This week I have found an extra appreciation for the meaning of a team. I am so blessed with family, friends, a job and a great community. None of these things have been achieved all on my own. My parents molded me into an adult to pick a husband. My friends, husband and OB (shout out to Dr. Riche at Mercy) all worked very hard for 5 years through infertility before I had children. Professors, doctors, nurses, supervisors and more were part of the team that helped me become a nurse practitioner. Mayors, small business owners, outreach programs and churches are all part of the team that makes Fort Smith great. What has brought great things into my life is great team members. It takes a team in life. Friday night was our staff Christmas party. Our largest one of the five  I have attended. Looking around brought to reality just how many people it really takes to care for your skin. When you make an appointment with me (or any of our providers) your outcomes and experience are the responsibility of the entire team. From the person you talk to when you make your appointment to the member that walks you back, to the surgical tech that gives you a stitch, the laser tech that lasers your scar, the billing department that files your insurance claim, the person that checks you out and educates you about skin care. You are touched by so many people with that one appointment you made with me. That’s what makes people love Johnson Dermatology, the team.

Thank you to all my team members, the ones who have helped me achieve a beautiful family. The ones who helped me achieve my professional goals. The JD team that helps me save skin. The Fort Smith team that makes me love this community of mine. Thank you for being an active team member and making my life a better one.

I encourage all of my readers to evaluate your team. Thank your team. What you have achieved took a team. What you have not achieved yet will require a team. Do not underestimate the value of a good team. Do not take advantage of a great team.

I promise that a little humility will strengthen your role in the team and make you a stronger team member. I found some of that humility looking around at my work team Friday night and I will be a better health care provider Monday morning because of that realization.

Finally, when it comes to healthy, refreshed skin it takes a team. A dermatology office is just one part of the team. Good products, dedication and support to help compliance are all required to reach your skin goals. Be smart on who coaches your skin team. Thank you for trusting me and Johnson Dermatology as your skin coaches.

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” -African Proverb

Merry Christmas, next week I will get back to talking skin{insert wink face emoji} -Nina

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Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Thank you Nina for allowing me to guest blog again to your skinny on skin readers. I am honored to write a blog of gratitude. Every year since Dr. Brad and I opened Johnson Dermatology with a team of 10 in 2006 (5 of our original 10 are still on team JD), we celebrated a month of gratitude during the month of November with our team. We especially thank our patients during the week of Thanksgiving. We hope you will join us this week at Johnson Dermatology as we once again say thank you and show our gratitude to you. Thank you to every single one of you who trust Johnson Dermatology for your skin needs and wants. My heart is overflowing with gratitude.

2016 is a great year for Johnson Dermatology. Just a few of the things I am grateful for this year include:

–Dr Garrett Nelson joining our team (he is such a great Dermatologist and an even better person)
–celebrating 10 years serving our community (I hope all of you joined our anniversary party in August or at least saw our video)
–adding on to our clinic building –the only LEED certified medical clinic in the great state of Arkansas

–offering a walk in clinic on Thursday mornings
–being recognized as a Top 500 (#347) practice out of more than 37,500 practices by Allergan
–increasing the number of clinical trials we are able to offer our community–we currently are studying acne, warts, psoriasis, eczema, actinic keratosis and hidradenitis suppurativa
–adding body shaping to the services we offer. We now have more than 10 lasers, light devices and machines to make us all more skintastic
–Honey being recognized nationally for her work with psoriasis
–providing a community servant with a free full makeover valued at more than $3500
–being named a Top Core physician by Real Self –being voted again to be the Best of the Best by our community and the Times Record
–increasing our social media presence (hopefully you enjoy the Nina/Bridgett daily show on snapchat, the live Facebook videos, YouTube videos, Instagram before/after photos, Nina’s blog and our website)
–our team members growing their personal families. We celebrated quite a few weddings and births this year
–increasing the number of free skin cancer screenings we provide in our community. Our motto is “specializing in skin cancer, providing comprehensive skin care”
–increasing the number of community organizations and school groups that we partner with, contribute to and support

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Please join us this Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday during our gratitude week. We will have extended hours Tuesday evening (cosmetic only appointments are available by emailing dani@johnsondermatology.com or bridgett@johnsondermatology.com). Everything cosmetic is 20% off these 3 days only—products, procedures, laser treatments, peels, everything. Once again, thank you. I look forward to what 2017 brings. Thank you to all of you. Thank you Dr Brad for proposing marriage and this wonderful life 20 years ago. Thank you to my children. Thank you to my parents. Thank you to my family. Thank you to my friends. Thank you to my mentors. Thank you to my running group, we solve a lot of the world’s problems (especially mine) at 5 AM. Thank you to every patient. Most importantly, Thank you to God.

As John F Kennedy said: As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.

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I follow quite a few dermatologist and plastic surgeons on social media. I’m sure you do too. Ever heard of Dr. Pimple Popper on youtube, Dr. Miami on Snapchat or Dr. Simon Ourian on instagram (a derm with 1.3 million followers)? They are some of my favorite accounts and I’m sure yours as well. Anyway, this weekend someone (I can’t remember which account, sorry) posted a photo of a birthday cake with the caption “Put candles on your cake, not wrinkles on  your face”. Think about that for a second. It’s saying prevent yourself from getting wrinkles this year. Often times we search for treatments after we have a problem. For example, instead of eating healthy and staying active to prevent high blood pressure we make an appointment to get a pill once we already have high blood pressure. It’s no different with skin, we look for creams to erase brown spots and wrinkles not necessarily to prevent them from occuring.  I always say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and it’s so true in so many aspects of life. It is a lot easier to not go to jail then to get out of jail. It’s easy to get a flu shot but miserable to get the flu. It’s easy to use birth control, it’s hard work to raise a kid. Prevention in most cases of life is just the easy way out and your skin is no different. Truth be told, we actually prevent wrinkles more effectively than we treat wrinkles. Every single day a patient tells me “back in my day no one knew to wear sunscreen, we burned all the time”. Every. Single. Day. Therefore this post is for all my readers to be able to say “someone told me to do that and I didn’t listen” or “Nina told me to start doing this years ago and I’m 29 forever”. Here are my prevention tips to keep your skin feeling fresh forever.

1. Wear compression stockings. I promise preventing varicose veins is so easy. Once you start wearing compression stockings you won’t want to go without them because your feet feel so much better after long days standing. I wear the tubes that go from ankle to knee available at most drug stores and Academy sports.
2. Wear sunscreen. Such an easy step to prevent premature photoaging. The texture and color of your skin will be so much more even if you apply sunscreen to your face regularly.
3. Use Retinol. Retinol reverses any damage you get during the day. Your skin will look dewy, refreshed and new like you were 20 again. If you are 20 and want your skin to stay the way it is start using retinol now. The difference in you and your friends skin in 10 years will be remarkable. I like SkinMedica Retinol.
4. Start Botox. Botox is for lines in motion which develop into lines at rest. People often tell me I am too young for Botox but the truth is Botox is preventing me from making wrinkles. Starting Botox at the first sign of a line will prevent you from making a deep line at rest that actually will be much harder for us to treat in the future likely requiring laser, filler and topicals.
5. Don’t smoke. Haven’t you heard? It increases your risk for heart disease, lung cancer, high blood pressure and WRINKLES. Plus it stinks. PLUS it’s not even cool anymore.

Now is the time to start caring for your skin. Now is the time to prevent further premature aging. Aging is a beautiful thing, I’m a different person now than I was 10 or even 5 years ago(a better person in my opinion). My kids get better and better with age. We don’t want to stop putting candles on our cakes but you can slow down the brown spots, uneven texture and uneven tone on your face! Come to Johnson Dermatology and let us educate and teach you how. Free consults with Dani and Bridgett now until Gratitude week(and you get a prize). What’s Gratitude week? Oh no big deal, just our ONLY sale of the entire year where ALL our cosmetic products and procedures are 20% off. It’s a great time to try something new so make a consult with the girls and find out what you should start!

“If you don’t change direction you may end up where you are heading”  -Lao Tzu

Grateful for all my blog readers, stay skintastic, make a skin change, Nina

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I am very blessed to be a trusted injector at Johnson Dermatology. Not just because I trained under a dermatologist that slays cosmetic dermatology world wide but because of the tool belt I get to wear every day. I don’t have just one filler or one neurotoxin available to me and my patients. We are able to offer our clients every single filler and neuromodulator that is FDA approved. But we don’t stop there, we also have radiofrequency devices, lasers, the best medical grade skin care, chemical peels and more. I literally work in the candyland of cosmetic dermatology. With that being said we are always researching and testing new products. The newest filler is called Volbella. It became available for purchase October 17th (less than a month ago) and it is steadily growing into one of my favorite tools on the tool belt. Volbella is part of the Juvederm family but it a Vycross technology more like Voluma. Vycross technology refers to the gel in which the hyaluronic acid is delivered when injected. Vycross is more tightly bound which results in longer lasting results and less initial swelling when injected. Volbella is a much thinner filler which allows us to safely inject it more superficially than Voluma. Think of Volbella for those etched in lines such as perioral lines around the mouth. Volbella is a perfect filler for someone who wants the fine lines that make their lipstick run treated but don’t want fuller lips or simply don’t need more structure of the lips. I have really liked pairing it with the other Juvederm product to soften transitional curves of the face and as the icing on the cake. I think of the thicker filler products as my cake (the structure of the skin) and Volbella as the icing on the cake (the softer outer most layer of smoothing).

Sometimes I feel like a broken record when I say one shoe does not fit all. Two people walking in asking for the same thing often actually need two completely different things to achieve optimal, natural, refreshing results. When it comes to our skin, less is not always more. You need Botox to help relax lines in motion and Filler to help volume loss, lasers to help with color and texture of the skin and skin care products to maintain and improve on a daily basis. If you only choose one modality then you may only be treating the upper face and not the lower face or  only focusing on the deep structure of the skin but not the top layer of the skin. If you don’t treat the big picture it’s like wearing flip flops with your wedding dress or a Harry Winston diamond with yoga pants-it doesn’t look right.

The best thing you can do for your skin is to get a cosmetic consult by an experienced expert. Make a plan that’s in your budget and a regimen that you can follow. I would be honored if you trusted Johnson Dermatology but even if you don’t please take into consideration who you let guide and manage your skin. I want the best for all my readers. I dream for fillers and botox to be represented in a positive light.

If you think Volbella might be for you and you want to learn more about my newest tool on my belt then call the clinic and make an appointment for a consult this week. I’m so grateful for all my readers and don’t forget we are showing our gratitude during the week of Thanksgiving with 20% off all things cosmetic at Johnson Dermatology so I hope to see you that week if not sooner!

Stay Skintastic, Nina

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I’ve always had acne prone skin. I get jealous when patients say “I’ve never been someone who gets acne”. But I must say you would be hard pressed to find someone who says they have NEVER had even one pustule, acne bump or blackhead. If you did find that person I would like to think one day they probably will experience some degree of acne. That’s why we are hosting a huge “acne event” on Tuesday from 6-7:30P.M. We are going to have door prizes, acne lessons, live demonstrations, skin care products on sale and more. Suite One will be there with a pop-up shop so you can shop their new fall arrivals after hours! Sydney, their Fort Smith store manager will be there to talk about her experience treating her acne at Johnson Dermatology. Here are some of the acne treatments you will learn about.

1. Pulsed dye laser- A no downtime laser that treats active red acne and red acne scars.
2. Chemical Peels- What’s the difference in chemical peels and how we use them to treat active acne and scarring. Watch one LIVE!
3. Clinical Trials- Learn about studies/clinical trials at the clinic on acne. You may be eligible to enter one of our acne trials and get paid to get your acne medicine and visits to the clinic!
4. Skin Care products- Learn what products not to use and what you should be using. Then shop off our discounted table to make a custom skin care regimen for you, CHEAP!
5. Free skin care consults all night personalized just for YOU!
6. Blu-u light treatments- Find out of this painless, cost effective treatment for acne is right for you! Then WIN a free treatment as a door prize if you’re lucky!

It’s really going to be a fun night of skin and shopping so I hope no one misses it!!!! See you at the clinic Tuesday night November 1st @ 6pm! It’s going to be a blast!

Stay Skintastic! Nina

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• Where are my “The Walking Dead” fans?!?!? I’ve never been more excited for a season premier! For those of you that don’t know what I’m referring to, tonight we find out which of our beloveds has been murdered with a bat by the new evil (and smokin hot) character, Negan, introduced last season. There are so many ideas out there on who it’s going to be. Everyone has an opinion. Why it should be this character, why it won’t be that character, etc. etc. If you google “who dies in the walking dead season premier” literally millions of hits appear. No one actually knows, except the elite! The elite top team including the writers, cast, producers and team. They are the only people you could actually trust to know who is going to die tonight on the season premier, the ONLY ones.
• Thats what I consider dermatologists, the elite skin team. The only ones you can really trust with the right answers for your skin. I am biased. I admit that. But it only makes sense that you let the people who have spent years studying the skin and using evidence based practices to learn what changes skin and keep it looking and feeling healthy. It’s easy and fun for me to go on the internet and read about all the walking dead season premier theories out there and trust me, I have! But when it comes down to it I really don’t know who is right until I watch the show tonight. Same for skin. You can go watch tutorials on YouTube and hit Pinterest with ideas for lotions and potions but you won’t likely know the real science behind the skin until you consult with a dermatologist. This is why I think a skin care consult at a dermatologist office is so important. Here are some benefits of a skin care consult at a dermatologist office:
• 1. They are here to educate you on what’s healthy for your skin, not here to get a commission or just sell you their product.
• 2. Dermatologists can sort through the overwhelming options for you and tell you what’s a must have and what’s a plus or minus.
• 3. Dermatologists can tell you where to save or splurge. We recently snapped some of our favorites if you follow us on snapchat (jdermatology). We can work with any budget and tell you how to allocate your funds for the best skin changing regimen.
• 4. Dermatologists can explain how to mix and match brands. We aren’t bound to a company we are working for so we can build a regimen from as many brands as needed. I love SkinMedica total defense and repair sunscreen for me but my kids don’t get that luxury product, they don’t need it. They get Target BareRepublic sunscreen.
• 5. We genuinely love skin. Think about it. It’s not just a job for us. I went to school for eight years before I had my nurse practitioner license. I interviewed for 4 months in 6 different specialties, turning down 5 job opportunities before I chose skin and dermatology to do for the rest of my life. It’s not just a job, it’s a passion. It’s my happy place.

On Sundays all I wear on my skin is sunscreen. I feel great in my skin with nothing but a tinted sunscreen. Are you happy with your skin in nothing but sunscreen? Do you love where your skin is now? Do you trust the elite team to pick your skin care regimen? Don’t worry about your answers because we are offering free skin care consults now until November 18th with Bridgett and Dani to get you on track AND give you a $10 JD credit to use during gratitude week when everything is 20% off!! It’s a win win! Join me on Sunday Funday in sunscreen only skin! It’s the perfect day to break up with your make-up!

Stay Skintastic, Nina

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If you’re a parent you understand this idea of doing things that aren’t pleasant because of that one moment that makes it worth all the hard work. I remember when my first child was two weeks old and colic had set in. She had been crying for about 12 hours. My tailbone was broken from giving birth. My husband (a cop) was out working a homicide and I was home alone. Our precious little yorkie was shaking in fear and quickly his anxiety diarrhea was worsening. I was crying, baby was crying, it was thunder storming outside, I felt like I was in a scene of a comedy horror film. Our yorkie went from anxious to gastrointestinal bleeding, inside, on carpets only. I called my parents 45 minutes away at 2 AM for reinforcement. When my parents got there my 2 week old almost immediately fell asleep (making me infuriated) and I rushed off to the vetinary hospital where they ran $300 worth of test to tell me my dog was having an anxiety attack and just needed a shot to help him relax, REALLY?!? I cried all the way home exhausted trying to figure out how I would clean what looked like a murder scene off my carpet whilst driving while sitting on a boppy that I dreamed would help me breast feed but instead I used more frequently as a donut for my cracked tailbone. I got home and while I breastfed my baby girl I tried to think of how I could put her back in me for a month or so while I figured things out. Then she finished eating, smiled and snuggled her head against my chest. I could feel her angel breath on me and she smelled like everything good. I hadn’t slept in 24 hours but that moment of connection with my innocent baby was pure, was inexplainable and shockingly I thought to myself how the past 24 hours I would do a million times over for this feeling again even if just for a moment. I finally understood what it meant when people said “it’s worth it”.

Most things that are truly life changing take time, commitment, determination and hard work. When I got my APRN license in the mail all those years of sacrificing during school were worth the degree. All the struggles I’ve endured with my husband, worth it for 10 years of happily ever after under our belts.

The point I’m trying to make is that if you have a goal, take whatever path necessary to get to that goal because when you reach your goal you won’t be sorry. Same goes for your skin. Your skin cycle is 28 days so changing your skin simply isn’t going to happen over night. There are some things that I beg my patients to not give up on, it will all be worth it and here they are……

1. Retinol. At first you might be a little dry, red or irritated when you start using retinol but once you get over the hump your skin will be better than ever. It’s worth it to have a little acne flare or peeling or dryness, promise.
2. Sun protective clothing- It might be expensive. It might be “uncool”. But I promise you I hear at least 10 times per day from someone older and wiser than us that they wished they wouldn’t have collected so much UV damage over the years. On the contrary, never once has anyone told me “I wish I would have sun damaged my skin more in my younger days”. Not once. Less brown spots, less wrinkles, less chance of skin cancer, it’s just soooo worth it in the long run.
3. Sunscreen- Pale is the new tan. It’s one of the cheapest anti-aging tools in my belt. It’s so worth it, see #3.
4. Full body skin cancer checks- Melanoma caught early seriously could save your life. You might not like showing your birthday suit to a dermatologist, you might not want to take that time out of your busy schedule but if  we happen to catch a skin cancer that you didn’t even realize you had it will be worth it.
5. Enjoying the skin you’re in. You will never regret loving yourself. Being confident in your own skin may be hard for some of us but I have been blessed to see people transform after they have found confidence in their skin. It’s the best part about being in dermatology. Finding that for yourself will be worth it, everytime, for everyone.

I hope taking time out of your Sunday to read my blog is worth it, thanks! Stay Skintastic, Nina

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Dr. Sandy is back! Today she is sharing her insight on clinical trials at Johnson Dermatology. It’s such an honor to have Dr. Sandy in Fort Smith. So many patients have benefited from studies that wouldn’t be in our community without her hard work! Here’s one of my favorites frI’m Dr. Sandy….

Are you someone who watches the commercials on TV or reads the advertisements about new medications or treatments? Have you ever wondered how those treatments became available? Have you ever wished there was a better option to treat your condition(s)? Have you ever wanted to personally benefit while helping the world as a whole?

I know that Nina usually does not ask questions of her readers but I am interested to know what your answers or thoughts are to the above questions. (Thank you Nina for sharing your blog again with me. ) Clinical trials provide an avenue for people to participate in research that potentially may help the world and themselves at the same time. The clinical trials and research team at Johnson Dermatology has been very busy. Crystal, Christa and Lara are our trained clinical trials coordinators. They are currently enrolling patients/subjects/people with the following conditions: warts, acne, psoriasis, eczema, rosacea. Participating in a clinical trial as opposed to receiving regular standard medical care has pros and cons. In my opinion, I think the pros often outweigh the cons—depending on the study. We have turned away many studies if I think the risks of treatment outweigh and potential benefits for the individual participant in the study. This is important to us because the study participant also happens to be our patient. As a physician, I took an oath to first do no harm—I take that oath seriously and so only offer approved or study treatments that I feel offer a great risk/benefit ratio.

Some of the pros of participating in a clinical trial are that you personally help to advance science, you may get cutting edge treatment that is not yet available to the general public at no cost to you, you often get financially compensated for your time, and you are closely monitored by us, the sponsor, the government and many others—yes Big Brother is definitely watching every move in a clinical trial. Some of the cons are that in certain studies you may get placebo (not actual treatment), it often requires more office visits, it often requires keeping a diary and some work on your part.

Obviously, I am a science nerd and am therefore biased. I love clinical medicine and research. The first clinical trial that I participated in was a project assigned to me by the Chair of Dermatology at UAMS during residency in 1997. It was testing Candida skin test antigen for the treatment of warts. That project was exciting. Now, almost 20 years later, I am still studying warts and conducting research. This project also provided me with lots of opportunity to which I am grateful. Even though my family and friends don’t care that I got to work on the medications that are now advertised on television to treat psoriasis, I know and care. Since they don’t care, I am going to share with you that I have been awarded 8 grants and 3 patents. I have participated in more than 40 clinical trials and have written more than 60 scientific articles. I coauthored a book on warts with my mentor Dr. Bob Brodell (to whom I am forever indebted). Since all of that work and $4 will get me my favorite drink at Moka Joe’s (skinny non fat vanilla steamer), I must admit that the best part of clinical research is that I have gotten to closely interact with many international experts and wonderful patients in the past 20 years. Personally, it is so rewarding. One of the best rewards is that one of our patients in her 50’s who has suffered with a debilitating skin condition all of her life now has had clear skin for the past year from treatment from one of the medicines in one of our trials. She acts like a new person—we can tell she is not only healthier, she is also happier. She is one of the many reasons that I love what I do. I truly am blessed to do what I do. I am honored to work with 50 amazing people at Johnson Dermatology. I am honored that together we are able to provide the highest level of Dermatologic care. We not only offer clinical trials so that our patients can receive novel therapies and treatments at no cost. We also offer Mohs surgery, skin surgeries, cosmetic services, injections, skin care education, lasers, light devices, body contouring, allergy testing for contact dermatitis, as well as dermatologic/skin care for all ages from birth until natural death. Thank you all for trusting us with your skin care wants and needs during the past 10 years. We still can’t stop the feeling.

Stay skintastic, Dr. Sandy

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