Why Nurses Make The Best Injectors
WHY ARE NURSES THE BEST BOTOX AND FILLER INJECTORS? May means National Nurses week is upon us. At SLK, we are proud that 100% of all our procedures are performed by board-certified and licensed nursing staff. We wanted to take the time to highlight why we are so pro-nursing and why we believe nurses make the best injectors. 1. NURSES ARE “BORN” TO USE NEEDLES. Starting in their first year of nursing school, nurses become “fluent” in using needles to insert IVs, give shots, and draw blood. Once they graduate and start jobs in the hospital, nurses are responsible for almost all the IVs and blood draws in the hospital. They become accustomed to using needles of all sorts and sizes dozens of times per day. No other healthcare professional spends more time using needles than nurses do. That’s why nurse injectors seem to be so comfortable during aesthetic procedures; working with a needle is almost second nature to them. 2. EVEN THE PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES KNOW NURSES MAKE THE BEST INJECTORS The companies that sell neurotoxins and fillers like Allergan, Galderma, and Merz, all choose to employ nurses as their clinical trainers. These nurses travel all over the country on behalf of these multi-billion dollar brands to teach new practices how to inject Botox and filler. (Yes, they even train doctors). Below are some of the most well-known clinical trainers for injectables in the country: Rand Rusher (registered nurse) Lori Robertson (nurse practitioner) Shelby Miller (nurse practitioner) George Baxter-Holder (nurse practitioner) 3. NURSES ARE EXPERTS IN PAIN MANAGEMENT Did you know that almost every class in nursing school teaches how to to control pain and suffering? Nurses are the healthcare providers primarily responsible for recognizing pain and finding solutions. Whether it’s suffering in the form of anxiety before a procedure, or the pain of a needle poke, you can bet that an experienced nurse has a handful of interventions up their sleeve to make the experience more comfortable for you. 4. NURSES ARE EXPERTS IN STERILE TECHNIQUE “Sterile technique” is the practice of keeping a procedure free from microorganisms that might cause an infection. Breaches in sterile technique during filler procedures can open up a patient’s risk of infection and long-term side effects. Nurses are specially trained to be vigilant in recognizing breaches in infection control and sterile technique. In fact, they are the leaders of the infection control teams in hospitals, and all operating rooms have a designated nurse who is responsible for ensuring patients are safe from infections intraoperatively. Nurses are accustomed to preparing sterile fields for doctors and surgeons pre-procedure. As nurse injectors, they continue to carry out this practice for their own patients as well. NURSES ARE LEADERS IN AESTHETIC INJECTIONS It is no coincidence that nurses are the aesthetic industry’s leaders in injectables, performing more Botox and filler injections than any other healthcare profession. To find a nurse injector near you, head to Realself.com to do a search in your area. MEET SLK’S NURSING STAFF Meet SLK Clinic’s nurse injectors by reading their bios here.
Hyperpigmentation Part I: 3 Over-The-Counter Ingredients That Are Clicinally Proven To Reduce Unwanted Dark Spots
HOW TO TREAT HYPERPIGMENTATION FROM SUN, SCARS, AND HORMONES Melanin, the brown molecule that gives skin its tan color, plays an important role in protecting our DNA from the harmful effects of UV sun radiation. However, it tends to accumulate over the summer months, often in the unwanted form of sunspots or freckles, and it can even darken pre-existing skin conditions like melasma or hyperpigmented acne scars. Without treatment, these dark spots may take months to years to resolve. Read on to learn 3 nurse-recommended over-the-counter ingredients to look for on skincare labels. A NOTE ON HYPERPIGMENTATION Before we discuss the following 3 ingredients, it is important to note that hyperpigmentation is one of the most complex and stubborn conditions to treat in aesthetic dermatology, sometimes requiring several adjustments to the treatment plan. Thus, if over-the-counter therapy doesn’t appear to be working for you (which is common), you should begin a patient-provider relationship with a licensed professional who can review your progress every 1-3 months. 1. KOJIC ACID Kojic acid is one of the most effective over-the-counter skin-brightening ingredients on the market. This molecule was first isolated in Japan from steamed fermented rice (called “Koji” in Japanese.) Clinical studies have shown that kojic acid acts by inhibiting the principal enzyme in melanin synthesis. This action is the same as that of hydroquinone, the gold standard in prescription-grade hyperpigmentation therapy (see our “Hyperpigmentation Part II” post for more thoughts on hydroquinone). While kojic acid has long been the most popular skincare ingredient in Eastern Asia for treating melasma, it has more recently gained popularity in the US for all types of pigmentary conditions. It is important to note is that kojic acid has been known to cause skin sensitivity in some individuals, and should be decreased or discontinued if redness or irritation occur. 2. NIACINAMIDE Clinical trials using 2% niacinamide have shown that it significantly reduces the total size of hyperpigmented areas and lightens baseline skin color after 4 weeks of treatment. Niacinamide’s action is to block the transfer of melanin from the base skin layer where it is synthesized by the body, to the superficial layer that gives us our skin color. Niacinamide also has anti-inflammatory properties, prevents water-loss from the skin, and is very stable in formulation, so overall it is considered very useful by skincare chemists and can be found in a wide array of cosmeceuticals. 3. LICORICE EXTRACT Licorice extracts, derived from the roots of licorice plants, are the safest over-the-counter pigment-lightening agents with the fewest side effects. The active agents in licorice extract are known as glabridin and liquiritin. Glabridin acts similarly to kojic acid, in that it inhibits the principal enzyme in melanin synthesis, and liquiritin facilitates dispersal and removal of melanin by the body. Additionally, licorice extract has anti-inflammatory properties which aid in reducing any redness or irritation. Tatcha Deep Brightening Serum containing licorice extract-$185.00 These 3 ingredients are all well-studied with superb safety profiles, hence why they are all available over-the-counter at your local sephora or department store. However, these ingredients cannot be compared to prescription grade ingredients which are by far the most clinically-effective at reducing pigmentation. See our next blog post for part 2 of 3 on hyperpigmentation: “3 of the Best Prescription-Strength Dark Spot Creams According to a Nurse”. DISCLAIMER : THIS CONTENT IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS SOLELY THE OPINION OF JENNIFER STIEBER, NP WHICH MAY DIFFER FROM THE OPINION OF OTHER HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS. IT SHOULD NOT BE USED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFSSIONAL DIAGNOSIS OR TREATMENT.
