How I Became an Aesthetic Nurse pt. i

September 30, 2020 No Comments

Nursing has many trajectories and possibilities

The main keypoint to understand and realize is that everyone’s path and journey is so unique.

I did not go to nursing school initially dreaming about the aesthetics world. Honestly, I only discovered it the last semester of my schooling through instagram. At that point, being an aesthetics nurse, cosmetic nurse, beauty nurse, medspa nurse (there was no set description) was a daydream. I remember one time I was “joking” to my classmate friend and said, maybe I’ll be a cosmetic nurse one day – just to test out the water. Although that day I said it quietly, I think saying it out loud still helped cement the thought into manifestation. My curiosity and secret aspiration was growing and nurturing.

I thought I could become a seasoned, passionate educator and provider in the ICU or ER world, and envisioned traveling around the world to help save lives. All in all, you may not know where your path takes you. But I do believe that there are many opportunities of niches for nurses to discover – which is so amazing and magical!

Get Experience, NETWORK, put yourself out there

During my last year of nursing school, I worked as a student nurse worker at LAC+USC. I would typically work on some Fridays from 3pm-11:30 pm after a half day of lecture. However working in the hospital with a flexible schedule allowed me to float to so many different units (PCU, ER, ICU, SICU, PACU) and network with the nurses as well as the nurse managers. One nurse manager bestowed wisdom by telling me to remember to always work hard and humbly as you would in this profession, and it will be noticed. Never forget that.

My immediate goal after passing the NCLEX was to get a registered nurse job in medsurg, ER, or OR. Though meanwhile I also looked at medspas around my neighborhood that maybe would want to train a freshly minted, bright-eyed new grad nurse. I scoured through craigslist, ziprecruiter, indeed, monster, and glassdoor.

While I was waiting for job interviews, I still worked as a student nurse worker. It was one day in the ER when I talked to one of the nurses and found out she used to work at a medspa and loved her experience there! I asked where she worked, and applied there. It just so happened that I got my job interview for the medical spa before any interviews from the hospitals I applied to.. And well I took that as a sign and started working less than 2 months after I passed my NCLEX.

Learn Constantly, add to your toolkit

Since I worked at a chain medspa, I was able to work in Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brea, Palo Alto, and Los Gatos. You can imagine the range and diversity of clientele with personalities, age, and preferences. I think this has helped me improve on my communications & people skills, and diversify in providing procedures & recommendations.

I grasped all the opportunities I could to build up my own foundation of aesthetics. In my toolkit I started out with:

Laser hair removal
Laser tattoo removal
Clear and Brilliant
Coolsculpting
Laser facial
IPL
Skin care regimen

Then gradually added:

Botox and Xeomin
Lip, Nasolabial, and Cheek fillers
Thermage

All the while learning and understanding the rationales of every procedure to always educate the patients in providing safe & effective results. This allows you to collaboratively come up with a treatment plan to give the patient the best outcomes! I also enjoyed asking the more senior providers and nurse directors of their own experiences, paths, and tips so I could learn and take notes and continue dreaming :).

Pt 2 coming soon, talking about how to passion plan and pivot to your next stage.

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Profound pt. iii

August 27, 2020 No Comments

How to Prepare for Profound

Pre-Procedure

Hydrate sufficiently for the week prior to procedure
Consider prepping your skin beforehand, as in moisturizing it
Eat a substantial meal before coming in
Avoid alcohol and NSAIDS to decrease risk of bruising
Discontinue retinoids and similar active ingredients for at least 3-5 days prior
Avoid sun exposure and use spf 30+

What to expect after treatment

Immediately after the treatment, we cleanse the face with sterile normal saline. Then we typically apply Alastin Nectar + Balm.

Wash face gently with a gentle cleanser 2x/day. Pat face dry (no rubbing or exfoliation, absolutely no picking as this can cause PIH!). Let the skin heal on its own
Apply Alastin Nectar & Balm at least twice a day to have a consistently glazed appearance. Liberally do this for 1-2 weeks
Sleep with head elevated for the first 2-3 nights can help with swelling. Also try not to sleep on side of the face while making sure pillowcases are clean each time
Redness can be reduced with our recommended post-care skincare
Bruising can be mitigated quickly with a laser in office
There is also the post-injection serum by Alastin that can help with bruise reduction and swelling as well

*Remember, the first 1-3 days may be the worst of the swelling

Areas that can be treated

Face, neck, chin, jawline, abdomen, inner & outer thighs, arms, skin above knees!

Please Profound me everywhere right? hahah

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Profound pt. ii

August 20, 2020 No Comments

How does Profound work

Radiofrequency + Microneedling

There are microneedle electrodes that deploy into the dermis or subcutaneous tissue to precisely deliver fractionated zones of thermal injury without thermal impact to the epidermis. The thermal injury is the radiofrequency aspect – it stimulates a strong wound healing which naturally creates new elastin, collagen, and hyaluronic acid formation: *cue in dermal remodeling!

With the real-time temperature feedback, the system allows the microneedles to reach optimal temperature, of a specific time duration, in the depth of treatment.

Temperature (RF), Time, Depth – What do all these factors do? With the right combination, we are controlling the thermal injury to partially denature collagen, which is effective in triggering a strong wound healing response that addresses the full dermal structure, generating all three vital components of youthful skin: COLLAGEN, ELASTIN, HYALURONIC ACID.

* Partially denatured collagen can heal 38% faster than fully denatured collagen. It is crucial to reach optimal temperature and time, which the Profound system is precisely designed for.

There are 2 different tips (Dermal & Subcutaneous)

1) For DERMAL tip, the deep dermis is targeted, as this is where concentration of collagen is the highest. This treatment addresses facial wrinkles and skin tightening. Here we see one of the needles penetrating the deep dermis at depth of 1.0-2.0mm. The tip is where the bipolar RF energy is delivered into our deep reticular dermis. Meanwhile the green part of the needle is insulated as to protect the epidermis from thermal damage. The blue part is also the cooling plate at the surface of the skin for protection.

There are a total of 5 pairs of these 32 gauge microneedles (thinner than a hair), to allow for precise fractionated treatment within the dermal tissue = Induce neoelastogenesis and neocollagenesis, renewing skin to look younger, smoother, and tighter!

2) For SUBCUTANEOUS tip, the subcutaneous tissue is targeted to address cellulite. The fractionated injuries increase dermal thickness, remodel septae, and decrease adipose volume. There are a total of 7 pairs of the 32 gauge microneedles, which are oriented at a more perpendicular insertion angle to ensure deeper penetration into the adipose tissue.

The RF energy targets the adipose tissue to coagulate and remodel cellulite. This tip can even be used to debulk pockets of fat (such as in the renowned “double chin”).

As you can imagine, there is a lot of purposeful injury to the areas of treatment

Expect a social downtime of at least 1 week.

At least 3-7 days of swelling & redness, as well as bruising (I honestly tell patients they will look like a chipmunk – remember when you got your wisdom teeth taken out?)
Appearance of tiny dotted insertions on treatment area

As the body replaces the skin with new collagen and elastic tissue, you will see an improvement over several months. Dermal remodeling can continue for 6-12 months, with improvements seen at 3-6 months post treatment. But, may start noticing a difference even around week 2!

Next I’ll talk about how to prepare for your treatment (Pre and Post care) 🙂

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Profound pt. i

August 20, 2020 No Comments

Snap back to Younger & Tighter skin again

As we age along with the effects of gravity, we notice our skin being more lax and sagging slowly. Hmph, a normal progression of physics & physicality that we try to embrace with grace. BUT, there’s a treatment that can really improve our baselines if we are not ready nor considering surgery (such as facelift and necklift) and want something minimally invasive.

It’s PROFOUND, which is a “single treatment radiofrequency microneedling for facial wrinkles and cellulite.”

How does AGING show in our skin?

Skin loses elasticity and becomes more fragile. As a result facial wrinkles and appearance of cellulite increases

COLLAGEN levels decrease every year
ELASTIN production stops (starting in our 20s)
HYALURONIC ACID diminishes

WHY choose Profound?

Clinically proven to stimulate 2x Collagen, 5x Elastin, and increase Hyaluronic acid – turning back the clock and forcing our skin to be efficiently young again.
First and only Radiofrequency (RF) microneedling device FDA cleared for both face and body
1 standalone nonsurgical treatment that can last 2 years (depending on skin maintenance)
100% response rate for facial wrinkles
Real-time temperature controlled device that delivers long pulses of RF energy. This is critical in controlling collagen denaturation

WHO is the ideal candidate for Profound, and WHAT can it do for you?

If the desired result is a more lifted appearance. As well as achieving revitalized new, healthy skin to look more youthful

Firmer, smoother skin
Wrinkle reduction (works best in conjunction with botox/neuromodulators)
Improvement of the jowls
Improvement of sagging skin on upper neck

Remember to have realistic expectations and realize this treatment will not 100% replace the results of a facelift, necklift, or tummy-tuck. Profound is a great alternative, if you are not ready for surgery or would like to avoid one (be it you are not old enough or looking for more preventative measures or want a shorter commitment to recovery) 🙂

On the next post, I’ll talk about how Profound works!

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To Dew & Go, or Not to Dew

May 20, 2020 No Comments

What kind of question is that? Of course I will say To DEW & GO.

It only took being quarantined for me to finally bring out the Dew & Go, don’t ask me why I took so long!

What is it. It’s a microdroplet microneedling-stamper that infuses the skin with serum. The do it at home Ritual Kit comes with a set of 4 skin hydration ampoules (Skin Brew – snail mucin + moringa leaf). Snail mucin has HA + glycolic acid and the moringa leaf is a superantioxidant common in Filipino beauty treatments as well as remedies, a nod to the founder’s heritage. You can find it at TheThingsWeDo.

The Founder, world-renowned medical aesthetic provider is Vanessa Lee, RN who I am a HUGE fan of not only for her medical aesthetic talents, but for her genuine dedication and contribution to the specialty as well as her super funny and cool sense of humor on her Instagram. Before I started in my career trajectory, I read her blogs and followed her to be constantly inspired, motivated, and enlightened. It’s truly been insightful to see someone that leads with so much vitality and genuineness.

Directions to help you get started:

⭐ Make sure to thoroughly cleanse your face and hands prior

⭐ Twist open the chamber, fill it up with 1 ampoule of Skin Brew. Leave upside down for 2 minutes

⭐ March along and stamp across your face with a 50% overlap

⭐ After the 1st pass, I dispersed the skin brew on my face and went off to do 2-3 passes total on each area. You can focus more on areas you want to plump and have collagen production such as under eyes, perioral region, nasolabial folds, and even neck & chest!

⭐ Let the skin brew absorb into skin and do not rinse off until the next morning

The treatment was a bit spicy, but definitely manageable. I had slight “sunburn glow” afterwards which cooled down quickly. Very minimal downtime, but of course you absolutely do NOT want to be outdoors with your skin unprotected.

After-glow: I love it! I looked glowy, hydrated, and DEWY right away. My skin was feeling tighter as well.

Definitely, Project Inner & Outer Beauty obsessed

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May 19, 2020 No Comments

Who am I, and Why am I blogging

Hello Lovelies,

Welcome to my first post, which will be a little intro to what may come.

Life is about discovering your journey and where you aspire to venture to, it’s a continuous evolution. This blog may be that adventure.

Being in quarantine since March 2020 has allowed me to seek ways to progress in innovative ways that were not necessarily the norm pre-Covid. I’ve realized that the experts in my speciality are so willing and passionate to educate. The world of aesthetics actually loves to showcase their expertise, in hopes that we can all discover a more natural beauty while being safe. It’s been eye-opening and brain-lickingly amazing. I’m in awe of how much camaraderie there can be in the medical aesthetics world and I am all here for it!

Who am I? I am an Aesthetic Registered Nurse at a multi-specialty plastic surgery-dermatology office. I feel very fortunate to be a part of a team that has the best of both worlds in the medical aesthetic specialty! Before I started working here, if you asked me what my dream job was, I would not have been able to describe to you what I actually am doing. I also realize that this is a coveted career, and maybe one day I can help someone, just as others have when they wrote their own journeys and taught the knowledge they have acquired.

A little bit more about me. I’m a true introvert, but sometimes I’m a social one.

Pre-Covid hobbies: hiking but mostly especially to waterfalls, kickboxing, Rumble boxing, traveling, eating and being a foodie.

Current-Covid hobbies: watching instagram lives and studying modules, listening to podcasts while playing animal crossing, attempting to bake, and applying skincare and watching ASMR skincare videos.

Why am I starting this blog. I am by no means an expert nor master at my craft, yet. I’ve been in this amazing niche for almost 3 years now and have learned so much while still constantly absorbing even more.

But truly, when can you self-proclaim as an expert when trends are changing, techniques are evolving, and technology is advancing? I believe we will always be students, as well as advocates and educators.

I know that medical aesthetics is my hobby and life-long passion project. My ideology is to always embrace and enhance natural beauty as well as bring out the confidence from within. I aim to stay up to date with non-surgical rejuvenation with evidence-based practices.

And you can learn along with me by joining me on this project inner and outer beauty 🙂