Monthly Archives: July 2014

The Truth About Why We Love Botox

Often times when I’m discussing Botox and Fillers I hear people say I don’t want my husband to know or my daughter or my best friend, which is fine. I want you to leave looking natural and refreshed, like you. My goal is that no one will be able to put their finger on exactly what you’ve done but they will notice something has given you a fresher look. But a little part of me also wishes that your loved ones would have no negative thoughts about cosmetic procedures.

Recently, while attending a conference, I heard a dermatologist tell a story about his young daughter. They were out to dinner when she told the waitress that her Dad needed to do Botox on her wrinkles. I laughed really hard. Kids have no filter. You can only assume that he has taught his daughter about Botox or she learned it from conversation. So that made me think about my daughter and I thought to myself “What will I tell her?”. Will I tell her what cosmetic procedures I have had done? What will my reasoning be as to why I had them done? Will I encourage her to get Botox one day, many, many years down the road? There are lots of things in our culture that change with time so who knows what the cultural norm will be in twenty years. But for right now these are the reasons I think we do cosmetic procedures. So this list is for all the nay sayers, all the loved ones of someone who feels like they can’t tell you about their cosmetic procedures and for my daughter who I want to be proud that her Momma feels beautiful. These are the REAL reasons why we have Botox and Fillers done on a regular basis.

1. Because we are confident- Contrary to people who think we do it because we are insecure. I consider myself to be humble but also confident. I almost stopped running during my run yesterday because I was so tired. I needed an energy boost so I had to turn my music up and dance/run down the street to my house to be able to keep going. Sure I’m confident enough to dance in the street. I like the natural beauty God gave me and I want to keep it that way, keep my confidence so I can continue to dance down the street.  So, I have Voluma and Botox.

2. Because we are powerful professionals- It’s a dog eat dog world out there. We all know professionals are competing in lots of ways. I am a professional and I want you to pick me as your professional skin expert. Your first impression of me is how I look and that may be how you pick me to be your skin expert whether you realize it or not. So I like to look professional, dress nice, wear make-up, fix my hair every morning and use skin care products. I want to keep that “well kept” appearance so I color my hair, brush my teeth, shop for clothes, get mani’s and pedi’s occasionally and of course, get Botox!

3. Because we want to prolong our natural beauty, NOT because we want to change how we look- We don’t want to look like someone else. We don’t hate our lips or hate our crows feet or hate anything about ourselves. We just want to enhance our natural beauty, prolong the things we do like about ourselves. You like your brown hair so you color it when it starts to turn white? Well same idea with Botox and fillers.

4. Because we deserve to put ourselves first for once- We work, we are moms, chefs, house cleaners, chauffeurs, nurses, book-readers, snugglers, wives, friends, daughters…… you get the point. We wear a lot of hats and usually we put everyone before ourselves. So this is one thing we can do for ourselves. One time we put ourselves first and give ourselves a treat. We earned it! And, especially for my daughter, please learn from me it’s okay to put yourself first sometimes.

5.  Because we are happy- We don’t get cosmetic procedures done because we are sad, depressed people. We are happy! We are blessed to be fortunate enough to consider cosmetic procedures. We wake up in the morning, look in the mirror, smile and get ready to conquer the world. I like to smile and not make crow’s feet, not have to notice something negative out of such an important part of my day. So yes, I have Botox.

6. Because we are hip- Yeah, we may be out of our twenties but we still got some cool! Botox and Fillers include some of the newest, greatest advances in cosmetic healthcare. We are ahead of our time!

Do you want to keep your cosmetic procedures a secret? Then do that. That’s perfectly reasonable. Do I hope that one day everyone looks at Botox the same as a manicure or hair color? Sure I do. I want my daughter to know that it’s a good thing to want to feel beautiful. Maybe this post hits home, maybe it doesn’t but I think the world should know the real reasons we real women have cosmetic procedures done!

I hope to see you all at the clinic this week! If not, please be dancing while you put on your sunscreen every morning! Cheers, Nina

 

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Dollar Store Skin Picks

I live on Rye Hill in Fort Smith and ever since they put in the Dollar General I feel like I am going to another country if I have to leave the hill. I mean I have work, daycare and home in a five mile radius. I never have been a dollar store shopper but due to convenience of location I’ve become a “frequent flyer” Dollar General customer. My husband laughed at me the first time I came home from the new Dollar General because I couldn’t believe how “nice it was” and how “nice the stuff is” more than just “dollar pieces”. For some reason I thought every thing in a dollar store cost one dollar. Well that isn’t the case, not at the Dollar General on my hill (Rye Hill) anyways. So this blog is dedicated to dollar saving skin finds. There is a list of things that I think are worth spending money on and shouldn’t be replaced by a cheaper option such as Retinol, Growth Factor and Botox. But there is a completely different list of products that I think can be replaced by a cheaper, better option and this is that list……..

1. Face Soap- Ditch your fancy beaded, fragranced, colored face wash and keep it simple. Face wash is not the most important thing you can do for your skin as commonly misconceived BUT, you can irritate your skin with scrubs and fragranced residue causing breakouts and just angry skin. Money saved: $4. Skin saved : priceless

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2.Antidandruff shampoo- Do you get heat rash or yeast acne over the summer? 86 your high fragranced Axe and Bath and Body works that could be leaving an irritating residue on your skin for some good ‘ol fashioned anti-dandruff shampoo. Money Saved: $2-$12. Heat rash and yeast acne gone: Priceless

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3. Hydrocortisone and Clotrimazole- Got an itch? Please don’t get all those expensive Calamine lotions and anti-itch gels that really don’t help. Bug bites? Try some hydrocortisone. Heat rash or fungal stuff? Try some clotrimazole. Money saved:$2-$10. Not itching:Priceless

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4. Diapers- Have you guys seen the warning on facebook of diapers “burning” kids? Well it’s contact dermatitis to the blue dye in some diapers. In simple terms they are allergic or irritated by color dye. Is your baby irritated by fancy diapers? Go get the plainest, simplest and quite frankly, cheapest diapers at Dollar General. Money Saving potential: About 4 bucks. A happy baby: Priceless (seriously priceless!)

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5. Petroleum Jelly: You guys know its what I lather up in straight out of the shower. Such a great moisturizer. Need another reason to switch to vaseline? Trade neosporin for vaseline. Studies have shown that it prevents infection at the same rate and some people develop an allergy to neosporin which then causes a new problem on a booboo. This summer try putting vaseline on your cuts and scrapes to prevent infection. If you can keep it greasy enough to prevent a scab, you will minimize scarring.  Money Saved: $3. Skin saved:Priceless!!!!

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I hope I helped your skin and your pocket books with this blog post. If you have more questions about skin care products come see me this Thursday afternoon at the clinic. I am doing free skin care consults by appoinment only. Would love to spend time with you chit chatting about skincare!

Until next time, dance like no one is watching, Nina

Botox Patient Testimonial

Go to Google and search “botox testimonials” but make sure you’re sitting down because the results are scary. One girl had only half her lips injected because her injector said “there are no lines on the other side” which resulted in a crooked smile. And it just went down hill from there. So this week I have a guest blog writer, one of my patients. She came in this week for her first ever Botox injection and this was her experience. So here it is, a real Johnson Dermatology patient’s testimonial…….

When I first got back to the room the nurse took some pictures of me and I sat down and started signing a consent form. Thank God I’m a nurse and consent forms don’t scare me because everything that is on that consent will make you want to turn around and walk out of there. I was not too concerned about side effects, but that is just the type of person I am… worry about how to fix it later, because what will be will be! Plus, I had already decided I was going to do it and no consent form was going to scare me out of pressing forward.

Next, Nina came in and went over a bunch of information that I really didn’t care too much about. I was just thinking to myself “whatever, just make my wrinkles go away”. Then she asked if I had any questions. I really didn’t know what to ask so I just said no. If you have questions you might want to write them down because at this point you are a little overwhelmed and it’s easy to forget what you were planning on asking. I did however, ask if it was going to hurt. The thought of needles being stuck in your face should be somewehat scary, right?? Nina responded with “oh you will be fine, you’re tough”. I should have known that was a Nina style of “yes it’s a needle, it hurts”. Well, even though I am terrified of needles, it really didn’t bother me. Maybe it had something to do with the ice or the girl tapping my forehead or nerves but whatever it was that part wasn’t so bad. The actual botox medicine being injected hurt more that I expected. It was more like a burning sensation with each stick. The best way I can think to describe it would be to compare it to a TB skin test. The procedure itself is quick, like seriously 1 minute. Overall, the pain would not sway me from doing it again!

Next,they offered to touch up my make-up but I didn’t need it. I walked out of there with some bumps where my injections were but they were gone by the time I got to my car. They told me to make my “thinker expression” for an hour and not to touch or rub or do anything strenuous. I forgot to make the faces for an hour. I have a 2 year old so I still chased after her all day and lugged her around on my hip and I consider that pretty strenuous. I’m not a good patient, but it all worked out fine.

It will be a week tomorrow since I was injected and I could tell a difference within the first couple of days. If you can take before shots, do because you will be so surprised! They took pictures of me at the clinic but I don’t want to go back for a check-up just to see pictures. My iphone pics let me track it day-to-day. It seemed to take effect quicker in my forehead than around my eyes. My forehead is SO smooth! I never realized how many wrinkes I had there; I guess it is because I am such a thinker! My crows feet took a little longer to show results, but last night I looked at a before picture and was thrilled at the difference! This was the area that had bothered me the most, so I feel like the few minutes of pain was worth it for sure! Something else that I noticed was my eyebrows seemed lifted?? Not sure if they really are… We will have to let Nina answer that one.

The only issue that I had was a small amount of bruising. Just one bruise on my forehead. It was easily covered with concealer and has almost all disappeared. Nina said it might have to do with all the aleve I take, so beware if you’re a habitual NSAID user like I am! Overall, I LOVE IT and will definitely do it again!! Thanks Nina for being one amazing Dermatology Nurse Practioner!! Mwah!

Just quickly to answer her question, yes Botox can lift the brow’s slightly and give you more of an arch. I enjoyed reading her experience and I hope you did too. Are you considering Botox for the first time? This is a great time to take the plunge. Right now you can get double brilliant distinction points and we are donating part of the profit from cosmetic procedures and products to the fourth annual Back to School Shoe Giveaway. Thursday afternoon July 24th I am going to be giving FREE skincare consults with our expert skin care product specialist so call for an appointment now because space is limited. Hope we can talk skin soon!

Smiling, laughing and looking natural with my Botox, Nina

Self-Tanner for Myself

This weekend my bestest girlfriend and her daughter came to visit. Although they only live a few hours away life always gets in the way and we don’t get to see each other as often as we’d like. Our daughters are nine months apart so it’s full on girl time when we are together. You might be imagining painting nails, movies, eating, drinking, laughing and pillow fights. The truth isn’t far from that except when you’re my best friend you get conned into being her next skin experiment. So this weekend my bestie helped me perfect the self tanner technique. It’s summer time and although I think you are all beautiful wearing the color of skin that God made you, I do recognize that some of you want that bronze look. So here is my self tanner experience. Step by Step.

Step 1: Pick a tanner. So I ask people all the time which sunless tanner they are using, either because I think it looks fake and want to advise against it or because I think it looks natural and I want to recommend it. My favorites are the Jergens, Jane Iredale and Tanwise. I picked the Tanwise for this weekends festivities because it doesn’t stink. You can get it at Sally’s from $6.99-$12.99. I tried the dark bronzing sunless mousse, wash-off bronzing mousse in light and the shimmer perfection cream.

Step 2: Wash your body, exfoliate your body, dry your body…… I skipped all of this. I hate exfoliating your skin with scrubs/beads/washcloths etc. Plus I had already showered that day and who wants two showers in one day? I went against the directions is what I’m saying.

Step 3: Apply self tanner. Okay so this is the scary step right? What if I get too much, not enough and oh lordy please not the dreaded streaky, concentrated around the joints look. You want what looks natural, not an “I just fell in my mop bucket of orange glo” look. So apply in small circles. Small circles continuously until even prevents streaks. I like the mouse because the consistency is easier to spread on your skin. Apply to calves and thighs then spread that onto the ankles and knees for a faded look. So don’t put any directly onto your knees and elbows. I diluted around my knees and elbows with a little plain moisturizer to avoid concentrating it at the elbows and knees. This is a good trick.

Step 4: Allow to dry. This is where you should have something to do planned that doesn’t involve sitting on anything or getting dressed. My BFF and I just stood there talking and laughing. Just know that until that stuff is dry, dry, dry you can spread the bronze look. I wiped hair out of my little girls eyes and put a brown streak across her forehead. This resulted in me frantically washing her face and it turned out fine but that could of been bad.

Step 5: Enjoy your bronze look. On a regular basis I skip all other steps and enjoy my natural color of skin. Don’t forget you always have that option available and it’s free.

Step 6: Optional-Wash it off. I used the dark bronzing and the wash-off. The wash off washed right off and the dark bronzing washed off some too because I didn’t let it set on me for the required 4-6 hours. Even going against directions I still have somewhat of a darker look though. I also tried the Tanwise tan remover but it has a bunch of beads in it and I don’t see that it worked any better than regular dove soap so I would pass next time and keep my $6.99.

Step 7: Use sun precautions. Don’t be fooled by myths lurking in our communities. You still need to seek shade, avoid the sunniest parts of the day, wear sunprotective clothing and wear your sunscreen. You aren’t safe from the harm UV rays can cause your skin.

 

On the left (her right leg) is her natural color. On the right (her left leg) is after application of TanWISE wash-off bronzing mousse in Light. It is subtle but natural.
On the left (her right leg) is her natural color. On the right (her left leg) is after application of TanWISE wash-off bronzing mousse in Light. It is subtle but natural.
Top is before Tan WISE shimmer perfection cream and bottom is immediately after application. This is my favorite product because it makes you shimmer like  Edward the vampire and I kind of love him.
Top is before Tan WISE shimmer perfection cream and bottom is immediately after application. This is my favorite product because it makes you shimmer like Edward the vampire and I kind of love him.
Left is before TanWISE dark bronzing sunless mousse. Right is immediately after application.
Left is before TanWISE dark bronzing sunless mousse. Right is immediately after application.

 

Overall the experience wasn’t as complicated and scary as I anticipated. I was pleasantly surprised. I still won’t make it a routine. My BFF and I are pretty olive toned to begin with so I am sure you could get varied results with varied skin tones. That’s a good reason to start with the wash off. Hope this post motivates some of you to take the leap to stop sun bathing and getting in tanning beds and trade it for a sunless tanner or your natural color. Good Luck!

If the music is good then dance, Nina