like with, you know, fillers. So again, it's evolved.

29:37Melissa Haloossim:How did it, what's the complication for it? Nodules, getting like nodules in the skin. So now how we inject it more superficially, how we mix it, how we're drawing it up, all of these things have changed. So how, if you get sculpture though, do you have, is it the same thing that you have to get it again, like a couple times? Yes. How many times do you need to get it? It depends on how much that person needs of regeneration, but if you want to think about it, it's like one vial per decade. Oh, really? Yeah. Okay, that's not crazy. I thought you were going to say like every year. You should know.

30:13It actually should be every year.

30:15Melissa Haloossim:Oh, it should be? It should be once a year. But how much are you putting in that year? I don't know. Yeah, so that's what I'm saying. It's usually one vial per decade of like meaning if you're 40, then you probably need four vials. Yeah. Oh, that's what you're saying. Oh, geez. So, oh my God. Now, I don't go by that rule. I go by what am I seeing and what does this person really need? So what is one of the biggest skincare mistakes women make once they hit their 40s and 50s then? The biggest mistake is probably going with a trend and getting things that they don't really need. going to a place that they're going to say no and say, this is what you need.

31:00You know, for example, if you booked an appointment and booked microneedling, I'd have you come in and I'll say, why do you want the microneedling? And not to convince you to not get it, but I want to hear what your reasoning is. What is your concern? And most likely it's not going to match up and I wouldn't perform the microneedling.

31:19Melissa Haloossim:Really, you wouldn't? I would say I'd rather you, it's not going to harm you. and you might get a glow you know you're not going to waste someone's time right but it's like i'd rather you take that money and put it towards something else right so like basically so you're saying that like just like doing what's trendy versus what's doing what's actually good for you right got it okay that's a good one okay so what about red light by the way like people are you know wearing the red light mask i love red light yeah i think it's important to be consistent with it so i do a lot of red light post treatments because i think it enhances what the treatment was.

31:52Okay. Again, stacking treatments on the same visit are going to be beneficial. And especially if you're doing like a light ablative or more ablative, the LED light's going to heal you more. Now, if you have one at home, be consistent with it.

32:08Melissa Haloossim:When you say like every day? Yeah, if you can. For how long? As much as you can. 20 minutes. I have an LED light from like, I have a panel and I have it because my kids use it and they use it for their knees because of, you know, after they're playing so much or their back. I've used it on my dog who threw out his back. Right, right. Really? Yes, he loves it. Really? Yes. How does it, wait, do you have one that actually stays on your body? It's like flexible. That's the Saluma. Oh, I use the Therisage one. Actually, I thought it was going to be here. They're incredible because it molds to your body.

32:42Yeah, the Saluma one. It's flexible.

32:44Melissa Haloossim:Yeah, it's really flexible. How big is yours? It's like this big. Oh, yeah. It's a good size. Did you ever get it tested to see what kind of red lights are in there? They have it on, like, their information. Saluma's been around a long time. They're very high quality. Yeah. So the ones that, you know, the professional size that they sell is, like, the ones that we would use in the clinic. In the clinic. Okay. So, yeah, mine's also supposed to be, like, extremely high quality and all the things. But people have to be careful because a lot of these things you don't know. Yeah. You know, like, there's so many wellness biohacks that people are just making so much money off of.

33:19Melissa Haloossim:You have to be so discerning. That's why I'm asking all these questions. Okay, so what treatments actually stimulate collagen? And which ones are basically hype?

33:34I mean, all technology is going to do something, right? Because again, I said it's the physics, right? But it's just like, what depth is it going into the skin? And what is it really going to do for you? There are some radio frequencies out there that, you know, it's like massaging on the face. That's temporary. That's going to be just like, okay, I'm causing some inflammation. It gives a little fluff. Does it even work? It's not. If it is, it's not a lot. A lot of these kind of, you know, estheticians will say, I'm doing radio frequency. And yeah, it'll give you like a nice like lift and tighten.

34:08You look great for like an event, but it's not something that's really triggering on a deeper level.

34:14Melissa Haloossim:So what would actually, like besides like the, you said earlier, the Sculptra simulates collagen? Yeah, that's it. All the lasers simulate collagen? So I divide it. I kind of, when I have a consult, I'll break it down a little bit where it's like, okay, I'm understanding it a little bit more. I make two columns. You've got injectables and you've got technology. Yeah. So in the injection family, we've got your neurotoxins, which are your Botox, your Dysport, etc. Those are working on the muscle. It's stopping the muscle from contracting. I love it. I know people have some words about it, but I think it's a great drug.

34:53It's a great drug in medicine. It's been a miracle drug in medicine for people who have MS, cerebral palsy. It's a beautiful drug. Then you have biostimulators, which can be like Sculptra, your own blood, PRP, PRF, PDGF. I could, you know, every pee that you can see of. Yes, exactly. And it could, you know, whether it's your own or synthetic, it is basically stimulating more of your own growth factors. Then you go into fillers, which are hyaluronic acids. There are non-hyaluronic acid fillers, like calcium fillers, which I actually don't use anymore because there's a risk to having it. And if there's a complication, you can't break it down.

35:37And so that's why I stick with hyaluronic acid fillers.

35:40Melissa Haloossim:Oh, what's the name one so people can? So hyaluronic acid fillers are, you know, your Juvederm, your Restylans, your RHAs, etc. Something like Radiesse Calcium, which can get beautiful results, but there's a higher risk for them. And so I like to sleep at night. Yeah, I don't blame you.

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37:14Melissa Haloossim:what actually ages the face the most sun damage which is what i have a lot of college collagen loss hormones volume loss or lifestyle is there like abc or all of the above i mean yeah i mean you could say like yeah i yeah sun sun damage is the worst is the worst it's just You know, especially depending on your skin type. We all sat in the sun, though. Why am I getting, like, why is my skin so terrible from sun damage? I hate sunscreen, though. Well, because it's, I mean, it's causing, now what you're seeing the results of is the breakdown of the skin, the discoloration. Yeah. And that's what you're going to see with the sun damage.

37:59And the rays are just so harmful to our skin.

38:03Melissa Haloossim:Why is there such a movement about not wearing sunscreen because of all the chemicals on it? In it, sorry. Yeah, I mean, I'm not part of that movement. Yeah, I mean, most people who are rational aren't. Yeah, yeah, you know, I mean, you can't, there are more SPFs coming out that, you know, you feel more confident putting on yourself, putting on your kids. I completely get that. But let me tell you, skin cancer, I've seen people die from skin cancer and melanoma. Yeah. And so I'd rather take my risk with SPF than something like that. And but, you know, with SPF, it only lasts a period of time until you have to reapply.

38:42And I think people forget about that. They think, oh, yeah, I wear SPF. It's like, OK, well, did you reapply? Well, right.

38:47Melissa Haloossim:Most people are not reapplying it. They think if they do it once, they're good. Yeah. But you think you have to keep on. Is it realistic, though, for people to do that? Also, through the windows of LA is horrible because you have sun constantly. Yeah. But there's a lot of powder forms that I think, if you put the SPF on and you put your makeup on, who wants to now put more cream on? But if you have a powder form, yeah isden is one color science and i i carry one around especially when like you're skiing right yeah who wants to be like putting cream on that's the greatest you can put a powder on what's it called well there's one by isden i s d i n and then color science i never even knew that that's a great idea all right so what did you do because you look great i do everything okay tell me like the top four things that you've done like this year um the last two years yeah softwave everest and i how are they different so sorry finish your four and then we can tell it soft wave everest i do pdgf injections um which is platelet derived growth factor for under my eyes i think under eye area is like a big kind of you know issue for people um looking kind of tired or dark circles and probably just good old laser.

40:12I do what I was talking about. Yeah. You know, a YAG laser to work on my tissue quality.

40:18Melissa Haloossim:But you're lucky you have like access to all of this stuff. Yes, that is true. But everyone thinks because I'm in it, like I'm doing something on myself every day. I'm not. I have to really I mean, it's just like what you do. I really have to put the time aside and it's after I probably work 10 hours and I'm like, I better just do this to myself. Right. I know because that's true, actually. Like people usually think, oh, like trainers, for example, they must work out all the time, but usually they don't work out at all. They don't have time because they're constantly doing it for other people.

40:50Melissa Haloossim:Yeah. Right. But what you have is access to these like machines that are like a little different than training, but like, you know, they do take, actually they do take up a lot of time. They're time consuming. And then And who's doing it for you? You have people who work for you. People who work for me, but I usually end up doing it to myself. Really? Yeah, because I just time factor. What is that thing that you said, though? Well, first of all, PRP. I heard that's excellent. So PRP is your own blood. Yeah. I actually like PRF better, which is a different way of spinning it. Spinning the blood.

41:19Because it's a slower spin, so you're kind of getting more growth factors. But it also could be like how healthy you are. What are your growth factors? How old you are? Or what kind of, you know, someone who's 40 and they can have an age of a 35-year-old or they can have an age of being a 45-year-old. Right. It depends on, I think, that, you know, genetics and health. PDGF is a newer product on the aesthetic market. It's been in medicine. We've used it on topically diabetic ulcers, burn victims. Then they started injecting it, like spinal fusions, et cetera.

41:56Melissa Haloossim:Wow. And then everything in medicine they bring into aesthetics. And so what we're seeing is when we're injecting it, it's regenerating at a faster pace than your PRP. Oh, really? So it is considered off-label right now, and they're in the FDA trials. You will go on social media and you will hear half the industry call it snake oil, and you will have half the industry saying they love it. It's like when Botox came out. You know, we had to convince people to do Botox. So anything new people are weary about, understandably, and should be, I've been using it in my practice and have had fantastic results.

42:35Melissa Haloossim:So, I mean, not to always bring it back to me, but I am someone who's very interested in this whole thing. Would someone like me benefit from that? And how would I use it? Right. So most likely, I think you would benefit from Sculptra. Yeah. And I think we are going to plan on doing that because you're very thin and I want to kind of regenerate tissue in here. You've got amazing cheekbones. I would do PDGF under your eyes just because it would just bring a little bit more life and just give you 10 hours of sleep. God, that would be great. I mean, that would be from your mouth to God's ears. It's all, I think this is the, everyone just wants to get rid of their jowls.

43:16Melissa Haloossim:That's like the big thing, right? Like, can that, without surgery, how realistic is that? Oh, you will see improvement, 100%. Really? Like, but how much? 4 %? No, I think more than that. I think more than that. I can't give you a percentage, but here's the thing. Whether you plan on having surgery or not, all of these things are important to help your tissue quality. By improving your tissue quality, and then you're going to get the facelift, you now we're going to have a better result with your facelift because you worked on your skin people who do not work on your skin i think don't have as good outcome as a facelift and is a facelift permanent absolutely not you know there's some people that will last five years ten years and then they need another facelift really yes geez but like but what about this deep plane everyone's talking about the deep plane it's been a deep plane it's been a deep and then you have the industry where you have all these plastic surgeons kind of bashing the fillers well the fillers and the technology.

44:15And I say to them, you know, why? Why are you doing that? Everyone can't have surgery. You can't have surgery when you're 20. And then people who are 30 have everyone who's 30 should just get a fat transfer. That's not realistic.

44:29Melissa Haloossim:Well, it's crazy. Well, I also find it crazy that I'm looking at people who are in their late 30s, early 40s who are getting facelifts. Right. When I was a kid, people who are 70 were getting facelifts. Yes. Right. So what do you believe like do you think it's better to do more preventative at an earlier stage now if someone doesn't like a certain appearance of themselves like they have a downward lateral eyebrow and they want to go get a brow lift at a young age because they want to change the appearance okay go for it you know but i don't think people getting a facelift at that age is really appropriate now Now, I've had girlfriends, you know, at 45, you know, like I'm thinking of getting a facelift.

45:12And I was very honest. I'm like, I agree with you because of how she's aged and her genetics and which, you know. Yeah. But then I've seen someone who's 45. I'm like, I don't think you need it yet. I don't think I think you're going to go get your consults. And I think the surgeons are going to deny you. You're not ready. And I was right. You know, really?

45:29Melissa Haloossim:Because these face like facelifts, I don't know, like they're like$150 ,000 here for the good people. Yes. That's absurd. Yeah. People are going out of state now. Yeah. They're going, well, everyone's going to Turkey or they're going to Korea even. Yeah. They're going to Mexico now. Everywhere. Like, do you think the quality is just as good there? I'm sure. I'm sure that I have not investigated. Would you do that? I would not. Just because I know a lot of people have gone to Korea. And even with these, like, simple procedures, like, I don't want to deal with the pain. So just, you know, give me anesthesia.

46:04Yeah. And I'm like, really? Are you sure you are? And there's been deaths. And so there's a language barrier. Like what if something goes wrong? There have been things that are going wrong. I don't want to be stuck in another country with a complication. Yeah. So that's why I wouldn't. But I've seen great results. I just personally was not comfortable with that.

46:26Melissa Haloossim:So this whole deep, plain facelifts, how were they performed before differently than now? So you'd have to ask the surgeon, you know, what the difference is. But, you know, deep plane has been going on for a long time. Like if you talk to some surgeons, like we've been doing this and they're just they're taking off with this. Because that one guy, Stephen Klein, said he did a deep plane on Kris Jenner. And all of a sudden now it was like deep plane, deep plane. And they are calling it deep plane because that's the hook that people know. Right. Yeah. Okay, so for people who don't have$500 ,000 to spend on a facelift, what are some really good skincare anti-aging tips you can give us for people on a budget?

47:12I think, and I tell my patients too, I need their feedback. I'm going to give them information of saying, okay, these are the things I would like to do. These are my goals. Are you comfortable with this? I want someone to sit in my chair and feel like, okay, we're on this journey together. So, you know, physically, mentally, financially, what are we going to do? And again, I'm sorry to do this, but it depends like what their main concern. I ask someone that question always. Like, what are your questions? What are your concerns? And I am very in tuned. What is the first thing they say to me? And that's where I go with it.

47:54Because it's different for everyone. It could be pigmentation. It could be I'm seeing these lines right here. Or it's the sagginess. And so that's where I'll start. And that's where I, let's do this procedure first. Work on the pigmentation. work on the tissue quality or is it the lifting and tightening first?

48:17Melissa Haloossim:So what is the number one thing people complain about when they come into your office? It's been different all these through these years, but I think it's because I've gotten older too. And so then my clientele has gotten older. So it is lifting and tightening. Lifting and tightening. And so right off the bat for lifting and tightening, you would, I know it's always customized, but right now you love the soft weight. Yeah, and the Everest. And the Everest. When will you use the Softwave? When will you use the Everest? It depends on kind of their laxity. And if I feel like they're going to benefit from both, I would never do them on the same day.

48:53And they need to be spread out months apart. So Softwave is going to be like what I told you, the scaffolding.

49:01Melissa Haloossim:Yep. Everest is going to be the lifting and a little bit of volumizing of the skin. It works also superficially, brings back the fibroblast together so you get this little plump to the skin, but in a good way. Okay, I love that. Okay, so let's go back to the budget. For people on a budget, what can people do for their skin to look healthy and young? I think let's start with at home. What are they using at home? and it doesn't have to be 10 products, but it's going to be nurturing products, whether it's growth factors, hydration, or deep nourishing. So it depends on their skin quality. Okay. So, I mean, I really have people saying like, oh, well, I use like dove soap on my face.

49:50I'm like, okay, we got to, we got to change that. Yeah. Or Nivea cream. Yeah. And I, you know, people don't realize how harsh those chemicals are. When I was doing my own product line, and I was looking at some of the ingredients, some of them are the same ingredients as our cleaning products. So you're just stripping that skin. So yes, it always starts back at home, especially if you're on a budget. But getting good quality and not just like, okay, now I'm going to do 10 steps and you're buying like cheap things and going to Sephora and picking,

50:20Melissa Haloossim:you know random things like that's like very like it's against branding yeah it's trendy it's trendy and branding but like brands like uh set of fill or i don't know like there's a bunch of those like brands like ceraVe yes you need something more than that you do yes okay so what would you give me like walk me through if someone had only 50 bucks to spend what can they do to make their skin look better? Well, the right cleanser. Okay. You know, you're looking at at least like$30 in the$30 range to have a good cleanser. Okay. Which one? Well, we, I like the medical grade, you know, skin care. So I do Skin Better cleanser.

51:04You said Skin Better, you did say that earlier. Hydranity and Skin Better have a great cleanser. Okay. I like the

51:10Melissa Haloossim:Young Goose, I'm telling you. It's expensive actually though. It is good. Young Goose. they have a range oh like 40 or something oh actually the i don't know the cleanser might be like i should google it actually i don't know maybe maybe the cleanser's price effect it's it's not it's not it's not expensive it's the exosomes that's quite expensive yeah but it's good i like it i don't know i just found it to be and and then that's hard it's hard to say when you're on such a low budget. I mean, when I did my product line, it was very clean. My moisturizer was 50 bucks. I know. I'm trying to figure besides product.

51:50Melissa Haloossim:Okay. So let's say I get a good hydrating cleanser, a good hydrating moisturizer. What other things? How about gua sha? Does gua sha help? I'm not a big believer in like gua sha unless like you retain water and it's like lymphatic, like you want to do something in the morning when you wake up and you're puffy and you're just kind of draining your face you know i like lymphatic massages lymphatic face i'm actually doing like my own study on like a deep facial massage uh concept and how beneficial it is because we hold so much stress on the face yeah so i'm kind of working on that uh that's popular too for a while i am i i carry i have horrible tmj yeah so i just having a personal trial yeah before i kind of like tell people about it to see how much we just it's just so our face is such a stress ball yeah no it's i mean also like do you know what if there's something that people take for their hair is it neutrophil uh-huh is there something for your face that people take i don't know why like collagen supplements i don't know maybe i don't know no yeah i mean there's listen i'm i mentioned this before i'm a horrible pill taker yeah so i'd rather take a shot yeah and so i'd Yeah, I'd rather do a peptide, but that doesn't mean people put collagen in their coffee and they're, you know, we don't know.

53:12I mean, you'd have to do a study on their, you know, blood work and everything.

53:16Melissa Haloossim:I just have a problem. I actually have a thing where I don't think, not me personally, but people I've spoken to who are much more in the know than I am, say that you can't, collagen that you ingest doesn't work on your skin. Well, our skin is our largest organ. So if you think about it. I know. Right? And so I do think what we intake affects externally. But how much is it going to improve? You know, it's just the concept, too, of people having gut issues and then it coming out and purging on their skin. So it's really important to, I think, take care of that gut. I think the gut is what's going to affect our skin the most, the dryness, the breakouts, etc.

53:58Yeah.

53:59Melissa Haloossim:What's the fastest way to age your skin without even realizing you're doing it? The fastest to age your skin? Without realizing that you're doing it. I think not taking care of it, ignoring it, to be honest. That's where I have a hard time improving a patient's outcome because they've waited way too long and I've had to like catch up. And then they're just frustrated because it's like, well, this takes time. Well, people keep on telling me my skin's so dehydrated, right? Well, what am I doing that I'm dehydrating? If I drink a lot of water, if I'm using a hydrating moisturizer, what else can you do to hydrate your skin?

54:44Well, it depends on, have you always been like that? Dehydrated? I mean, and where you at hormonally? I mean, I've been like this for a long time.

54:52Melissa Haloossim:Like, I mean, I remember like I walked into like my, my esthetic, like when I say my, she was like my waxer like 15 years ago. And she's like, your skin, she's Russian. She's like, your skin is so dull and horrible. You need to, you need to do something. Put a mask on. And I was like, okay, well, and then like, I remember that. So this was like a long time ago. So my point is, I think it's always been a problem. Yeah. But then again, because I never really took care of my skin. And it's time to probably do a little more exfoliation in order to kind of take that dead layer off and then bring something back.

55:30And those have downtime. I know.

55:33Melissa Haloossim:So what's a good exfoliator then that won't give you that much downtime? Well, at home, you know, there are certain products like acids that can help, like, you know, glycolic, lactic, salicylics. I love a great one. my skin better has the pads that's like the alpharet pads yeah and you can use them once or twice a week and i like chemical exfoliations oh is that like a dr ross not dr ross there are there are good ones out there um name the guy dr roth uh um now that you said yeah oh what's his name dr dennis gross yeah yeah yeah yeah um so those are great chemical exfoliators and if your skin can tolerate it, retinols.

56:18Do you think my skin can tolerate retinols? You'd have to try it, yeah. But I like easing into retinols. I don't like when you look crazy all the time because you're using too much of retinol. How would you even put retinol on your face? At night.

56:32Melissa Haloossim:Actually, I'm going to answer the question for you, Melissa. So if I was someone on a budget that needs to improve their skin for anti-aging, I think you can do it with retinols. Like what's that one that? A tretinoin. Tretinoin. Yeah, prescription-grade tretinoin. Yes. I heard that is a miracle. Yeah, as long as your insurance covers it. Really? Yeah, otherwise it'd be like a couple hundred dollars. Really? Mm-hmm. So why is tretinoin so good for your skin? Well, retino has always been a really powerful ingredient. There's a lot of science behind it. Okay. But I think, you know, it is an old-school ingredient.

57:07So people are like constantly putting it in their product line. But it's a cell turnover. So it's helping the natural exfoliation process.

57:17Melissa Haloossim:But how do you know you're not overdoing it? It's a visual. So I always start once a week, add to twice a week, to three times. Do you do it? There's different dosage. I do it only in my products. I can't use straight retinol because I have rosacea and I just flare my skin. Yeah. So I like to use it with an alpha retin. I don't have any issues. But people who can tolerate it, they should use it. Really? Mm-hmm. Yeah. So you just ease into it. If you're getting red and flaky, then you slow down. Okay. So what's the difference between a good filler and a bad filler? A good filler and a bad filler?

57:52It's placement. It's dosage. It's where that person really needs it and not just randomly, like, you know, putting it in someone's face.

58:01Melissa Haloossim:Because, you know, people can look crazy. Yes. Is it because they have too much of it in their face? Too much in placement. Yeah. So if you want to, like, lift your face here. Fillers don't really lift the face. They're going to, it's kind of like photoshopping. It's like where there are divots, where there's indentations, where there is volume loss. And you're bringing back that volume. And so when you see someone who has been properly filled, I like to do all the technology first. And then I say my injections are the icing on the cake. Because that's when you're going to just be like, overall, just kind of fine tune them.

58:40but you know people who say like you're going to lift and tighten you know with with filler that's not true you're it's helping volumize an area what is the most overrated anti-aging treatment

58:51Melissa Haloossim:right now i'd have to say the zerf really yeah i love that okay it's not because i'm bashing zerf but it is marketed that this is the answer right the panacea this is gonna be it and it's gonna to be done. It's completely pain-free. No, you do feel it. I don't think it's that painful. You can see a good result, but you need more than one. And I feel like it's a hidden agenda behind it. Like you're going to do Zerf and you're going to be done. Right. It's a lot of marketing. Yes. I do not market my, I don't say soft wave. That's it. No. Right. I say multiple treatments. It's not a one and done, and it's not just one service.

59:36Melissa Haloossim:Okay, what's the most underrated anti-aging treatment right now? I'm going to say it's not a particular treatment. The most underrated is actually treating pigmentation and tone. Because when you clear that skin, it is just like refreshed. You feel like a new person. Really? how do you how can you change the pigmentation and tone unfortunately it's a little bit of downtime not crazy downtime but if you were to do a peel you've got three full days appealing okay we do a lot of bbl with moxie which is cytone so i do the combination of using a light technology and then a laser technology so you're working on pigmentation and texture at the same time.

1:00:25If someone has kind of melasma, that patchiness, I might want to do an erbium, which is also lightly ablative. So you're looking at a week downtime. Again, you can go out of your house, but you don't want to have an event.

1:00:40Melissa Haloossim:You don't want to have an event. Okay. That's hilarious. Okay. What area is most often ignored? The neck. So true. Yeah, the neck. And the neck is where you can see your age. Yes. So even when people are like, you don't need to treat my neck, I'm like, we need to treat your neck. That's 100 % true. Because you are going to wake up and go, shit, my neck looks bad. 100%. Can you actually put Botox in your neck? Yes, you can. You can't. But for, you know, what is that reason? It's not going to do... Everything is basically on muscle, right? It's working on muscle. So we have our platysma band that is a downward motion.

1:01:19So when we're injecting these bands and we come to the jawline, we're going to get a little bit of what we call like a nefertiti lift.

1:01:27Melissa Haloossim:How much does menopause change your skin? I think it starts to change perimenopause and then menopause. And I think as we prepare for it, peri and menopause, we should be preparing our skin for it too. How do we prepare our skin? I think that goes a little bit deeper into if you are for or against HRT because I do think estrogen and progesterone really do help your skin. And someone like me who's in perimenopause, I started a year ago because I saw the changes happening and I'm like, I'm going to get on board now. And you might need to do a little bit more nurturing and nourishing to the skin of hydration, exfoliation, etc.

1:02:11Of just like, okay, I'm just like you're preparing your body, you're preparing your skin as well.

1:02:16Melissa Haloossim:So, right. So HRT would really help with that. Yeah, I do. I think it does. Yeah. What skincare ingredient causes more problems than people realize? One can be Retin-A. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Well, that's because it makes your skin so... I've had to stop people from Retin-A too, although it's a great ingredient. People who suffer from rosacea, it can be really irritating to them. And I could tell them to completely back off. Yeah. Also doing too much to the skin. I'll do a consult and I'll have 10 different products. I'm like, you need to stop all this. And let's go back and kind of build you back up.

1:02:54Melissa Haloossim:Okay. We're going to do some fast ones here. You ready? Okay. You're going to go fast. You ready? Okay. Botox. I know you're going to answer these questions. It depends. Okay. I'll try it. I will. Try your best not to. I will. I will. Botox or Dysport? Botox. Moxie or BBL? Moxie because it can do all skin types. Okay. Sculptra or filler? Oh, come on. Sculptra. Okay. Microneedling or laser? Laser. Okay. Retinol or vitamin C? Vitamin C. Vitamin C. Okay. I know this is so hard for you. It's an antioxidant. Antioxidant, right. Softwave or RF microneedling? Softwave. I know. She loves Softwave. Facial or a medical grade treatment?

1:03:40Medical grade treatment.

1:03:41Melissa Haloossim:Of course. expensive moisturizer or expensive serum? Expensive serum. Morning skincare or nighttime skincare? Nighttime. What's one procedure you'd personally do forever? Laser. One treatment you think will disappear in five years? Microweling RF. Really? Yeah. Most underrated part of the face to treat? We said that. Yeah, neck. Neck and chest. Chest, right? Nobody does that. Most overrated a beauty trend right now. I said Zerf. Zerf. Okay. I did ask her that already. Okay. Now I want to hear something that you were talking about before we started the podcast about people come to you and it's a very, it's emotional.

1:04:23Melissa Haloossim:A lot of it's an emotional thing. Explain, can you kind of say more about that? Yeah. So I always say skin is emotional. And throughout my years, I've met some incredible patients and you get to know them and they start to tell their story and it becomes a very personal thing. I also think, you know, you become that person that they get to tell you every little thing that they think wrong of themselves, that they would never tell their partner. They would never even tell their best friend. They'd be like, do you see this little mark here? And drives them nuts. And whether I think it does, like I'm saying, okay, how can we address this mark?

1:05:01But furthering that, I feel like people also come because they emotionally need it. That their physical appearance is affecting them in a way both internally and externally. So it's different for everyone. but I have two stories that actually make me kind of explain why I think skin is emotional. So I had one patient that she's actually a writer herself, an attorney and a writer, and she would, I was talking about emotions and I said, you know, well, you know, skin's really emotional. She's like, well, you really think so? I'm like, yeah, I think it's, there's a reason why everyone's sitting in my chair.

1:05:48And she says, oh, okay, well, what's my reason? And I said, okay, you want to hear this? She says, yeah. I said, every time you come in and you sit down and I, you know, you ask me how I am and I ask you how you are, you bring up your mother every time, you know, oh, my mother did this. My mother said that. My mother said this about me last time. So it's almost, there's a connection that she's almost doing this for her mother, that she's, she's doing something on her face because she wants to hear her mother's approval.

1:06:20Melissa Haloossim:Really? Yeah. Yeah. And she didn't realize it. And she actually got emotional. And she's like, I just, I never saw that. And you're right. Wow. Because she never felt pretty enough for her mother? I don't know. But, you know, it could be, you know, maybe that it came down to that. Because she would say, oh, I got that done. And my mother said something. She thought it looked good. And you're talking like to a 55-year-old woman. Right. Right. But those wounds are so like they're so embedded in our DNA. Yeah. Yeah. And then the second one is I'll try not to get emotional because it's it's a little like close to home.

1:06:59So my oldest son's best friend passed away about seven years ago. And it was very tragic, died in his sleep. And he's 12 years old, about to be 13. and you know my older son was best friends with him and then my younger son was best friends with the second son they were in our neighborhood we were we were neighbors and I became very close with the parents and the mother who's actually the most amazing person you should meet her she's written a book she started coming to see me because her older son would tell her mom you know go take care of yourself. You should go see Melissa more. So she started coming to see me and we do very basic things.

1:07:46It was nothing elaborate. And I think she could give two shits about what she looks like. She doesn't. She's just that person. And I think she was just trying to like, OK, I'm going to do this. My son told me I should do this. And when he passed away, I was very involved with that situation. And I was like, oh, I hope she doesn't stop taking care of herself. And shortly after he passed away, she calls me up and she's like, can I come in?

1:08:11Melissa Haloossim:And I was like, okay. And she came in and again, she could care less. I mean, she was losing weight. She was devastated. I don't even know how she was surviving. But she came to me not because she wanted to look better. She wanted to come to a safe place to pass the time and to kind of remind her her son was telling her, like, take care of herself. Oh, it's so sad. I'm crying because I actually remember that story. It's horrible. Yeah. Yeah, it is really horrible. Yeah. And it was one of the hardest things to do. I sometimes had to, like, leave the room because you do feel your patient's energy.

1:08:55Yeah, for sure. Their energy affects you. But I knew I had to do this for her. And I've talked to her about it, and she's like, you know, I don't even remember those times. You know, it was just a blur for her. She was just trying to have time pass and get through the time.

1:09:12Melissa Haloossim:Wow. So that has nothing to do with beauty. Yeah. Nothing to do with beauty. Yeah. But also, I think because there was a subconscious thing where the son said to her, Mom, do things. So she did that for her son also. Wow, I totally remember that. That was horrible. Yeah. You should meet her. She's a remarkable woman. Really? I would love to. That was in 2019 or 20 or something like that? When was that? It was six. Yeah, in 2019, right before COVID. The year before COVID. Yeah. You were friends with those people. Very close. Did they ever find out what was wrong with him? Mm-mm. Still? Mm-mm. Yeah.

1:09:53Melissa Haloossim:And he was healthy before? Yeah. There's so many stories, but beautiful boy. And she's made a huge impact. She's built fields. I heard that. Yeah. That's what I think is amazing. We've had some crazy stories seeing him still. Yeah. Can you please introduce me to her? I think that's amazing. Yeah, she wrote a book. I remember. Tommy's Field. God, I totally remember this. You should have her here. She's just remarkable. I will. And the stories that she went through a whole journey of healing and seeing different people. And she does TED Talks. When she talks, you're like so engaged. Yeah. Okay, introduce me to her.

1:10:35Melissa Haloossim:I totally remember. And I don't know if it's like, I remember hearing it because it was like a horrible story in the community. But then I also heard about it later on because of the fact that she wrote this book and she did so many wonderful things to, like, keep his memory alive. Yeah. And I thought that was so amazing. Yeah. Yeah. And now, you know, unfortunately, we've had some really sad cases in schools with us. And she's like the first person they call. Really? Yeah. Yeah. To help. Yeah. Wow. Wow. So she's made a lot of impact. And he has too. That he definitely has. Wow. So he wasn't here in vain.

1:11:19Melissa Haloossim:There was a reason beyond. God, that's horrible though. But yeah, I mean, you know, just being in this industry, as long as I have, you've come across some, just like you, you've come across some really amazing people. And you've also come across where you're like, I can't take this energy on. Yeah. Oh, my God. Yeah. And when you're working on people, it's on another level. It's their face. It's what they see every day, you know, and walking them through it. It's a very emotional journey. Do you think that since COVID, right, because everyone got so used to looking at themselves on Zoom, right?

1:12:06Melissa Haloossim:And of course, the popularity of social media in general. Two questions. Do you think that your business has become even more popular? Has it skyrocketed? Have you seen like a surge in business because of it? No, it was a steady increase where we saw the surge was in plastic surgery. Yeah, well, I'm saying if people couldn't afford plastic surgery or they were scared or they didn't do whatever the reason is, I would think that both industries would have just like just skyrocketed. It did it a little bit in the first year, but then it kind of plateaued. And I think we need to look at it differently.

1:12:48I think we're so on this trend where I think we need to go back and be like, okay, we need to do healthy habits of treating our skin and taking care of ourselves and looking at it more like that.

1:13:02Melissa Haloossim:The glyce style. Yes. Then, okay, I'm going to get that treatment. I'm going to go do this. I mean, I can't tell you how many people are like, I want to calling. Can I just, can I just get this? Can I just get the Zerf? Can I just, I'm just like, hold on. Really? Why are we doing that? Or like microneedling. One time I had a 30 in her 30s. She was so broken out and she booked for microneedling. And I go in there and I had to met her before. I'm like, I am not doing microneedling on you. And she was so upset with me. I go, if I do microneedling on you, I'm going to spread the bacteria and it's going to be a nightmare.

1:13:36Yeah. But it's like it's common sense. Right.

1:13:39Melissa Haloossim:Right. Where the interesting thing is when I went to Korea, it is a lifestyle. It's a little extreme. Because it's paid for there, too. Right. I don't think so. I thought it was. I thought that like part of the whole thing is like it's built in, integrated into their like health care and their lifestyle that like they get a certain amount of dollars or that's what I saw on. I don't know that. I don't know that. But it is a complete lifestyle. Crazy lifestyle. Also, my other question was filters. You know, because everyone's using filters, people have a distorted idea of what they look like. Yeah.

1:14:19Melissa Haloossim:Right? It's sad. It's sad. Because they'll come in and they'll show me pictures. I'm like, that's filtered. That's filtered. You can't get that. so it's having this self it's so insecure and self degrading because it's like no what we need to be human yeah because no one's using it because nobody's everyone just no one knows what they look like anymore so when they actually look at themselves in the real mirror they're horrified yes because they don't even realize that something like how often i mean i i don't recognize half the people I see. Yeah. Well, sometimes when I do this and I'm looking, I'm like, don't do that.

1:14:57Melissa Haloossim:Yeah. And I have told people, I'm like, stop looking in the mirror. Stop. I've had to tell them because I hardly look in the mirror anymore. I'm so busy in the day and I'm like, okay, do I not have food in my teeth? Yeah, exactly. But we have to get into a healthier way of looking at ourselves. And I'm in this industry, but there has to be a balance. You don't feel pressure to look a certain way because of what you do? Yes and no. Like, I mean, I never want to look crazy, obviously. You know, I'm turning 50 this year, and it's a harsh reality, but, you know, as my sister says, it's better than the alternative.

1:15:40Melissa Haloossim:Right, exactly. She's right. And I'm thankful. But yeah, it's going, you know, do I believe in facelifts? Absolutely. I'm going, oh my God, am I going to need a facelift? Am I going to, you know? But you look pretty amazing. Well, thank you. But I just, I'm just, you do. You do feel that pressure, especially I have very young patients. And I feel like, oh my God, if they knew my age, are they going to look at me differently? I know, but I would be like goals. Like if I was someone who's like 30, I would be like, I want to look like her. No, I mean like I could be their mother. Yeah, I know. But like, they're going to because you're like the OG and you're a pioneer.

1:16:14Melissa Haloossim:And they're also like, if they age like you, I can pretty much guarantee half those people you see who are 30 will not look better. even a fraction as good as you do right now when they're 50? Well, I think everyone's starting earlier. I mean, back when, you know, they always comment on the golden girls. Oh my gosh, I love that whole thing, that meme, I know. They compare us and we're looking younger and younger. We are, it's crazy. Yeah, but I want to remind everyone of something, you know, aesthetic med, I like calling it, I don't love saying med spa because it just, There's so many med spas now.

1:16:51I like to call it aesthetic medicine because it is a new chapter in medicine and it is serious. Complications can happen. You are dealing with people's faces and bodies and you can damage them and you can damage their image and how they perceive themselves and how they look at themselves every day. And so I think we need to take it more seriously. I have so many people coming to me and saying, how can I get into this field? I just want to go to, you know, nursing school and just go right into aesthetics. And I tell them, go work in the hospital for a year because you learn so much as an advocate for a patient and thinking differently than when you go straight into aesthetics.

1:17:32What I have learned when I used to work in ICU, I have brought that to what I do now and how I think prior to a treatment. I actually think, before I inject someone or before I do a laser, I'm like, what is the worst thing that can happen? Always comes to my mind. How am I going to prevent the worst thing happening right now? And you have to think that way. Because when you let your guard down, that's when things happen. Or when you don't listen to your gut, that's when things happen. And there's been a few times where I have not listened to my gut. And sure enough, I was like, damn it.

1:18:05Melissa Haloossim:Really? Yeah. So people who work for you because you're only one person, what's their bad? What do you look for when you hire somebody? It takes me a very long time. I just hired a nurse, and I think I hadn't hired a nurse in three years. Really? Yeah. So I've interviewed multiple, and I was like, nope, nope. And so now I meet them. It's like first instinct. Right. Like, nope, that's it. That's it. And then I see their work. I have them maybe do my Botox. Right. So I can see how their bedside manner is. I have them shadow me and see how much they're stepping over my toes in that shadow moment.

1:18:46Yeah, yeah, yeah. In a good way, in a bad way. And how they're reading people. Because this is about bedside manner too.

1:18:54Melissa Haloossim:Oh my God. 100%. And also, I think you said something earlier that's so accurate. Like, people walking in there, they don't know what they don't know. They want to look, they're like, I want to look great. But they don't know how to look great. And they're like saying they saw something online. They're like, give me this earth. Give me this. And you're like, that's not even what you need. I bet you people leave all the time angry because you won't do something on them. Yeah. Or they had something and I was like, no, we're just doing a consult today. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And they're like, well, I want it now or whatever.

1:19:21Melissa Haloossim:Yeah. Yeah. You really are thoughtful that way. Very different than a lot of people because it's not a money grab. Because it's so popular now, I think people are just doing these things with people who don't even need them. You know, all the things. And that's not how you operate. Yeah. You know, that's not your business model. It isn't. And for some companies, it's been great. You know, like there's been Laserway. They did a great job. They were the first ones on the market. They did hair removal. You know, kudos to them. But that's not my business model. It's not. Also, they do more like hair removal.

1:19:59Melissa Haloossim:Yeah. Do you guys even do that there? I don't even know. We do it because one of my machines can. And so if someone doesn't want to go somewhere else, but I don't advertise it. Oh, yeah. Okay. What are the—I mean, besides the lasers, the bow tie, I mean, you do something with the body, though. I don't remember. And I have everything on my website. Yeah, what's the website? Tell people where they can look at it. It's skinthesisinc.com. Our Instagram is also skinthesisinc. We try to show, you know, our actual procedures. So then when we explain them and we have a consult that they can visually see it being done.

1:20:31And we're trying to be more educational on our social media.

1:20:34Melissa Haloossim:Yeah, it is actually. You can do a good job. Good. Yeah, you're welcome. All right, I guess we could wrap. It's been like hours already. I'm like, oh my gosh. You don't know what day it is? I know, I know. I mean, you're probably like, oh my God, you weren't expecting this long, were you? No, I'm fine. You probably thought you'd be her for like an hour. I'm totally fine. Okay, this is Melissa. She is the founder of Skin Thesis. She is wonderful. And I think you gave us a lot of information, even though most of the answers were, well, it depends. I'm sorry. On the skin. But that's actually good though.

1:21:03So it's not like a one size fits all. No.

1:21:05Melissa Haloossim:Okay, good. so check her out on Instagram and she has you have two right you have Melissa what's your first yeah so Melissa H underscore NP is my personal right and then we have yeah well thank you so much for being here this was very informative thank you for being here I'm sorry I wasn't more precise no it's okay I like I said like you're a true professional you're not you don't just play one on on Instagram so you know you have your answers are more elaborate that's good all right guys thank you so much and bye.