The Future Of Beauty: “New techniques allow for a greater number of candidates to enter the plastic surgery realm” With Dr. Farrokh Shafaie
There are numerous inventions and discoveries today that are able to help people appear younger and healthier. These vary from machines that help tighten the skin, injections that reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, injections such as PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) that promote hair growth, and stem cells that help joint pain. In addition to these procedures, the onset of so many new techniques allow for a greater number of candidates to enter the plastic surgery realm and use a method that works best for them.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Farrokh Shafaie, MD, a board certified plastic surgeon. Practicing in Summit, New Jersey and New York City, Dr. Shafaie combines his extensive plastic surgery training with a holistic approach to give you the best results for you. As a pioneer in utilizing holistic medicine in his work, Dr. Shafaie has been featured in Good Morning America, Vogue, W Magazine and New York Post.
Thank you for joining us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
My father’s family has a long history of physicians. In addition to confidently knowing I wanted to be a physician, it also seemed as though it was a bit of a tradition in our family. When I was 12 years old, my mother had a nose job that I was incredibly impressed by. At such a young age, I was able to observe my mother’s physical and emotional transformation, which inspired me to ultimately help others.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
When I started my practice in 1984, I was not expecting to see any celebrities for at least a few years. In 1989, a very well-known Brazilian popstar entered my office. It was shocking to have such a celebrated and renowned individual personally seek me out, especially during a time where her country had many experienced plastic surgeons. Ultimately, she explained she saw one of her friends that I had operated on, and she loved the results, which is why she visited me personally.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Are there takeaways or lessons that others can learn from that?
I began my career working in a variety of emergency situations. I spent about 10 years practicing all types of surgeries such as reconstructive, cosmetic, and microsurgeries. After this time is when I realized my true passion was to focus on cosmetic surgery within plastic surgery.
Specifically; however, I recall a “tipping point” in my career that involved foreign patients. Patients from France, Italy, Canada, and Germany were calling the office to schedule appointments. Prior to this, I was aware of my demand nationally; however, receiving calls from individuals regarding my personalized facelift technique (Shafaie’s-Lift) was an eye-opener.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
In 1976, I received a letter of deportation from the US Immigration Office to leave the country in ten days. Luckily, I met a lady by the name of Renee on the beach in Cohasset Massachusetts. She was able to secure me a job that allowed me to legally stay in the country long enough to renew my visa. If it wasn’t for her, I question where my life would be today. She allowed me to further my education and create a life for myself in the United States.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. The beauty industry today has access to technology that was inconceivable only a short time ago. Can you tell us about the “cutting edge” (pardon the pun) technologies that you are working with or introducing? How do you think that will help people?
There are numerous inventions and discoveries today that are able to help people appear younger and healthier. These vary from machines that help tighten the skin, injections that reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, injections such as PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) that promote hair growth, and stem cells that help joint pain. In addition to these procedures, the onset of so many new techniques allow for a greater number of candidates to enter the plastic surgery realm and use a method that works best for them.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
I believe there are always potential drawbacks and consequences with the onset of new technologies. However, if you ensure that you go about these techniques under the care of a board-certified Plastic Surgeon who knows how to facilitate and negate potential consequences, there should not be any overt drawbacks in the near future.
Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the “beauty-tech” industry?
The constant pursuit of perfection in the field of cosmetic surgery
The improvements that are being made both with the technology and practices we have been accustomed to for many years.
The research that will result from this, that will in turn promote healthier living and younger looking appearances.
Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?
Concerns
False claims regarding cosmetic products in order to wrongfully convince consumers
Non-authentic results of cosmetic procedures used as advertising
A lack of honesty and transparency between patient and physician
Improvements
More stringent FDA regulations regarding products sold on the market
A way to assess whether advertisements are true results of the product, or if they have been embellished for consumers
Normalize the stigma around plastic surgery in order to allow a more honest conversation between patient and physician.
You are an expert about beauty. Can you share 5 ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”? (Please share a story or example for each.)
Love yourself for who you are, not what you see on social media
Flowers are beautiful, but no 2 flowers look the same. Each have their own beauty, similar to us as individuals.
Do not expect anything in return
If you do something good, do it from the goodness of your heart, not for the result
Ex. Helping others is for you, not for other people to know.
Try to eat healthy
Read ingredients! If you can’t pronounce it, you probably shouldn’t eat it.
Ex. If reading the ingredients is not your cup of tea, I personally try and purchase foods with an ingredient list no longer than 2–3 lines.
Create a routine exercise
The routine is the main aspect to focus on here. Creating a schedule allows for a sense of control, which ultimately helps our overall mental health.
Every morning, look at yourself in the mirror, and no matter how you look, smile and tell yourself “I love you. Today will be a great day for ME”.
This might sound cheesy, but verbalizing positive feedback manifests in your everyday life.
Ex. When I began doing this, I didn’t believe myself. But once it became somewhat of a routine, it was something I looked forward to in order to start my day on a positive note.
Although these suggestions are not necessarily physical, I have always incorporated a holistic approach to my practice. I believe focusing internally is the first step toward feeling beautiful externally.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
As the Persian Prophets suggest: Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
In moments of unhappiness, loss, and defeat, you recognize how fragile life truly is. We never know what the next moment will hold. The death of both JFK Jr. and Kobe Bryant had emotional and lasting impacts on me. Two men who seemed so full of life and invincible, taken away. I find it necessary to step back and observe the true beauty and blessings in life. Enjoy the moment, do not envy anybody’s happiness or success, and always think about what you can do to light up your internal spirit and flame.
The Future Of Beauty: “Energy devices that can stimulate muscles and reduce fat” With Dr. Bill G Kortesis
…Oh wow! Where to even begin? There are SO MANY incredible things happening in beauty tech right now.
Energy devices are ground breaking right now. Some of the tech is truly remarkable in its ability to stimulate muscles and reduce fat in ways we never thought possible outside of surgery.
I am also excited about the individualized fillers and neurotoxins becoming available. To have the ability to target certain body parts and achieve the desired results of that specific body part is game-changing.
And ergonomic breast implants that are cohesive (stable) but also malleable and feel like a natural breast. They can be truly life-changing on a reconstructive level.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Bill G. Kortesis, MD, FACS.
Dr. Kortesis is an award-winning, board-certified plastic surgeon specializing in both reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. Dr. Kortesis earned his Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and his graduate education at Wake Forest School of Medicine. In addition to being a co-owner and partner with HKB Cosmetic Surgery in Charlotte, North Carolina, Dr. Kortesis is active on fourteen medical advisory and/or tech advisory boards. He also travels globally as a speaker and educator regarding topics ranging from “Post Modern Ways of Reaching and Connecting with Patients” to “Trends in Fat Grafting to Optimize Aesthetic Outcomes”. To help foster the next generation of aesthetic medical breakthroughs and advancements, and massively improve the future of beauty for every human being, he’s partnered with stakeholders, entrepreneurs, and small business owners to help facilitate funding and investments for medical startups. By staying at the forefront of cutting-edge advancements and investing in med-tech startups, he believes we can modernize the standard of care, deliver an unparalleled patient experience, and usher in the next generation of aesthetic medical breakthroughs.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I’ve always known that I wanted to be a doctor. It was a dream of mine from watching all of the medical television shows as a child. Shout out to Neil Patrick Harris, aka, Doogie Howser, M.D!
I was raised by immigrant parents who instilled a strong work ethic in me and instilled the desire to do better for the family and help everyone back home in Greece.
Once I started medical school, I thought for sure I was going to be a surgeon and when I did my plastic surgery rotation, I fell in love. I realized that I wanted to improve people’s confidence and provide them with a greater sense of self in any way that I could. There are so many beautiful things about this specialty that allows the opportunity to do such a variety of surgical procedures on all ages and all types of people.
On top of being a surgeon, I felt I needed to do more. I realized that I still had more to give within my field and the business side to the aesthetic industry always intrigued me. One of the main reasons I started plastic surgery was its link to business acumen.
Growing the aesthetic industry as a whole has been my passion. I am obsessed with making it better for patients and society as a whole.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I went on a mission trip to Bolivia and helped a lot of burn victims, which were children. As the mission trip was coming to a close, the community celebrated us with a parade. The entire experience was very emotional and I will never ever forget it.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Are there takeaways or lessons that others can learn from that?
The big thing for me was/is always striving to do better and answering the drive from within to always make success mandatory and not settle for less.
It’s funny, in a way, because I still don’t consider myself a success. Is success ever truly reached?
There is so much more to do and more to accomplish. So much more to grow, so many more people to help, and much more to impact. The journey truly never ends when the calling is so great.
Lessons: Always be the hardest worker in the room and always aim to make those around you better.
Lead by example.
Be humble and be hungry.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
My parents showed me the value of perseverance. Through their experiences and through mine, I can say for a fact that with hard work and the tools God gives, dreams can be reality.
Honestly, every person I have met along the way gave me a piece of themselves to help me shine. This isn’t lost on me and that is why I am so dedicated to giving back and paying it forward.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. The beauty industry today has access to technology that was inconceivable only a short time ago. Can you tell us about the “cutting edge” (pardon the pun) technologies that you are working with or introducing? How do you think that will help people?
Oh wow! Where to even begin? There are SO MANY incredible things happening in beauty tech right now.
Energy devices are ground breaking right now. Some of the tech is truly remarkable in its ability to stimulate muscles and reduce fat in ways we never thought possible outside of surgery.
I am also excited about the individualized fillers and neurotoxins becoming available. To have the ability to target certain body parts and achieve the desired results of that specific body part is game-changing.
And ergonomic breast implants that are cohesive (stable) but also malleable and feel like a natural breast. They can be truly life-changing on a reconstructive level.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
People should think about maintenance. For instance, say a patient gets amazing results with fat reduction in a certain area, if the patient starts fluctuating in weight rather than maintaining his or her weight, fat can be redistributed in certain areas and it can look very awkward.
Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the “beauty-tech” industry?
Energy-based devices that are changing things at the cellular level
Longer acting neuromodulators
Ergonomic implants
Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?
Accessibility concerns me. I want all patients to have access to the BEST treatments from reliable providers.
We need exponential growth of ways to avoid actual surgery. If every cosmetic procedure could have a nonsurgical variance that provides the same results as an actual invasive surgery, that would be considered a success of unparalleled proportion. (It would also lend itself to bettering the accessibility concern I mentioned before.)
I want more regenerative products available. The human body fixing itself with human-like products is always the best-case scenario.
You are an expert about beauty. Can you share 5 ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”? (Please share a story or example for each.)
Invest in things that give you confidence! Confidence is everything because if you feel good about yourself, it radiates to the world. If you have something that is keeping you from projecting your best self, you deserve the opportunity to change it.
Some things that can raise your confidence:
I know it sounds simple, and maybe even old-fashioned, but USE SUNSCREEN. If it doesn’t make you feel beautiful now, it will in about ten years.
Botox and fillers can tackle such big for such little effort. There is a reason these are “classic” cosmetic procedures . . . they work and are reliable. Classics are classics for a reason!
Microneedling with RF energy or with retinol. I have seen some dramatic results on deep lines and wrinkles with this procedure. Energy technology is here to stay and it’s only getting better. It’s truly incredible!
While beauty is definitely not just skin deep, use a medical-grade skincare. People who take care of their skin and protect it have better self-confidence because our skin is a big part of first impressions.
Mostly, surround yourself with people who make you FEEL beautiful. I have patients who, by society’s standards, are the perfect example of outward beauty, but they have very distorted perceptions of their beauty and value due to outside influences.
Be happy and always smiling! These two simple things really bring out one’s inner beauty.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I wouldn’t say it is a movement but it is something I see our world lacking in right now and that is empathy. If empathizing doesn’t come naturally to someone, they should make a concerted effort to practice it. I genuinely believe that if people would wake up every day pledging to have empathy, we would see a world-wide positive shift.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Obsession is not-optional.”
As Kobe Bryant once said, “If you want to be great in a particular area, you have to obsess over it. A lot of people say they want to be great, but they’re not willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve greatness. They have other concerns, whether important or not, and they spread themselves out.”
It’s relevant in my life every single day. When you truly want something, and I mean TRULY want it, you have wake up every single day and work hard for it. Even on days you may not feel like it. Get up. Show up. Empathize. Love.
How can our readers follow you online?
You can visit my personal website www.drbillkortesis.com for everything I have going on outside of my office and you can visit www.hkbsurgery.com for everything inside the office. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn & Twitter, just search for Bill Kortesis MD.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
Find Balance. Feeling beautiful will be easier to achieve when you are in balance. I’ve found being a business owner to be incredibly rewarding, however finding a work-life balance is an ongoing challenge. I find that block scheduling my appointments has helped me achieve a better balance, allowing time for selfcare. Finding balance is not often easy but should be a priority for all of us.
As a part of our series about how technology will be changing the beauty industry over the next five years I had the pleasure of interviewing Stefan Batory.
Stefan Batory is the co-founder and CEO of Booksy. An ardent serial entrepreneur and innovator who has developed and curated companies that are now leaders in his home country of Poland, Stefan developed his latest startup, Booksy, out of personal frustration with trying to schedule appointments over the phone or via text. The company’s mission is to bring peace of mind to scheduling anywhere, anytime. Already on its way to being the first Polish-founded unicorn company, Booksy has relocated its headquarters to the U.S. with the goal of becoming the leading destination marketplace for all appointment-based businesses.
Prior to Booksy, Stefan was founder and CEO of SensiSoft, a software development company with a focus on classified media. During that time, he created and bootstrapped, iTaxi, which disrupted the outdated service industry to transform the way people in Poland hail taxis today.
Stefan is a visionary but also a strongly analytical and dedicated entrepreneur. An accomplished ultra-marathoner who conquered the Gobi Desert, he imbues passion and grit in all aspects of his life.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
It’s a bit of a winding path as to how I got to where I am now, co-founder and CEO of Booksy in San Francisco. I grew up in one of the poorest parts of Poland, but I was given a scholarship and went to high school in Iowa. After I graduated, I moved back to Poland and went to Warsaw University of Technology and graduated with a degree in applied mathematics. After university, I co-founded a start-up called SensiSoft, which was an internet company similar to Yahoo.
Not too long after, the dot com bubble burst, our CEO and head of sales and marketing left, and the company was at a crossroads. At this point, we had a team of engineers and no one with management experience. My co-workers nominated me to lead the team, and I spent my days learning how to run a company, lead a team and try to create success when consumer sentiment in Internet companies was at an all-time low.
The company was also saddled with debt. We were committed and dedicated to seeing the company through, so instead of packing up and taking a loss, we decided to not take salaries until we had paid back all our debts. Since I didn’t get paid, I didn’t have money and I literally ate only potatoes — cheap and filling — for a year. I worked all the time, didn’t exercise and ate poorly. Given the stress and inevitable weight gain, I started running. And then I started running marathons, then ultramarathons. Then I found myself training for one of the most strenuous races in the world — the Gobi March. I soon found myself running hundreds of miles every month, which helped me lose the weight, but I had aches and pains I never had before from the strain of so many miles.
I needed to book time with my massage therapist, but I was trying to reach him after my long runs, which typically happened in the middle of the night. Being a CEO, husband, father and runner meant I got creative about when I ran — usually after midnight. He would get back to me mid-morning, when I was in back to back meetings. This phone and text tag went on over several days, and I still wasn’t able to get in to see him. Through all this back and forth, I realized there had to be a better way to book appointments. We do nearly everything else in life online, so why couldn’t we book appointments for things like stylists, massage therapists, nails…any self-care activity? These were all still booked either in person or on the phone, and given that these practitioners work with their hands, it wasn’t an efficient process.
And this is how Booksy was born — out of a real need on my part, but in talking to independent merchants, I saw how this was also a real need for these individuals as well. Our mission is to bring peace of mind to scheduling anywhere, anytime.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
The best stories I have aren’t specifically related to me, but are focused on the people our technology impacts. With Booksy, we have a real opportunity to help customers improve their lives.
I recently received an email from a barber who uses Booksy to manage his business. He reached out to tell me that Booksy saved his career. He had worked for the same barbershop for 20 years, who didn’t manage the business well. The barbershop went under, which left 11 barbers without a chair. This gentleman however used Booksy and even with this upheaval, he was able to retain his clientbase and maintain his livelihood — while the other barbers had to start from scratch. With a new home and two young children, he credits Booksy with being able to survive in a very dire situation. He is now opening his own shop and wants to help evangelize the beauty world to use Booksy to build and grow their business.
It’s an unusual thing when someone thinks of us in this situation. It’s fascinating and gives you extraordinary energy to work.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Are there takeaways or lessons that others can learn from that?
I had a great pleasure to meet and talk to the founder of Whatsapp, Jan Koum. It was only before the meeting that I checked what the application was (yes, even though millions of people use it, I didn’t know it was). It was a pivotal conversation in the development of Booksy; I understood the network effect and its business potential in building a marketplace. It helped me realize that we have a chance to create a leading global business.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I am fortunate to have had many great mentors and cheerleaders in my life. My family have always been my biggest supporters. They moved across the world to help me as we build Booksy into an international powerhouse.
My co-founder Konrad Howard has been a champion; the success of the business is built on our mutual admiration and determination.
And lastly, we wouldn’t be where we are today without supportive and insightful investors. We’ve been fortunate to have smart investors who trust our instincts and have been fantastic mentors as we disrupt a market that was in desperate need of innovation. From our first investors,Michał Rokosz and Tomasz Swieboda, of Inovo Venture Partners to Zach Coelius, who is a true unicorn whisperer here in the U.S., and everyone in between that is backing us as we develop the leading appointment-based marketplace in the world.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. The beauty industry today has access to technology that was inconceivable only a short time ago. Can you tell us about the “cutting edge” (pardon the pun) technologies that you are working with or introducing? How do you think that will help people?
Our technology is simple and user friendly. The key to success is a precise understanding of both merchant and customer needs. While the interface is simple, understanding the nuances and building this technology that works for either side of the market (consumer and merchant) is extremely complicated. Also, we are addressing business needs as we help to build and support our merchants in their endeavors; and we help in a more personal way, by giving them more time and freedom for their customers and their personal life.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
We don’t see the movement to more access and transparency within the beauty market as a drawback at all. What we do is provide more tools, through technology, to help people better manage and build their business. It’s a net positive: we are giving people their lives back through technology, so they can spend time with their loved ones without it.
Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the “beauty-tech” industry?
There is such incredible potential for the beauty-tech industry; we are a precipice of something huge and I am so thrilled to be a part of it. Things I am excited about:
The potential to do a lot of good for small and independent businesses. We can create opportunities for business and revenue growth that will change the living situation for millions of people, just through helping them promote their passion.
The opportunity to help people feel good. Self-care is in its heyday and right now, we are the connector between helping people feel their best and the proprietors who do just that.
Expansion of marketplaces, like Booksy, that allow people to access a host of information, from reviews to schedules, and also enable people to find new local services, which supports the local economy.
Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?
My biggest concern right now is how small business owners and independent merchants are going to bounce back after the COVID-19 pandemic. Hundreds of thousands of families lost a good portion of their livelihood. Losing so many clients at once was a direct hit to their income, and has had an overall economy as well. It’s really scary, and we at Booksy want to help our merchants get through the worst of it. After all, we consider everyone in our network a part of our family.
You are an expert about beauty. Can you share 5 ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”? (Please share a story or example for each.)
I’m not a beauty expert but the artists and business owners who use the Booksy platform are and we learn a great deal from the trends and ideas they have. One of our merchants, Megan Hollinger from Hollibeauty Salon Studio in Chicago, has some really wonderful tips to make people feel beautiful, inside and out.
1. Education is an incredible gift you can give yourself. Read books, attend local classes or webinars and even go on YouTube and Google — just be curious and learn more about what interests you. For me, I thought I wanted to be a school teacher like my dad, but I realized during my senior year of college I had a natural talent for coloring and styling hair. Through education, both professional and self-taught, I was able to achieve my goals.
2. Be inspired — both professionally and personally. It’s often hard to stay motivated and inspired but it’s extremely important to make time for this. For me, one of the ways I stay inspired is by attending beauty shows. The excitement and creativity I glean from other beauty professionals invigorates me to do more and be better for my customers.
3. Find Balance. Feeling beautiful will be easier to achieve when you are in balance. I’ve found being a business owner to be incredibly rewarding, however finding a work-life balance is an ongoing challenge. I find that block scheduling my appointments has helped me achieve a better balance, allowing time for selfcare. Finding balance is not often easy but should be a priority for all of us.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Right now, I would say that we all have to come together as a community and remain resilient in the face of fear.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favorite quote comes from Alice Walker, and it is what I live my life by: “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”
The Future of Beauty: “Non-Invasive Procedures Are Now Providing Better Results” With Dr. Christopher Zoumalan
I’d like to be a good example for others in this world. There are so many people that are trying to find shortcuts for instant success or happiness. But in my opinion, hard work, motivation, and passion cannot be shortcutted. I want others to hear my story and become motivated to chase their passions, their dreams. Becoming one of a handful of surgeons that specializes in Oculoplastic Surgery takes nearly 15 years of training, from college, to medical school, to internship, residency, and then fellowship. Then once you’re done, you have to start your practice! It sounds daunting, but the joys from this journey are infinite. I confidently can say that my opportunities as an inventor and entrepreneur would not have been possible, nor would have been the success of Skinuva, if it wasn’t for my career as a doctor. From a happiness standpoint, happiness cannot be bought or achieved. It’s a state that we need to constantly remind ourselves that is defined by ourselves.
As a part of our series about how technology will be changing the beauty industry over the next five years I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Christopher Zoumalan, MD FACS.
Christopher Zoumalan MD is a Stanford-trained Oculoplastic Surgeon that sees patients in his private practice in the heart of Beverly Hills. He specializes in cosmetic and reconstructive eyelid surgery. He is one of a handful of surgeons that have received subspecialty training within the Oculoplastic field, having trained at various institutions including Stanford University, NYU and Columbia University. He is a prolific researcher, having published over 75 research articles and book chapters within plastic surgery, scar research, novel topical formulation, and in the neurosciences. Dr. Zoumalan is also an inventor and entrepreneur. He has developed several medical instruments, some of which are now undergoing clinical trials, and has also clinically developed and tested Skinuva Scar cream, a growth factor-based scar cream, which is regarded as one of the most advanced scar creams available to patients. Dr. Zoumalan continues to develop other products within the Skinuva product line, and will be launching their next product out soon, called Skinuva Brite, a novel formulation to improve the appearance of hyperpigmentation in the first quarter of 2020. Dr. Zoumalan also continues to teach and volunteer as an Adjunct Clinical Professor at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I love the path that I have chosen and I look forward every day to waking up, doing what I do. I get to practice as both a plastic surgeon and helping my patients and also as an entrepreneur running my Skinuva line of products. Early on in my medical training, I chose to pursue Ophthalmology during medical school, but was torn between that field and Plastic Surgery. I ultimately decided on Ophthalmology but during my residency training at Stanford, I became exposed to Plastic Surgery again, and realized my passion was not just Ophthalmology, but also Plastic Surgery. My passion for plastic surgery took me to train as an Oculoplastic Surgeon at NYU and Columbia University. Upon finishing my fellowship at NYU, I really wanted to return back to Los Angeles. The job market was terrible, as the US was still in the midst of the recession at that time. Having no solid job offers, I knew that in order to thrive, I needed to start my own practice. Everyone I spoke with tried to turn me away from this concept of starting my own practice, i.e. that “it is impossible”, that “I wouldn’t make it,” that “it’s too risky and too competitive.” Hearing these comments made me even more determined. I realized that I was well-trained, driven, and loved my job, so ultimately, with hard work and my determination, patients would choose to come see me for their care. It wasn’t an easy process, and it took years of hard work, but worth every minute of it. Thankfully, with patience, doing good work on my patients, one patient at a time, I’m now a fully established Oculoplastic Surgeon and living my dream. A few years back, I also began to explore more about developing my own scar cream, which now has lead to be become the CEO and Founder of MD Medical Designs, a company that develops my Skinuva Scar and Skinuva Brite creams, both amazing products that I have created for my physician colleagues and patients. And that’s been an incredible journey as well and I can focus a bit more about the Skinuva story with you during the rest of our interview.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I remember I was a few years into having my own private practice in Beverly Hills, and I was about to make a scar cream re-order from my scar cream sales representative. Scar creams are important post-surgery care products that I provide to my patients in order to best allow my patients’ incisions to heal. But as I was making the order, I kept thinking to myself, is this the best that I can be buying and providing to my patients? From a cost standpoint and also from a technology standpoint, I felt that there was potential to develop a better scar cream on the market. Previously during my Stanford training years, I was taught to see the big picture, think outside the box, and to always ask how I can make this procedure that I’m performing better…better in terms of outcomes sake and better in terms of the patient’s recovery experience. There are various treatments on the market that can help allow a scar to heal well, and most involve the initial use of a scar cream. But I was wondering why there was a lack of advancements, i.e. why weren’t there any other pertinent formulations on the market besides silicone cream? That question got me thinking and thinking outside the box. I began to research other ingredients such as growth factors and others such as Centella Asiatica, Vitamin C, even Aloe Vera, that can be incorporated in a scar cream in addition to silicone cream. So, this inspiration of potential got me motivated to develop my own scar cream. Through several years of formulation trials, and teaming up with the right team of chemists and scientists, then creating and running clinical trials to test the product out, I realized that I had come up with something that worked and worked better than what I was dispensing to my patients prior to its creation. As a result, I decided to launch Skinuva Scar cream to my peers and patients. I launched Skinuva in March of 2018, and since then, the company has grown tremendously. We are now being carried in over 100 doctor’s offices, and have also launched on Amazon for consumers to purchase directly. It’s a great story, and I’m very thrilled to see its growth. We have a lean company but our team is hard-working, dedicated, and passionate. I now can confidently provide my own patients a scar cream that I’ve created and tell them that I have designed this them because I want their scars to heal as well as they possibly can after surgery.
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Are there takeaways or lessons that others can learn from that?
I’d say that the tipping point for Skinuva’s success was about a year ago, when I got a call from my former medical school roommate, who is now a radiologist in the local LA area, telling me that he randomly saw a bottle of Skinuva at his friend’s house. He called me to let me know he was out a friend’s house for a holiday party, and he saw a Skinuva Scar cream bottle in their living room. He asked his friend how they heard about the product, and his friend started to rave about the product and that her dermatologist swears by Skinuva and has all her patients use it after they have any procedure with her. This was a moment that really drove home the fact that Skinuva is here for good and is a quality product line trusted by doctors for their patients.
The interesting thing is that my friend has known about Skinuva Scar cream for a few years now and how I was working on developing it, then clinically testing it, and then to finally moving forward with product manufacturing and launching it to the market. I actually gave his wife one to use after her surgery to remove her pre-cancerous lesion a couple years ago and they were very impressed with the results of the cream on her scar.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Mentorships are key. I would say there are two of them in my life. One is my father. He is a true definition of one that works hard and is motivated. He came to this country with literally nothing but a PhD degree, a new wife (my mother), but a lot of motivation and passion. To this day, he continues to provide that same motivation and passion hard work in his career and as a father, husband, and now grandfather. The other mentor is not just one person, but a group of advisors, or friends, that I have always run my ideas by. I have several friends, now also my wife, that unconditionally want me to succeed. They are positive, honest, and have a lot of advice to give. If I need to run a branding question by someone, I know who to call. If I have a funding question to ask, I know who else to call. It’s important to develop a network of people that you can reach out to with one quick phone call to get their thoughts. If I have a question to run by regarding one of my patients, I know that one doctor colleague I can always rely on. I had to learn how to run a medical practice by myself; I had to learn how to develop Skinuva and launch the company on my own. It’s through such mentorships that I was able to successfully do so.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. The beauty industry today has access to technology that was inconceivable only a short time ago. Can you tell us about the “cutting edge” (pardon the pun) technologies that you are working with or introducing? How do you think that will help people?
I love seeing how plastic surgery continues to focus on advanced techniques and trending toward minimally invasive procedures and/or improving the outcomes and recovery from plastic surgery. There is also a trend where non-invasive procedures are providing better and better results for patients’ cosmetic needs. And what’s encouraging is that a lot of these advancements are backed by clinical trials and showing safe and effective outcomes.
We’re also seeing a lot more skin care products that are being released on the market for consumers. However, I’m not seeing this same level of clinical data and research to support the safety and efficacy of skin care products on the market. And that’s where our Skinuva pipeline of products excels. Our scar cream (Skinuva Scar) and our latest product on hyperpigmentation (Skinuva Brite) both use medical literature and clinical data to show that they are safe and effective. Each of our ingredients have been clinically shown to work through medical literature and our extensive clinical trials, and this is what makes our products so unique. Our products are developed and clinically tested by physicians using the highest clinical standards.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
One of the things that I worry about is the lack of, at least in my opinion, proper research and development of the products that we actually place on our skin. Take for instance, sunscreen. We now know that some of the chemicals found in many sunscreens on the market have been shown to be absorbed through our skin and actually present in our blood in trace levels! Now take that how you want to, but I certainly would not want anything that I apply onto my skin to be absorbed into my blood. When I developed Skinuva Scar, I wanted to make sure that every ingredient that I used was safe to be applied directly on the skin, and undergone extensive testing to make sure it would be OK for long term use. That same thinking went into the development of Skinuva Brite. There has been a recent consumer push to create safe and effective non-hydroquinone products to improve hyperpigmentation. Hydroquinone is an effective product when it comes to hyperpigmentation but its use is controversial due its side effects. It has been associated with cellular toxicity in animal studies, and has side effects that can create issues for patients such as dermatitis and redness. That is why it has been banned as a consumer product in the European Union. The whole reason I developed Skinuva Scar and now Brite to my doctors and community is because I wanted to provide products that have been extensively tested, clinically tested to the highest level, and that are safe and effective for long term use.
Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the “beauty-tech” industry?
The consumer push for safer and effective products. Consumers want safer products and ones that are “clean.” That’s why we’re seeing a push for “cleaner” products, ones that are not animal tested and use organic ingredients, for instance. My push was to make a product that I would feel comfortable using daily for the rest of my life. We use the cleanest ingredients, and we also manufacture our products here in the US.
Clinical data driven product development. Although I’m a doctor at heart, I’m also a scientist and a researcher. The way I developed Skinuva Scar was through clinical data and research. I used my knowledge as a scientist, my experience with skin care as a physician, and my drive to deliver a product to physicians and their patients that’s backed by science.
Beauty-tech’s future is so exciting, and I’m grateful to play some role in it by bringing more awareness to growth factor technology when it comes to skin care. There is so much more that we are wanting to develop using our knowledge about growth factors, skin care, and skin conditions. We can’t wait to tell you what we have in store for future products within our Skinuva pipeline.
Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?
I caution those that soley rely on social media for their medical information. Whether you’re undergoing a medical procedure, purchasing a device, or purchasing even skin care, do your research outside the realms of social media. And even if there’s an instance the procedure or device is promoted by a physician, make sure you do your research to validate that procedure or device. There is so much out there now that is not validated, and that can really create a false sense of expectations to many consumers.
So many skin care products make claims that they do not support. It would be great if we had a panel that evaluates the products manufactured, and asks for clinical data to support the claims that skin care companies wish to make. Everyone can say their product can help, for instance, improve hyperpigmentation, but we need data to back up these statements. Otherwise, consumers falsely build their expectations up for a product that may not work the way it was promoted.
The beauty industry is exploding and growing on a year to year basis. If you ask a woman that uses skin care products and makeup how many skin care products they have and how many products they apply on to their face/lips/eyes daily, it can add up to a lot more than you can imagine. There was a recent study that came out of UC Berkeley which showed that the average teenage girl uses 14 personal products per day, many of which include chemicals that are under-studied. There isn’t much regulation on makeup and skin care products, which is alarming. We don’t have any regulation as to what ingredients should and should not be used. With Skinuva Brite, for instance, we do not use any parabens, silicone, or dyes. And, we’ve undergone extensive dermatologic testing and other laboratory testing (non-animal of course) to make sure our products are safe for long term use. We certainly need better regulation to make sure that our younger generation uses products that been adequately tested and shown to be safe for long term, daily use.
You are an expert about beauty. Can you share 5 ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”? (Please share a story or example for each.)
Try to stay hydrated, it’s good for you.
Use sunscreen, with SPF30, when you are outdoors.
It’s OK to have some maintenance botox and fillers, when done in moderation. But make sure these procedures are performed by a skilled injector with adequate training and experience.
It’s OK to treat yourself to looking beautiful.
It’s OK to undergo a plastic surgery procedure when it’s indicated. Make sure you do your research and meet with a board-certified plastic surgeon, facial plastic surgeon, oculoplastic surgeon, or dermatologist, depending on what procedure you’re having.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I’d like to be a good example for others in this world. There are so many people that are trying to find shortcuts for instant success or happiness. But in my opinion, hard work, motivation, and passion cannot be shortcutted. I want others to hear my story and become motivated to chase their passions, their dreams. Becoming one of a handful of surgeons that specializes in Oculoplastic Surgery takes nearly 15 years of training, from college, to medical school, to internship, residency, and then fellowship. Then once you’re done, you have to start your practice! It sounds daunting, but the joys from this journey are infinite. I confidently can say that my opportunities as an inventor and entrepreneur would not have been possible, nor would have been the success of Skinuva, if it wasn’t for my career as a doctor. From a happiness standpoint, happiness cannot be bought or achieved. It’s a state that we need to constantly remind ourselves that is defined by ourselves.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Short cuts make long delays.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien,
Do things right the first time.
How can our readers follow you online?
I’m on IG at @drchristopherzoumalan and you can follow my Skinuva product line at @skinuva
