I traveled to Washington, D.C. this weekend for a work meeting. All my friends and family warned me to bring lots of hand sanitizer, to consider wearing a mask, to avoid touching any bodily fluids, to avoid flying through Dallas and to be on high alert for Ebola. When you travel, you spend more time than normal on your social media. You never check your feeds during important business meetings underneath the table (shout out to my bosses)but during breaks, flights, lonely nights in hotel rooms, etc you definetely have time to check IG, Twitter, Facebook and roam the internet. I saw a few pictures of kids at pumpkin patches and the usual but most of my feed was clogged all weekend with #Ebola. Twitter has #ebola trending at 1.3 million tweets. Who doesn’t know the nurse named Nina that has Ebola? (hint:it isn’t me) One of NPR’s stories got me thinking. It was titled “Why won’t the Fear Of Airborne Ebola Go Away?”. It talked about how many experts and officials have said Ebola isn’t airborne and the chance of the virus mutating to be able to travel airborne is less than 1% and no matter how many times the experts express this people are still suggesting stopping air travel and extreme quarantines and worse. This particular article seemed to think it was because of the media. It’s quite the debate on some of my friends social media feeds, what we should be doing about Ebola in the US.

While contemplating in my mind why people have such a fear for Ebola I wondered to myself “Why don’t people fear Melanoma?”. So often I have patients tell me they are going to keep getting in the tanning bed even after I express all the harm UV rays can do to the skin. I have had people go as far to say, and I quote , “guess I will just die of cancer because I’m not going to stop tanning!”. It seems so absurd to think my community has multiple tanning beds available yet are so fearful of Ebola. Why? How do we choose what we fear for our health? Do we go by what the experts tell us? No that can’t be it because I think dermatologist are the experts of skin and people often go against that advise. The CDC officials are the experts on infectious disease yet people don’t seem convinced that Ebola is not airborne no matter how many times they state that fact. Is it research and science? Nope. According to the CDC one person has died in America due to Ebola. CDC says, in the past decade, the United States had 5 imported cases of Viral Hemorrhagic Fever (VHF) diseases similar to Ebola (1 Marburg, 4 Lassa).None resulted in any transmission in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society five-year survival rates for distant stage melanomas (melanoma that has spread to lymph/distant organs) is 16%. According to the American Academy of dermatology it is estimated that by 2015, 1 in 50 Americans will develop melanoma in their lifetime. So according to the stats we should be fearing melanoma before Ebola, right? So why is Ebola so feared and melanoma taken so lightly in our society? Is it the spin media puts on Ebola and rarely mentions melanoma? Is it majority rules? Meaning most people fear an outbreak and don’t fear a tan that increases the risk of melanoma? Is it how we were raised? Patients often tell me “when I was young we didn’t know to wear sunscreen” did this non-concern as children wear off on us? Were we raised to believe infectious diseases are some of the worst by Mom telling us to cover our mouth when we cough, wash our hands, put our jacket on before we catch a cold? I don’t know why but currently in our society there are 1.3 million people talking about Ebola on Twitter and not even a fraction of that talking about melanoma.

I think people that fear an Ebola outbreak in the United States could be compared to people that fear the end of the world. You know that person that thinks the world is coming to an end and builds their house on the highest point in town and stores enough water and food for a year, puts bars on the windows and is ready for the end of world or a zombie apocalypse. We “normal” people think it’s overkill. We might even call that person a little weird. But if the zombie apocalypse came tomorrow or the world came to its end, then that would be your smartest neighbor. Everyone would wish they had prepared for the end of the world. The person that refuses to fly, wears a mask everywhere and doesn’t touch the buggie at wal-mart sure would look smart if there was an Ebola outbreak tomorrow. Luckily for us, statistically speaking, the Ebola outbreak won’t be here in the U.S. tomorrow and neither will the world come to an end.

Melanoma is already here, and it has killed a lot more than one American. So this post isn’t to convince you to chill out about Ebola. It isn’t to scare your pants off about Melanoma (well it kinda is). But I do hope it makes you think about your health. I hope it makes you think about the source of information you trust and make decisions about your health. Do you follow the guidance of an expert in healthcare or a commercial during your favorite TV show? My hope and prayer for you is that you let there be enough anxiety in you about heart disease that you work out and eat healthy, that you have enough fear of lung disease to not smoke cigarettes and of course that you be frightened enough of melanoma to be sun smart.

Until next week, stay healthy and always skintastic, Nina

P.S. If you have any ideas on how I could make #melanoma hit more than 1.3 million tweets and bring awareness to America just let me know!

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Atopic Dermatitis, otherwise known as eczema, is one of those things you don’t want to have. I mean sure, you could get something worse but this is the gift that keeps on giving if you have the chronic type. For those of you that don’t know it’s a dry, cracked, scaly, itchy rash. Sometimes it can be severe to the point where it causes swelling, pain and even psychological problems. It’s often more like high blood pressure than a toothache. With a toothache you go to the dentist, get a filling, maybe some antibiotics and “POOF” problem solved. A few years down the road you probably can’t even remember which tooth it was or that you even had a toothache. With high blood pressure as long as you take your blood pressure medicine your blood pressure stays under control but if you stop your blood pressure medicine then your blood pressure goes back up. We don’t have a cure for high blood pressure where you get a pill and then problem solved. Same story with chronic atopic dermatitis. As long as you do A, B and C it should stay under control but if you stop then boom, it’s back. The problem is what we ask you to do for eczema is so much more work than taking a pill once a day. Here are the first three things I ask my eczema patients to do that usually keep it under control.

1. Get Greasy- As often as possible lube your body up. My first choices are plain petroleum jelly or crisco. If that’s too greasy for you then my second choice is something plain and thick that comes in a jar. If it comes in a pump or something like that it usually isn’t thick enough. Put it on as often as you can and especially within 3 minutes of getting out of the shower to lock in all that moisture.

2. Avoid irritants- Think about fragrances, colors and additives like wool. If you rub wool on your skin it’s going to cause an irritated rashy spot. Things much gentler will irritate the skin of someone with eczema. Baby soap is a no-no because they put a fragrance in it to smell like baby. Seriously, the plainest plain is what you want, no oatmeal added blah, blah, blah. I like plain Dove soap. Oh, and speaking of Dove, have you seen their legacy video? If you have a daughter it’s a must see, you can thank me later. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=Pqknd1ohhT4

3. Prescription lotions, creams and ointments- The most common being topical steroids which can’t be used long term because they can cause side effects such as acne, thinning of the skin, stretch marks and more. So we usually reserve them for flares. There are non-steroidal options too like Calcipotriene, Elidel, Vectical and Protopic, to name a few.

Those are the basics but as an additional tip I usually ask my eczema patients to do occasional bleach baths. It’s a 1/4 cup of bleach in a full bath tub and you soak in it for 20 minutes. It kills all the stuff that lives on our skin and gets in that cracked skin keeping it from healing and causing infection.

After you’ve done all of the above and still aren’t getting to where you want to be, we start trying all different kinds of things that may or may not help. We may ask you to do wet-to-dry dressings. Some people get patch tested to find out if something they are coming into contact with is causing/worsening their rash. Some people get UV light treatment to try to decrease the skin’s immune system. Sometimes we put you on short courses of oral medicines. There are lots of tricks of the trade. If you are suffering with chronic atopic dermatitis and gave up a long time ago and just kind of live with it, STOP! Come see me, spend some time with me and let me try my best to help you.

This post was born after seeing our ad in the newspaper today, did you see it?

Happy Sunday Fun Day to all, Nina

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If you follow Johnson Dermatology on Facebook then you may have noticed we have been introducing team members and their favorite products. If you don’t follow us then you should so you can hear about our amazing team members and all the personal favs. I thought this would be a good time to re-introduce myself and give you guys my regimen and favorite products.

If you have yet to meet me at the clinic, then you don’t know that I am the happiest person ever right now. It hasn’t always been that way. I have been in bad places before, not as nice, not as happy. Where I am right now though, is the best I’ve ever been, on top of my game. If you ever cross my path, now is the time. This girl is on fire!

When I was a little girl and my mom asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I replied “a plastic surgeon so I can make you beautiful”. Kids are mean. My mom was already beautiful. The point is, I have always known that I wanted to be in health care, helping people. In kindergarten, my teacher sent a book home with me before we had learned how to read and told me to just practice reading with my mom and I could show her what I learned the next day. I took the book home and told my Mom I had to learn the entire thing. I cried while working on it that night worrying I wouldn’t be able to read the entire book the next day (even though my teacher didn’t expect that of me). I forced my Mom to spend the entire evening teaching me to read that book and the next day I read it to my teacher. I’ve always wanted to be the best academically. So with a combination of a passion for helping people and a serious competitive dedication to academics (I graduated grad school top of my class with a 4.0, toot, toot) it only seems fitting that I am a dermatology nurse practitioner now and the happiest I could be in my career.

It’s not just my career either. It’s the total package. I have amazing friends, a husband that I don’t deserve, an above average daughter, wonderful family and a lovely home. I hope my cheer doesn’t annoy you, like that person that everything is always perfect in their life. I’ve made a D in a class before, I’ve been confused about my career path, I’ve dated some real duds, I’ve been a mean girl before and probably worse. It just so happens that through all that I got here and I’m feeling blessed at this moment. Some of my favorite things are traveling and eating good food. My Dad is an amazing chef from Malta (an island in the mediterranean sea) who gave me my love for fine cuisine. I love traveling so much that I was actually a traveling nurse before I was a nurse practitioner. I have worked in hospitals across America from San Francisco, CA all the way to Orlando, FL. But the most exciting thing about me (for the purpose of this skin blog) is my skin care regimen, right?!?! People always ask me “What do you use?” so here it is!

Body Moisturizer- I use plain vaseline on my legs. I use Cerave SA in a jar (white jar with blue lid) for everywhere else. I have a common condition called keratosis pilaris on the back of my arms. It’s a bunch of tiny red bumps. The Cerave SA improves that more than anything else for me. I just can’t use it on my legs because it burns after shaving, plus my legs get drier than the rest of my body and need stronger moisturizer.

Face Skincare Products- I use sunscreen every AM. If I’m dry then I use Elta MD and if I’m feeling greasy then I use the BOB. I use SkinMedica Retinol every night.

In the Shower- I wash my body with plain dove soap. I wash my face with Cetaphil Dermacontrol foam wash. It’s super light. I also wash my face with my Clarisonic. Get real, it’s like a face massage, so relaxing!

On the go- When I’m traveling I wash my face with Cetaphil gentle skin cleansing cloths. They come in a blue package and are by far the most gentle cloths that I have ever tried.

Injectables- I use Botox. I’ve had Dysport and Xeomin but Botox is my personal favorite. I also have Voluma. I’m ashamed to say that I am a baby when it comes to needles. I can stick them in people all day long but I just can’t stand being the one getting poked. So Voluma is an obvious choice for me because it lasts two years unlike a lot of the injectable filler’s  that last one year or less. In my mind that’s being injected less often which is a total plus for a baby like me! Plus it is so smooth. I use 44 units of Botox and I have one syringe of Voluma in each cheek(total 2 syringes)…. and I still look naturally beautiful, BOOM!

Make-up- I use ColorScience powder and my favorite eye shadow is a Jane Iredale trio called Golden Girl.

Laser- I love the results of laser hair reduction. I also think the PDL is so nice to take the redness out of acne in a quickie. Pre-prom or pre-wedding, that PDL is a life saver.

Fav Peel- I have had the vitalize peel and it was shocking how much one peel changed my skin. It calmed down my acne and faded a lot of my brown spots, highly recommend!

Well enough about me! If you want to learn more about the products I use or what I think would fit your needs come see me at the clinic. I honestly enjoy every single patient I get the honor of meeting and being a part of their skin. You guys are a part of my happiness. So thank you for trusting me and making me a happy person! Hope to see you all at the clinic soon!

Cheers, Nina

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I don’t know if it’s the holidays coming up or if it’s just my imagination but I feel like everyone is asking me when specials are coming up on Botox and fillers. I get it. Everyone always wants a deal, who wants to pay more for anything? The problem is you likely need your Botox every 3-4 months and specials usually don’t come around that often. You definitely do not want to bargain shop for cosmetic procedures because you may be sacrificing expertise and good results for a few bucks. Good news is there are other ways to pocket your pennies. So this post goes out to all you extreme coupon girls or really just anyone that wants some advice on how to save and still take care of your skin!

1. Brilliant Distinctions- If you don’t know what this is let me introduce you. This is a program that the Allergan company runs. Allergan owns Botox, Juvederm, Voluma, SkinMedica skincare line, Latisse and more. Once you are entered into the brilliant distinctions program you earn points with each purchase. Points convert into dollars. Then you can put those dollars towards your next purchase. You can use points from your retinol for Botox or points from Latisse towards fillers. However you want to use them, you can! I have seen big savings here so come sign up.

2. Schedule your Botox like your hair appointment. At Johnson Dermatology if you make your appointment for your next Botox at the time of your injection you get $25 off your next injection. Botox is like getting your hair colored. You don’t wait until your roots are completely grown out to recolor, you schedule it every 6 weeks. It’s much easier to touch-up that way. Some of my patients that really keep up with their Botox like this can go 6 months because that muscle has weakened. Double savings, $25 dollars off and eventually you can go longer between injections.

3. Save on moisturizers, washes and facials- Moisturizers, face washes and facials feel good. They can be luxurious. But the truth is they are not the work horses changing your skin. Buy off brand plain old moisturizers and face washes and save that money you were spending on expensive fancy moisturizers embedded with pearls hand shelled by mermaids on the beaches of Bora Bora and put that money towards your injections or retinol or peels, something that will improve your skin.

4. Get on the Johnson Dermatology e-mail list- If you put your e-mail on your patient registration that doesn’t mean you automatically get e-mails from us. You have to request to be on our e-mail list. Once you are on our e-mail list that will be how you are the first to find out about any news at the clinic, including specials.

5. Quality over quantity- Make sure your injector is cost conscious and full of skill. A lot of the studies that I read on Fillers they are using 6-8 syringes, Dr. Sandy and I rarely use that many syringes. We are pretty conservative and together we have agreed that with the right placement of the filler less can be more. Every individual is different and some people may need 8 syringes but most people do great with much less than that. So yes, I just tooted my own horn. Just by picking Johnson Dermatology to inject you, you saved money…. haha!

6. Buy in packages- We have laser packages that come with TNS serums or skin care packages with a full skin care regimen or Latisse with laser packages. What it boils down to is that if you buy your favorite products separately you will pay more than if you buy them in a package. Get down to the clinic and pick the package that fits your needs best.

Hope these tips help. We try very hard to be cost conscious at Johnson Dermatology and still offer you the BEST care and products out there.

In the words of Marilyn Monroe, “I am not interested in money. I just want to be wonderful.”

You’re all WONDERFUL, Nina

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Have you heard of Beliebers? They are obsessive Justin Bieber fans. Not just fans, but true lovers of Justin Bieber. Well Justin Bieber fans aren’t the only ones who can smash words! And then was born via my mind a Latiever. A Latiever is someone who is a HUGE fan of Latisse. For those of you that don’t know, Latisse is a topical medicine that thickens, darkens and lengthens eye lashes. The Latiever movement is coming so you may want to be one of the cool kids and jump on the bus now. I haven’t always been a Latiever and it took some time for me to convert. I am blessed with lashes that hit my glasses lens so if it’s not something I use, it just takes me longer to join the bandwagon. Here are the top reasons I became a Latiever and you should too.

1. My Mom’s testimony- So my sweet Mother has been through what we call the “Johnson Dermatology Mill”. She has had filler and laser and so on and so on. But Latisse is the one thing she is so amazed with. Quite frankly, it’s one thing that I am so amazed with on her. I think as a society we all focus on sagging and wrinkles but we don’t realize how much thin, short, sparse eye lashes age us. Mom’s new and improved darker, thicker, longer lashes took years off her eyes.

2. It’s the natural look- Okay, please tell me you look at people’s eyelashes when they are fake and immediately know they are fake. I mean either they just look fake or they fall off funny. Have you seen that girl at the club that worked up a sweat dancing all night causing her lashes glue to melt, her eye lashes are half on her upper eyelid and half on her eyeBROW. Just don’t be that girl. Latisse is still YOU, still your lashes. It’s natural beauty.

3. It’s time sensitive- Hours laying there while someone individually glues lashes to your lids and perfects your lids…… ain’t nobody got time for that! I have never had fake lashes placed so when one of my girlfriends recently told me it takes hours on hours, I almost fell out. Latisse is a simple topical application once a day, no biggie.

4. It’s cost conscious- I was at a benefit and roaming through a silent auction and saw this mascara with fibers that lots of people are using right now. It said the value was $150 and my jaw dropped. For mascara? Really? With Latisse you won’t need that fancy mascara and you won’t have fibers and thick mascara flaking off on your eyelids and cheeks. As a matter of fact with Latisse some of you can axe mascara all together. We have some killer Latisse packages at the clinic right now so call and ask about them!

5. It’s simple and easy- You just drop some liquid on your lash line once a day. No 5 step applications of mascara, no applying your own lashes then mascara, no going to a salon and getting lashes for hours and no icky goop on your eyes and skin around your eyes. I’m a simple girl and I like to keep it that way.

Would you like to learn more about Latisse? We have a Latiever group of women at Johnson Dermatology who would love to teach you! Autumn, JoAnna, Shelly, Dr. Sandy, Honey and I are here to give you admittance into our club with all the info your heart desires. Come see us at the clinic and become a Latiever. Disclaimer: Latisse does require a prescription so you need to be evaluated by one of the providers to make sure you’re a good candidate.

One of my favorite packages is sublative laser tightening around your eyes, TNS eye repair (growth factor) and Latisse. It’s a crazy deal that will tighten all that crinkly skin around your eyes and give you that youthful look you’ve been trying to get back. Hope to see you at the clinic soon.

“I opened my eyes one day and realized the world is full of beautiful girls” -Justin Bieber

Stay Skintastic, thanks for stopping by, Nina

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Pumpkin spice is taking over menus world wide. That’s the official sign fall is here. To some people that means good bye to water sports, camping, no school and drinks by the pool. It also means hello to fur coats, snow days and ugg boots. To a dermatology girl it means “see you later” bug bites, sunburns and fungus and welcome back dry, itchy skin. A cold front moved through the Fort this weekend and it felt pretty good. Now is the time we all start to change our wardrobe for the cold weather that’s ahead and it should be the time we change our skin care habits too. Ward off dry, itchy, cold weather skin with some of my skin care advice and avoid that uncomfortable itch this year. Happy Fall Y’all!

1. Moisturize more often- During the summer months you may only moisturize after bathing. During the cooler months of the year make it a point to up your moisturizer game. Attempt four times a day and maybe you’ll get three in!

2. Avoid irritants- So all year I tell you to ditch the high fragrance, high color, glittery moisturizers but some of you use them anyway and may not have any problems. Well during the Summer you may be able to handle it but during the winter if you’re prone to dry itchy skin, for sure ditch that high fragrance moisturizer and soap. I like plain dove soap to wash with and vaseline to moisturize with.  Other irritants include harsh washcloths, loofas, scrubs and beads.

3. Shower smart- Some people shower every other day during Winter months. I gotta shower everyday because I’m a workout girl and nobody wants to smell me after a good workout. That’s okay, try to shower in luke warm instead of real hot or real cold and pat dry leaving yourself a little damp. Keep your moisturizer in the shower and lather it on while your still slightly damp to lock all those droplets of moisture into your skin. I can’t use vaseline for this because it’s like mixing oil and vinegar so I use a jar of Cerave SA. The “SA” part helps get rid of some of those dry flakes too.

4. Use a thicker moisturizer- You change clothes with seasons so change your skin care line too. During the summer I wear powder sunscreen but during the winter I switch to Elta MD facial sunscreen so I can get some extra moisture there. At night during the summer I typically use only Retinol but during the winter I add Avene Hydrance Optimale cream to my regimen. It’s a thicker facial moisturizer but doesn’t leave you greasy so it makes for a nice winter option. For my body I stick with vaseline but if your not down with the grease then you can use pretty much any cream that is plain and comes in a jar. Think of pumps and such as being too thin lotions for winter skin.

5. Don’t forget your sunscreen- You can burn in the winter too. You can get sun exposure period. Even though it’s cold outside the sun still rises, protect yourself.

6. Put a pot on the stove- I mean you could use a humidifier if you want to help add moisture to the dry air but it’s so easy to be fancy. I put the biggest pot I can find full of water and add orange peel and cloves and then let it basically cook down. It gives your house some moisture and the best fall smell ever.

I don’t care how cliche it is, everyone should go get a pumpkin spice latte this week to kick off this awesome weather rolling in! Winter season is the perfect time to correct some of that sun damage you got on your skin this summer so please come see us at the clinic and let us help your skin! We love taking care of your skin and always appreciate your trust in us!

See you in a scarf soon, Nina

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So this week Johnson Dermatology is scheduling people for a boot camp for skin. It’s our inaugural boot camp and I am so excited so I had to share it with you guys. This bootcamp is for people who want the best skin they can have. It’s for people who have been using every product under the sun yet never accomplished their goals, never saw change. This week, if you sign up for the 90 day challenge you will finally see change. So today’s post will explain why and how we are going to get you there in 90 days. The Boot camp includes the following.

1. Skin care regimen for 90 days. We will include Retinol, Growth Factor, Sunscreen and Lytera. With this regimen you will wash your face and moisturize morning and night. You will also use two creams in the morning and three at night. It’s simple, no 8 plus steps. These products will help shrink your pores, even your texture, even your tone, get rid of discolorations, help with fine lines and brighten your skin.

2. UV imaging of your skin- This allows you to see “age spots” that haven’t “bloomed” yet for lack of a better word. Think about it as seeing your skin’s damage at a more scientific level. We will do this once monthly so that you can watch your progress. It’s a really fun way to see how you’re skin is changing.

3. Three monthly Vitalize Peels- These peels are really amazing. I recently had a bad acne break out and received one of these peels and it practically erased one of my brown spots. Peels are like working out. If you get off the couch once a week that’s better than nothing but if you work out three times a week you’re in even better shape. After one peel you will notice a difference but with the series of three you will see even more amazing results. If you have discolorations, uneven skin tone, acne, rough or dull skin then this peel will amaze you.

Finish the boot camp and receive……

A full Botox injection and a Latisse! Botox is for those lines in motion that you don’t want to turn into lines at rest. It will also soften lines at rest over time. It’s the one thing that always makes me feel so refreshed. Latisse will lengthen, thicken and darken those aging lashes. You never realize how much your lashes age you until you have them back like you were 16 again. I saw a $125 mascara this weekend and thought to my self, “wow, that’s sad because with a little latisse you really don’t even need all those fibers and thick mascara that fall all over your eyelids and cheeks all day”.

Everything included in the boot camp totals about $2400. We are offering it for $1200. It really is a bargain for those people who want to commit to a healthier, refreshed, beautiful skin. Go to your bathroom and total up how much all the lotions and potions in your cabinet have cost you. Studies show that most of you will total well over $1200 on things that never got you the results you expected. This boot camp is to bring your inner beauty out through your skin. Let your soul shine.

If you’re interested in the boot camp there is a lunch and learn tomorrow at the clinic that will go into more detail about the products and plan. Call in the morning at 479-649-3376 to let us know if you’re coming. If you are interested in learning more about any of the products or peels individually feel free to call for a one on one skin care consult with one of our cosmetic concierges, they are a lot of fun!

Hope to see you ALL there tomorrow.

“Beauty is being the best possible version of yourself inside and out” -unknown

Stay Skintastic, Nina

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I’m always reading lists on blogs and social media. “The ten worst types of Moms”, “Five things you must do on your honeymoon”, “Top ten colleges”, “Top cities to live” and so on. I mean David Letterman has a top ten everynight! I’m always drawn in to read these lists and find out what makes “the top” whether it’s a topic I’m interested in or not. So to join in on the list making fun I made my Top Ten Skin Types List. Enjoy!

10.  Naturally done Botox and Filler Skin Type- You know the kind where no one knows that you’ve had anything done except for you. People look at this skin type and say “What are you doing different? You look sooo…….. refreshed!” (I’m thinking of renaming this the “Nina got a hold of you skin type”)

9.  The Confident Skin Type- The person that gets a pimple and doesn’t pick and pop it to try to make it more socially appealing, just leaves it alone. Then goes to the prom and rocks out like before mentioned pimple doesn’t exist.

8. The Untouched Skin Type-This skin doesn’t get picked, popped, scrubbed, exfoliated, scratched, vigoursly itched nor irritated. It’s a calm and beautiful skin that any dermatologist can recognize.

7. The Retinoled Skin Type- I made that word up. “Retinoled” defined is skin that has been using a retinol for at least four months. This type has smoother texture and tone and is just a little closer to flawless.

6. The Imperfect Skin Type- This type of skin rocks a normal mole, is proud of it’s birthmarks, considers itself imperfectly perfect. This skin type is recognizable by most. It’s a first cousin to the confident skin type.

5. The Laser Hair Removal Skin Type- This skin has had its underarms, happy trail and bikini line lasered at least. No folliculitis here, no razor burn, no hard work shaving everyday and definetely no harsh waxing. This skin type is perfect for island life or anyone that lives a relaxed, chilled out lifestyle.

4. The Simple Skin Type- This skin has a very simple skin care regimen. No eight steps in AM and twenty steps in PM, no million dollar skin care budget, no fru-fru fragrances and no 234 products that most women own. This skin type may only use sunscreen in AM and Retinol in PM, simple but ahhhhhmazing.

3. The Natural Nails Type- Nails aren’t skin you say? Well they are a dermatologist specialty so they made my list (we do hair, nails and skin FYI). This type doesn’t push its cuticles back, doesn’t dig at it’s nails, doesn’t have fake nails that can damage the nail plate. This is just a natural nail with maybe an occasional polish. This nail looks healthy and to me that’s the most beautiful thing in the human body, our health.

2. The “Have it all” Skin Type- This skin has been lasered, peeled, sun protected, uses Retinol, Growth Factor, Lytera and moisturizer, has had Botox and Fillers and gets a skin cancer check at least once a year. This skin is the best it can be and makes me want to dance to Beyonce.

1. The Sun Protected Skin Type- You know this is my number one. No premature aging, no sun damage brown spots, no early wrinkles, no increased risk of skin cancer, no looking back with regrets and no orange peel look. You know, no UV damage is beautiful. This skin is the color God made it.

What skin type are you? Obviously these are my favorite skin types but just know all skin types are welcome to join one, if not all of these clubs. If you need help with that then I hope to see you this week at the clinic. Hope you are having as much fun on this Labor Day Weekend as I had making this list.

“Being called different is like being called limited edition. Meaning you’re something people don’t see that often. Remember that.” -unknown

Dance on World, Nina

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Hi, my name is Nina and I am a blog stalker. I just love following blogs and getting to know people I have never met. It keeps me pretty cool too(so I tell myself). You learn about what all the hip kids are doing. It’s how I keep my little girl so fashionable. Why my step sons think I’m not old and dorky. Why I have been “no-pooing” (not using shampoo).

One of my favorite bloggers is Allison from www.alittleblueberry.com. Her IG feed is awesome too @allisonpants. She is a super cool Mom with an adorable daughter named Lemon. About a month ago I was perusing my IG feed and saw that her daughter, Lemon, who is just a few months older than mine was suffering from Molluscum Contagiosum. Molluscum are bumps on the skin caused by a virus. When I see this in the clinic my initial reaction is “oh no big deal, just molluscum”. They always go away eventually, they are very common and not necessarily harmful to your health. For these reasons, I traditionally have put them directly in the “no big deal” category. And then Lemon got molluscum and changed my view forever.

I realized how it was the worst thing going on in Allison and Lemons life at that time.  That it was stressful, hard to treat, and that it tried to steal away some of Lemons joy. Molluscum Contagiosum were not falling in the “no big deal category” for this family I loved (via internet).  If it bothered someone as down to earth, laid back and flat awesome as Allison and Lemon then it really does affect people worse than I ever dreamed. I was reminded that when I walk out of the room of a patient who has life threatening melanoma and into a room with molluscum, I can’t compare them. One will surely go away without harm and one could kill but they are both quite possibly the worst thing in that person’s life at that given time. So I’m sorry to all my patients that I haven’t empathized with about their skin diseases. I didn’t mean to make you feel like your bumps weren’t a horrible thing to have. From now on, I promise to show more sympathy to all my patients’ skin problems, life threatening or not. Thank you Lemon for reminding me where my heart was when I started dermatology and where I need to keep it. I honestly care about my patients’ skin and their health. As a thank you to Lemon here are some facts and tips on Molluscum Contagiosum.

What is Molluscum Contagiosum?

Little flesh-colored bumps that grow on the top layer of skin caused by a virus. They look like tiny belly buttons. They are very common in kids ages 1-10 years old and will all be gone in about 2 years without any treatment.

How to get rid of the little buggers quicker?

-Be sun smart- Sunexposure and tan decreases the skin’s immune system which in turn makes it more difficult for the immune system to recognize the virus and get rid of the bumps.

-Don’t pick, scratch or shave over the bumps. This can spread the virus/bumps to other locations on the skin.

-Don’t quarentine your child. We all come into contact with the virus all the time through touch or sharing hand towels or whatever. Some people come in contact with the virus and don’t get the bumps while some people do get the bumps. Basically no worries, chances are kids are gonna either get it or not get it no matter what.

-You can see your dermatologist about once per month for treatment to try to get your skin to recognize the virus quicker. At Johnson Dermatology we use liquid nitrogen, cantharadin (blister beetle juice that doesn’t hurt), prescription creams and extraction regularly to treat the bumps. On average kids need 3-6 monthly visits before the molluscum are gone for good.

-Treat them everyday at home to make them go away quicker. I usually tell people the easiest (and likely cheapest) thing is to get a bottle of clear nail polish and paint the bumps daily. Other at home methods include salycylic acid, apple cider vinegar, vicks vapor rub, duct tape and more. Just pick whichever one you will actually do daily.

I’m sorry that sweet little children have to deal with Molluscum Contagiosum. I am now more sympathetic to all my kiddos and parents who suffer with these bumpy skin nuicances.  Just remember, your child is still beautiful, loved and healthy. Hope to see you all in clinic this week!

Remember “Little girls with dreams become women with vision” -unknown

Peace, Love and Sunscreen,  Nina

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Imagine that you are a dermatology nurse practitioner. Imagine you have spent the past 12 years of your career working at keeping people healthy. You are married to a police officer whose health knowledge goes as far as knowing the difference between tylenol and aspirin, if that. You have a beautiful little baby girl. One day you are about to take the family to the park and of course, you are applying sunscreen on your daughter. Your husband notices that you are using a spray sunscreen on your daughter and angrily states “Haven’t you heard you can’t use that on kids, guess you’re just going to give our daughter asthma?”. Really? Wouldn’t you think you would be the skin expert? Well obviously this is me. And this was the moment when I realized that if my own husband believes what he heard on television over his skin expert wife then obviously the whole world is thinking the same thing.

Side effects. Every medication has them. Side effects are risks we take when we use a medication. have recently read a lot of articles becoming popular in social media about the dangers of spray sunscreen, too little sunexposure being detrimental to your health, the dangers of benzoyl peroxide and the lists goes on. So how do you decide who has the best advice? Do you still take a tylenol even though it could cause damage to your kidney? Do you eat gluten even though it has been linked to joint pain and bowel diseases? How do you know if the benefit of something is greater than the risk? How to you know which risks are more likely to occur?  I don’t know what the right answer is but here are some of the things that I consider to help me decide what risks to take in the world of skin health care.

1. How likely is the risk to occur? For example, the spray sunscreen. We don’t know what happens when you inhale spray sunscreen so until the FDA has that figured out they just said don’t use/inhale it. In my opinion if I spray it on my legs or my daughters back we probably won’t inhale it. Therefore making the inhalation risk unlikely to occur.

2. How serious is the risk? When a child stands behind a running car do adults yell out “get that kid she is going to inhale exhaust and get asthma!”? No, we yell “get that kid before she gets run over by a car backing up!”. I use that analogy with sunscreen. It’s more important to me that my little girl doesn’t age her skin prematurely and get skin cancer (get hit by the car) than if she inhales a little sunscreen (smells exhaust). But that’s just me.

3. Does the benefit outweigh the risk? My child is a wild woman. To hold her down and rub sunscreen all over her is a serious task. It’s like mud wrestling with sunscreen instead of mud. We are both worn out and sunscreen is EVERYWHERE by the time we are done. So for her, I choose a combination of spray sunscreen to her extremities and back where she is less likely to inhale it and then powder sunscreen everywhere else. I take the “inhalation of spray sunscreen risk” because the benefit of ease of application is more important to me.

4. Majority rules. So one Swedish study comes out talking about women who sunbathe having a lower mortality rate than woman who avoid sunbathing and all of the sudden everyone wants to get a tan? No. It’s one article, with lots of factors to be examined closer. There are hundreds, likely thousands of research papers done showing that sun exposure is linked to premature aging and skin cancer. Obviously, I gotta go with the majority.

5. I like the motto “everything is okay in moderation”. Even dermatologist prescribe a little UV light sometimes. We use UV light treatments to help people that suffer from psoriasis, occult pruritus, vitiligo and more. Sometimes you just have to realize some things are good for you and bad for you, simultaneously.

If you ever want to talk more about sun protection, side effects of medication or anything else skin you know you can just come by the clinic and see me! I just love giving my opinion! Thank you for trusting me and the Johnson Dermatology team with your skin.

In the words of Rowan Nath, “Don’t just dance, move the world!”

Hugs, Nina

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