CAREER
I was working out of Long Island when I first moved to New York. I ended up meeting a drug rep who forwarded my CV to Dr. Lisa Haddox, and because she had already heard about me through another doctor, she reached out. So that’s how I ended up working under her for a couple of years. Through Lisa, I really learned how to fine tune my eye and enhance people’s natural beauty. Then I left to join Laser Dermatology, where I’ve been for the last two years.
When people come to me, they usually come saying, ‘Please fix my face.’ Or they say, ‘This one line really bothers me…’ I always have to take a mirror and ask if they can see whatever is bothering them from a distance. We talk through it—why they look tired, why something makes them feel tired. That’s how I start all my interactions.
When I talk about aging, I always say there are five main things you look at: lines, volume loss, color of your skin, elasticity, and your bone structure. I can’t do jack shit for your bone structure—look at your mom and dad, that’s probably how it’s going to go. You have to make more of an investment early on. When done correctly, the combination of threads and fillers can really do a beautiful job. I have no problem saying no to patients who ask for treatments I don’t think are necessary. I’d rather sleep with a clear mind. I view what I do as a long-term relationship—I can’t take you off course from the get-go.
FACIALS
We live in a time where people are force-fed this notion that you need to get [facials] to get good skin. And people are going bankrupt in the process! Facials are a beautiful adjunct, and go for them if they relax you, but I haven’t had a facial in 14 years. I respect aestheticians so much, but I do not think that you should be dependent on them for good skin. The same goes for dermatologists. I send my patients to get facials if they have an event, or if they need to get their pores unclogged, but I think people should be empowered with the knowledge on how to take care of their own skin instead.