Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: Hi, it's Karen and this is, it's a kinetic thing with Karen K. Today we're going to talk a little bit about medical grade skincare.
[00:00:10] Speaker B: Okay, so what is the difference between medical grade and over the counter?
[00:00:14] Speaker A: So medical grade skin care is made in an FDA inspected and improved approved lab and the ingredients in those products are tested for potency and purity.
They have to meet independent testing to deliver the effects that they promise. So when you get a, like a cosmetic grade or store grade, they don't have to go through any of that testing, they don't have to go through that independent proof that what they say works. And they're allowed to basically make a claim based on any ingredient that's out there. So let's say a scientist did research on vitamin A in this particular product, it reduced wrinkles by 70%. So if I'm having a store grade or cosmetic grade skin care, if I put vitamin A in there, I can take any research study out there that had vitamin A and say that my product delivered that too. Whether it does or not, whether it's the same amount of vitamin A or not, where when you get medical grade skin care, they test all the ingredients together, how they were combined and, and they have to prove their statements, they have to prove it does what they say.
[00:01:28] Speaker B: So that was gonna be my next question. Cause you see like on social media and you see all these people that are promoting over the counter products that they say that all the time, they claim, well they have the same ingredients. You're just paying for the name, which is obviously not the case.
[00:01:43] Speaker A: Not the case at all. No. Like for one had a really interesting study and one of the products had a certain plant based ingredient in it. Well, when it is pure and it is potent, it is kind of a golden yellow and it does amazing things. But when it is manufactured from one of these cosmetic grades, it's brown, it's full of toxins and fillers and fertilizers and it's hundredth of the strength of what the pure potent is. And so, and you just even just see the ingredients side by side and you can see, see how much difference there is.
[00:02:25] Speaker B: So that's why the medical grade product is going to penetrate the skin. Yes, versus something like that. Because it's just not the same potency and quality.
[00:02:34] Speaker A: Same Exactly. And they may not have done any research on it at all. They may have only looked up some research on another product that contained that ingredient. Even though it may not be the same strength or anything, but they can claim that other products research.
[00:02:52] Speaker B: So really those products aren't going to do any good. Even though people say they can see the difference.
[00:02:58] Speaker A: There may be a few cosmetic grades out there that are good manufacturers that really do what they say, but most of the time, not most of them are full of fillers and water and you just don't get the results, you know, ounce per ounce or drop or drop of the product. Just like you know, you may go get Neutrogena or olive oil or something and you have to slather it all over your skin where you get a cause or a pharmaceutical grade, potent, pure, you need a drop, a pea size amount and it will do the same thing or more because it actually gets down to the cell level where we want it.
[00:03:39] Speaker B: It's like the concentrated version of it. Yes, a much stronger version.
[00:03:43] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:03:44] Speaker B: Typically you can only get medical grade cosmetics or skincare out of at a medical center. Is that why? Because it's just a medical grade?
[00:03:53] Speaker A: So yes it is. And so that's the other thing is when you get medical grade products, you're going to get them from a medical provider, whether it's a physician, a dermatologist, a nurse practitioner, med spa, plastic surgeon's office, but you're also going to get medical professionals that are trained on your skin condition and what those products can do.
[00:04:15] Speaker B: So there's a lot of. I don't know if you see all this on social media, but I see it all, all the time of these trending skin care and then all these influencers that are actually doing shortcuts to products that anything to do with facial. I think I was telling you about a foot powder that this lady who's making a lot of money on social media as an influencer is using that as a last step on her makeup. Yeah, to set her makeup. A foot powder. And so people buy into that and then go buy it. It's just crazy to me.
[00:04:49] Speaker A: Well, it's crazy to me too. The foot powders are antifungals. And unless you have a fungal infection on your face, why would you stick that on your face as a setting powder when there are a lot of good, probably much less expensive setting powders out there? And then you know what I always worry too is what if you do get a foot fungal infection and you've been using this stuff on your face every day when it wasn't necessary, now maybe your body's not going to respond to it. It's like taking an antibiotic when you don't need an antibiotic, when you Have a virus or a cold, then your body becomes efficient at fighting that antibiotic off and you get pneumonia. Now you need it, you can't, it won't work.
[00:05:33] Speaker B: Yeah, and I guess that's the, the other question that comes along with that is everything you put on your skin absorbs into your body.
[00:05:41] Speaker A: Yeah. Different, you know, depending on what a, how it's formulated and, and things, you're going to get some absorption for sure. How much, I don't know, depends on the product. But I wouldn't be putting an antifungal powder on my face when I don't have fungus.
[00:05:59] Speaker B: And so would you consider medical grade skin care a clean product because of the potency in the way it's manufactured?
[00:06:07] Speaker A: I think again, it's going to depend somewhat on the product and your definition of clean, you know, because not all medical grade skin care is plant based. Some still have some synthetics and preservatives and things in it. So if you want a clean product or a plant based organic product, you can certainly find those in the medical grade too. And I would probably look for that. But not every really good medical grade, I would say is clean based on some people's definition. Yeah.
[00:06:43] Speaker B: Okay. And then is there any over the counter product that you think, okay, you know what, that actually would work for you for some reason or another?
[00:06:51] Speaker A: There's a few. I mean, Eucerin is an over the counter that for a lot of people does really well. I do like Cetaphil as a cleaner, especially if you got really sensitive skin. For certain people that would be a good, decent substitute. So yeah, there are a few out there that actually are good, that have been researched, that have been studied and for the right people it's a good product. But I wouldn't say across the board, just go get all your skin care off the shelf at, at your local, you know, big box store, for sure.
[00:07:24] Speaker B: Well, and I showed you yesterday a picture of me before I did, when I probably was using over the counter because I didn't use medical grade at all at that point.
And this difference between my skin now and my skin then is there's no comparison.
[00:07:38] Speaker A: There really is not. It was, that was a great, shocking, great example because like especially around the fine lines and thin skin around your eyes has improved a hundredfold. And you've aged what, 10 years since then?
[00:07:54] Speaker B: Like 13 years.
[00:07:55] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:07:56] Speaker B: So crazy. It does difference. It makes, yeah. And I saw it initially and I, and I, it's funny because I was a big obagi. I started using Obagi right after that because it just made sense and instantaneously people saw the difference in my skin. So to me I was never going back because it was obvious, which is crazy that it makes that much difference. But I think I'm a prime example of what happens to your skin when you start actually using quality product. It really does work.
[00:08:25] Speaker A: Yeah, I agree myself too. I mean 10 years ago, I really not gotten into this space 10 or 15 years ago and I look at old pictures and the size of my pores and the texture and tone of my skin is so much better 10 or 15 years later that I'm doing pharmaceutical grade skincare than what it was back then.
[00:08:47] Speaker B: It's so crazy. So let's talk about Retin product and what your thoughts on on those and, and how they work.
[00:08:55] Speaker A: So you know, retinol is just a product been around a long time that is really promoted for fine lines and wrinkles, just kind of overall tone and texture. I like retinol products.
I would say some of them are pretty strong, some of them are pretty harsh. And if you've got really sensitive skin, you may have to kind of slowly work your way into it.
You talked about Obagi skin care.
I've, you know, Obagi went on to make Zio a newer version of his skin care line. And Zio is in. Obagi are good products, but I will say their retinol destroys my skin. I cannot tolerate it. I use a lot now of is Clinical innovative skincare Clinical and they have two different retinols. They have a 0.3 and a 1% and they also have some botanicals in them that kind of counteract the really peeling dry flakiness.
And I was shocked because I wanted to use a retinol but I hadn't found one I could tolerate. And I love this clinical retinol. My skin loves it. And it does not break me out or make me red or dry and flaky.
[00:10:07] Speaker B: For people that may not know what that is, what is a retinol product? What does it do for your skin?
[00:10:11] Speaker A: And so it will help with shrinking pores. It helps you maintain the collagen that you have. It kind of helps with fine lines, wrinkles, things like that. Some exfoliation.
[00:10:23] Speaker B: I keep thinking about like how expensive it can be to add up when you're on an over the counter, even though it's over the counter so you think it's less expensive. If you really got all the products you needed to do some good, it could cost you several hundred dollars.
[00:10:36] Speaker A: It could and then like I said, because they're so watered down and full of fillers, usually what you buy over the counter, you're having to replace every one to two months.
Where, you know, with my products that I use that are medical grade, a lot of my bottles, because I have to use so small, three or four drops will last me six, eight months. So I may have paid twice what you paid for over the counter, but it's lasted me three or four times as long. So in the end it was actually cheaper.
[00:11:07] Speaker B: Yeah. What are some of the ingredients that you see in over the counter products that I think people that sells. People like you see retin and you see that in a lot of products. What are like vitamin E, vitamin E.
[00:11:21] Speaker A: Retinol, vitamin A, you see that vitamin C. I see a lot of plant based stem cells, which is funny because 99% of them, the molecule is way too big to ever get into your skin's cell. So it's this great little buzzword to have plant, plant stem cells, but they never actually get into your skin cell. So they don't do anything.
[00:11:48] Speaker B: If someone was going to start on medical grade, so they've always done over the counter and now they're like, okay, that makes sense. I want to, I want to start on it. What would be like the beginner step for someone that's always been on over the counter?
[00:12:02] Speaker A: Yeah, well, I would say it depends a little bit on your skin type and what problems you're trying to address. But in general, I think most people, one, want a good cleanser for your skin type. So that would be my probably first purchase.
Two would be a medical grade sunscreen. You don't want a lot of junk in your sunscreen when you're trying to protect your face. And then some sort of. I really like some product that has some vitamin C in it as well. Whether that's a lotion or whether it's a serum. I use a serum that I just have to do three or four drops. So I think those are kind of good starters for everyone. And then depending on are you looking for get rid of some redness rosacea. Do you have sunspots? Age spots? You know, you might look for something then if you're super dry, you'll probably need some type of moisturizer. But I would definitely start with a good sunscreen with a really good cleanser and then maybe some type of vitamin C product.
[00:13:04] Speaker B: And what is a good cleanser? Like what's in it that makes it a good cleanser?
[00:13:07] Speaker A: Well, it's More what's not in it. Okay. So you don't want a lot of parabens and silicone, some methicone, things like that. You want more, you know, again, good ingredients that you don't want to add anything that you don't need to your skin.
[00:13:24] Speaker B: So probably a big no. No is the face facial cloths that you can buy. Like Neutrogena has the face wipes. Yeah, probably a bad idea.
[00:13:33] Speaker A: It's fine to do a quick swipe to get most of your makeup off. You know, we sometimes we're seeing more and more recommendations to double cleanse or triple cleanse your face because we know one swipe with a makeup cloth or one little wash in the sink is not going to get all that off. And so I think it's okay to kind of just get that makeup off, but it's not really cleansing your skin and getting everything out of those pores. So I would want to wash after it.
[00:14:03] Speaker B: And would you be okay if they used a medical grade face cleanser and wiped it off with that or just you still need to use a washcloth and really get in there?
[00:14:13] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean I really would want, if they use the wipes to take their makeup off, I would want them to cleanse afterwards to get any residual makeup and things out of those pores and really clean well.
[00:14:26] Speaker B: So I think you listed the your must haves for someone just starting out.
[00:14:32] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:14:32] Speaker B: What do you think an average cost for someone starting out? Like if we're converting them now to medical grade?
[00:14:38] Speaker A: It's going to be hard to say depending on the line that you get. But I think three or four hundred dollars, you could get your basic three to four products that are going to be really good for your skin and that are probably last you four to six months.
[00:14:52] Speaker B: And it's something that they do product in the morning and product in the evening.
[00:14:57] Speaker A: Yeah, for the most part you're going to want something. You're going to wash your face morning and night and you're probably going to do some product morning and night. And there are different lines that, you know, have different philosophi. So I know Zio really likes multiple products, multiple steps. And for some people, they really like that. They really feel like they're doing something. I honestly am. I feel like I'm too busy and I don't have time for that. So I like products that do multiple things at once that are good quality products.
So I do like, like it's clinical. For example, their medical grade sunscreen is also tinted. It's also a moisturizer. It's also protects you against oxidants in the environment. It protects your skin from free radicals. So you're getting sunscreen, you're getting moisturizer, you're getting antioxidant and free radical production all in one product. And it basically is my foundation and I don't need any foundation when I have the tenant sunscreen. So it does multiple things for me in one product and I love that.
[00:16:02] Speaker B: So let's talk about your products that you sell because you have two lines that you carry.
We do kind of talk about the difference in the two of them.
[00:16:10] Speaker A: So we carry Zeo products which again comes from Dr. Obagi and he, you know, has been a skin care expert forever. He had the Obagi line and then ended up I believe selling that off and starting a new new lines. NZO is his initials and and they are great products. They're not as organic as some of the other skin care pharmaceutical grade skin care lines out there. They do have a little different philosophy and some that you really kind of get your skin ready in step. So you have to do the beginning step and then you graduate and you add or take away more products. They do like layering multiple products on top of each other. So it is a little more complicated regimen. I think some people that have really sensitive skin have more trouble tolerating their products, have more sensitivity, things like that. But they are very good products for the right person and the right skin condition. And then we also sell is clinical which is really interesting product stands for innovative skin care.
And all of their skin care products came out of a grant for anti aging as from what I understand this billionaire had lots of money and he was obsessed with not aging and he donated some money to a university to study anti aging from the cell level all the way out to the skin. And so a lot of their skincare products came from that research when that grant was up. And Lee, he did not want the patent, he just wanted to continue using the products. And some of the chief investigators actually brought it to market and made it innovative skincare. And so they vary our almost educational based at all their products. They treat it just like universities do when they're doing medication studies or different, you know, health studies. They have to go have to be double blind placebo tested, go out to an independent review board.
They don't bring it to market until it's proven to do what they say it's going to do. Theirs is much more botanical based, much less non organic. I don't find many people that have sensitivity issues to it and their products are. A lot of them do multiple things at once. And I like that because I'm a quick slap it on and go kind of person.
[00:18:41] Speaker B: Don't have time to wait.
[00:18:42] Speaker A: I don't have time for all that.
[00:18:44] Speaker B: Didn't you say that they were. There's a whole cancer element to their line.
[00:18:49] Speaker A: There is. So one of their owners, he.
I believe his, I want to say his mother had cancer. And so they have a big mission to have products that are friendly for people undergoing cancer related therapies. They have products that help with radiation burn.
And even I'm sure you know, when you've had chemo, it completely changes the texture of your skin elasticity. So they have products that help with that and they donate a lot. They do a lot of beauty days for ladies undergoing cancer treatment where they train their people that carry that skin care line to give very gentle facials that are very tolerable to the ladies and then they give them some product to go home with too. So they're really big, big in that offering. Pampering for ladies as they're going through cancer related treatment.
[00:19:45] Speaker B: And that is the one thing I learned when I was going through cancer treatment is that there are certain products you can't use on your skin because of the chemotherapy in your system.
[00:19:54] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:19:54] Speaker B: Never would have thought about that.
[00:19:56] Speaker A: Yeah, it really must make a difference. So they have multiple products that I use every day that are good everyday use, but they've been certified to not be harmful for people undergoing chemotherapy, radiation therapy, which is nice.
[00:20:10] Speaker B: Many people that are going through treatment need something because you still want to look your best and you're. And yours. Like you said, your skin is destroyed.
[00:20:17] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:20:17] Speaker B: From the chemotherapy. So having something that actually continues to help it get better is huge.
[00:20:24] Speaker A: Huge. Yes.
[00:20:25] Speaker B: I went to a face a place and got a facial every week while I was going through it. And it did save my skin. I really think my skin came out looking better than it did before I went in only because I was truly putting the right kind of products on it. And I think that's huge. It is huge when you're going through that. Well, one other thing that's kind of coming up now for skin care and I wonder if you want to touch on it is peptides and how that's working for.
[00:20:48] Speaker A: Well, there, there are peptides out there that we know specifically help with collagen production elasticity as well as just your overall immune function and things. So you may see a lot about nad is a peptide that is best taken IV or subcutaneous injections. But it really does help your body produce more collagen and help maintain the collagen that you have so we don't lose it as fast as we would under ordinary aging circumstances. And people do really think that their skin glows with it. There's a lot of use of copper out there, which is considered a peptide, both for hair loss in a foam to go on the hair as well as either injectable as well. And what we know is, you know, your body really, to make good collagen, you need vitamin C, you need some copper. Those things are like fertilizer for your grass. It makes it just really pretty and chokes out the impurities and it's a great product. So we do use peptides for those and we, we love them for that.
[00:22:02] Speaker B: So the peptide has copper in it.
[00:22:04] Speaker A: You can get it. Yeah, a copper peptide.
[00:22:06] Speaker B: So the one you're talking about comes in a foam. Or you can do it in a.
[00:22:10] Speaker A: You can get it in a shot, you can get it in a face wash, you can get it in a foam to go like on your scalp. Yeah.
[00:22:16] Speaker B: So there's so many things you can do for skin care. I still laugh at just, I follow a lot of social media influencers and I mean, they're just. It's a whole business pushing, you know, over the counter or pushing things that are duplications to medical grade.
[00:22:31] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:22:31] Speaker B: That they say you get the same benefit from. And that's just really sad that you really don't.
[00:22:37] Speaker A: Well, let's see the research. Because anybody anecdotally can think that something's working better for them and maybe even they have a before and after for a month and something looks good for a month. But what's the long term? And where's the proof that what you're saying is actually true?
Or is it just you making money by getting a lot of attention?
[00:23:02] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly. And I, I think the other benefit of buying your medical grade at a medical facility that actually knows and understands it can actually look at your skin. You can probably look at someone when they walk in and can figure out what they need pretty quickly.
[00:23:16] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:23:16] Speaker B: So then you got, you've got that expert knowledge that's actually helping you through the process.
[00:23:21] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:23:22] Speaker B: Of what to buy and what kind of things are going to actually benefit your particular kind of skin.
[00:23:27] Speaker A: Yeah. I mean, if you have, you have pneumonia, are you going to go to your next or neighbor that's a youtuber and ask how to get treated and cured or are you going to go to your physician, nurse practitioner and get.
[00:23:40] Speaker B: The right kind of.
[00:23:41] Speaker A: And get the right thing that you need? Yeah.
[00:23:43] Speaker B: And also in addition to that, you actually have other treatments that you could recommend that's going to actually help that skin care absorb more into the skin. Because the skin is going to be prepped based on some of your treatments.
[00:23:55] Speaker A: Exactly. And you know how people come in and they just, for example, they want Botox to lift their cheeks. Well, Botox doesn't do that, you know, so you may think you want the skin care because somebody said that, but that's not really what you want for what you're trying to accomplish or for the problem that you have.
[00:24:15] Speaker B: And then how do you, what do you think about peels?
An actual peeling of the skin? Do you. Are there. The products carry. You carry. Have those. And what do they do for your skin?
[00:24:25] Speaker A: Yeah, both co and is clinical. Do you have medical grade pills?
And for the right person in the right condition, they can work great. You have to be prepared kind of for the after. Things are always going to look a little worse before they look better.
And so you have to be okay with that. But yeah, for the right person with a good provider that knows what they're doing, then yes.
[00:24:48] Speaker B: And what is the benefit of a peel? I mean, it's also taken a layer of skin off, so you're kind of getting fresh skin.
[00:24:53] Speaker A: Yeah, that's exactly it. Sometimes with that layer of skin, you know, if you have some superficial sunspots, age spots, dark spots, things like that, maybe even some little fine lines, you might peel some of that off as you're revealing that nicer newer layer skinned underneath. Yeah.
[00:25:12] Speaker B: And then you're business also does hydrafacials. We do. And that is also a benefit to helping your skin absorb product and getting all the sludge out of your pores and all of that.
[00:25:26] Speaker A: I always tell people, the easiest way I can explain it is it's the rug doctor for your face, you know, because with a rug doctor you're spraying, you know, product onto your product to lift stains and then your vacuum and suctioning all of that out and then possibly putting down like a waterproofing or stain proofing thing on top. Well, with Hydrafacial, same thing, we're cleaning your skin, we're exfoliating, you know, we're getting all that dead skin out. We open up your pores and then basically vacuum them out. It's amazing the junk that comes out.
[00:26:02] Speaker B: It really is.
[00:26:03] Speaker A: And then while your Skin is nice and clean, your pores are wide open and cleaned out. Then we apply some beneficial products over it.
And so it's great. If you can do it once a month, your skin will thank you very much for that.
[00:26:18] Speaker B: And then what do you think about dermaplaning?
[00:26:20] Speaker A: I think, I think it's the same thing. You know, it's the ideal is exfoliation as well as getting rid of some of that peach fuzz villus. Hair needs to be done in the right hands, the right condition and the right timing. You don't. It's not something you want to do every day or even every week, but maybe once a month, in the right hands it will, it is a nice procedure.
[00:26:41] Speaker B: So if someone's wanting now to transition from they've always used over the counter, what would be their first step?
Obviously come in and see you.
[00:26:49] Speaker A: Yeah, come in, see me. Or if you're somewhere else, you know, a reputable skin care provider and just do a consultation and, you know, ask and let them look at your skin really well and help you pick the right product for you.
[00:27:03] Speaker B: And then do you think a hydrafacial would be like a first step? Just that get the skin clean and a fresh start as they move forward.
[00:27:11] Speaker A: Could be for sure. I mean, you know, you always have to look at people's budget. Some people can't do gamut and if all they have is X number of dollars, I usually am going to get them on a good skincare regimen first before I do anything else.
[00:27:25] Speaker B: Oh, that makes sense. All right, well, that's our time for the day. All right, thank you.
[00:27:29] Speaker A: We'll talk to you soon.
