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Schmooze with Suze
Hi, I’m Suze. Here with your dose of culture, values and global citizenship- and where we tackle those topics others may consider off-limits.
A little about me, I’m a busy GenX mom who, quite frankly, wanted to grow up like the Brady Bunch… But ended up being raised in the shadow of Schindler’s List. So this means I’ve spent a lifetime navigating these mixed messages we get hit with daily. You know those conversations- where we wonder if it’s safe to speak our minds? Can we share our experiences? Voice our fears and concerns, or should we just keep our mouths shut?
Well, too bad. I need to know! But I’m no expert. So, I’m going to schmooze the experts and get their thoughts. Why? So when we engage with our kids, colleagues, or the countless committees we interact with, we can do it with competence, kindness, confidence, and maybe a bit of humor.
If this sounds like your cup of coffee- welcome to Schmooze with Suze!
Schmooze with Suze
Can Embracing Our Unique Beauty Enhance Our Aging Journey? My Guest: Audrey Colman
What if the secret to aging gracefully lies not in drastic measures, but in understanding and embracing the nuances of your unique beauty? This episode opens a candid dialogue about my own experiences with aesthetic enhancements and the pivotal role that informed choices and consultations play in achieving harmonious results. My transformative experience with Audrey, our guest expert who masterfully blends science and artistry in her practice, underscores the importance of individualized treatment plans that honor each person's natural beauty.
Audrey and I delve into the empowering potential of education in the realm of aesthetics. We emphasize the significance of personalized care and patient understanding, debunking common horror stories and misconceptions about beauty treatments.
In another compelling segment, we explore the complexities and expectations surrounding non-surgical facelifts and volume restoration. With Audrey's expertise, we highlight the shift away from one-size-fits-all solutions and the importance of strategic volume placement to maintain natural proportions and feminine features. This episode is a call to action for transparency and empowerment in the world of aesthetics—a plea for a community where women can trust and lift each other up on their journeys to aging gracefully.
https://elase.com/providers/audrey-coleman/
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I'm getting a facelift, my mother announced she had been staring at herself in the mirror for years and the most drastic measure was her first instinct. Why don't you try using Botox, I asked. I don't like needles, so I began already seeing where this was headed. You want to slice your face off while you're unconscious? That's your first choice. Fine, she would try Botox, she said. And two weeks before my sister's wedding, at a dentist in Queens, from one friend, the only one who was willing to admit her connection, she got the Botox, that album and the face that she had that day two weeks later, from someone she didn't know, has been laid to rest along with my late brother-in-law. So I couldn't understand. If you know a secret that's helpful, shouldn't you share it with everyone? And that's what we're going to tackle today.
Speaker 1:Hi, I'm Suze, coming to you with a dose of culture, values and global citizenship and where we might tackle those topics others may consider off-limits. A little about me. I'm a busy Gen X mom who, quite frankly, wanted to grow up like the Brady Bunch. But how could I, being raised in the shadow of Schindler's List? So this means I've spent a lifetime navigating these mixed messages we get hit with daily. You know those conversations where we wonder if it's safe to speak our minds. Can we share our experiences, voice our fears and concerns, or should we just keep our mouths shut? Well, too bad, I need to know, but I'm no expert, so I'm going to schmooze the experts and get their thoughts. Why so? When we engage with our kids, colleagues or the countless committees we interact with, we can do it with competence, kindness, confidence and maybe a bit of humor. If this sounds like your cup of coffee, welcome to Schmooze with Suze. Nobody talked about it.
Speaker 1:To this day, my mom's friends still don't share their resources. They deny and deny, even though their faces are stretchier and stretchier, and still my mother screams from year to year I need to get a facelift. She stopped getting injectables because at some point the injectables just don't work anymore if you've never prepped the palate prior. So I figured I would be the opposite. I would be a guinea pig Sorry, I meant a pioneer, a pioneer for my generation and as soon as I could afford to get something, I sat down and got it. I didn't ask about it.
Speaker 1:I went to the place that was most well-respected and renowned and asked for an appointment with the first available practitioner. I sat in her chair. She looked trustworthy, she sounded knowledgeable, and so she poked at my face Very conservatively. She said I start very conservatively, but I need you to make an appointment in two weeks for a follow-up. I said what? Start very conservatively, but I need you to make an appointment in two weeks for a follow up. I said what follow up? I thought two weeks later is my sister's wedding and you just get to see what your face looks like. Later, surprise, she laughed and she said that's not how we do it here. You come back in two weeks and if we need to do any touch-ups, it's complimentary. We have to learn how your face works. We have to learn what works for you.
Speaker 1:Wow, that was in my thirties and since then I have skeptically stared at aesthetics from a distance, thinking that I only needed to go every six months for that touch up, but it wasn't getting the effects I desired until I made an appointment with Audrey. Hi, audrey, hi, susie, thanks for coming in today. I really appreciated that. When I came in and I sat to, hopped into your chair, actually like I had done on every visit prior with every other practitioner, they gratefully actually were so happy that I would take whatever they would give me. And they didn't explain and I didn't ask and I didn't know I could or should. And I sat in your chair and I said, okay, so make me beautiful. And you laughed and you said, let's talk first. So let's talk a little bit first about what led you to this field of aesthetics.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you for having me, susie. It's really a privilege to spend some time with you today talking about a true passion I've had for years. Aesthetics is, um, aesthetics is something that um I I cultivated very early in life. Um I was, I enjoyed art. Um I enjoyed skincare. Um I loved painting, but I also loved finding the products that were best for my skin and what those ingredients look like and the long-term outcomes of that. And so, um, from there, um I pursued, um pursued a degree in biomedical science and moved on to become a PA.
Speaker 2:I was really fascinated by the skin and the aging process and I spent some years working in dermatology and oculoplastics but really sharpening my aesthetic eye and creating a systematic approach to understanding the aging changes of the face and what treatment treatments we can provide patients like myself and addressing some of those. So what I love and I hear this statement and it really resonates I'm going to share it again Aesthetics is really a combination of that science and that artistry and really marrying those two, and I share that with my background and kind of that artistic side, because it really is something I like to have precision with, but I also love that. It does you have to really think outside of the, think bigger and think of the underlying layers of change to the face.
Speaker 1:Right, right, I mean, I'm not going to laugh. My eight year old has a nighttime face routine. I'm so glad you read about this trend. So there's this trend amongst young children and we're talking about as young as eight, as eight where they have this 20 minute nighttime facial cleansing and rolling and all the things that they were watching their moms do. They're now modeling that behavior. So for teens, I understand you want to get to that. You know acne prone skin or the changing hormones. But to see kids understand that we should take care of what we have is such a beautiful thing and it comes from people like you, who I love that you said married Mary, education and aesthetics it's not just make me beautiful, because you could just do that. So I'll tell you a little bit about how I started and then where I ended up with you.
Speaker 1:After a couple of times of Botox, just in the forehead, I was getting okay results. I was, you know, frozen enough that my kids still knew when I was mad. That was the goal. But my lower face was just now, the upper face, the lower face.
Speaker 1:Somebody had said, okay, you're going to eventually have to do a facelift and I kept thinking to myself straight to facelift. I'm 45. That seems a little extreme. So they kept saying you can do a little tweak here and there. And then there was the offer to do injectables.
Speaker 1:And so they gave me in one day like four injectables, four syringes, two on one side of my cheek and two on the other side and one in my chin, and it was a lot of stuff and I left looking okay, it was thousands of dollars, there was no explanation, and so I was terrified and I didn't go back for another two years. And that's when I met you and I jumped in and I was like, okay, make me beautiful. I was cause when people show up, sometimes they make an appointment and they're late to their Botox appointment. So let's talk a little bit about how somebody who is coming from where I am in the mid-stage okay, before the preventative. What are the common types of questions you get when someone walks in and says okay, I want to do something and I need help understanding what my options are?
Speaker 2:yeah, so, um, I love having this, having this conversation, because I think there's so many things to dive into here. There's, um you mentioned, an awareness of aging changes and almost we're in an age of empowerment, and I really love that because I think we're seeing it um, just in our social media, just amongst our friend groups, and even as we're like you're, you're advocating to your children or to um prevent and to embrace the, the, the fact that we we are changing and we have having these procedures that we can do as simple as washing your face and putting on a skin cream can also can can make you feel good, and that's that's a good thing, um, anyway, so the biggest thing I love to do with a patient um such as yourself is truly educate, and that's that's a good thing, anyway. So the biggest thing I love to do with a patient such as yourself is truly educate, and I think that I'm really passionate about that. I've been in aesthetics for eight years, so it's not about having a lot of patients and making a lot of money. It's about having a long-term commitment with the patients that I get to see and truly empowering them with understanding, which I was so proud you did the other day with truly understanding the way that their face is changing and almost being able to go home and go.
Speaker 2:I see that I get that and I understand and I think, aligning with that, like I said, that age of empowerment is truly feeling like you are. We're not just. You don't have to just take everything that anyone just says, oh, you need this, well, why do I need that? And I think that regardless of the age whether it's middle age, late age or early or more preventative care I think coming to a provider that truly wants to provide that for you and help you understand is kind of really the foundation of really where you want to begin. That's what I really love to provide and I always think about I know you mentioned your own mother I often find myself thinking of what would the care be that my own mother would want to receive? And that's the way I proceed.
Speaker 1:So let me ask you for women who are coming to you with okay. We have the age of the internet and all of that information is out there, and so people will first have heard things right. It starts with the horror stories. Everyone loves to tell you horror stories. If you're telling them, you're going in for any procedure. They tell you about the things that went wrong with someone's cousin's, dog's, uncle's friend.
Speaker 1:And when it came to aesthetics, there were certain things that had been talked about for years. But, as we know, in the background, where you are in the world of laboratory, of sciences, of testing, research and development, you're seeing hands on what that effect is and what the latency periods are. So when we came in, I was ready for a facelift at 47. No, I'm 47 now. So I was ready for a facelift at 45. And I said to you, like let's do it. And you were like, so I'll bring the doctor in to look at you and we'll call this a baseline assessment. You were so kind, you didn't laugh in my face Like I just laughed out loud.
Speaker 1:Okay, so please don't think that that's how this happened. She was so sensitive and understanding that she got. What I'm saying before is people who call for a plastic surgery appointment have usually been thinking about this for a very long time and they want that appointment yesterday. Is that typically because I mean, tell me to people like schedule this, do they like say when I hit this age and that's when I'm going to do this? Or do you find people come in and they're like ready to go or they have to be talked into? I?
Speaker 2:think that this all boils down to expectation, and this is why I stress that education component so um so strongly on the front end, because if you have the expectation that you want the skin laxity more so gone, yeah, that is a possible solution is to treat that with the appropriate. You're ultimately trying to find the most appropriate treatment modality for the patient presentation at hand and almost the diagnosis of the tissue changes.
Speaker 1:Oh, so good. So that's something that people don't take into consideration. They assume it's one size fits all, absolutely so. If I come in and this is my other question Botox parties, right, we're talking about ranges of ages, ranges of sun exposure, ranges of you know. So if we think of it from that way, I don't want to be a Groupon shopper when it comes to this. Like you just said, my intention is to build a long-term relationship. So you're watching how the skin and the yeah, it changes.
Speaker 2:And so you're to kind of make a generalization. I think we I hear this often, it's my friend had a facelift. I think I need like I've had one, I need one now and ultimately that's. That could be possible. But you have beautiful volume in your face and you have some subtle shape changes, like we all will have, that it's going to become more square. It's becoming more square like it's losing because you have a volume deficiency in certain areas.
Speaker 1:I'm taking my headset off so you could actually poke at my face. So people when they see this video will understand. Yeah, and what I'm going to come in in the next week for Sounds great.
Speaker 2:So when I first look at a patient, I'm looking at that facial shape and if they have that squaring, I'm going to ultimately diagnose this facial shape with a possibility that there's going to be mid facial volume needed. Now let's address this head on. I mean, there is a lot of people that are overdone and I think we're moving out of that time slowly but surely, because a lot of private prior injections and techniques were focused on treating the largest part of the face, meaning the anterior cheek and then moving on and kind of line filling down here.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's what I'm doing. It was horrible, I look like a little Muppet.
Speaker 2:It's so true because they're basically boxing out the bottom portion of that squaring of the face. So then we ultimately look heavier, we don't look like ourselves. And then we we kind of were, were, were then like one of those people that have has treatments done and our friends like the cat lady. So then it was kind of becoming this vicious like cycle of okay, we didn't want to have people know about it, but now we really don't because, right, like it's got, it's created, it's got such a stigma around it.
Speaker 2:So when you lift up in the mid phase, then I'm thinking how am I going to best, best align your features in your profile and provide a little bit of of that feminine projection to the chin, keeping inside the ranges of that feminine projection to the chin, keeping inside the ranges of our feminine, our really golden ratios of beauty, that the nasolala, the widest part of the lips, and all of those things have to flow and those proportions have to be in line. And so for you you have subtle volume loss and so we treat it with some volume and very strategic areas. And so, and back to your original question on do you go to, do you go to surgery and do people come in and just like, want that surgery appointment possibly, and if they do, I'm going to direct them to get the answers that they need. I know what I can do and I know that I can treat with X amount of volume and if I see that deficiency I'm going to go. I need this amount of product to get this desired outcome.
Speaker 2:What are your thoughts on that? Is that something you'd like to do over the course of time? But it's really the best. Outcomes are ultimately, or most most often, not an either, or they're an, and yeah, because we're, we are. There is often tissue laxity, but there is also there's volume loss as well.
Speaker 1:So so that was another thing that I was thinking about when you discussed the possibility. So when we talk about the options, first of all, I had heard non-surgical facelift right, that's the catch-all phrase, and so I didn't know what that meant and I asked those questions out loud so that more of us can feel less alone. You said to me that's what this is, that's what I'm doing, and I was like, wait, but there's no, you didn't slice my face off Right Cause. Then there was. So let's, let's get some of the things out of the way that I really like to take off the table. The people have said something about you put a string in your face and you pull it up. What you discussed about the injections more in the lower face to fill in lines, this is just for educational purposes. You're not prescribing for anyone in particular out there, but I'm just curious the non-surgical facelift right, the idea of creating the volume and the lift right, because it's not just volume. The loss of volume is because, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:So there are. There's aging changes to many layers of tissue's going to be bone changes, deep fat, muscular, muscular changes, which is where that discussion of neuromodulators can come into play and how we treat some of the depression and kind of negativity that comes around our eye area and the heaviness. That's what we call heaviness and so that brow position is going to experience a change over time. And so there's muscle changes. There's also superficial fat, so there's deep fat, muscle, superficial fat, and then there's dermal and epidermal changes.
Speaker 1:So I'm going to attach a link that you're going to send me of this picture into the show notes.
Speaker 2:I love this and I use this mother daughter image from Allergan often in my consults and I think you've seen it. It's this, this comparison of not only the facial shape changes from the silhouette of the face over time, with a mother versus the daughter, but the fat pad aging changes on an animation. What are we really seeing? And so I love describing that and showing that. Because when you were talking about liquid facelift and yes, there are the opportunity, there is the possibility of having threads or biostimulatories my strong suit and the recommendations I found extremely successful is treating some of that volume loss with dermal fillers and so in very strategic areas now, what are examples of dermal fillers, because names are confusing to us.
Speaker 2:It's going to be like Juvederm. Okay, juvederm is a is a dermal filler and it has longevity on it of either a year or two years. So when I create a plan, I share with my patients what's possible, and we can break these into sessions similar to what we did, and then we from there, depending on where you go, and it doesn't mean you have to do the whole thing, but it aligns with that expectation. Am I able to provide you with this amount of volume in these strategic areas, what you're looking for and how far do we go with that? And there's things that limit that Right. Budget's a big, big one. Yes, fear Right, and so I think addressing those fears head on but also being willing to like go and walk the distance with a patient and be on the journey is just such a privilege. I love that.
Speaker 1:I feel lucky that you're able to do this. So I'll give you an example with my lips. Right, you said something that was really changed my life. You said would you like them to just look moist? Would you like them to just look moist? Because the big fear with lips we all look at them right over years and we see that the shape has changed and the volume loss. And I'm almost 50, and the fear I have is duck lips. I think that's the fear of every woman that I talk to, that it's going to be overdone. But you didn't say do you want to fill your lips or do you want lip filler? Lip filler, by the way, gives me a completely different connotation. That's very. You said would you like them to look moist and natural, hydrated, absolutely Hydrated and moist? And I was like so that's really all I needed.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm, I'm love that you shared that, and I think that we as providers and I think this is one of the reasons I'm so passionate about not only educating patients but educating providers and do a lot of trainings with Allergan Medical Institute Because I think it's really it's not, it's not the products, I mean, it's it's what we as providers are doing with them, and are we prioritizing safety's a number one? But then are we keeping in perspective the balance of facial features, from the forehead to the brows, to the nose, and how that aligns with the lips and the chin and the cheeks, and all those things have to have a harmony to them. Otherwise, we're just basically either caulking a line or like a crack in a wall, or we're putting a decorative chair in a room that needs to be redone Right. So and so. Oh my God, those are such good analogies.
Speaker 2:Thank you, yeah, so it's. That's really where the lip filler gets. So our patients are coming in and they're wanting, they're seeing the aging changes in their lips and they're thinking that's what made me look youthful before. But really it's not. It's that creates a focal point on something that really is a bigger conversation.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's exactly it, and so you introduced me to the difference between someone who is poking and a calendula right, A cannula Cannula cannula.
Speaker 1:I don't know what a calendula is. I hope it's not, but that was it. It changed the difference, because the next person I met who had told me she had her lips done, I noticed the difference in how it was done. I felt like mine with that cannula. It really did look more natural the whole way around. Same thing with and now I you know cause all I do is look at my face and I have to make an appointment. And you know now, between your training schedule, this is the other part that I think is exceptional.
Speaker 1:Something that I always found fascinating is people who are continuing to obtain education in their fields, but then there's a level up, there's the educating of educators, and that's something that takes a special skill, because your bedside manner for lack of a better word, even though I'm not laying in a bed with you is exceptional, because one of the things that you said that make you right, it's not just the work that you're going to do. That's going to create this relationship, it's the transparency that will build trust, and you're very transparent. You gave me an option of the either or. You said here we're going to work out the numbers. This is what it would cost you every 18 months this way. This is how much the plastic surgery costs. And then you gave me the opportunity to do a cost benefit analysis. I did. I met with the plastic surgeon, who gave me their information, and when I took a look at what that was compared to the comfort and the relationship I had built with you, I felt I could hold off on that second, much more aggressive step because it wasn't necessary. In real life I had developed a relationship with someone who's growing with me in my comfort level.
Speaker 1:I want to talk about that when we talk about empowering women. So it used to be like I said. My mom not one per everyone denied it. They denied that they had any work done. They wouldn't share who did their work. The better you looked, the less likely you were to give that referral to other friends. I feel completely the opposite. If I think someone is great at what they do, I want everyone to know. I think you are exceptional as an artist and I want everyone to be worthy of this experience, right Cause you don't charge me any more than you charge anyone else. Everyone has the access to this. So I'm curious what has been one of the most transformative patient experiences that you've had?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a great question. I think there's been so many moments of joy that I've experienced in this consult room with my patients and our treatment room with my patients. It's not even physical, I mean. There's some really amazing um but before and afters that I've been able to have, but really it's, it's supposed to be the signature. That's not there. So when I'm thinking of, like crazy transformations, I'm thinking I don't want that, I want something really subtle that I'm seeing. The transformation that's crazy is the person on the inside that's feeling alive again, and that patient that comes back and is sharing with me how confident they felt at their wedding or the reunion, or that they just like come in and have makeup on that day or dress well and they're like I just feel good, like I feel like this, and so I had really some some um, great moments that patients like are really brought to tears by just the way that, that they are so disexcited by the version of themselves that they're finding again. So I think that.
Speaker 2:Back to empowerment, I think that you mentioned that we were moving towards. I love that you, you share. If you find something good, you're you, you, you share about it, and I think we're, as women moving towards. We just we want to have good people on our team and that's going to be with friends. That's what. Who does my hair and that's also who it does my treats. To have these intimate moments with my facial rejuvenation plan. Right, have to share it. If you do it either, it's a very private, a private thing, and that's the relationship that my patients and I have. Yes, they want to talk about it Great. If not, that's okay too. It is, but I think that I love being a part of that.
Speaker 1:I love it. I love it. I think that the culture has shifted from you making the personal choice to keep your own information private to this whole ideology that those who are elite or worthy don't want to give any opportunity to those beneath them to find the same opportunities. And that's changed over time, because I think, as women, hopefully, we're learning to adjust each other's crowns without calling out that it's crooked in the first place. So there's some questions that I want to address, just basic ones. Botox is it a toxin? Right Cause I like to joke and say I'm going to put botulism in my face.
Speaker 2:So if we think, about where Botox comes from, and this is true of really many most medications that we have. They're going to come from a bacteria, as does Botox. So if we think about bacteria, it replicates exponentially and that's going to be problematic, right. But Botox is a protein derived from a bacteria that prevents the release of acetylcholine by cleaving a particular protein within our muscle, and it's temporary, and those proteins grow back. So when the drug is placed in a muscle, it's going to temporarily cause it to have a relaxation to it over the course of about three to four months. So is it a toxin? Well, that's a protein, really.
Speaker 1:So the way I see it is, it's toxic for my frown line. You got it, there you go, let me ask you this when I started getting it, they would hold for like six months between treatments. Why is it less over time?
Speaker 2:I do think the muscles have some degree of hypertrophy over time. I mean they do get stronger. I think oftentimes our muscles and our expression becomes more noticeable because we also have volume loss. That's present. So some of the same things aren't holding in the same way they were. I know from personal experience. I've had some of my you know, crow's feet Botox or Botox that is around the eye area in particular. It doesn't seem to hold quite as much, but I also was losing a little bit of that tissue to integrity around the eyes so it just wasn't quite the same as it once was because of that.
Speaker 2:That's the finest skin. Yeah, I also feel like there are. I also see that there's a lot of underdosing. So dose does equal duration. So, um, when you're not getting the appropriate dose of the of the muscle that needs to be treated if it is stronger, um, it's just going to over time just not. That muscle just kind of comes back sooner and sooner. Um, so I'm big on just diagnosing that muscle strength and kind of treating that with the muscle the drug that it needs.
Speaker 1:Good answer. What about starting younger? Does that mean that you're preventing yourself from those muscles getting so deep over time that you inevitably don't need to fight against that muscle with that high dosage?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think starting younger where spining is is going to be it just helps one. The big thing it helps keep the brow position where it is on the orbital rim and keeping that brow high instead of pulled down over time. Yeah, I think there's it's. It's really helps with skin quality and starting sooner. But I'm not saying everyone just needs to jump in and do that, but there's conversations that can be had to meet our patients where they're at, whether that be skincare or having hydrofacial or just wearing sunblock. I mean having that important discussion about how are we protecting our skin long-term.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, such a good point that you're making about the long-term protection of our skin. So, hydrofacials, let's talk about that for a second, because I thought it was an either or, until I met you and you said no, it's an, and you have to get all that schmutz schmutz is dirt out of the things. Like imagine, imagine that I'm going to be altering your dress and you didn't take it to the dry cleaners first and it was like wow, okay. But then also the understanding that as much as you can keep that skin in its most integrity that was that wasn't even English in the in the highly integrity you know, maintains the integrity of the skin. And then, using those products Cause I used it, my grandmother used oil of Olay, her whole life.
Speaker 2:I know it and that they. I think the consistency was the thing and she used it consistently, consistently every single day.
Speaker 1:That's true, that's, that's it, so it's when you use Nivea, the Nivea cream, ponds, ponds. I still have a thing of ponds on my counter at all times.
Speaker 2:I don't know why no, I think it's just. There's some nostalgia there too I agree, using ponds myself, but, um, I think that, um, when it comes to aesthetics, we look at it so differently than any other thing, so let's kind of use. Let's talk about training for a marathon. Right, it's not something you just run and it's not a one-time thing. You don't run a marathon and become fit.
Speaker 2:You also don't do one aesthetic procedure and just become rejuvenated, so it's like you have to look at when you're doing things over the course of time whether it's physical activity or whether it's aesthetics, whether it's relationships you're going to have a better outcome long-term instead of once, and there's really no one-term, one-time fix. And I think, kind of circling back to our whole conversations about surgery, that is a great option for a lot of patients, it's a necessary option, but it still isn't a one-time fix. And if you have a commitment to feeling great and feeling empowered and feeling like the best version of yourself and truly wanting that kind of understanding and coming to terms with the fact that that's not something that you can just fix in one appointment, is really beneficial for your long-term aesthetic journey.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, that's such a great wrap up to think about it, right, because I didn't know that Botox was a two week thing. When I first got it, I literally thought that I was going to walk out that day with a finished product. By the same token, you, the first time I had injectables done, nobody really let me know that that was instant and that it was like swollen and needed a couple of days to kind of become yours. Yep.
Speaker 2:So it has to integrate into the tissue and your body's doing what it should. Yes, it's going to have a response, and being able to walk that journey again with my patients and help them know that this is something that will integrate, this will soften, this will be the result that you're looking, you know you're we're going for, but your body is doing what it should be and there is sometimes a time where you feel a little bit more swollen or you're gonna have that few day period where you really may have a little bruise, but that's okay, oh, my God, you are so wonderful and I hope you don't mind that I'm a groupie for life.
Speaker 2:And I'll follow you everywhere, anyone's lucky to have Susie.
Speaker 1:I have been changed by everything that you taught me. You taught me you didn't just work on me, which is what I'd previously thought. Same thing, by the way, that I developed a relationship with my I don't call her my, my, my stylist. I call her my hairapist, and the reason is because she also asked me the question what is your long-term goal, do you? If you want to go blonde, it is not smart to do it all at once.
Speaker 1:Like you, she was honest and said it will make me less money, but it will make you more happy and long-term we will have a relationship, and I'm not doing this for the profit, I'm doing this for the person. And it changed everything, because now transparency equals trust. I trust that when I go to you now, I can pop into your seat and, even though I still say, okay, do whatever you need to. That's what she does. She laughs just like that every single time because she forces me to become educated about my own empowerment, and I love that. You are part of this tribe of providers, women, community members, uplifters, builders, who see the benefit in not just providing a product or a procedure, but in a whole human approach.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you, susie. I I want to, um, I think some sometimes you you got to ask where do you start with this? Um, I, personally, I think we, as you mentioned, we love to educate, but, um, I see patients at a lace medical spa and um, we, I love that we have um medical spas and we I love that we have rebranded and created a little bit or more of a inclusive brand which welcomes really anyone. Share some more about that for me, yeah, so we have taken the experience and that luxury experience of what Amara is and really opened that to welcoming more individuals and making this feel like a great, like safe space to receive elite care by providers that cumulatively have significant experience. So really proud to see patients there.
Speaker 2:And I think, just create back to what you were saying talking about with, like that two week follow-up and having that opportunity to relook at my work and be able to have my patient take that break out of their day and go. Okay, let's like focus on you and let's make sure that your result is what you're looking for and let's like let's adjust it if needed, but if not, let's just get a plan for the future and, um, uh, that's yeah, that's what, that kind of what, that two week follow-up is really all about.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you so much, Audrey, for sharing your wisdom, your wit and your wonderful skills and for being part of my team, and it's a pleasure. Pleasure is mine.
Speaker 2:So I think, and then with the you mentioned community, I think I want to see we're also in a movement of just supporting each other as aesthetic injectors, even outside of our own practices, and that's I love that too, because being a resource to helping other providers provide the best like the safest and the best outcomes, and knowing what just prioritizing that overall in their treatments is really, I think how I'm slowly but surely trying to make a bigger impact in this aesthetic industry.
Speaker 1:And as much appreciated. Thank you so much for coming in today. Thank you, susie, for having me. I will see you again soon. If you know of someone who is the kind of mensch who should get an honorable mention, send me a note at schmoozewithsuesorg or drop me a line on Instagram. That's going to do it for us today. Thanks for sticking around. Make sure to subscribe to Schmooze with Suze on YouTube and follow me on Instagram to get your daily dose of chutzpah. I'm Suze, your well-informed, smart ass who's not afraid to stand up and speak out. Because what's an envelope if not for pushing? Hey, stay inspired and inspiring.