How Hayley Fixed Her Skin, Stem Cells and Exosomes to Heal Skin + More

Hey guys, I am Hailey and this is Dr. Charles. Today we actually covered so much whenever it comes to skin. One of the big things that we actually covered was my personal journey with my own skin. I definitely struggled with acne a few years ago and it led to different types of anxiety, depression, things of that sort. So we really just uncovered the new different types of procedures that are coming out in the medical field today, which lead into the regenerative medicine, the stem cell facelift, that type of thing. So super exciting stuff and you guys should definitely watch.

What's up, y'all? Super excited to be doing this podcast here. First of the series with Miss Haley. Haley is a podcaster. She is a content creator and really, really enjoys working with skin. She's an expert in female skin health. And so I just want to chat with you a little bit about skin today, if that's okay.

Super excited for the podcast. This will be so fun. So you guys, this is Dr. Charles Pereira. He is a board-certified physician and stem cell specialist.

I'm super excited to be here. One of the reasons I wanted to chat with you was not just because you care so much about skin, but because you have a history of dealing with skin conditions and have taken it from there to where you are now, which is really impressive. So tell me a story. What happened and what led you here?

Yeah. So whenever it comes down to skin, skin was something that I definitely struggled with. Probably once I got to like the college age, I never had acne, anything of that sort. But whenever I was around 20 years old, I actually went on birth control and it completely messed up my skin. So I had really, really bad cystic acne pretty much all over my face. I also had it on my back. I had it everywhere. It got really, really bad. And I was just looking up every single thing you could try. I probably spent thousands of dollars in procedures and skincare, so many different types of things to try and fix my skin, but nothing was working. So you kind of got to that point where you're just like, you just give up at that point. And that's whenever I ended up actually going off the birth control, and I was looking into Accutane, different things of that sort as well. But I'm more naturalistic, so I didn't want to put something like that into my body. So I decided not to do Accutane and really just start focusing on my diet. So I did I basically took out everything. So I went fully vegan, I took out gluten, I took out dairy, and it still didn't clear up. And I was like, wow, what is— what is even happening right now? And then what I did was I actually cut out sugar. And I found out, like, for me personally, sugar was the biggest impact on my skin. So anytime I have anything sugary, like, I do expect that I'm going to break out, because whenever you have acne-prone skin, that's just something something that I noticed that happened. But for me, I think one of the most incredible things whenever it comes down to skin that I never knew before I went through having any types of skin problems is the mental strain that it causes people. And I think that a lot of times whenever people are focused on, you know, I feel like whenever you have it, you're focused on it more than other people, but it definitely can cause some mental, mental health issues for sure.

And cystic acne is kind of the worst kind of acne you can get because it's those big pustules. Oh my goodness. Yeah, usually it leaves a lot of scars.

Yeah, it definitely does.

What is your routine like? So what do you put on your skin to kind of probably help the scars that you already had and prevent new scars from coming? Because I honestly can't see a single scar. I've seen you without—

I definitely have a little bit of scarring, but it's gotten a lot better. And that's mainly just because I avoid sugar and things of that. So I'm not breaking out as much, but What I personally do, I guess, besides diet, is I really focus on like AHAs, BHAs, like chemical exfoliants, things of that sort, is something that has definitely helped me. But I use natural-based products. So I actually use a product line that is from Germany and it uses hydroxytyrosol in it, which is actually an element from the olive leaf. And it's been really, really incredible for my skin. So it's, it's helped be able to— they say it's about 30 times more potent than vitamin C. So it's anti-aging, actually has like non-cancerous benefits, things of that sort as well. So I also drink hydroxytyrosol like ingestibly as well.

So, okay, so how did you find— this is sound like stuff that a doctor would tell you to go and do. So how did you find out about this? Where do you go to kind of source this so that you can use it?

Yeah. So for me, I, I stumbled across like I used to not be this way, but like, have you ever heard of like the crunchy, like crunchy moms, like that type of I stumbled across some of those pages on Instagram, and I just saw these women having incredible glow-ups with their skin. People who have been on Accutane, people have taken all these medications. And like I said, I was kind of at that point where I just kind of gave up and was like, it is what it is at this point. And that's whenever I decided to try it, and I started taking the ingestibles. Also, they help a lot with inflammation, like facial inflammation, body inflammation, um, which obviously is the hydroxytyrosol element in it, which is really incredible.

So, so you talked a little bit, you kind of breezed over it slightly about kind of the confidence piece or having an emotional response to having bad skin.

Yeah.

Would you be okay telling us what that was like and how you overcame it?

Absolutely. I want to get vulnerable.

Let's do it.

Okay. So for me, whenever it came down to skin. And this is very interesting because I feel like a lot of people don't know the effects it can have on somebody with their mental state. So for me, it caused a lot of anxiety. It also caused like small moments of depression where, um, it was more so depression where I just didn't want to go do anything. Like, I didn't want to go out with my friends, which was very unnatural for me. I didn't want to be social. So whenever your acne gets so bad, you can't even cover it up at that point. Like, whenever you have really cystic acne, like, if you cover it up, it just makes it look worse at that point. So I kind of just would avoid people, and it kind of just like puts you into a spiral because whenever you're avoidant and you're not hanging out with people, you're not doing the things that nourish your soul, it really kind of just leads you into a darker, a darker state of mind. So some crazy things that I actually did, and it's, it's very interesting because I've talked to some of my friends that have had acne and we all did the same thing. So it's a very weird realization that's like Okay, I wasn't the only one who did that. Like, my girlfriends did it as well. So for me, something I actually used to do was I would stand— like, say I had really bad acne on the side, I would have asked to be seated on that side because I would have wanted, like, the, like, better— I guess the better side. Like, you would, like, shift around. Um, again, like, avoiding plans, not washing makeup off, which also, like, makes your skin a million times worse. So there were a lot of things, especially in college, that I, I did to try to like just like hide it, cover it up. Um, but it definitely affects your mental state because then it gives you anxiety. And I think as a woman, there's so much like pressure whenever it comes to, you know, looking the part, like that type of thing. So it's— it definitely affects your mental state for sure.

Yeah, it makes a difference for sure. And I think it's almost taboo in a way, especially for men, to talk about aesthetics or skin affecting your confidence. And so there's not, I feel like, as much information for men as there is for women. And men are just breaking into the field of like, okay, I want my skin to look good. And one of the things that stood out to me the most is like, you look at what was acceptable way back when I was growing up, like the Clint Eastwood characters and their skin, you know, it's like this tough, rugged leather guy. And now you look at guys like Paul Rudd and it's like, did you age backwards? It's like, what are you doing? Where are you going to kind of get these kind of therapies? And so personally, that's what's led us to look for more natural remedies. And but what led you to be like, okay, I don't want to try Accutane, I want something more natural?

So for me, it was just the side effects of these medications. Like, I didn't, I didn't want to have a lot of the side effects that my friends went through because obviously, I mean, Accutane can cause depression, it can it caused nosebleeds, like some very— like your skin just dries out, like your lips basically are like cement and cracking off. Like you just have to keep applying like a lot of moisturizers and sometimes moisturizers aren't even enough. So like for me it was the side effects that I just did not want to put on my body that I was like, okay. And same with like doxycycline, which is also another medication that is used for acne procedures, and spironolactone. Those are just other medicines that I just wanted to stay kind of far, farther away from.

Yeah. Spironolactone is actually a kidney medication also. So yes, it's supposed to work on your kidneys. And so it's like really weird, like you're going to take that strong of a medication and the side effect of having depression with Accutane just to have good skin, it's rough. And so I definitely understand why you wanted to go the natural route. I'm a big fan of doing the most natural thing possible. I think that's why the main reason I opened up the centers for stem cell and exosome therapy and topical therapies is because we want to give something that's the most natural we know how. Right. And so you look at most children or most younger kids, they don't have a lot of skin conditions or acne. Like, in fact, most autoimmune conditions happen as you get older. Right. And most skin conditions will happen as you get older. There's some exceptions to that. Right. And so with stem cell, exosome therapy, I know you've been big into this field and you're interested in stem cell, exosome therapy. Where would you rank this as part of a cosmetic alternative to the current state of drugs?

And even I would rank it number 1, and that's because it truly is the most naturalistic approach to being able to heal your skin, whether it is from somebody who's in their 20s and they have acne or somebody who might be in their, you know, 30s, 40s, or 50s that are looking for kind of like that boost, that lift in their face just to make themselves feel more confident. And whenever it comes down to acne, like, yeah, I had, I had all those mental mental feelings, but also like as you age, I feel like women also have those same feelings. Like whenever you look in the mirror, it's like, you know, you're seeing these fine lines and you're seeing these wrinkles and you're wanting to reverse it. And women spend a lot of money on different types of medical procedures and a lot of things that in the inner realm might be toxic or just not really help at all.

Yeah, I think this whole revolution started with the Kardashians making this a vampire facial.

Vampire facial.

Yeah.

I've seen it a million times.

Yeah. So now we've kind of progressed to that. I think the whole idea behind the vampire facial was you're getting the growth factors from the PRP, you're getting some of the stem cells, albeit older stem cells, but it was working, right? Like if you have—

look at them.

Yeah, they've done a lot of stuff to their face. But I think doing the most natural thing is probably what has enabled them to look younger, longer. And it makes you wonder, you know, what else were they trying? What else are they doing? Because it can't all happen with surgery, right? Everyone's seen what a facelift looks like in a lot of cases. And even in the most prestigious— I mean, you can look at people who have all the money in the world, all the fame in the world, and they get a facelift and you can tell it's super unnatural. Like, just not natural. When it comes to Botox, there's been more and more complications recently with Botox and even filler. Like, there's just— there's a point where you're just going to need to use more and more filler. So what do you think about supplementing even filler with something or Botox with?

I think it's incredible. I mean, you look at the side effects of Botox and things of that, it can be pretty scary. So but I think a lot of women, they just are— it's a small percentage that gets that. I'm not saying that I've never had Botox before. I definitely have. But having a natural approach that you don't have to subject yourself to those types of side effects, I think is, is what a lot of women are looking for.

Interesting. So seeing everything you've seen, you know, being in the influencer world, and looking at the celebrity world, do you think it's really possible to be in your 60s and 70s and maybe look like you're in your 30s and 40s going forward?

Absolutely.

That's pretty cool.

I do. I do. I mean, you look at the Kardashians, they, they still look like a lot of them are in their 20s. So they look, they look great. And I truly think that whenever it comes down to celebrities, A-listers, things of that sort, they know more than the average person. And it's just because they're around different people that have been subjected to different types of procedures and treatments and things of that sort. And just being able, obviously, like with the stem cells and the exosomes, being able to offer that to just everyday people, I think is really, really incredible.

And we're really excited about it. One of these things that sparked this conversation with you and I is a conversation that I had with a stylist for the A-list celebrities. And learning about their routines and what they do and like really high-level names. I'm like, they've been doing this for how long? 10 years? I was like, I mean, I was researching it 10 years ago, but it certainly wasn't mainstream. And you can kind of see the effects long-term with them because they're not aging. They're not aging.

They're like paused. So I know that we're talking a lot about, you know, stem cell exosomes, things of that sort. So if you could just explain to me a little bit about how exosomes actually are able to regenerate the skin.

That's a great Great question. So exosomes are the acellular component of stem cells. So stem cells have a nucleus, they're a living cell, and they secrete exosomes. And what we're starting to see is that the trophic factors and the matrices that the stem cells can secrete may be the working part or the most potent part of the stem cell. And the concentrated part of that is an exosome. So an exosome has like a lipid bilayer, but there's no nucleus. It's just a bunch of growth factors, peptides, and mRNA. So messaging. Which likely tells your cells to start turning on and healing their own mechanisms. Right. So that's the way we think it's working. It's not becoming a new cell. So if you do a topical solution of stem cells on the face, you're not going to get new fibroblasts or you're not going to get new cells. But the likelihood— yeah, the likelihood of what is happening based on what we're seeing in the research is that it's telling these fibroblasts, these cells that make collagen. So these fibroblasts are being turned on, these cells that make collagen or cells that make elastin. Which is responsible for the tightness of the skin, those cells are likely turning on. And that's what's happening. And when you combine that with a procedure that recruits certain factors like microneedling, it just makes the procedure much more pronounced. And that's why we're seeing results super quickly. We've had patients that have talked about having results as early as 1 week.

Wow.

Yeah. Do I think that that happened from collagen elastin? Probably not. Probably takes longer to do that, but it's probably the effect of the inflammation going down. And the skin having this more tight kind of appearance and having that appearance, especially for someone who hasn't in a long time, makes a big deal on their complexion.

Now, that completely makes sense. So one question I have for you, whenever it comes to this procedure, like, is it invasive? Like what, what exactly is involved with this, with this type of procedure?

Oh, I try to stay away from anything that is invasive at all. And so it's a really a topical procedure. The most invasive part of it is you have a microneedling to kind of cause a dermal abrasion to the skin. And we use a 3 different types of numbing cream so you really don't feel much at all. I'm doing that because I tried it myself, and because I was a doctor, the technician doing me, she's like, oh, you don't really need it, you'll be okay. And it was extremely painful. And so now I have this cream, you can't really feel anything, which is super cool.

That's awesome. So pretty much painless. What, what does the recovery time look like with this type of procedure?

Yeah, so it's virtually painless. And so my experience with seeing deep microneedling and with seeing even vampire PRP facials and then Exosome facials is that redness is on your face for quite some time. It can be up to 2 days. But for some reason, when you add the topical exosome solution, the redness is gone in like a couple of hours and it can last longer for some people. But it's been pretty amazing. Yeah, in fact, I did it on a girl who literally took a picture when she went home. They just drove home a 30-minute drive. It's like my redness is almost gone.

Like, that's incredible because, I mean, I've had microneedling before and it's lasted, I don't know, 24 to 48 hours before and But I add really deep microneedling. Like after my acne journey, I was like, okay, we got to, we got to work on the scarring. So yeah, microneedling, that's very interesting. So whenever you're doing this procedure, you mentioned microneedling. So how exactly is it done?

Yeah, so microneedling is done with a very specific device that we have. There's a number of different devices you can use, but the main thing is you want to penetrate to a specific layer of the skin in order to be able to recruit those factors which are likely responsible for things like angiogenesis or creating new blood vessels and helping the appearance of your skin. And so that's how it works. And you want to use a specific technique when going over the face to create that kind of microtrauma, but not too much trauma or not too little. It's kind of a sweet spot with the microneedling. And so what do you think about— you want to try it today?

Hey, let's do it.

Go check it out.

Yeah, I'm excited.

All right. We're going to have to see how long your redness lasts. We'll do a real-time, real-time.

How long does it last?