The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast - Dr. Dennis Gross Pt. 3 On Maintaining Natural Looking Skin, Body Skin Health, Preventative Beauty, & Youthful Skincare

Episode Date: January 14, 2021

#322: On this episode we are joined by one of our favorite people and one of our favorite guests, Dr. Dennis Gross. Dr. Dennis is a board-certified dermatologist and dermatologic surgeon. Dr. Dennis has been in practice for 25 years and is the founder of Dr. Dennis Gross Dermatology.  His expertise is in skin health and maintaining the most natural-looking skin. On today's episode we discuss how to take care of the skin on our bodies, how to look youthful, how to be cautious with procedures and much more.  To check out Dr. Dennis Gross's Product Line click HERE To connect with Lauryn Evarts click HERE To connect with Michael Bosstick click HERE Read More on The Skinny Confidential HERE For Detailed Show Notes visit TSCPODCAST.COM To Call the Him & Her Hotline call: 1-833-SKINNYS (754-6697) This episode is brought to you by Just Thrive During a time when boosting our immune health needs to be at the forefront of our minds Just Thrive has the answer for you. The Just Thrive probiotic can help boost your immune system and heal your gut. 80-90% of Americans suffer from gut issues and these issues can track to many of the diseases that humans face. With Just Thrive probiotics we can help combat these gut issues. Use promo code SKINNY at www.justthrivehealth.com/skinny to try today!  This episode is brought to you by Phexxi Phexxi® (lactic acid, citric acid, and potassium bitartrate) Vaginal Gel 1.8%, 1%, 0.4% is a hormone-free, prescription birth control used only before sex. Phexxi works to maintain the vaginal pH level to prevent pregnancy and you only use it when you need it! Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have a recent history of 3 or more UTIs per year. Learn more, including all risks at Phexxi.com This episode is brought to you by Wealthfront No One is great at something the first time they try it. And if you’re unfamiliar with investing, getting started can be intimidating. Wealthfront does the work for you, so you can invest like an expert from the beginning. Right now, you can visit www.wealthfront.com/SKINNY to get your first $5,000 managed for FREE, for life! Produced by Dear Media   

The following podcast is a Dear Media production. She's a lifestyle blogger extraordinaire. Fantastic. And he's a serial entrepreneur. A very smart cookie. And now Lauren Everts and Michael Bostic are bringing you along for the ride. Get ready for some major realness. Welcome to The Skinny Confidential, him and her.

That right off the bat gives your skin this beautiful look. All that dead skin, that scaly skin, that adherent looking like alligator skin comes off. And then it opens, literally opens the gateway for all the other ingredients to go deep. And now you have like the depth that you're tackling. We can really go to work on it. And now we can build collagen, we can firm, we can help laxity. And then we can get pigmentation, ingrown hairs, acne, keratosis pilaris, those bumpy things people get in the sides of their arms.

All that stuff is within reach now. We can fix it. Happy Thursday, everybody. Welcome back to the Skinny Confidential Him and Her Show. That clip was from our guest of the show today, one of our favorite guests, third appearance, Dr. Dennis Gross, one of my favorite people, one of the people responsible for making sure my forehead has not fallen down to my stomach. You actually got Botox on air with him live. Was that the first episode we did with him or the second? That was the second. So we have part one. If you want to go back and listen, Michael, which number is it? I don't know off the top of my head, but if you just search Dr. Dennis Gross on the TSCpodcast.com and look for anything with Dr. Dennis, this is the

third appearance. I mean, to make it to a third appearance, that says something. That means we really love the person. Here's the thing about Dr. Dennis Gross. It's so amazing. Not only is he so smart because he's so intelligent and he's a scientist and he just brings so much to the table with that. He's also personable, warm, nice, and funny. He's one of the coolest, smartest, best people we've had on the show, hence the three appearances. We love Dr. Dennis. Also, he personally formulates his cruelty-free skincare products and he does them in the lab by himself. So each of his products are thought up by him and conceptualized by them, and then he actually works on them. I am so, so passionate about him. I just have found he has become such a good friend. And the other day I had this rash all over my lower face, which turned

out to be dermatitis. I want to say it's called like perennial dermatitis. I'm probably pronouncing it wrong. I know. We talk about it in this episode. He corrects it, whatever it is. Okay. Something dermatitis. And he was so kind. He let me FaceTime him and he helped me get rid of it and it's gone. So we're going to get into it in this episode. If you're struggling with any kind of maskne or dermatitis, this is the episode for you. Of course, we talk about fine lines, wrinkles, acne, plastic surgery, lip filler, all the things. And then we also get in to the body, okay? So we're going to talk about the skin on the body. And he has this product that he just invented that is so major that I have been using that is absolutely game-changing. And we're going to do

a giveaway. He said he would give away three of his latest products. So all you have to do is go to my latest Instagram and tell us your favorite part of this episode. It's at the Skinny Confidential and three of you will win his hot new product. And I'm telling you guys, if you are looking for something to get rid of body acne, dry skin, eczema, all the things, this is the product, okay? On that note, let's welcome Dr. Dennis Gross, MD to the Skinny Confidential, him and her show. He is a medical and cosmetic dermatologist. He also has the line Dr. Dennis Gross Skin Care. You may know him because of the peel pad. I feel like so many of us know him because of the peel pad. His products are sold everywhere and in Sephora. I am so excited he's here. Dr. Dennis,

welcome to the show. This is the Skinny Confidential, him and her. My dermatitis. Don't mean to brag, it's gone. I see. Gone. I see. You FaceTimed with me. It was bad. Do you know the two things that took it away? The main things. Your melt away cleanser because it's soft and nourishing. Right. And Keflex toner. Right. Those two things took it, wiped it out. Right. So the Keflex you got from the pharmacy, it was mixed for you. It was mixed for me. Yeah. Keflex with witch hazel. Yeah. It's so crazy what's going on under the mask now. It's so crazy.

And I feel like everyone's going through it. I know so many people that have periola. Perioral. Periola dermatitis. Yeah. What's the secret? Here's the thing. First of all, that just tells you it's around the mouth, perioral.

That's all it is, Latin for around the mouth. But what are you really seeing? You can see breakouts. You can see eczema. You can see scaliness. You can see redness, dryness. You can get breakouts, blackheads. It's like everything's up for crabs because the skin just literally freaks out. And it's sort of like

picking what is your weakest link in the chain to the unnatural addition of something over your face. That's it. So if you're prone to blocked pores, you're going to be an acne person. You're prone to sensitive skin. You're going to get more redness and patchiness. So it's just exasperating everything that we already have. Exactly. So I will tell you, I have actually determined, and this is new information, that you heard of maskne? Yeah. Right. There's actually more to it than just simple maskne. There's something that I've termed masquitis, which is not just the breakouts, not just the acne stuff, but then you have some people, they don't get breakouts, don't get pimples or complexion problems.

They get redness, dryness, flakiness. And that's a totally different thing than acne, which is masquine. So the truth is that it's like the concept of what's happening that comes from under the mask, much more than maskne. And the treatments are very different, right? So if you have acne, can you imagine using acne products on masquitis? Oh, and it makes it worse. Could. The acids, right? And stuff. That's one possibility. And also then you have people who might be treated for the inflammation and the redness and the dryness from this, from maschitis, right? The rash of, of, of being under the mask. That's not gonna, that, that you put that on acne.

If it's like oils in it, it can screw that up. So what we're doing, what I've done in my, in my practice and what we're doing with our whole campaign educationally nationally now, there's a lot being written about it right now, so this is very timely, that we have to educate people that there's actually two different forms. There's maskne and maschitis, totally different conditions. Anything that's new to the medical world, as things unfold, you get better understanding. What I had was mastitis, mastitis. I think you had, no, well, if it helped, if Keflex helped, I think that you had, and by the way, I hate to say it, some people have elements of both. You do. You possibly did because Keflex is an antibiotic, right? So that's more likely going to be in the complexion component. That's

going to be more likely maskne, right? Because antibiotics helped you. Then there are people with just pure redness. That's what I get. And I haven't worn a mask for a while because I've just been quarantining inside my house here in California. But man, oh man, seeing patients and wearing masks and the whole PPE thing, I've seen it. And then there are people coming in, like lots of patients coming in with situations that they've never had a problem with their skin until they wore a mask or they wear a mask and like little problems become magnified. Yeah. But it's also a pro too, because if you want to get something done, you can hide under the mask. That's what's happening.

So we're seeing all these people with masks on. It's not weird. And they're pulling, they're tucking, they're tightening, they're filling. Totally. Right? Yes, absolutely. It's kind of genius. It's a big party. Yeah, exactly.

So the big reveal when we're out of this epidemic. My God, everyone's going to look so good. What is the main thing people are doing under these masks? Like what's the trend that you're seeing? People are doing lots of lasers, especially the ones at downtime that are the invasive and the non-invasive. So if you want to get rid of your uneven skin tones, you want to get rid of the patchiness, the sunspots, and you got deep work to do and you never could find like the five days

to stay inside. Well, you can just zoom for five days or maybe 10 and you just can deal with the recovery time. You can wear the mask outside. You don't only a portion of what might be lasered shows. People are also doing fillers if sometimes they bruise, right? And people have no time for that, right? But if you're wearing a mask and you bruise, big deal.

What are people doing to snatch their jawlines? They're doing more lifts, thread lifts. Okay. That's another thing. Can you tell our audience about that? Because I've heard so many mixed things. Mixed. Well, first of all, I'm never the one to jump on the bandwagon. My patients know my mantra is let 10,000 people go before you and then let's see. Let me get on the phone and call my connection, my network and saying, okay, to the docs

all over the country, give me the scoop. How's it looking? What's the story? What aren't the companies selling this stuff to dermatologists? What haven't they told us? That's what you got to be on the lookout for. Now that time has passed, I think thread lifts are good. I like them.

I think that they last maybe six solid months of really good results. And after that, maybe you'll still see something at the end of the year, maybe as much as a year and a half, but you have to have realistic expectations. Okay. But here's what I don't get about them. If they pull your skin back and then they dissipate or go away, isn't there saggy skin left over or is the skin still tightened? Does that make sense? Is that a weird question? Are you asking like, are you possibly worse when it wears off? Yes. Like when you pull the skin back and it's trained to be pulled back and then the thread lift stops working and it- It's like stretching a t-shirt. Yeah. Is it like stretching a t-shirt? Right. not at all. Okay. You can't even pull that hard.

Okay. It's not like a facelift surgical. You can just retract, that's the word, pull back a little bit and just streamline that jawline. Get rid of a little jowliness, right? So it doesn't do the heavy lifting like a facelift does, right? So it doesn't really stretch your skin, right? It just pulls it back a couple notches. What's interesting is a technology I like the best of all the different

products out there is that the thread itself, as it disintegrates, causes collagen production in its path. So it stimulates collagen. So you get like this cable of collagen in its place after the thread itself has been broken down. So that's a positive thing. And then to your question about when it wears off, are you more saggy? Definitely not. You basically either go back to where you were or you're a little bit better because you have a little more collagen, which lasts beyond the time that the thread lift itself wears off. Quick break because I need to discuss birth control. I've recently had so many DMs from women all over the world asking for more resources and information and discussion around birth control. So I learned recently that there are more than 21 million women who are not using hormonal birth control, and I'm one of them. But now,

the FDA recently approved a birth control option that's completely hormone-free. You guys may have seen me talk about this on Instagram already. So it's called Fexi. And it's this combination of lactic acid, 1.8%, citric acid, 1%, potassium bitotrate, 0.4%. It's this vaginal birth control gel that comes in a small applicator like a tampon, and it works immediately and can be used up to an hour before sex. So basically, you apply the gel before you have sex and only use it when you need it, but you have to apply it again before each act of vaginal sex. So when you try it, remember one dose, one hour, one act. And I have to tell you guys how it works because it's insane really. Like I kind of geeked out when I learned this and you know me, I had to overshare. We're going to go there. Normally

without fexy, when a guy comes and semen enters the vagina, it causes the pH of your vagina to increase, which allows sperm to keep swimming and make their way up there to fertilize your egg. Are you listening, Michael and Taylor? So, Fexi works by maintaining the vaginal pH to a level that reduces the mobility of the sperm, reducing the chance of the sperm reaching the egg. How awesome is that? While Fexi could be a great option for many women like me who are seeking hormone-free birth control, it isn't right for everyone. So be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have a recent history of three or more urinary tract infections per year. And obviously, as with any new birth

control, be sure to check for any ingredients in Fexi you or your partner may be allergic to. The most common side effects reported by clinical trial participants are vaginal burning, itching, and yeast infection. Some male partners also reported local discomfort. And remember, Phexxi only works when used before sex, and it doesn't protect against STIs, including HIV. To learn more about Phexxi, ask your healthcare provider and visit Phexxi.com for complete product information. That is P-H-E-X-X-I dot com. And Michael, don't pop a boner. Can guys thread lift their balls?

No. So you can't do anything that's saggy? I wish. I just had to ask. I'm wondering. It's like I'm thinking of saggy skin and that's the first thing I think of. You know, you're such a, just a visionary there, Lauren. Someone needs to create a thread lift for balls.

Yeah, I'm also going to have to tuck it into the sock eventually. Okay. The mother of ingestion is necessity. Let me ask you this, Dr. Dennis. It's been a while since I've seen you. Listen, I got to tell you, you look good, man. It's been a while. What have you been up to?

Because you look like you're thriving. I am feeling really good. You're in the zone, you said. I'm in the zone. What can I tell you? I do my thing. I like what I do. My work is good. I have a balance. I got my workout. Did you get out of the city when this all happened? Are you back and forth? Or how often are you in the city now? I switched my primary residence to Bridgehampton. I commute back to the city. I'm seeing patients

in the city three days a week. I'm seeing patients in the Hamptons one or two days a week, some mixture of the above. And it's a tough time. This is not a great time. You launched a new product. The body peel. The body peel. Yeah, I did. I feel like we have never really talked about the body with you. You know what? It's the same story. Unless there's something really great, only when the time has come am I on board. And I had nothing until we have this insane, radical pad for the body now, which is, I kid you not, I mean, the Alpha Beta Peel is really successful and it's been proven to work and people love it. This is going to be as big as the face product. That's as big as the alpha beta peel for face. Did you get the product? I'm obsessed.

I got the body peel. I love it so much. And here's the thing. Everyone was so focused on the face, the face, and then the neck, the neck, and then the hands. But what about the rest of the body? You want it to match to the face. If we're all doing such a good job taking care of our face, we also need to think about

head to toe, in my opinion. So this is so innovative because it's really, I think it is the next wave of beauty. Me too. Like I want to be using this on my butt. You can. We can use it on our butt. Absolutely. The thing about, first of all, here's the breakthrough. Number one, for me, I had to say, all right, what's the fundamental difference between face and body skin? What am I dealing with? Where's my foundation? Where am I going to start digging here? The difference is that body skin is two to three times thicker than face skin. So the bad part of that is that any problem you get, people get fine lines and wrinkles in their chest through here.

They hate the chest, right? Or they just start to get laxity and flabbiness above their knees, that wrinkliness above the knees. Or I had patients coming in showing me like they're going like this to their arms. They're showing me how thin the skin looks. I had people coming in saying, I've been doing yoga for years. I've been doing this position for years. And now for the first time, when I go like this and they just like do a downward dog, they're starting to say, look at my skin on my thighs. I've never had this. And they start to

like freak out. They don't like it. So the difference is that the skin of the body is really, it's thicker. So it's harder to treat. But here's what we did. We flipped it. We said, now we can be more aggressive, right? The skin's thicker. It's also more resilient. So if it's more resilient, we have the options to do things that we could never have done on the face in a single pad, right?

And that's what the chemistry is all about. Because what would happen if you did it to the face? It would just be too strong. Just strip the skin. Absolutely. Yeah. Right. Redness and flakiness and downtime and really serious.

You can't do that. Don't use this body peel on your face, folks. But on the body, it really goes deep. And it's simple to use, but the science behind it, it's engineered to have like four different tiers of ingredients delivered back to back to back to back while you're applying it. What are those ingredients? Well, the ingredients first off are exfoliators, right? So the first thing you need to do is you need to get rid of that top layer of dead skin. And that means that right away, your skin's going to look super radiant, right? Because after you've

done that, you now have the ability to deliver ingredients that deliver this plumping effect and this moisturizing effect that you couldn't ever come close to achieving just with a moisturizer. For one reason, moisturizers, people moisturize and say, look, my skin still looks dry because the dead skin takes up all the moisture, all the active ingredient, and that's not letting it penetrate. So by exfoliating, and now the skin's thick. So you really, really, really have to really go to town with the exfoliation. You still don't have redness. You still have no downtime. There's no flakiness. It's an instantaneous result you see, but it uses enzymes, right? It uses acids

and it uses a retinol ingredient derivative called Bacuchiol. So it's like three tiers of really sanding down the skin. That right off the bat gives your skin this beautiful look, all that dead skin, that scaly skin, that adherent looking like alligator skin comes off. And then it literally opens the gateway for all the other ingredients to go deep. And now you have the depth that you're tackling, we can really go to work on it. And now we can build collagen. We can firm. We can help laxity. And then we can get pigmentation, ingrown hairs, acne, keratosis pilaris, those bumpy things people get in the size of their arms. All that stuff is within reach now. We can fix it. That's how it works.

The problem with you is every time you come on the podcast, you talk about a certain product and then you sell Michael on it. And then Michael starts stealing my shit. Okay. What's funny is she gets all... I didn't know you got all this body stuff. You didn't even share with me. Didn't even...

Nope. She hides it away like a squirrel and don't even let me know about it. Okay. So my people, they're listening to this. Can you please put Michael on his separate mailing list and his own... Get his own account like get his own account there. We need to get this man hooked up. Listen, you want this stuff to stop flying off the shelves. You get me hooked up. No, I'm just kidding. I have a question. I have a selfish

question actually for Dr. Dennis, because I've noticed this about myself. I feel like my skin has suffered this year and especially my eyes because normally like we're in my office right now and normally pre pandemic, this is booming and there's people in here and we're meeting all day long face to face. But now I'm stuck in these incessant Zoom calls all day long. And I'm in my office and I'm staring at this screen. And I kind of have to do it because it's like just how we're getting things done right now. But I feel like the constant light of the computer, maybe I'm wrong.

I swear it makes them age. I've noticed it. Or maybe just staring at the screen all day. And I wear like all these blue glasses and stuff now because it's them age. I've noticed it. Or maybe just staring at the screen all day. And I wear all these blue glasses and stuff now because it's straining, but I feel like I'm squinting more in my eyes and my skin. And have you thought about what all this screen time, phones, computers is doing to people? Is it doing anything or is that just in my head? I don't think it's in your head. I don't think it's in your head. Do I know exactly? You can hear them. I like to really be very specific about

what scientifically is happening to the skin. Here's the thing. What's very clear is that's just a very unnatural way to live. And I think that if you just look at living creatures in their habitat, they look better. They're thriving. And it's just not normal for you to be doing that. And so does it create more dark circles that create more squinting? But does your skin not get as much oxygen? I think all the above. Yeah. And especially my eyes.

I can tell my eyes are strained this year. I'm not joking. I swear to God, because you know how detailed I am. I can notice in his skin. Even his eyes, his under eyes. Let's not make an expose. Let's diagnose him right now. You can see his skin. Like even his eyes, his under eyes, like. Let's not make an expose. Let's like diagnose him right now. You can see his skin. No, but I can tell because we're all on the computers and phones too much as it is.

But now we're working, doing our stuff, but also you're interacting and Zooming and staring at people all day, especially like with what I do. I do. And I feel like it's, and like the other day before even noon, I think I was on like 13 different Zoom calls from nine to noon, which was, I mean, it's ridiculous. I got to change my schedule up. But I was like, this cannot be good for anything. Yeah.

So what it looks like to me, just looking at you from this six feet distance, it goes under the category of having tired looking skin. Yeah. And so what does that mean? It means that, first of all, I do think that there's a little more dark skin underneath your eyes, right? And so there's two reasons people get under eye circles, which is what you're seeing, right?

Which is a tired look, right? Either you're starting to have hyperpigmentation, right? Melanin deposit, right? Which are like sunspots underneath there. But the other possibility, which is the one I think is applied to you, is I think you're starting to see more of your darker veins underneath your skin become more obvious. And do you think that has to do with the screen or diet or what? There's, again, let's go science. There's two possibilities. You see more darkness

due to the veins underneath because either your skin's thinning out a little bit, maybe you're losing some collagen. And so the veins that have always been there, the skin's a little more transparent, more thin. So you actually see them. They actually protrude. They actually, the color of them is more obvious.

Or your skin is the same, but the veins are bigger. The veins are more dilated. There's more circulation coming in and it's pooling a little bit. So the veins are a little bit bigger, a little more engorged, right? So you don't have puffiness, but the color underneath that. What causes that? The unnatural screen time. It's a new year and we are all looking to improve our gut which is why i am so excited to tell you

about just thrive probiotics okay you guys if you want a stronger immune system a better balanced gut and you just want health benefits i'm telling you you got to incorporate a probiotic how i take my probiotic is with my lemon and ginger water every morning. And it's just so good for your gut health. I think that that is so overlooked. I feel like we're getting more savvy when it comes to gut health. This year is the year of the gut. I'm just going to say it. If you're someone who gets bloated a lot, I know I am, then you should definitely try a probiotic. The founder, Tina Anderson, came on our podcast and broke down why probiotics are so important. She even told me that I could sprinkle a little bit

of this probiotic on my finger and give some to Zaza. That's how amazing they are. And Just Thrive Probiotics really does their research when it comes to what goes in their vitamins. So going back to bloat, if you're feeling bloated, try Just Thrive Probiotics. It's a game changer. It works super quick to get the bad bacteria under control. What it does, if you want to get sciencey, is it literally starves out the bad bacteria that causes painful gases. So you don't have that balloon in your stomach. Of course, we obviously vet all of our partners, and this is vegan, non-GMO, gluten-free, dairy-free, and free from anything artificial. Most importantly importantly and why i'm a fan is that they have more clinical research than anyone else out there just thrive probiotic can support easier weight management beautiful skin and better

sleep sign me up if you're looking for an easy way to banish bloat improve digestion and support optimal immunity you need to try just thrive probiot probiotic. You can save 15% site-wide. Justthrive.com slash skinny. Use promo code skinny. Justthrive.com slash skinny. Get your family on a probiotic. This is the year, like I said, of the gut. Yeah, and maybe straining. Yeah, no, I got to get a handle on it. That's why I'm excited about this break. A lot of people struggle with what he has. What is a prescription skincare routine that you would give to him? Because he does have a lot of your products.

Is there one product in particular that you would use every single night? Vitamin C eye cream. That's the one I use. That's, say on that, because that's the one that builds collagen. Okay. You're using the blue one. No, no, I use the orange one. Are you sure? Yep, I know. And the one that builds collagen. Okay. You're using the blue one. No, no. I use the orange one.

Are you sure? Yep. And the other vitamin C serum. I use the vitamin C serum and then the vitamin C eye cream. And then I switch it up between the blue marine and the orange. The blue marine, is that the stress SOS one? It's the blue, the one in the blue bottle. In the, I use the orange one too.

It's the long skinny blue bottle that you have. And I use the brown one at night. Right. So that has hyaluronic acid in it. The other one I'm going to recommend is the one that has the superfoods niacinamide and adaptogens in it. It is seriously incredible nutrition for the skin, super antioxidants, crazy soothing. Which one is that? What color? It's a royal blue color. Royal blue. Distinctive.

Can't miss it. That's what's all over the label. It's the stress SOS serum it's called. I don't think I've used that one. No, we haven't used that one. Well, the thing about that is, you see, basically your environment does produce a stress-like situation in your skin. And I think that it increases circulation to the skin, right? And part of the problem with the veins being more prominent is that the circulation isn't going forward in a normal way.

And instead of the blood moving in with the arteries and moving out with the veins, you're getting congestion. I think that's really what's going on with you. I think that you're straining. I think that the unnatural light, I think the indoor environment, and I think that it's just a matter of you do need to relax a little bit, take some time off. You can't be doing that schedule. No, I know. The schedule's a mess.

Yeah. How's your sleep? Well, we have the child now. And so she's 10 months. And so like that, I mean, she sleeps really good through the night, but there's no more like, hey, you're getting a little rest. Like it's the baby when she's up in the morning, I'm up. So it's okay.

And also the problem is like personally is i gotta i operate dear media every day which is producing all the shows but then also i do this with lauren in addition to that so it's like i'm kind of doing this dual role so my schedule is just jammed right so i just i know i need to take it easy is there like something that he could come in for like i i don't want to say filler for him right is it like laser what is it i think you're right though i think it's mostly like taking it easy i think i think you need to recognize that the abnormal circulation where the veins are just engorged underneath the eye area is the problem. That's what you're seeing. That's why when you look, you get dark circles when you look tired, right? Which is why, and some interesting

things. Number one, first of all, no caffeine after four o'clock. Can't do that. That interferes with sleep. Second thing about sleep is that you're way better off getting like a solid, say, seven hours in a row rather than getting four, getting interrupted by the baby, waking up, falling back asleep. It's how much steady, how much consistent sleep you get that's the most beneficial to the body and skin as well. It's your appearance. And I think the screen time is really an issue. Yeah, I just was talking to my team today.

I was like, unless I absolutely have to see your face and be on a Zoom, then I think I'm just going to go back to calls. Because I think we've just kind of fallen into this weird thing now where everyone's just accepted Zoom. But I don't feel like everything needs to be a Zoom. I agree with you. I think that's the thing. Yeah. Like this year, I never used Skype, Zoom, any of that stuff before. It was always face-to-face or phone. And then for some reason this year, it's like Zoom. This must be an ad for Zoom, but yeah. I actually wanted to do a plot twist right now and talk about ingrown hairs. Okay. So Taylor, our producer who you met, has a lot of ingrown hairs. Yeah. So Taylor, our producer who you met has a lot of

ingrown hairs. Yeah. They're in his nether regions. He's talked about it on the show. He can't really find a lot of things that work. And I feel like you and I have never talked about ingrown hairs. Can you use something? How do I say this? Nice. If Taylor has ingrown hairs by his penis, what can he do? Yeah. It's the body peel. Okay. If it's, if can he do? Yeah, it's the body peel, okay? If it's not your face, it's the body. It's penis, no penis. It's okay. It's just your body.

Okay. And the body peel helps ingrown hairs. So you can use it, like say if a girl's shaving down there and you have an ingrown hair, you can use it, no problem. We have clinicals, absolutely. I mean, ingrown hairs, the treatment for that is to, why does ingrown hair happen? First, it happens because lots of times you have dead skin plugging up the hair follicle. And so the hair follicle, when it tries to go straight, hits this roadblock and just

can't go out and exit and just curls back on itself. And that's an ingrown hair. Taylor has a lot of roadblocks. So you can use it down there, no problem. Yes. And women use it under the arms and the groin and the butt, getting grown hairs on the legs. The body peel is really the next frontier for body skin, not just for the beautiful radiance and hydration and the firming, that laxity stuff builds collagen, all sorts of

problems. And acne is another big one where people have acne. And 50% of people with acne on the face come in. They also have it in their body. And unfortunately, a lot of those people leave with a prescription for an antibiotic orally, which is not sustainable. You and I talked about this. They put me on an antibiotic three times for dermatitis, and it keeps coming back.

That's the problem. And it destroys your gut in the meantime. Precisely. Which is so frustrating. Right. A pad is very safe and really the answer. And every type of skin type can use this? That's huge.

Yes. Different skin types, different skin tones, human beings, all the same here. The chemistry, the science, the application, all great. Can every single skin tone, skin type use all of your products? Yes, absolutely. They're all friendly. They're 100% friendly. And that is where being a dermatologist really comes in, is that there are certain things

you need to put in formulas, certain things you must not ever do to the skin because you don't know who's going to be using it, what skin type's going to be using it. You want to really work for certain skin tones. Some people are prone to hyperpigmentation. Some people are prone to redness. Some people are prone to dryness. Some people live where there's hard water. Some people are using it because in weather that doesn't change. Some people go through all four seasons. So all that science, there's something in it for everybody. Let's take a quick break to talk about something that I think is extremely important for every individual listening to this show, for every individual that cares about their future, and that is investing and saving for your future.

And the tool that I love to talk about on this show and that I highly recommend to everybody else is Wealthfront. So listen, no one is great at something the first time they try. And I know it can be daunting to think about how do you invest? How do you save for your future? Wealthfront makes it extremely easy to do that. And they help you take the steps today for a better tomorrow. So decades of data show that investors that trade on individual stocks, say you were going to go just buy a company that you like, underperform the market every year. In fact, only 1% of day traders beat the market. These are not good numbers. So if you're thinking like, what stocks do I pick? You don't do that. You don't pick individual stocks. You do what I do

and what Lauren does, and you diversify with low cost index funds. So many of you guys are probably thinking, what the hell is a low cost index fund? Low cost index funds are funds that take the top performing companies in the United States and the world, depending on which ones you buy into and consolidate them all into one fund. So you have unlimited upside and very limited downside. It helps really diversify your portfolio and save for the future. To open your account, all you need is three minutes and $500 to invest. We can all take time to save at least $500. There's no manual trades, no watching the stock market, no managing details. Wealthfront's technology does it based on your inputs and your control, and it protects you from unnecessary risks that other portfolios may be exposed to. Wealthfront is trusted with over $20 billion

of assets, and you can get your first $5,000 managed for free. Open an automated investment account today and let Wealthfront do the work for you. I'm telling you guys, it's really important to start saving for the future. Now's the time. Don't wait till tomorrow. If you know anything about investing and saving, the earlier you get started, the better you're going to be situated, the longer you have your money to grow and work for you. Right now, you can visit wealthfront.com slash skinny to get your first $5,000 managed for free for life. That's wealthfront, W-E-A-L-T-H-F-R-O-N-T.com slash skinny to start growing your savings. Go to wealthfront.com slash skinny and get started today.

Hard water. Hard water. Do we live where there's hard water? Interesting. Yeah, LA is hard water. No question. So LA is hard. Yeah.

What is hard water? First of all, LA has hard water because it's high in heavy metals in the water, right? We did the testing. Now it doesn't mean it's bad water to drink, right? It's potable, right? Per the Environmental Protection Agency, right? So the water you drink's okay, but when you put it on your skin, for some people, those heavy metals and calcium, that's the really big one, in higher levels in certain areas, means that you try to shampoo and when you travel, sometimes the same shampoo in different areas doesn't work the same. It doesn't lather up as much. Or you start to use your same cleanser and it either doesn't come off so well or it fails to lather and you got to use more.

And that's really big on how much laundry detergent you use. I mean, I have to tell you, done investigations with people and they just think that I'm going to put more detergent in my laundry now because of COVID, right? Everyone's a little stepping. But if you have hard water that actually doesn't come out and your rinse cycle, then there's a little bit of residue left in. You do towel dry when your skin's soaking wet, which is what you do. And then the detergent, which didn't wash out, comes off the towel into your skin. Okay. We need a Dr. Dennis Gross detergent that doesn't give us acne.

Yeah. You know what I feel like too? I feel like my hair is better in New York, which was like for a while that I wanted to move there because I feel like I could comb the hair better. Right. Then I can compare it here. New York water isn't bad. It's a bad rap sometimes, but I've had good times with New York, which was like for a while there, I wanted to move there because I feel like I could comb the hair better over there than I can compare it here. New York water isn't bad. And it's a bad rap sometimes, but I've had good times in New York. Softer water.

It's harder water in LA. I've seen it. I feel it. Totally different ballgame. So anyway, that's all. And so without any fanfare, I put water softeners in every single one of our products. And so people, and you know how I know this? Because I had people, the beauty editors and the, actually it was, sorry, it was the fashion editors who used

to come to me and every year they go to Milan, they did for fashion week and they took all their products. They were like very savvy and they used to come in droves. I see a lot of fashion people come in droves, come into my office, like broken out, like rashes or acne or eczema and all. The only variable I thought that could be different when they go to Milan was the water. We tested the water, boom, fixed it, got it. So that's when I started to realize, hey, the water is an underestimated thing.

So all our products, we put water softeners in. So no matter where you travel, the products actually can treat and prevent any reactions to hard water if that's what it is that you're experiencing. Which is huge because keeping your skin in balance, which is what I'm a real believer in, keeping your skin optimally healthy

really allows you to do what you're looking to accomplish even better, right? If you're trying to build collagen, you're trying to fix your breakouts, trying to work on rosacea, redness, hyperpigmentation, large pores, hard water blocks your pores. It turns your own oil from a liquid to a wax. So that's a real telltale sign too that the water in your environment is hard if you see yourself getting more acne and more blocked pores, more blackheads, especially in the T-zone. So all the products. So the answer is, yeah, do a lot. There's a lot of back behind the scenes science in every single product.

Is there any way to turn your water soft? Like do those things that you put on your shower heads actually work? Not really, because those are good to like their filters, their filtration, right? So things like calcium and metals, they're molecules, but like those filters help with sand or dirt particles. Some of them may have a little bit of charcoal, activated charcoal, which does give you some purification. But I think the technology there is very early. You can get a filtration system in your basement and run your entire water system as it comes in from the main pipe through these systems that will soften your water for the entire house through the water

that comes through your tap. So we shouldn't do what Demi Moore does and bathe an Evian water. It's unrealistic. And by the same time, you know what? The back to the body pad, that in terms of the reason it gives you this like great radiance right away is because a lot of those impurities are still in the skin. Oh God, that makes so much sense. And you're polishing it up. You're buffing it off. And that little bit of like detox, I mean, think about it.

You really take care of your facial skin so much better. That's what most people are really focused on. But the reason those results are so amazing is because we've got ingredients in there and we can really go down deep and get all that stuff out and off. If someone wants to know how to use it exactly and also for my own selfish self, I've been using it after I shower. Is that correct? Correct. Do you want your skin a little damp or dry? Dry. Dry. So you get out of the shower and you use like all over the body.

Yes. It's an eight and a half by five and a half inch pad. And the only, the key thing about usage though, is like the first and second time that, let's say you're going to treat your arms and legs. Just when it comes out of the packet and just put it one time over, is like the first and second time that, let's say you're going to treat your arms and legs. Just when it comes out of the packet and just put it one time over, just distribute the fluid on the pad evenly when it's really soaking wet out of the packet. So one pass over your arms and legs, let's just say the second time, again, just even application. Now the third, fourth, fifth, sixth time you're rubbing it in. Now you can spend more time each particular area, but you just want in the beginning, spread it around evenly. Let all those ingredients get,

all body parts get equal dibs. And here's a question since I'm such a fan of your peel pads. So with the peel pads, when I use them, I take them down to my boobs. Yeah. What's more strategic to do that or to use the body up to your chin area? Yeah. You can use the body up to your chin area. The neck, sort of the watershed area, people love the neck results from the alpha beta peel for the face. If you have ingrown hairs, a lot of men do, darker skin tone people, ingrown hairs around the neck, big problem.

There you use the body pad, body peel. If you, but the point is on your chest, boobs, body peel all the way. Okay. I can't wait to like use this every single time I take a shower. You should. It's crazy. You don't need to listen to that one pad. People listening to this, they're going to think, I use it every day. It's really designed to be used.

You can use this once a week. You can go twice a week. If you have a real problem like the keratosis pilaris. Oh, you don't have to use it every single day. No way. Okay. No, no, no. It is a strong product. That was the whole point to the skin being thicker. That was the aha moment was, whoa. Like a heavy duty product. It's a heavy duty product. At first, my team and I said, how do you even begin to tackle this? The skin is so thick, right?

So if you have breakouts, if you have hyperpigmentation, the skin is two to three times thicker. Like it seemed insurmountable, but then the delivery system and the means by which we exfoliate it and using alpha and beta hydroxy acids in a completely different way in this product. For example, glycolic acid, which is great for exfoliation, doesn't even, we're not using it here for that. We're like exfoliating with enzymes, opening the gate and letting glycolic go deep and stimulate collagen in the fibroblast,

which it's scientifically proven to do. So it's a whole paradigm change when it comes to creating a body product, which all was basically the aha moment was you can be aggressive. We can be aggressive. And not only that's not, it's what it needs and what it took. And then we got these results that you're seeing. Okay. So this is my one question. So the time that I used it, I did it at night. And then I woke up in the morning and went and got a spray tan. So what I would do is I would keep my spray tan on for a week and then use it again, right? Yeah, that's fine. Will it take the spray tan off?

No, no. Use, you should, no, it's not going to do that. It's okay. It's okay. Spray tans a week later, if it's still looking like it's in your skin, it's going to still be functional. But using the body peel before spray tan is a great idea. Great idea. Because don't forget, again, we want to just get off all that dead skin. By the way, people use moisturizers all the time and they still complain their skin does not look radiant, does not look hydrated. Skin looks dry six hours later. You hear this all the time. That's because you got to exfoliate the dead skin

that you don't even see to really let moisturizers get to work. And then the moisturizing technology is totally different too. There's three different layers to it, right? There's three different layers to the exfoliation, three different things that the hydration does. We increase the hydration internally, which is how the skin looks plumped and that crepey skin goes away within, seriously, three minutes because you're plumping. It's not a collagen story, it's a hydration story. And then you can actually bring an atmospheric vapor into the skin, which is why the skin looks better 12 hours later. Some ingredients take time to work. So the results are great after 12 hours. Immediately after then, three hours, 12 hours,

two days, three days, it gets better and better. So everyone's going to be able to figure out once a day, definitely not. Probably more like once a week. Let me ask you another selfish question. Well, maybe it's not so selfish because I think it benefits some people. We've obviously changed a lot of the way that we live and operate over this last year. Everyone's at home during this quarantine. And in previous episodes, obviously, we've talked a ton about sun exposure and staying out and using sunscreen.

And if anyone interested, they should go back and listen to those. But do you see now the reverse of people maybe not getting enough sunlight or getting outdoors enough? And have you seen any complications from that? Because I imagine you're seeing a lot of people that are just crammed inside now. Right. Two things. First of all, you, Lauren, remember when you were asking me, does the sun come through the glass? Because I got a picture of you when the baby was really young inside. So people are indoors and sometimes, but ultralight light does penetrate. So you got to be somewhat careful, but it's not as strong as if you were

outside getting that sun. So the answer to the question also is get your vitamin D levels checked because vitamin D, you need sunlight to activate, right? And the vitamin D, if of all supplements, if someone said you're in a desert Island, what's the one ingredient, what's the one supplement you need? I think vitamin D. Yeah, we take 5,000 to 10,000 a day of whatever, not units, but like however, milligram or whatever, however they measure it. Great, really great. It's really important.

And if you don't get enough sun, you don't activate it. And it doesn't, but by the same token, don't get me wrong, you don't have to sit in your bathing suit outside for 30 minutes every day. The body's very efficient to activate sufficiently. But being indoors, I think people really should be careful and get there. I personally think vitamin D levels should be checked once a year with a routine checkup. Yep. I agree. I think, and this may be controversial to say, but I feel like, and maybe I'm just shooting in the wind, but you're a doctor,

I can ask you this. I feel like a lot of the people that have been really, really social distancing and staying indoors and not getting their vitamin D up, even if they've been social distancing and quarantining themselves, are even more susceptible to COVID than say someone like myself who's out each day. And I know, and I'm not, it's not to be political, it's just, I feel like maybe some people's immune system is even more compromised than when we went into this because they're not getting enough sunlight and activity. Great question. I mean, that's a good, serious question for Fauci.

Because I know people that are getting COVID now that have done every single thing like by the book. Yeah. And maybe myself, like I haven't, I've been outside and running around and not like partying or anything, but I feel healthier than ever this year. I know maybe that's not so nice to say, but like, it's true. I feel like I boosted my vitamin D, all my supplements, my zinc, like all this stuff this year, because we had to. And people that have been at home, like you see them getting sick all the time. I'm like, how does that happen?

Right. When someone like myself is out. A lot of mysteries. I hear you. But vitamin D has been shown to definitely have some preventative effects on contracting COVID, right? People tell you to take vitamin D. And what's interesting about vitamin D too, just to finish the point, is that when you get a blood test for vitamin D, like every blood test comes back within a range, right?

So vitamin D is something like 20 to 100, let's say. I might not be exactly right, but depending on the lab, you can get a blood test for vitamin D, it comes back, oh, you're 25, you're normal. Now the thinking is that's not true, that the range is inaccurate and you should be more towards the upper half of the normal range. So if you're at 25, even though technically speaking is normal, you should still supplement and take it so you get it up to more like 60. More like that was the bare minimum before just to like be considered normal,

but it's not actually giving you the protection? That's the thinking. That the range shortchanges people. And don't accept being on the low end. Be in the healthy middle and above. That's so interesting because I went to a hormone doctor and got my hormones checked postpartum and I was so depressed. And they said, you're so low on vitamin D and your thyroid's very low too. And they explained that exact thing you just said.

A lot of doctors will just say, oh, you're in the spectrum. You're fine. Did they really? But this doctor was like, no, you need to get on thyroid. You need to up your vitamin D, even though it was in that- Normal range. Yes. Yes. I actually heard too though, Michael, that a lot of people are actually getting more sun now than they were because they're taking their conference calls outside, whereas opposed they used to be in an office all day. So I do think it's situational. Everyone's different. If you

notice yourself being outside more than you were, pay attention to that, wear a hat and sunscreen. So it just depends. That's what I need to do because I'm stuck in that little office down there on these Zoom calls. I need to do the opposite. Maybe some other people need to do the Zoom thing. We have a split block. Yes. Very possible. Circumstantial. Okay. So I want to talk a little bit about filler and Botox right now and trends. Good. I know we've interviewed you twice before and you told us the trends then, but trends are changing all the time. What are you seeing the most of right now?

Well, I think that first of all, I think fillers are used. People are looking to not have dramatic highs and lows on their fillers. So people are coming in and saying, let's do this one more time per year instead of doing it twice. Let's do it three times a year. And let's do a little bit less each time because what they're not liking is they're not liking walking out of the office looking so dramatically different and people see it. So the way to just stay more to natural looking for your own self is to not get such a high dose per session and to bring it down a little bit. That's one trend I'm seeing. I'm seeing the lips being really popular. This is

one of my little areas of expertise. I love the lip. I love treating it, filling it. That is much more popular than ever, getting lips filled. Okay. The way you inject lips, by the way, is nothing that I've ever seen. I've never seen any doctor inject lips the way you do. You have a specialty where you go in instead of out. Definitely. Right. I love that. Yeah. That to me is, you know what? I'll tell you. So that's why I personally think that it's just a matter of how often do you do it, right? Because you get better and better as a dermatologist the more you do it. And then you realize that, this is terrible, but when you get trained, right?

When these new things come out, companies that develop these fillers, they send out trainers and they show you and stuff. Well, sometimes the material could be good, but they don't really have that refined technique down. The technique is different than the substance, right? I've learned just by doing it a lot, the finessing is the key. And I'll give you some examples. So first of all, technique of injecting lips. There's a huge difference in literally like how far down to put the needle into the tissue, right? And you have to sort of actually make sure you get into multiple layers.

Otherwise, you just don't get the skin. You want to get that really great softening of it. And people hate that little crinkly look to the lips. Hate it, right? So that means you got to put fillers in pretty high up to do that. But if you put in too much high up, right, then you start to get bumps. And when you smile, it doesn't look even. So you got to go a little bit lower than the first layer of injection to now that's your

plumping, that's your volumizer, right? So there's just how well you put the needle matters. Then you have this whole idea where you can inject along the border of the lip, right? The vermilion border. Some people need that and like that. It's a conversation you have to have. That's more about giving you more distinct lip liner look, right? And some people don't have that.

And it's not just about... And people come in and they say, I just don't like my lips. They look small. I want them bigger. Well, you got to sit and play with them and say, well, this is... And what I do, I take these long Q-tips and they hold up a mirror and I say, do you like this look? And then it's like, yes. Okay. Then do you like the addition of this better or do you like this option better?. Then do you like with this, the addition of this better, or do you like this option better? So you start to put together this algorithm for an individual that really is going to just integrate that the size of the lip, the shape of the lip. We talked earlier about elongation, right? Before we got on, maybe it was on this podcast, certain people, their lips are like Percy and you need to give

them a little bit more length, right? By the same token, some people have great length. If you had more length in your lips, it would start to look like you're sort of like a little clown-like, right? So you can't do that. So you got to work with the person's natural features, contours, symmetry, cheekbone height, shape of their face. Some people are more rectangular, some people are more round, some people are more heart-shaped. You got to be in different shapes of the face. You got to be matched with a love filling the lip because it's just so artistic and unique for everybody. So that's, answer your question, that's huge, right? So as you start getting more and more results and people start to see these things, my practice inundated with lips.

Any other trends for fillers in Botox? Well, fillers are also being used to help the jowly look a little bit. And you can pull the jowls back, right? We talked about threads a little bit. Ulthera is a laser that helps that. But fillers, sometimes you can camouflage jowls, right? You put a little bit of filler, like I have this jowl right here. And I don't do this by myself, but it's possible to put some filler between that jowl and right through here, the chin, and just give a more straight line, right? Because you think about what a jowl, a jowl is a little bit of a droopiness, right? So if it looks like it's lower relative to the skin around it, which is not as low, what

about if you have everything meet somewhere in the middle? And you can do that with filler to make gels like camouflaged. A lot of my guy friends complain about their gels. It's something with guys. And they're asking me if they should get custom jaw implants. What do you think about that? I got to say, be careful because now you're playing with really like,

if you don't like those results, man, what do you do? Can you get them out as easily? Do you have to cut away tissue? Do you lose collagen? Do you lose some fat? Does it ever look the same if you remove them? The more permanent something is, the bigger the risk. So you're a big fan of lasers.

You were telling me off air that you like, how do you say it? Ulthera. Ulthera. Yeah. What's the top three lasers that everyone should look into? Or does it depend on what's the issue? Maybe you could give us one for pigmentation, one for tightness, and one for acne. Okay, cool. So that's exactly how to approach it, right? And that is the bottom line. There's no such thing as one laser doing it all. That is another huge development, is that the jack-of-all-trade laser idea run the other way. No way. So one problem, one laser.

For, let's say, discoloration, hyperpigmentation, there's a new version of the IPL laser, slam dunk. No question, best of breed. Still, also great for redness, right? So people come in with issues of uneven skin tone, color issues. That's one big bucket. When someone sits across from me, I'm looking at them, I'm organizing my mind to like, well, how am I going to approach this, right? So I like to break it down to color issues, complexion issues, and fine lines and wrinkles, right? And then I'm off and running in terms of how to get them the best overall results of their

skin. So IPL for discoloration is great. For collagen production, there's- Also for under eye circles, right? Well, you can do under eye circles, definitely, if your skin is thinned out. And that's one of the reasons for it, right? IPL is great for under eye circles. Yes, you can use IPL if you have discoloration as your cause, right?

Definitely. Ulthera is a laser that literally bypasses the top layer of skin. So there's no downtime. And the beam settles in somewhere in the middle layer of the skin, which is where the cells that make collagen live and stimulates the collagen to be produced. So collagen is a holy grail of youth, right? It's like the fibers, the cables that give your skin the firmness, the thickness, and it's what you lose when you start seeing lines and wrinkles and laxity and grooves and all that stuff. So Ulthera goes deep because the cells that make collagen live there and stimulates them

to make more collagen. Now, the myth is you can't drink collagen. I know if you guys are out in California are finding this to be like a fad. I'm not loving that fad. So I think that you can use lasers. And in my practice, I'm all about that. So Ulthera to me is really great. And I love the fact that it doesn't cause a downtime. It doesn't cause any kind of redness, flakiness, discoloration,

Zippo, and it really works to plump up the skin. So that's what I like for collagen production. Acne, there's a laser now. It's called a V-beam. Love this laser because it helps get rid of the blockages, helps get rid of the redness, and it helps flatten acne quickly, and it gives long-lasting results, and it helps scars. Do you like Accutane? I've never asked you this. I do. You do? Yeah. I think in the selected cases, absolutely.

If it's so bad? Big time. Okay. So if you've really bad acne, that's something that you would suggest someone looks into? You got to use it judiciously. Okay. But when you do, it is fantastic for people. What about the ingredient in birth control, Sperlina?

Spironolactone. Do you like that for acne? Some readers take that. I hear you. And again, the right thing to do for me judiciously is I do a blood test. See if they have the abnormal hormone. If they're too high in this one particular hormone, if their androgens are too high, then spironolactone is great. But to give it out just to everybody empirically like like it's candy. No, no chance. You're very situational. I feel like it's a question that I've never got to ask

you and that I've always wanted to ask you is when you have an idea for a product, how does that work? Like say you're, you decide like your body pad, I want to do a body pad. How does the concept come? Do you actually get in the lab and start testing stuff? Do you design the package? Like what's your involvement in each product? Soup to nuts, everything. That's what I do. Wow. Yeah. That's what, that's a dermatologist and a formulator. That's all the skin cancer researcher. I really know science. I know biochemistry. And that is just like another part of my career that is very active. Yeah. I'm the one who's picking the molecules, the ingredients, the delivery systems. 100%. That's the whole deal. The body peel is... That's so nice.

Yeah. Yeah. The body peel is my baby. That's funny. My guy friends ask me what, and I always use your product. It's been long. I mean, how long have we known each other now? A couple of years. And I've used them consistently. And I always tell people, I'm like, listen, I've talked to the guy. He is actually like has the background and he formulates and he knows. And I think like, that's so important when you're putting all this stuff on your skin. And also what I love about your line is I feel like, because a lot of people listen, they get overwhelmed. Like, where do I start? But I feel like you have very specific products for specific skin issues. Like, so for me, I use a lot of the products that come in the orange

bottles with the caffeine and the collagen, because I feel like it helps me the most. I use less of the blue. What's the one? Hyaluronic acid, the moisture cushion stuff. Yeah. Because I feel like I haven't had that issue, but I do need the other one. So I don't know. I just feel like it's important if you're formulating these products to have an understanding of what you're doing because there's so much shit out there now. There is. And that's one of the great things that I'm really happy with new development in the company is we're doing one-on-one consultations, right? So someone can actually, now we're doing like Zoom one-on-ones with people. And I have trained people in my company

to actually look at the skin and diagnose and then recommend. Because to your point, it's all about, there's so many options, even in my brand, that you have to sort of know what's best for you. So what we're teaching is pick your top number one problem, pick your top two, and let's start there, right? So is it uneven skin tone and dark circles? Is it your complexion and your pores? Is it that you're starting to see your skin looks just dull, right? So many people, there's two types of people I find. Those who come in and say they can point to their problem. Then the other people just sit there and say, my skin, there's something going on. I just don't look as good as I used to. And that's where you need to really help both because people who know exactly what they're trying to fix, they're easy, but you got to just,

you got to lead them in the right direction. But I imagine even in those scenarios, there's some people that think they know what it is, but if they don't have the expertise, they're telling you something like, no, that's not the right thing to do. That's so true. That's 100% true. And then you have to sort of like, welcome back, right? And reframe their problem to a point where you can say why they're not 100% accurate about how they're seeing it. That does happen. Yeah. Because I mean, I get a lot of women that say like, oh, I want to get my boyfriend what you use. And they'll message me and I'll tell them I use your products. But at the same time, I'm like, they may not have the same issues that I have. So you have to figure out what their issue is before.

That's true. Because there's different things in your line for different cases. And I had one client who her complaint was she's starting to see crepiness along her cheek area. So it looked like her skin was getting a little ripply. That is a problem with collagen, right? It's the same thing. It's just like your skin doesn't have that firmness. So the first thing you sort of see is a little bit of crepiness, right? But what she was doing was she was loading on, she wasn't using my stuff before that, loading on so many different things, so many ingredients, and her face really looked like I was shot. I mean, it was beet red,

and it was so off balance. And it wasn't like she was losing collagen. She was inflaming her skin to a point where she had all these free radicals being generated, and her skin was just not happy. I had to tell her, it's not about, for you, it wasn't about, because she was talking to me like, well, collagen, collagen, because she heard I was talking about this in my platforms. And I had to walk her back and tell her, because she was in this vicious cycle. She's starting to see some crepiness, adds on more stuff, gets more red. She was using, overdoing, I think she was doing a lot of retinol. And retinol can be really harsh. That's why I like it with ferulic acid. Huge rash from retinol for me. Huge rash, crepiness all over the skin. Yeah. I don't know. You know what I did? I went to bed with it, put it on, woke up, two o'clock,

I went out and was boxing. Huge rash all over the skin. Absolutely. So is that, am I allergic to it? Or is it because I like for one second went in the skin 20 hours later? Ah, okay. So first of all, whenever you get red or rashy, you got to say that my skin is sensitive, right? And sensitive means where at some point everyone's skin sensitive. You push anyone's skin too hard, you're going to get a reaction, right?

So where are you in that spectrum? So for you, retinol with what you did, and maybe you start to work get a reaction, right? So where are you in that spectrum? So for you, retinol, with what you did, and maybe you start to work up a little bit of a sweat, maybe you start to get more circulation to your skin, right? And whenever something makes you a little bit red, the same, you add another factor, another trigger that makes you even more red, it starts to really snowball. It really gets worse. One plus one equals three, right? It just starts to become- And then I was stressed. That's huge. And it was just a bad mix.

Totally. So retinol, you got to use it judiciously. I only mix it with ferulic acid to keep it from getting too red on people's skin. I've used, this was a different retinol that I've used, but I've used yours and I've never had that reaction. It was the brown bottle, right? Yeah, that's right. And that is back to the science. I've seen this in my patients over and over again. I knew when I made my retinol that I saw so many reactions from other brands that I had to put something in there to just keep a lid on how- Yeah, that's smart. That's really smart. The one I used was an all-natural holistic brand of retinol, but it wasn't, I don't know if dilute's the right word, a lid on how... Yeah, that's smart. That's really smart. The one I used was an all-natural holistic brand of retinol, but it wasn't... I don't know if dilute's the right word. You're saying you

almost mixed it with something else. Yeah. I did combine it with something else. Yeah. But sometimes more is not better. Sometimes too much retinol, you think that, okay, I'm getting more for my money. I'm going to go high, high, high and too much acid or... Not true. That's why I'm always dealing with what's called receptors, right? How do I come up with the levels I do? Where do these numbers come from? Well, what we do, which is a very sophisticated kind of approach is we put concentrations of all our ingredients that is maximal, like the minimum daily requirement in your multivitamin, those numbers come from, there's a reason for that number, right? Where do those come from? Because

in biology, skin included, there are certain levels that are the right range. And if you go too low, suboptimal, you didn't help someone enough. If you go too high, what's not absorbed stays outside the skin cell, and that's where the irritation comes in. So you have to have that sweet spot in concentration, and that's what my brand's all about. With the dermatology and the science of formulating a product, you give them just the right amount. And so that's how we come to retinol. And retinol, too much is a bad thing. And I think that's a natural or whether it's a natural product, it doesn't matter. It's how much. You got to be careful because people get sensitive.

I also think that we're trained, we've been trained for the last five years that more is more. And it's actually like what I've realized. More is better. I mean, more is better. And what I've realized being just a practitioner of trying all these products, I have totally taken it down a notch on how many products I use. Yeah. In saying that, I would love to know what is Dr. Dennis Gross's real skincare routine? Me personally? Yes, the morning.

Ooh, okay. So here I am. Because your skin is very glowy. Yeah. So what I do this morning. So I use the melt away cleanser, right? I like that. And I then, actually this morning I double cleansed because I had sunscreen on from the day before and I didn't really wash my face last night too well, right? So I did the all-in-one cleanser and I did the, then I start, I follow the melt away cleanser, did the alpha-beta peel. And out here, I'm doing the universal. If I get a little rash, I'll drop it down to the ultra gentle. But today, my skin's feeling good, did the universal. And then I put on the stress serum, that royal blue bottle, because that to me has been working.

That's the one you think I should try. I do. Okay. Yeah. I love that one. So that's all I have on right now. And it looks so good. Before we go, I want to ask you about body treatments that are in the office.

I feel like body is the new 2021 thing. Everyone's going to want to get their body looking like their face. What are some treatments that you're seeing in the office? We are certainly helping with discoloration. Lots of people have sunspots and redness and blotchiness to their chest. They have blotchiness to their arms, on their legs. We're lasering them. That's key. That's number one. We're also for laxity. When you want to step it up, we're doing the Ulthera, that laser for collagen on the body as well. And those are the two big ones. And then the fat reduction stuff,

that really does work. The sculpture. Does it really work? Yeah. Here's the thing. First of all- It seriously works? Well, it seriously works, but this is how you have to say it works, okay? First of all, it is not like a fat, this is not, this does not replace diet. It does not replace exercise. You only can really come in and say, I have legitimately tried to cut back my calories, cut down on my carbs, which is the big one.

And also I've been doing exercise. And then you say, and so that's, that isn't, what's, that then becomes defined as the abnormal contour, right? That little pouch of skin, that's a little too much fat there. That's when it works. It does help. I also like the one that uses the heat, not the freeze. And you have to continue with your diet and exercise. It does help. Is it going to take down like a giant bulge? We don't even recommend, we don't even offer it. We just say no.

But in the right circumstance, yes, it's a very good treatment. Well, Dr. Dennis, you said you're in the fucking zone and you weren't lying, my friend. You weren't lying. I want to know, can we do a giveaway for the body pads? Yeah, whatever you want. Okay, can we do two giveaways? Yeah. Oh my God. There we go.

Happy holidays, guys. In the zone. Do you want to win the body exfoliator pads? Okay. Can you give us a little spiel on what they get if they win? Like give us a spiel of what's in it, why they like it, and we'll give away five. Okay. What's in it?

Well, first of all, here's what you need to think. If your skin, right? If you have like skin that looks a little bit dull and you're seeing dryness and you want your skin to really have on your body this gorgeous hydration and glow and radiance within minutes, then that's a product that's good for you. Then if you have a target concern, right? If you have acne, if you have hyperpigmentation, if you have the grainy keratosis pilaris, if you have ingrown hairs, then you definitely

should do this product as well. Taylor's going to enter the giveaway. This is give Taylor his. You're so, don't say that. I'm so excited. Stay back behind. Don't jump across the thing. Stay back there.

Don't. I can see one of your ingrown hairs growing over the table. I think one of your ingrown hairs is creeping up behind Dr. Dennis. All you have to do to win, we're going to give five away. You guys are going to be obsessed with this body peel. I can't even tell you. I am so into it. I think it's so important to take care of the skin on your body as well as your face.

This is such an easy, efficient way to do it too. It's a pad. It's easy. All you have to do is tell us your favorite part of this episode on my latest Instagram at The Skinny Confidential and follow at Dr. Dennis Gross, which I know you're going to find so much value in. It's like such a good follow. So easy to enter. Dr. Dennis, you can come back anytime. Thanks. I have a hundred questions. I'm coming to New York. I want to get that awesome. How do you say? All Thera. All Thera. Right. And my lips done. Yeah. Might have to go

to that Hamptons office, Lauren. Yeah. I have to go to that Hamptons office, Lauren. Yeah. I want to go to the Hamptons office. And Nice Weather. Yeah. Yeah. Nice Weather. We'll wait. Thank you so much for coming on.

It was my pleasure. You're the best. Thank you. And really quick, just where can everyone find you? I am, it's the website, Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare. And you can use my name, Dr. Dennis Gross. And we have Facebook page and we have on Instagram. Those are the places.

And if they want to find the pads, are those Sephora? Sephora for sure. Okay. Yes. All the products at Sephora, Sephora.com. Also really easy. Home address, social security number. No, really quick. My favorite absolute product that I have to shout out before I go. What do you think I'm going to say? Alphabet appeal? I don't know. I'm going to say the blue oil-Free Hyaluronic Moisturizer. Yeah, the moisture cushion. Telling you. That's a great, listen, I'm in California now for a while, and that is an incredible product for this black in the woods, for sure. Because it lays so nice under the makeup, plumps the skin, tightens the skin, shrinks your pores.

I feel like it just does so many beautiful things, but mostly when you put your foundation on, it gives you a glow. Yeah. So that's my product. Michael's is the vitamin C and yours is the body pad. Uh-huh. Okay. That's for sure. All right. Thank you for coming on.

Thanks. Thank you. Don't forget to enter the giveaway. All you have to do to win Dr. Dennis Gross's body peel is tell us your favorite part of this episode on my latest Instagram at the skinny confidential to win Dr. Dennis Gross's body peel is tell us your favorite part of this episode on my latest Instagram at the skinny confidential to win. Make sure you've rated and reviewed the podcast on iTunes. It takes two seconds. And of course, make sure you're following Dr. Dennis Gross. Thank you guys so much for listening. And like we said earlier, if you like this episode, definitely listen to part one and part two.