Speaker 1: What's up, everybody. I'm Gammy and this is positively gam
Speaker 1: Last season, I did an episode about skincare, and I'm
Speaker 1: excited to be diving into the topic even further. Everyone
Speaker 1: has different skincare routine and I feel like I'm hearing
Speaker 1: about a new product or procedure all the time. So
Speaker 1: I'm excited to have two women join me who can
Speaker 1: shed some light on peels, botox, and the importance of
Speaker 1: some protection. So let's get into the episode. Wendy Pittman
Speaker 1: has been one of my friends for years and introduced
Speaker 1: me to aesthetic medicine, which focuses on altering one's cosmetic
Speaker 1: appearance through different treatments. She's been active in this field
Speaker 1: for over two decades and is the director of business
Speaker 1: Development at Vitality Institute. Wendy is also the founding director
Speaker 1: of Vitality Institutes Brown Skin Agenda, a physician lead initiative
Speaker 1: that promotes the advancement of treatment protocols and skin care
Speaker 1: solutions for skin of color. Also joining me is Maria
Speaker 1: khalil Atto, who has been CEO of Vitality Institutes since
Speaker 1: she was twenty five years old. Under her leadership, the
Speaker 1: company's famous Vitality Peel brand has expanded to include five
Speaker 1: medical grade formulations customized for specific skin conditions, and she's
Speaker 1: also launched the Vitality Dorm beauty line, a full portfolio
Speaker 1: of clinical, daily at home care products that helped to
Speaker 1: reduce pigmentation and increase cell turnover. Hello, ladies, and welcome
Speaker 1: to Positively gam. Wendy's so good to see you. I
Speaker 1: haven't seen you in a minute. You know what, you
Speaker 1: celebrate my fifty second birthday. Remember you took me out,
Speaker 1: we had dinner and yeah, but that was almost what
Speaker 1: that was like a year because so you were actually
Speaker 1: Wendy the one who got me started on this road.
Speaker 1: Like last year, I posted on social media how I
Speaker 1: had those moles removed from my face that like that.
Speaker 1: They're not called moles? What do they called their dPNs?
Speaker 1: Dermatosa papalos right, commonly described by Dermot Board certified dermatologists.
Speaker 1: We in common terms, we call them moles, but in
Speaker 1: clinical terms they call them deeper. And I think black
Speaker 1: and brown skin is pretty prone to them, right. I
Speaker 1: think some people think that they're freckles, but they're they're not.
Speaker 1: And like you saw me when we met and I
Speaker 1: don't even know. I think I must have commented on
Speaker 1: how beautiful your skin was and we just had a
Speaker 1: brief conversation about it, and some kind of way you
Speaker 1: said to me, you know what, you know, all those
Speaker 1: little molds that you have or your face, if you
Speaker 1: get them removed, you would look so your skin would
Speaker 1: be so much smoother and clearer. And I was like, removed. What? Absolutely?
Speaker 1: Because what happens if you don't remove them? They continue
Speaker 1: to grow families and then love Morgan Freeman and the
Speaker 1: wonderful work he does, but he is a perfect example
Speaker 1: dPNs on stick on steroids because he's created families and
Speaker 1: generations of dPNs on his skin because they have not
Speaker 1: been removed over time. So I know that when we
Speaker 1: want to also refresh our look, you're you know, women
Speaker 1: can be doing injectables and doing the I P O
Speaker 1: and that sort of thing, but when you remove those dPNs,
Speaker 1: it's a nice refresh to what you're already doing. So
Speaker 1: I'm glad you decided to do that. Yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: it was huge for me. I mean I felt like
Speaker 1: ten years younger when I just did that, and I
Speaker 1: did it again last year, you know, and posted in
Speaker 1: on Facebook and people. It was funny because some people
Speaker 1: didn't believe that it was real, and I was like,
Speaker 1: who would do that? Who would who? We claimed that
Speaker 1: they had a procedure done but didn't really have it done.
Speaker 1: It's usually the other way around. You had the procedure
Speaker 1: done it, but you're not claiming it. I'm telling you
Speaker 1: I had the procedure done, and you were saying, no,
Speaker 1: I didn't. That I painted those molds on. It was ridiculous. Anyway,
Speaker 1: moving on that that was a procedure and you actually
Speaker 1: it's like a laser and they kind of burned off
Speaker 1: and it takes typically about a week for them to
Speaker 1: actually fall off. And once they fall off, you know,
Speaker 1: and they crushed over and fall off, and they can
Speaker 1: remove them, you know, several different ways. Is but the
Speaker 1: end result is they crust over and then they just
Speaker 1: slept off the skin. So now, one of the things
Speaker 1: I've heard mentioned a lot for skincare are chemical peels,
Speaker 1: but I've never had one myself. Now, Maria, the Vitality
Speaker 1: chemical peel is one of your company's most famous inventions.
Speaker 1: So can you share with us what it is, why
Speaker 1: it was created, and how it works. Because I've not
Speaker 1: had one done, but I've seen people that haven't done
Speaker 1: and what they look like in between, and it's not
Speaker 1: pleasant looking when you're going through it. So just talk
Speaker 1: to us about it, because the whole idea, like just
Speaker 1: even the terminology chemical peel sounds like something that you
Speaker 1: don't want to do. I agree, I really want to
Speaker 1: change that term chemical peel forever. It really doesn't resonate
Speaker 1: with consumers. It sounds scary, but the truth is, when
Speaker 1: you really look at it, water and oxygen or chemicals,
Speaker 1: everything is a chemical. So that word sounds scary, but
Speaker 1: chemical peels are actually one of the more natural ways
Speaker 1: to rejuvenate your skin. And they've been used since the
Speaker 1: times of Cleopatra, so we know they're safe and we
Speaker 1: know they're effective. Now, basically what a chemical peel is
Speaker 1: and let's just call them peels for the rest, let's
Speaker 1: do that. Let's do that. That's the word anymore. So Basically,
Speaker 1: what appeal is it can be a single acid or
Speaker 1: it can be a combination of acids, and it's a solution.
Speaker 1: The solution can come in a variety of ways, and
Speaker 1: it's something that a professional applies to your skin. And
Speaker 1: what it literally does is it exfoliates that top layer
Speaker 1: of your skin. So any kind of imperfections that you see,
Speaker 1: it could be pigment, it could be scarring, acne. I mean,
Speaker 1: the list goes on. Peels are really good for so
Speaker 1: many things. That's one one of the reasons I love
Speaker 1: them so much. So the skin literally peels off, hence
Speaker 1: the name peel sloughs off. It forces your body to
Speaker 1: regenerate the skin cells. And those new skin cells are
Speaker 1: you know, fresh, beautiful baby skin. They're new, so they
Speaker 1: don't have any of that old damage that was on
Speaker 1: the older skin cells, if that makes any sense. And
Speaker 1: and the other thing that's great about chemical peels is that,
Speaker 1: oh I said the sea word again, that they're safe peels,
Speaker 1: that they're safe for all skin tones, and there's not
Speaker 1: a lot out there that can make a difference for
Speaker 1: darker skin tones that uh I can do all those things.
Speaker 1: So it's really, you know, it's kind of like an
Speaker 1: old school treatment almost peels. They've been around forever. They're
Speaker 1: not like, you know, they're not that trendy, but they
Speaker 1: work and they're safe and they're consistent. That's what I
Speaker 1: love about people. So apparently you had a lot of
Speaker 1: problems with your skin as a teenager. And that's how
Speaker 1: your dad is a dermatilgist. Is that correct? So my
Speaker 1: dad was actually an emergency room doctor, and my dad
Speaker 1: is no longer with us, but he is the brilliant
Speaker 1: inventor of the v I peel. So I can I
Speaker 1: would like, I are stories really special. I'm the CEO now,
Speaker 1: but originally I'm actually the first person to ever have
Speaker 1: the v I peel done, and the v I p
Speaker 1: was actually created from me, which so special. I know,
Speaker 1: I got a peel made for me. There's nothing better.
Speaker 1: But I mean, it really starts from a bad place
Speaker 1: because when I was fourteen, I started to develop really
Speaker 1: cystic acne, mostly in the lower part of my face.
Speaker 1: I was ashamed of my face. I was painfully shy.
Speaker 1: I was depressed. I mean I would wake up with
Speaker 1: a breakout and I thought my life was over. Acne
Speaker 1: ruled my life. Acne held me back, It didn't allow
Speaker 1: me to be myself. It really psychologically affected me and
Speaker 1: to this day. To be honest, I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: sometimes you never get over that kind of stuff. And
Speaker 1: I know it's just the outside, but but the outside
Speaker 1: is important. The outside is important, so we're not going
Speaker 1: to downplay that. We don't want to over emphasize it either,
Speaker 1: But the outside does have a lot to do with
Speaker 1: how you feel about yourself. So you say that the
Speaker 1: skin peel works for all types of skin. I've not
Speaker 1: tried it just because I can't seem to find a
Speaker 1: time when because you have to be out of the
Speaker 1: public eye for a minute because you look crazy your
Speaker 1: skin is peeling. It's not I've seen it, Marie. I've seen.
Speaker 1: I've had a friend who had it done, and when
Speaker 1: I saw I was like, oh my god, what's going
Speaker 1: on with your face? Going through a peel? It's really
Speaker 1: cathartic when you see that old skin and like all
Speaker 1: the damage falling off, You're like, oh, this is so good.
Speaker 1: It feels so good. What you kind of look like
Speaker 1: a snake when they're shedding that that's what it kind
Speaker 1: of looks. It looks like, That's what it looks like
Speaker 1: to me. I don't want to do it, and I
Speaker 1: actually feel like, I actually feel like I need it
Speaker 1: because I I am going through this thing now where
Speaker 1: I actually cannot Although I typically don't do it anyway,
Speaker 1: but now I definitely cannot go out of the house
Speaker 1: too much or not too far anyway without foundation on
Speaker 1: because I've developed these like dark spots, and I think
Speaker 1: that some people, some of the doctors that have looked
Speaker 1: at my skin feel like it's from the sun. It's
Speaker 1: definitely from the sun. You love. I love the sun.
Speaker 1: I do love the sun. So I don't know you.
Speaker 1: I don't know that the chemical peel would make a
Speaker 1: difference in that. So v I PEO loves a patient
Speaker 1: like you. We would use the v I p O
Speaker 1: with Precision plus for your skin because that's going to
Speaker 1: address sun damage. So any UV photo damage that you have,
Speaker 1: if someone has melasma, dark spots, hyper pigmentation, that peel
Speaker 1: is designed to do all of that heavy lifting and
Speaker 1: really bring out that glow that sits behind yeah, the
Speaker 1: dark spots under your eyes. And the v I peel
Speaker 1: was actually originally created in Miami, that's where we're from,
Speaker 1: which is like the capital of sun damage. You know,
Speaker 1: it was really made for that. So how much time
Speaker 1: would I need to hide me. I've got a system down.
Speaker 1: I've got a system. Okay. Let's so it really depends
Speaker 1: on your schedule. But let's say you want to peel
Speaker 1: over the weekend. Everyone's different. Some people like to peel
Speaker 1: over the weekend and be on Monday. Look fine. If
Speaker 1: you want to peel over the weekend, you get the
Speaker 1: peels on Thursday, Thursday and Friday, you're gonna look amazing.
Speaker 1: You're gonna glow. Your skin is gonna be tight. Saturday
Speaker 1: and Sunday is when the peeling is going to happen.
Speaker 1: By Monday, you might have a little bit of peeling
Speaker 1: like on the outer, but nothing. No one's going to
Speaker 1: see it now. If you want to appeal during the week,
Speaker 1: you can get it done. On Monday, Tuesday, you're gonna
Speaker 1: look great, and then Wednesday, Thursday you'll peel. So forty
Speaker 1: eight hours after you have it done is when you peel,
Speaker 1: and you peel for about two days. I find that,
Speaker 1: you know, women aren't hiding as much, which I love.
Speaker 1: I think they're being a little bit more open about
Speaker 1: what they've had. It's appeal. It's not a cosmetic surgery.
Speaker 1: It's not changing the way you look. It's just bringing
Speaker 1: your skin back to its healthy state that you originally had.
Speaker 1: So it's not something to be ashamed of. That's what
Speaker 1: I think. No I don't feel that way at all
Speaker 1: about the people. I just think that you just look
Speaker 1: so crazy when it's being done, like your skin is peeling.
Speaker 1: Do you have a condition? Are you? Is it contagious,
Speaker 1: a little shoot or anything? On those days like you
Speaker 1: and you can't wear makeup. You can't wear makeup while
Speaker 1: you're having it done. You can? You can, Yes, you can.
Speaker 1: So you're saying you can wear makeup, you can. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Some people go out that night that they get the
Speaker 1: peel done because they love the way they look. They
Speaker 1: glow and their skin gets really tight, kind of looks
Speaker 1: like you've got a facelift. You can wear makeup. You
Speaker 1: can wear makeup, but then but then when it's actually
Speaker 1: peeling off, when you're going through those days appealing, then
Speaker 1: you should not wear makeup. You can wear makeup if
Speaker 1: you want. You can wear makeup with you. I just
Speaker 1: ask that you don't wear any makeup with like dirty
Speaker 1: ingredients in it, or like really heavy makeup. But you
Speaker 1: can wear like a light C C cream if you want,
Speaker 1: are tinted moisturizer. Absolutely. I don't want women to have
Speaker 1: downtime and skip a beat in their life, like we
Speaker 1: have to live our lives like, we have stuff to do,
Speaker 1: we don't have time to hide. Now, are peels good
Speaker 1: for men and women? We know that they are good
Speaker 1: for all skin tones, but are they good for men
Speaker 1: and women? Definitely? And I actually think when you look
Speaker 1: at all the treatments on the market, peels are one
Speaker 1: of the best for men just because again, it's just
Speaker 1: bringing your skin back to its healthy state. It's not
Speaker 1: changing the way you look. I know, men get about
Speaker 1: all these cosmetic procedures. They don't want to look feminine
Speaker 1: or different. It's not doing that. It's just making your
Speaker 1: skin look beautiful again. And how often should you get appeal?
Speaker 1: So I typically I do a series of three peels,
Speaker 1: so I get appeal every four weeks in a series
Speaker 1: of three, and then when I'm done with that series,
Speaker 1: I will do maintenance at once a quarter, just to
Speaker 1: maintain the glow and the healthiness. Because throughout you guys
Speaker 1: have not seen Wendy, but let me just tell you,
Speaker 1: her skin is like perfection. It is so smooth and
Speaker 1: creamy looking. I mean that when that was when I
Speaker 1: met her, I was like, oh my god, look at her.
Speaker 1: Look at her. Yeah. Now that's the other thing. Do
Speaker 1: I want to say anything more about peels. Oh, now,
Speaker 1: before we get off the peels, before we jump into botox.
Speaker 1: Now they're saying that, you're saying that you've created a
Speaker 1: peal for the body. Yes, we just launched that late
Speaker 1: last year, and that was made for people suffering from
Speaker 1: sun damage on the chest, on the hands so often, okay,
Speaker 1: complain that their hands kind of show their age. We
Speaker 1: don't want that anymore. We want your hands to match
Speaker 1: your beautiful face. Back me. Also like dark elbows and knees,
Speaker 1: even dark under arms, okay. And strawberry legs. Strawberry legs also,
Speaker 1: now what strawberry legs. I'm glad you asked. So that's
Speaker 1: what dermatologists call. This condition is defined by dermatologists as
Speaker 1: when the hair follicles are pigmented and look like little
Speaker 1: black seeds and a strawer. The peel can go in
Speaker 1: and lift that pigment from the hair follicle so that
Speaker 1: when someone wants to have that smooth, natural, clear, and
Speaker 1: satisfying look to the leg, they do the v I
Speaker 1: peel body to get that look. And that condition that
Speaker 1: they're treated for is called strawberry So it may present
Speaker 1: itself in Caucasian skin as red. You see little red
Speaker 1: spots all over the legs. But in skin of color,
Speaker 1: you're gonna see what we call the little black guys,
Speaker 1: like strawberries. I know exactly what you're talking about, Okay, okay.
Speaker 1: And so where do people usually get the peels done?
Speaker 1: Is this something that you get done in the doctor's
Speaker 1: office or it's done with your estheticians, like at a spa,
Speaker 1: a medical spa treatment. Yes, so both doctor's offices, plastic surgeons, dermatologists,
Speaker 1: and then of course medical spas. Basically, anywhere you can
Speaker 1: find botox, you're probably going to find peels. Yeah, It's
Speaker 1: not something that you go and buy in the drug
Speaker 1: store though. You know what, there's such a variety of peels.
Speaker 1: There's light peels, there are over the counter peels, and
Speaker 1: there's light peels you can have in an office, and
Speaker 1: then there's really deep peels. So there are some that
Speaker 1: you could do at home, but they're not going to
Speaker 1: be the same results as the one you get in
Speaker 1: and all you know, having nice skin, to me can
Speaker 1: really blue someone's self esteem. I know it did for
Speaker 1: me having the moles removed. I mean I just felt
Speaker 1: so much much younger because I looked younger, you know.
Speaker 1: And so do you feel like if you look good
Speaker 1: on the outside, you'll feel good on the inside or
Speaker 1: is it the other way around or is it a
Speaker 1: little bit of both. I actually think it's a little
Speaker 1: bit of both, because I think your inside is just
Speaker 1: as important. What do you think, Wendy, haven't spoken to
Speaker 1: so many women through this aesthetic journey, you know, over
Speaker 1: twenty years in aesthetic medicine. I like in the feeling
Speaker 1: that women get with doing the botox and doing all
Speaker 1: these injectibles or doing you know, appeal or having great skincare.
Speaker 1: I think when people look good, they actually feel good.
Speaker 1: Because I've been so many places and done so many
Speaker 1: events over the years, and women will say, I wouldn't
Speaker 1: have come to this event if I did not have
Speaker 1: my skin together, and now I can come out and
Speaker 1: be myself, and for me as a person, i just
Speaker 1: feel more done and put together and confident, and I'm
Speaker 1: not covering any pain on the inside because I'm feeling
Speaker 1: so good on the outside. And sometimes I think for
Speaker 1: some people that using aesthetic medicine and using these products
Speaker 1: can at times mask the pain on the inside so
Speaker 1: that people can be them their confident selves on the outside.
Speaker 1: What about you, Mario. I mean, there's a lot of
Speaker 1: data out there that shows that if you improve someone's features,
Speaker 1: they can have better quality of life. There's definitely a connection, right.
Speaker 1: I feel the best when I get glammed up. There's
Speaker 1: nothing like getting a blowout and my makeup done. I
Speaker 1: feel like on top of the world. But I believe
Speaker 1: that there you can do everything you want. On the outside,
Speaker 1: you can do all of these things, all these treatments,
Speaker 1: where all the makeup, where all the beautiful clothes. But
Speaker 1: if you can't be happy with yourself stripped down without
Speaker 1: the outside, let's say we have no mirrors. Yes, you higree.
Speaker 1: You have to love yourself inside. And I recently just
Speaker 1: started doing this where I go out without my hair
Speaker 1: and make have done, and I'm like, I love myself,
Speaker 1: like I care what I look like today because I'm
Speaker 1: proud of myself and I know how far I've come.
Speaker 1: And so I hope women can have that relationship too
Speaker 1: with themselves. Yeah, I think you're I think you're exactly right.
Speaker 1: I think we cannot downplay the importance of self care
Speaker 1: and making sure you're taking as much care of the inside,
Speaker 1: you know, and your mental health as you do with
Speaker 1: how your outward appearance. Because at the end of the day,
Speaker 1: for me, you're inside and your mental health is way
Speaker 1: more important than anything that you're showing on the outside.
Speaker 1: And I think one if you're taking care of the inside,
Speaker 1: then it will be reflected, you know, and how you
Speaker 1: and your outward appearance. Yeah, again, I gotta say this.
Speaker 1: I gotta say this. When the hair is on point
Speaker 1: and the skin is right, my confidence is. Let's move
Speaker 1: on a little bit and let's talk a little bit
Speaker 1: about why we think that there's such a stigma around
Speaker 1: esthetic medicine. Because Wendy, you also and this was before
Speaker 1: I even moved out to California. You after I got
Speaker 1: the little DPMs removed, then you turned me onto botox.
Speaker 1: So talk to us about that and why is there
Speaker 1: such a stigma on that because which is really strange
Speaker 1: because as a society, we put so much emphasis on youth.
Speaker 1: So why is everybody surprised and embarrassed that we do
Speaker 1: things to keep ourselves looking young. You know what's strange
Speaker 1: about all of this is that women have become very
Speaker 1: accepting of neurotoxins. That's what Botox and the other brands
Speaker 1: that that soften and and relax those wrinkles on the forehead.
Speaker 1: And it's funny how they have been so accepting and
Speaker 1: embracing botox now, but they take issue with appeal having
Speaker 1: a chemical peel, but they don't mind a needle coming
Speaker 1: toward the eyes. And you even and you, in fact,
Speaker 1: not having had a chemical peel, You're like, no, my
Speaker 1: face is gonna peel, but you gam will allow a
Speaker 1: provider to come towards your eyes and give you injections
Speaker 1: with a neurotoxin. It's kind of funny, right is. But anyway,
Speaker 1: but what women and men tooth for this matter, what
Speaker 1: they tend to love about these neurotoxins, and they're four
Speaker 1: on the market, is that it can soften in the
Speaker 1: hands of the right provider with a precise eye. They
Speaker 1: can soften those things in the face that sometimes make
Speaker 1: people project as angry, or they can lift your brow
Speaker 1: a bit to open your eyes, or for someone that says,
Speaker 1: you know what, when I smile, all you see are
Speaker 1: you see are my gums? They can use it for
Speaker 1: off label purposes to relax that muscle so that the
Speaker 1: lip does not lift so high when someone smiles. So
Speaker 1: it's all these wonderful things that this product can do.
Speaker 1: These products can do for you that enhance who you
Speaker 1: already are. But as I said previously, what's odd about
Speaker 1: going in and getting a neurotoxin is that women have
Speaker 1: been have become very accepting of needles, but they they
Speaker 1: push back or ask questions about a chemical peel and
Speaker 1: how many days am I peeling? And can I go
Speaker 1: out or can I not go out? And I'm big
Speaker 1: on when someone says, what do what do I need?
Speaker 1: I'm big on the sum of all things, meaning great skincare,
Speaker 1: botox or whatever your neurotoxin is of choice, um, a
Speaker 1: soft tissue filler and chemical peel. It's the some of
Speaker 1: all things that kinda enhance the overall look and add
Speaker 1: to that youthfulness of your appearance. And I think one
Speaker 1: of the things that you said that is so important
Speaker 1: is that Number One, you do your research, or you
Speaker 1: have a good friend like Wendy who knows what the
Speaker 1: hell she's talking about. You know somebody that you trust
Speaker 1: and a professional, because if you go to the wrong person, honey,
Speaker 1: let me tell you come out looking crazy. Maria, tell
Speaker 1: me what are some of the noticeable differences between people
Speaker 1: of color when it comes to their skin. Besides the tone,
Speaker 1: the way that it reacts to injury is very different
Speaker 1: than lighter skin tones. So skin of color, when inflammation happens,
Speaker 1: a lot of the times hyper pigmentation can happen, and
Speaker 1: that did not happen in lighter skin tones. I would
Speaker 1: say that's one of the biggest differences. A lot of
Speaker 1: these treatments that we're talking about, laser injectibles, peels, they're
Speaker 1: controlled injuries, and so if you don't know how to
Speaker 1: do these treatments properly on skin of color, yes, you
Speaker 1: could have side effects that were not intended. Got it,
Speaker 1: Got it. But I also think that we have to
Speaker 1: acknowledge that there is an expense in this, and a
Speaker 1: lot of women don't have access. I think it's for
Speaker 1: the average woman does not have necessarily the funds to
Speaker 1: spend on this type of cosmetic enhancement. It's just not important.
Speaker 1: So they need to stick to making sure that they're using,
Speaker 1: you know, the right products on their skin just for
Speaker 1: cleansing and moisturizing and protection from the sun. Even just
Speaker 1: doing that is worth Yeah, it's an absolute benefit and
Speaker 1: I'm a huge fan of sun protection, so sunscreen. I'm
Speaker 1: fortunate enough that I came into this industry just at
Speaker 1: age thirty, and sunscreen was you know, you never use
Speaker 1: anything without having sunscreen in your regiment. So I'm so
Speaker 1: glad that wasn't introduced to me very early into my
Speaker 1: current how the importance of yeah, it was not for me.
Speaker 1: It was not for me. I've always been a lover
Speaker 1: of the sun. I would go, I go to the beach,
Speaker 1: sent me down, give me a good book. I put
Speaker 1: my suntan lotion on, suntan lotion, not sun black, okay,
Speaker 1: and come back and get me at six o'clock when
Speaker 1: it's time to go to dinner. It was crazy. I
Speaker 1: just never I never concerned myself about getting skin cancer,
Speaker 1: you know, because I'm black, and in my mind the
Speaker 1: melanin in my skin protecting me from that. And that
Speaker 1: is so not true. It's so not true, complete Maya,
Speaker 1: And and we really have to and if I had
Speaker 1: known better, I would have done better, you know. And
Speaker 1: so now I'm dealing with dark spots and what have you.
Speaker 1: But you know, when you learn better, you do better. Anyway,
Speaker 1: moving on, lastly, I want to talk to you guys
Speaker 1: about something the company has launched called the Brown Skin Agenda,
Speaker 1: because it's fantastic. What is the Brown Skin Agenda, Wendy,
Speaker 1: and why did you launch it? So? Maria and I
Speaker 1: got together very early on with me coming to work
Speaker 1: for Maria, and both of us decided together that we
Speaker 1: needed to do something that would dispel misinformation, that would
Speaker 1: be unbranded and unbiased education for providers and consumers. And
Speaker 1: so together we formed the Brown Skin Agenda so that
Speaker 1: we can promote the advancement of treatment protocols and skincare
Speaker 1: solutions and skin of color. Because we know that America
Speaker 1: has ethnic skin, but yet only ten percent of physicians
Speaker 1: are dermatologists and plastic surgeons of black and Hispanic descent.
Speaker 1: So we said, you know what, what if we put
Speaker 1: together the top dermatologists and plastic surgeons in the country,
Speaker 1: those that typically work for big companies that bring in
Speaker 1: big bucks. I said, what if we knock on the
Speaker 1: doors of some of our friends in the industry and
Speaker 1: we form a physician lad advisory panel by which these
Speaker 1: individuals can come together and speak to new age treatments
Speaker 1: for skin of color and dispel some of a myth
Speaker 1: that come with skin of color and really educate those
Speaker 1: providers that may see a patient of color that comes
Speaker 1: in and says, Doc, what can I know? You took
Speaker 1: care of my agne for me, but all these dark
Speaker 1: spots on my face, what can we do about that?
Speaker 1: No one wants to hear the response of oh, they
Speaker 1: have just fade away. No, No, dark spots don't just
Speaker 1: fade away. And so those providers that are seeing folks
Speaker 1: of color need to hear from their colleagues that are
Speaker 1: esteemed and and working with skin of color, understand how
Speaker 1: to prescribe, how to treat, and really understand the emotional
Speaker 1: component that comes with having brown and black skin, so
Speaker 1: that everyone feels that, you know, they're not different in
Speaker 1: terms of how they're treated when they go in seeking
Speaker 1: help for their skin. So that was the premise of
Speaker 1: Maria and forming the Brown Skin Agenda, and what I
Speaker 1: love about how bold she was and doing this with me. Typically,
Speaker 1: when large farmer companies form something that kind of sort
Speaker 1: of looks like this, it's not unbiased, it's not unbranded,
Speaker 1: and there's a there's an element of control and everything
Speaker 1: is scripted and providers have to stay in a certain
Speaker 1: lane when they present on certain topics and Maria said, now,
Speaker 1: we're not gonna do it that way. It would be
Speaker 1: nice for them to bring in the discussion of v
Speaker 1: I p O or v I p O body or
Speaker 1: anything else that we're working on and doing, she said,
Speaker 1: But what's important is really to get the messaging out there.
Speaker 1: And the messaging can be, you know, everything from we
Speaker 1: just did an i G live with Dr Jeanine Downey
Speaker 1: out of Montclair, New Jersey, and we discussed rosatia and
Speaker 1: skin of color, and then June we have on dad
Speaker 1: hair loss. So we we talk about everything, and it
Speaker 1: has nothing at all to do with what we do
Speaker 1: at Vitality Institute. It's more so focused and centered around
Speaker 1: how can we help providers that are treating skin of
Speaker 1: color and then how can we help the consumers that
Speaker 1: are going into these practices seeking help. And you don't
Speaker 1: want someone saying that that dark spots will fade and
Speaker 1: when someone's losing hair, oh, it's just hormonal. The hair
Speaker 1: comes back, or they say, oh, yeah, that's because you're
Speaker 1: wearing braids or what have you know, there's there's deeper
Speaker 1: things that go into why these situations present themselves. Got
Speaker 1: it last question. It will be summer soon. What should
Speaker 1: people with brown or black skin be aware of as
Speaker 1: we enter warmer weather and people are outdoors more. Any
Speaker 1: skin care tip. Let's start with you, Maria. I think
Speaker 1: we've driven home the point that you need to wear sunscreen.
Speaker 1: You need to. But by the way, I am a
Speaker 1: sun worshiper too. I'm from Miami again and I'm Cuban Lebanese,
Speaker 1: like we love the sun. I'm basically like from the desert,
Speaker 1: but I love the sun. Everything in moderation, That's what
Speaker 1: we say. Everything in moderation except sunscreen. Don't use that
Speaker 1: in moderation. The sun is good for you. You need
Speaker 1: a little vitamin D. You do, but you don't want
Speaker 1: to overdo it. I mean, that's what I would say.
Speaker 1: And I would say, don't stop using good skincare or
Speaker 1: doing treatments in the summer. Don't be scared to be
Speaker 1: using You need to use them all year round. Some
Speaker 1: people cycle off things in the summer. It's not a
Speaker 1: time to go on vacation for your skincare. Yeah, what
Speaker 1: about you? But she took the words right out of
Speaker 1: my mouth. I always tell friends, family that you know,
Speaker 1: beauty is a full time job, so you don't get
Speaker 1: to take the summer off and say, you know what,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna really hang out in the sun, no sunscreen,
Speaker 1: and I'm gonna do what I need to. You know,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna vacation and I'm gonna do all these things
Speaker 1: during the summer, and then I'm gonna run in to
Speaker 1: see my specialists in September to do laser, to do peels,
Speaker 1: to do you know, step up my skincare. And really
Speaker 1: what I want to really drive home to everyone is
Speaker 1: you need really great sun protection. You need a vitamin
Speaker 1: A and you need a vitamin C. And those are
Speaker 1: low barrier cost items that you can purchase from a
Speaker 1: dermatologist or plastic surgeon or medi spa. But I'm really
Speaker 1: big on aggressive sun protection during the summer. Incorporate that
Speaker 1: with a vitamin A and a vitamin C, and I
Speaker 1: think you you should be all right keeping those three
Speaker 1: three things um on your bathrooms, okay, and in your
Speaker 1: bag when you man, you got me with the vitamin A.
Speaker 1: I have the vitamin C, but not vitamin A. Gotta
Speaker 1: have vitamin A. That's your that's your retinoid. That's that's
Speaker 1: gonna help with cellular healthy, cellular turnover. Okay, got it, Okay,
Speaker 1: I'm okay, I'm goody okay o good. Alright. So okay,
Speaker 1: because so it's really really hot here today, I'm gonna go.
Speaker 1: I have to say I took my umbrella's down at
Speaker 1: my pool. So I will put my umbrella out because
Speaker 1: I want to try to leave the studio and go
Speaker 1: home and try to catch some sun and just relax.
Speaker 1: It's the end of the week. I just want to
Speaker 1: relax by my pool. I will put up my umbrella
Speaker 1: and I will put up my son put on my sunscreen.
Speaker 1: I promise. Can I tell you one thing so that
Speaker 1: I know that you're using the correct amount of sunscreen.
Speaker 1: Dorms have this trick that they use. It's called a
Speaker 1: two finger rule. So you pull out two fingers and
Speaker 1: then you run the sunscreen down each finger and then
Speaker 1: you place that into the palm of the hand. Warm
Speaker 1: the sunscreen between the hands, and it's particularly helpful for
Speaker 1: skin of colors, so you don't have that white cast
Speaker 1: on the skin. And then you apply and most people
Speaker 1: just don't use enough sunscreen, so they'll go, oh, I
Speaker 1: use it, I use it, or they go, oh it's
Speaker 1: in my makeup. It's in my makeup. It's just not enough.
Speaker 1: So you need a standalone sunscreen and you have to
Speaker 1: use a very moderate amount. Yeah, so got to Okay,
Speaker 1: that sounds like a lot, but okay, Wendy, it is. Okay,
Speaker 1: I'll do the two finger tests because you're probably right.
Speaker 1: I'm using sunscreen, but I'm probably not using You're probably
Speaker 1: using an Yeah, as you're probably just pushing out enough. Okay,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna get better. When you know better, you do better. Okay,
Speaker 1: now it's time for the segment. Wouldn't you like to
Speaker 1: know before you go? Wendy and Maria. I have a
Speaker 1: couple of questions I'd like to know from both of you,
Speaker 1: and we will start with you. Maria. Okay, okay, what
Speaker 1: book are you currently reading? They're easy, they're easy. I
Speaker 1: have two toddlers, so I don't have time to read
Speaker 1: any books. Got it? And and I'm a CEO, that's
Speaker 1: a reasonable answer. When I do have time for reading,
Speaker 1: I want to read the Victor Frankel book That's Man's
Speaker 1: Search for the Meaning of Life. I heard that was
Speaker 1: an amazing inspirational book. I just need to find the
Speaker 1: time to read it. I got you, got You. What
Speaker 1: is one thing you want to get off your chest, Maria,
Speaker 1: One thing that I want to get off of my
Speaker 1: chest is that beauty comes from the inside. It doesn't
Speaker 1: come from the outside. It's not in the eye of
Speaker 1: the beholder. No one's gonna You can't wait for someone
Speaker 1: else to tell you're beautiful. You need to look in
Speaker 1: the mirror every day and tell yourself you're beautiful because
Speaker 1: it starts with you. That's where true love comes from yourself.
Speaker 1: I love that. I love that absolutely, I love that.
Speaker 1: And what's a motto that you live by? You got this?
Speaker 1: Because I go through life a lot of the time.
Speaker 1: Yeah I'm not always sure about what I'm doing, or
Speaker 1: I don't have all the answers. I just you know,
Speaker 1: pump myself up, cheer myself on, and I'm like, you
Speaker 1: got this, You're gonna get through it. You're gonna That's
Speaker 1: how I've gotten here, honestly, got it perfect? And where
Speaker 1: can people find you? On social media? So I'm on
Speaker 1: social media at Maria Khalil Okay, well in I G
Speaker 1: based on I G okay, got you? When do your turn?
Speaker 1: What book are you currently reading? I'm waiting for Amazon
Speaker 1: to deliver Will Smith's book. I want to read that book.
Speaker 1: You know what, I have a suggestion for you. Yes,
Speaker 1: I think that you should get the audio book. The
Speaker 1: audio book is so fun. It's so fun to listen.
Speaker 1: He does it himself. He has incorporated music in it.
Speaker 1: It's such a fun listen. So I have the hard
Speaker 1: copy to sit on the shelf and then i'll I'll
Speaker 1: now order the audio and but you need to listen
Speaker 1: to the audio book. Yeah, okay, all right. What is
Speaker 1: one thing you want to get off your chest that
Speaker 1: I need to ask for help? I'm fifty two, soon
Speaker 1: to be fifty three, that I have such a hard
Speaker 1: time asking for I do, and so I'm trying to
Speaker 1: undo that bad habit of not asking for help because
Speaker 1: people love me, people care for me, people respect me.
Speaker 1: And I've just got to ask for help when I
Speaker 1: need it. And I have not been asking for help,
Speaker 1: and I need help in certain areas, and I don't
Speaker 1: ask for help because I wasn't brought up that way
Speaker 1: to ask for things. So I'm learning to ask for Yeah,
Speaker 1: you're still suffering from the superwoman complex. Yeah, I get that,
Speaker 1: I am. Yeah. Yeah, what's the motto that you live
Speaker 1: by assume positive intent. Ah, yeah, assume positive intent. And
Speaker 1: that's the same thing as what my grandparents would would
Speaker 1: have said, you know, in the seventies, give people the
Speaker 1: benefit of the doubt. But it's the same thing as assumed.
Speaker 1: I like that, So I don't. Yeah, I assume positive intent,
Speaker 1: and it's hard for me to I don't. It's hard
Speaker 1: for me to judge people because my grandparents would always say,
Speaker 1: over and over and over again, get people to be
Speaker 1: maybe this happened or maybe that happened. And so my
Speaker 1: mind is primed and conditioned to feel and see the
Speaker 1: world that way, and I've sort of redefined it and
Speaker 1: more modern as assume assume positive intent. I like that. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: that's really me. Where can people find you on social media? Wendy? So,
Speaker 1: I am on Facebook as Wendy Pittman, but I live
Speaker 1: on Instagram, so it's Wendy underscore Pittman. Follow me. They're awesome.
Speaker 1: I learned so much for having us sunscreen. Yay, let
Speaker 1: me tell you some real funny game my dad would call.
Speaker 1: My dad calls it sunscreen sun screen, sun sunscreen, And
Speaker 1: that's our show for today. Guys. You can follow me
Speaker 1: online at Gammy nars also help us out by leaving
Speaker 1: a five star review on Apple Podcasts and by hitting
Speaker 1: the follow button on I Heart Radio. Stay grateful, y'all,
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, guys. Fine, So, here are my takeaways
Speaker 1: when it comes to skincare. Make sure you do your
Speaker 1: research and make sure you're working with licensed professionals. Number two,
Speaker 1: Recognizing that skincare can be costly, make sure the very
Speaker 1: least you're cleansing, moisturizing, and using plenty of sunscreen. Number
Speaker 1: three sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen, and number four remember beauty starts
Speaker 1: within positively. Gam is produced by Red Table Talk Podcast
Speaker 1: and I Heart Radio. Executive producers are Adrian Vanfieldnaris Valin
Speaker 1: Jethrow and Jada Pinkett Smith. Our audio engineer is Calvin Bayliff,
Speaker 1: and our associate producer is Irene Bishoff Burger. Our theme
Speaker 1: song is produced by d Beats BA