The Truth About Botox, Fillers & Skincare at Every Age | Solymar Med Spa Tells All

Welcome to the Working Moms of San Antonio podcast. We're your hosts, Erika Radis and Marie Lifschultz, a realtor and lender here in San Antonio. But most importantly, we're working moms just like you.

This podcast is all about creating a space where we can come together, share stories, and learn from each other. We love connecting with local moms in business Hearing about their journeys and how they're balancing it all, because let's be honest, it's not always easy, but it's so worth it.

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Our business community and coworking memberships are officially open. Whether you're looking for a supportive community of moms in business or need a beautiful space to work and grow, we've got just what you need here at Working Moms of San Antonio. You can visit the link in our show notes or workingmomsofsanantonio.com/membership for more info.

Now on to today's episode. Grab a cup of coffee, settle in, and let's get started.

Welcome to this week's episode of the Working Moms of San Antonio podcast. Today I am here with Marisol of Solimar Med Spa, and I'm going to I am going to turn it over to her to introduce herself and talk about her work.

Well, thank you, Erika. I sincerely appreciate you having me today. Super excited about Working Moms, always been a big supporter and a big cheerleader of the organization. Such a great organization. So, Soleimad Metsfa, let us talk a little bit about that. A brainchild of mine that had been growing in the back of my head probably for about 8 years. Absolutely love the science of medicine. I have been a nurse over 20 years. Oh, that's scary to say that, but over 20 years. And honestly went into nursing because I wanted to sell pharmaceuticals. I never thought I would be bedside. I found a job in the ER and I fell in love with it. I fell in love with everything trauma. Anything that having to do with true trauma was just a passion. I love studying it. I love learning about, you know, what the physiology of the body does and That just kind of grew to a passion of really just diving myself into the education and more, you know, absorbing everything of medicine. Yeah. Fast forward to about 10 years ago, went into consulting and leadership. That's what brought me to San Antonio, or what I say, back to San Antonio. Original San Antonian, went to Clark High School. Go Cougars, which has a whole new meaning now, right?

Yeah. Yeah.

So true. But came back to San Antonio and still kind of in the back of my head, had always wanted to open a med spa. We have a very good friend that lives in Austin that just kind of took me under his wing and taught me how to inject. Plastic surgeon and wonderful at what he does and really helped me in understanding the anatomy and physiology of injecting, which is really important. You know, this is someone's billboard, right?

Yeah.

Not to mention my own. So just in the back of my head of wanting to build a business and I kept bringing it up with my husband and he finally said, you know what? You either need to do something or shut it.

Yeah. Right.

And that, and that, that hit me, that hit me pretty hard.

Yeah.

So I said, you know, I'm ready. I'm ready. So we decided that I would just start small and that's how I did. Very small room in the back of someone's hair salon. And that grew. And 2 years later, here we are.

Yeah.

Here we are. And, truly excited to honestly have what I call the, not only support, but also the, the, uh, the women around me that really keep me motivated to, to be better.

Yeah.

And stuff. And, uh, honestly, I'm, I'm just excited about what's, what's coming.

Yes.

No, same here. I love that. I mean, so many of our members too have, have been like you where they start you know, someplace and they kind of move forward and get bigger and bigger. And then all of a sudden now you need your own space and you, you know, you need all the things. And so I love to see that. I know you wanna share today like some information about skincare. God knows I need all of the information. I specifically need it and I'm sure our listeners do as well. So maybe you can talk a little bit about skincare and, you know, I think we discussed like through the aging process, which, no one really wants to talk about, but we need to know.

So I feel that skincare really just evolves as we get older. You know, we call it generational skincare and it should start at your 20s. And I know you're 20, you don't want to think about skincare. You sleep with your makeup on and you probably go with, you know, to work with the same makeup you fell asleep with the night before. Let's just be honest. Yeah, but it starts with good care. I think that's the main word here is care. It's how do we care for our skin throughout the different generations that, you know, we're going through. In our 20s, our care is very minimal. We know that we don't have the money to invest in it, but something very simple as a good sunscreen makes a big difference. Our collagen is still nice and perky, just like everything else on our body. So we want to make sure that, you know, we're protecting it. And the biggest hater, I'm going to say, of collagen is the sun. It breaks down our collagen. So keeping that barrier there is a big piece for when you're 20. So if you don't have any money to invest in any kind of skincare but other than what's at the Walgreens, power to you. Just get a good sunscreen. Yeah. And then you transition into your 30s. You know, in your 30s, you're in your childbearing years. You're not focusing again on your skincare. You're focusing in on the vomit you probably have on your back or on your shoulder that you've been, you know, walking around with for the whole day. But in your 30s, there are simple things. Getting a good skincare routine. You know, at this point, our jobs are a little bit more fruitful maybe, and we have the ability to really start investing a little bit in ourselves. And I think our first investment should be on what I call just a basic skincare routine. Cleaning your face, toning your face, exfoliating your face. 3 products. Nothing complicated. Nothing that's going to take time away from family and everything else that's going on in your life, but just something simple, something you can do, same thing in the day that you can do same thing at night. And that way it makes it routine. Routine is a big, big player in how we take care of our skin because, you know, and you probably can relate with this, exercise, 3 days I haven't lost 20 pounds, I'm out. Yes. Same thing with skincare. You know, 3 days I still have wrinkles, I'm out. Yeah. You have to give skincare a solid 30 days to really see the effects and really see that glow.

Yeah.

So again, in your 30s, buy the cheap makeup. Maybelline, L'Oréal, they're not bad brands. Don't buy the cheap skincare.

Yeah.

Start to really focus on that next level of skincare and highly recommend a medical skin— medical grade skincare just because the products are a little bit more what I'm going to call potent.

Yeah.

And they have a little bit more of the ability to really, you know, where you see results.

Sure.

Then we get into our 40s.

I'm so close to that.

I haven't seen that age group in a long time. Then we get into our 40s. And in our 40s, you know, as we age from 20 to 30 to 40, every year we lose collagen. Every year we start to lose at least 10% of our collagen or every decade, right?

Yeah.

So by the time we're 40, we're halfway there, like we're halfway in collagen loss. And collagen is what produces— call it like what I'm going to call the, the, the baseline or the structure of, of everything in our face, really. It produces elastin, it produces hyaluronic acid. Elastin is what gives us that elasticity, you know, those wrinkles, lack of elastin. Yeah. Hyaluronic acid. It also helps us produce hyaluronic acid. That's what keeps our, our face plump. That's what keeps it looking nourished and hydrated. So if we're losing the collagen, if we're losing that structure, then these other two elements that really help us look young are not being produced as well either.

Yeah.

So ideally what you want to do is, again, 20s, we're going to, we're going to protect that collagen. In our 30s, we're really going to start to nurture that collagen. In our 40s, we really have to take care of it.

Yeah.

And that's when people start talking about injectables. And that's kind of where I come in, right? I've got these lines. I wasn't so great in my 20s. You know, for me, it was like the tanning bed was my friend.

Yeah, same.

And the sun in my hair was, was golden. And all it led to was break, you know, hair breakage and, and just bad skin. Yeah, that's kind of for me, melasma, right? So ideally what you want to do in your 40s is again, you've got that, you've, you've mastered the 30-year-old skin treatment and you've got a good, you've got a good schedule.

Yeah.

Like, yes, thank you. You've got a good pattern is what I wanted to say. You've got a good pattern of how you're taking care of your skin. You enter your 40s and now you need to add what I call the additional products, right? You need probably a growth factor serum, something that really helps you in to— what I'm, what I'm going to say is you need a growth factor serum that really helps you in what, calming down those, those wrinkles, right? Or help you to relax those wrinkles. Yeah. You need probably a stronger moisturizer because you are losing a lot of hydration. You also may be seeing spots too, right?

Yeah.

We spend a lot of time in the sun, maybe in our 30s because our, our kids in every sport known to mankind. And they all happen to be wonderfully outdoors.

Yes. Yeah.

So just looking at tho— those elements, it's like, what are those extra components that we need to add to then make sure that we're now really protecting our skin? So now we've added sunscreen in our 20s, we've got a good cleaning program in our 30s. And now in our 40s, we're looking at, you know, how do we maintain the integrity of our skin and how do we maintain the integrity of our pigment?

Okay. Now, if you've done some damage like I have, then—

We all have.

Yeah. Are there— and there are ways to kind of— can we build some of that back? I mean, is that what these products do, would you say?

You can.

Yes.

Yes. And I'm not going to say they build it back, but they definitely help your body to regenerate or rejuvenate what you've lost.

Yeah.

You're not going to build back 100% of your collagen.

Sure.

But if you keep your skin hydrated and protected from the sun, you're less likely to lose at the advancement that someone who's not losing it and stuff. We're all going to get old. The reality is, what is the saying, that two things we can guarantee is we're going to die and we're going to pay taxes, right? But the one thing that we can do is, it's like I say, If I have a dollar in my pocket, I'm gonna go down fighting.

Yeah.

Um, so with that, it's like, how do we fight against those, um, environmental factors that we can't always protect ourselves from? Or how do we, um, use that skincare to help us in fighting off some of those elements so they're not as— they don't come as quickly?

Yeah. Yeah. No, that makes sense.

Yeah. And we can talk like injectables, for example. You know, a lot of people are scared of neurotoxins, which basically is what we call a Botox.

Yes.

Jeuveau.

Those people are me.

Letivo. There's a lot of neurotoxins. Actually, there's 6 out there, which a lot of people don't know either. So there's Botox. Everybody knows Botox. Jeuveau, which is very similar to Botox in the composition. There's Dysport. Everybody also is quite familiar with Dysport. There's Xeomin, and then there's another one called Daxify. And then the last one that just hit the market this year, a Korean-based one called Letibo. And you're seeing that a lot recently. So those are the 6 FDA-approved neurotoxins. All work a little bit different. It really just depends on what you need and For example, my athletes really do well on Dysport. Mostly everyone else really does well on a Botox or Jeuveau. So we just leave them there. Okay. So it really just depends on your activity level, how you metabolize the product too. Some people just— I can inject 100 units in the same 11s and it won't do anything for you. So understanding those products too and what works best for someone. Yeah, most people start off in the 11s, which is what I call that angry face. Yeah.

I got these little, like, fun Charlie Brown guys.

And then that's the other thing too, is your, your forehead lines. So as you get older, you think it's a little bit counterintuitive to what it is, but as you get older, you really require less on your forehead unless you really have some really significant lines all over your forehead. I'm pretty conservative when it comes to when you're at that 45 to 55. To inject a lot of units in your forehead. And the reason why is because our brows start to drop. You know, our, the bone around our eye starts to increase. So it, and then the fatty pad starts to reduce. So it tends to get that brow to kind of sag.

Yes, I am noticing that. I notice that when I do my makeup now, like I used to have like so much nice lid and all of that, and now it's looking droopy and sad.

So when you're injecting Botox, for example, if you're injecting it between the eyes, right, that muscle pulls down. So as we, as we neutralize that muscle, it allows that brow to kind of pop back up. If I'm injecting a lot of Botox in your forehead, your forehead is a muscle that, that basically pops up like it— that's what allows us to raise our eyebrows. So if I'm injecting a lot of that to, to neutralize that muscle, then what I'm doing is I'm pushing that brow down because there's nothing then to help support that brow come up.

Oh, I see.

So as you get older, I, I'm a little bit more conservative in injecting in your forehead or not, not as many units, but also not as big as, as many placements of the units because we want to get that brow to come up. Right. Then there's also— so you've got the, you've got the 11s, you've got your forehead, then we get the crow's feet. That's usually the next step. Yeah. The crow's feet really just depends on— I always tell people and it's, it's quite funny. It's like, do you want a laundered shirt or do you want a starched shirt?

Yeah.

A laundered shirt is bring it out of the dryer, you iron it, it's still flexible, it moves, it wrinkles a little bit, but it looks soft, right? A starched shirt, just think about your cowboy coming into that, you know, with that shirt.

Yeah.

Yeah. I have a lot of wrinkles under my eyes when I smile. I have a very big smile. So I like a starched shirt on my crow's feet. Yeah, because it still has a lot. I still show wrinkles. I mean, the reality is I'm 53, right? But I don't want anything on the side. But then there's people that are like, I just want to soften that look. And again, it has to do with just understanding someone's expectations and then understanding the number of units based on their pull to be able to create that for them.

Yeah, yeah. Now, So it sounds like maybe like late 30s, early 40s is when we start kind of thinking about the Botox. But I know plenty of gals in their 20s that do it, and I guess maybe they think it's preventative. How do you feel about that?

So yes and no. It's preventative when you, for example, someone— there are people who have very strong pulls. Let's just take the area between your eyes because that's typically the first place that people really see that, that what I'm going to call that crease, right? Or that wrinkle. If you have a heavy scowl and there are young ladies at the age of 20 who do, it's great to do a preventative because when you're folding the skin, just like any piece of paper, if you fold it over and over, over, it's going to mark.

Sure.

So ideally, yes. And you can start with a very what I'm going to call minimal dose in that area. There are standard dosing, but I mean, for someone that young, I would probably start with a minimal dose. For somebody older in their 40s, I'd probably not do a minimal dose. And the reason why is the more we push on that muscle and allow it to keep moving, the more it's what I'm going to call eating that Botox. So ideally, you truly want to neutralize that muscle so that you're not then just metabolizing that Botox. And you hear that quite a bit. I metabolize it quickly. You probably got a minimal unit dose and that's why you probably just ate through it and stuff. But for someone who's young, the likelihood of them needing a very heavy dose is unlikely unless they have a very heavy scowl just to begin with.

Sure.

But yes, there are, there are measures for prevention. To me, I think, I think they're better used maybe in the, in your mid-30s.

I see.

And stuff. So mid-30s is kind of where I feel like you start really noticing a difference in your facial feature changes. Because there's certain things that happen as you progress in age. We talked a little bit about it when you talked about your eyes. You know, your bone structure, just like any other bone structure, starts to retract, right?

Yeah.

So things get wider, you know, like your eyeball area gets wider. And I'm trying to talk in layman's terms. Yeah, interesting. The area around your mouth gets wider, hence that's what we get some jowls too. There's a lot of areas that just tend to retract. Same thing with the fatty pads in your face. Just like we start to see movement of fat elsewhere, unfortunately, it also happens in your face. So you start to see, you know, what I'm going to call divots in your cheeks. You start to see kind of your jowls fall a little bit. People start to talk about their laugh lines in, you know, as now being more noticeable. It's because we're losing that fatty pad in our in our face.

Can I tell you that I think that Stanley's will increase the need for fillers because we're all drinking from like, we're not smoking anymore, right? I mean, but we're all drinking from these little straws all day long. I think about it all the time. Every time I drink from there, I'm like, you're gonna get smoker's lines.

Yeah.

Like, and you're not smoking.

Yeah. And you see that a lot. You honestly, you see that a lot on people who are big straw drinkers. Yeah. And stuff. I have very sensitive teeth, so I have to drink out of a straw. Yeah. And, I mean, I notice it and I have pretty big lips and these are natural, but I have pretty big lips and stuff. So the, the bigger the lip, the more what I'm gonna call fuller they look. But for someone who has a thin lip, yeah. And then they have the smoker's lines or, or what I call the straw lines, the drinker's lines. Um, they're a lot more noticeable. Yeah. Um, and again, as we talked earlier, as we start to lose that fatty tissue, again, that also happens around the mouth. Yeah. Area. That's kind of when fillers start being a topic of conversation, when my clients or patients start walking in and tell me a little bit about fillers.

Yeah, tell us a little bit about it. I want to know about the different types and all of that.

So there are different types of fillers. Fillers are rated, and by rated I mean as a, as an injector, we rate them on what they call a G prime. A G prime basically means how thick a filler is. Allergan, which makes Botox, also makes Juvederm products. They have an array of different kinds of fillers, and so does Galderma, which makes all the Restylane products. Jeveau just came out with two new fillers this year also. They just launched two new fillers, and all these fillers— RHA is also another one, all right? There's like RHA 2, 3, and 4. All these fillers have the same thing, and that's how you rate them in what I'm going to call thickness.

Yeah.

And that's how you know where to put them. Just to give you an example, Restylane Lift has the thickest or highest G prime that mimics what I'm going to call bone. So that goes like on your cheeks. So when you need that lift, it's literally called Restylane Lift. When you need that lift, that's where you want to put that product. I would never put that on your cheeks because then I'm going to literally going to inject rocks in your cheeks.

Yeah.

I mean, not in your cheeks. I'm sorry. In your lips.

Oh, sure.

You want to have something that has a very low G prime because you want it to be flexible. You want it to mimic the movement of your mouth. You know, I don't want anything to mimic the movement of my— there's no movement in my bone in my cheek, right? There's some flexibility in the skin, but we're not injecting it there. When I inject a filler into the cheek to lift that cheek or refresh that cheek, I am injecting straight into the bone. I literally hit bone. I aspirate, make sure I'm nowhere I don't need to be, and then I inject and we inject dollops.

Really?

Yeah.

That's so interesting.

And so I was actually talking to a client today about it because she is now maybe, maybe possibly in this, in this year looking at a filler again in that in that time range, hitting her late 40s, seeing things going a little bit south on her. And she's really focused on her smile lines and just understanding. So I have to— I happen to have samples that either are expired or the, or the rep has given me. I show her the syringe. She's like, oh, that looks like a lot. And I said, if I was to inject this full syringe right next, right next to a a blueberry, I'd probably have the same amount of—

Oh.

It's not a lot.

Yeah.

It's not a lot, but the thickness of that filler is what makes the difference. Hmm. So obviously a filler that's the size of a blueberry, but the consistency of a rock is gonna be very different than a filler the size of a blueberry, the consistency of what I'm gonna call a mushed banana, right? Right. And stuff. And just having an understanding of the different fillers, the different expectations your client has. And then also, you know, I personally have it. It's like, what's your time frame? Like, when do you— when do you want to have this expectation?

Yeah.

What's your expectation? And then what's your budget? Yeah, I think those are three big questions that I feel like I ask pretty much every new client that walks in. Um, one, because I have clients that are like, okay, well my daughter's getting married in 2 months. Okay, well we are not gonna take 3 months to do this.

Yeah. Yeah.

Because obviously you wanna look beautiful in 2 months, so we probably have a month. Um, and again, what is the expectation now in a month?

And then because there's probably like some settling time and stuff as well. Right.

And I'm poking you. Yeah. I mean, let's just be honest here. I'm poking you with a needle. Um, there's a lot of things that can go, you know, you can have swelling. Bruising, you know, we might need more product. So again, it's just really having an understanding of what your expectation is and then just trying to meet that as best as possible.

Do you feel like just as a professional in general that you err more on the side of like being conservative?

100%.

Yeah.

100%.

Yeah. I feel like you can always add more, right? But like, it's harder to take it away.

Well, and it is. For example, Botox. The reality is I can't take it away.

Yeah.

You know, the taking away is, oh, you know, here's 3 months later and stuff.

Time.

Time. Time is literally your best friend when it's a bad injection with Botox. There are some things that you can do to correct. For example, I get patients all the time that come in and the RBS, which are the corner lines of your mouth. Yeah. We all know what those are. People tend to inject those and sometimes you inject it. That muscle is called the DAO muscle. Well, there's a muscle right under it called the DAI muscle, and that muscle is what, when you smile, pulls down your bottom lip. So if you hit that muscle and you neutralize it, you're going to have a very uneven smile.

Oh gosh.

Yeah, I see that quite a bit, unfortunately. And I say unethically, but unethically, basically you have to just mess up the other side.

Yeah.

Or tell the patient, you know what, if you've got an electric toothbrush that vibrates, just put it right there and hope that it metabolizes quickly. I mean, those are really your two options.

Yeah. So you will see people get this stuff done elsewhere and they come into you for correction?

Sometimes they do. Unfortunately, yes. Texas right now is the Wild West of injectors. You really don't need any sort of clinical background to inject.

That's so alarming.

It is a little scary, but I feel like I feel like it's twofold. I feel like it has less to do with what your credentials are, which I strongly believe, obviously, a clinical background is helpful because I said there's a lot of anatomy and physiology that happens here. But the other one is also education. I feel like, I mean, even yourself, like without the proper education, I just find that very hard, a hard pill to swallow. And I honestly do not think that a weekend course at the Radisson Inn conference room is enough education to have you inject a toxin, basically.

Yeah.

Or a filler that can cause what we call vascular occlusion, which makes clots of vein, which can lead to a lot of bad things. Necrosis, blindness. There's a lot of things that can happen. Um, and you just not having a good educational background to understand what to do if something goes south. Yeah.

No, that's so true.

And that's just what I call the beginning piece. Again, we're injecting a toxin. What happens if somebody has an anaphylactic shock to it? That's always a possibility.

Sure.

You get a lot of new clients that have never had this before. So understanding like what's going to happen, what do you do, you know, how do you take care of it?

Yeah, that's where that nurse background comes in.

That's where that nurse background comes in. And I'll be honest, I've had patients that, you know, they're like, scared, scared of needles.

Sure.

And, but they wanna get this done and they have a syncopal effect, which basically means they pass out.

Yes. That's right. That is me also. It's hard for me to draw blood.

I had one, I had one patient that happened to have a syncopal, um, episode and she woke up and I was on top of her.

Yeah.

And she was like, oh, what is this? And I said, I just saw it coming. Yeah. I saw it coming. And you know, I didn't put the arm on the other side of the bed. I didn't expect it. So the first thing I did was literally just straddle her so that one, she wouldn't find out, fall out of the chair.

Sure.

Um, two, I already had my alcohol in hand and there's certain things that I just keep on hand that help. Um, you know, peppermint is a big one for bringing people like back, back. Yeah. Um, it's also good for anxiety. Um, I always keep what I call my Spanish dancer fan. You know, you're anxious. Um, we've got a little vibrating tool. Um, Nerves cannot send two signals at once. That's why if anybody's ever gotten a wax job and that waxer does that tap afterwards, is because it's trying to trick the nerve to not send pain signals, but to send the tap signal.

Oh.

So, so same thing. We've got a little vibration tool that we can use that basically tricks the nerve, at least minimally, so that it's not such a big, what I'm going to call, impact.

Sure.

Botox doesn't hurt. I mean, you do get a pinch here and there and stuff, but it shouldn't be painful.

Yeah.

Fillers, same thing. It's a little pinchy in some areas, but it shouldn't be overwhelmingly painful. You know, I hear this a lot because the lips and people say, well, you know, I'm really scared of getting my lips done. Actually had a client the other day and she was like, I'm really scared because I've had my lips done before and oh my God, did it hurt so bad. And I said, first, again, Expectation. What are you trying to achieve? Let's try to achieve it with as minimal pokes as possible. Yeah, that really helps, right? If you're not poking me, it's not hurting me. Um, two, I'll go in there. The product contains lidocaine, um, so obviously that's a number. It stings a little bit at first, but if we lay a couple of rows down, that lidocaine starts to kick in. So we lay a couple of rows down on one side, we lay a couple rows down on the other side, and then we go back and really start the progress of the lips. I feel that helps a lot. Not to mention that I also numb the lips for a good 15 minutes before. But sure, at the same time, anything you can do to help alleviate not so much the pain, but someone's anxiety.

Yeah.

Which I think gets the best of all of us because I'm the same way, you know, even doing all this, I'm a big chicken because it's the anticipation of what can happen.

Yeah.

Not something that actually has happened. Yeah. I think that's for most of us.

Yeah, no, that's so true. Well, since we kind of touched on it a little, I would be curious if you would share with our listeners, like, what are some questions you should be asking someone before they do this stuff, you know, for you?

Absolutely. So the first one is find out their background. Yeah. You know, I, in my place, you see my degree, you see my license, you see my medical director's license. That should always be displayed. Just like when you go to a dermatologist or your gynecologist, there's a reason why they have their degrees on the walls.

And your director is here?

Yes, here in San Antonio.

And I think I remember you saying that can be kind of a thing that doesn't always happen.

No, no. So the first one is find out their credentials. The second one is, again, their medical director. My medical director is here in Alamo Heights, Pedro Calzada, absolutely wonderful physician. Family practice. But what I like about him is I can text him anything and he will answer back within minutes and stuff. Simple things like, hey, this patient's had this, it's been cleared for the last 5 years, just some thoughts. I know there's some, um, you know, counter stuff to it, but I don't really see anything that would, um, make me think twice about injecting the person. And he's really good about answering, and he's like, you know, I'll When I do my good faith exam, I'll just make sure that, you know, we clear that topic. And I really like that I have a sounding board. Also, the person who taught me how to inject, the plastic surgeon, I don't know how many times I've texted him and said, okay, this lady came in, previous injector did this. I had a lady who had a really odd smile and it didn't look like it was a DAI, it looked like it was something else. And sure enough, she, it was when they hit, the neck, um, they hit a muscle that was causing the bottom of her neck to kind of pull when she smiled and stuff. So again, being able to have a sounding board, just know that, that, that support means a big deal. Um, the third one is their training and education. I mean, they can be an esthetician, and if they had great training, power to them. I mean, they know where they're going and all that stuff, but if they're— if their only certificate on the wall is the weekend course from my injector group, then yeah, I just feel very antsy about that. Um, and then the other one is also just understand where the product is coming from. I know that's a tough one because a lot of people just— if they see the brand name on a box, they just think, oh, it comes from a reputable source.

Yeah.

You would be surprised how many emails I get weekly on buy this product from China, buy this product from Florida, buy this product. There is a standard rule. If it does not come from the manufacturer, you do not buy it. You don't know where it came from. You don't know if it's counterfeit or not. And counterfeit product is so prevalent in this industry, it's scary.

Yeah.

Um, and you see it, but you know, unfortunately there's, again, it's the wild west, so you hope someone's regulating it. Yeah. Yeah.

You hope someone's checking. I mean, honestly, and I'm like a big review checker and all of that kind of thing, but I feel like if I was going into a professional place, I personally wouldn't think to ask where does this product come from? Because you sort of assume that someone else is figuring that out. You know what I mean?

Like, correct.

And so that's a good tip.

This is a trusted industry. Yeah. The reality is that this is a trusted industry. W— for several reasons. One, someone's coming at you at your face with a needle.

Right.

That's the first one. Um, two, you have to be comfortable or at least have the trust factor that they know what they're doing.

Yeah.

They know what they're doing with the stuff that's on that table or wherever they're getting their, their product. Right. And three, you hope that the product that they have is reputable. I mean, we see this all the time. I think in Houston it just, Was it just a story recently about a med spa and a full retail space? Like, I'm talking like doors and several rooms. I'm not talking about someone in a salon suite that was no license, no medical director with product, counterfeit product.

Yeah.

With a very busy schedule.

Yeah.

So again, I think it's a trusted environment and I think for the most part it has a lot to do with It's a referral business. It's definitely a referral business.

Yeah. Because they're everywhere. That's right. And it, and it, I mean, it is medical and it feels medical. Mm-hmm. And so like, I don't go and ask my doctor where he's getting his stuff. You know what I mean? Right. You're just sort of like, okay, I'm at a doctor's office. And so I think that's probably a part of it because it is medical. We think like, okay, well, you know, they, someone's, someone's doing this.

Someone's regulating it.

Yeah.

Yes. And it's, and unfortunately that's not the case.

There's—

yeah, there is oversight. I do have to admit that. I mean, the Board of Nursing has oversight over the nurses and nurse practitioners. The Texas Medical Board has oversight over the physicians. But if you look at it, you can't throw a rock right now without hitting a med spa.

No, you're so right. Yeah.

Whether it's in a retail facility or whether it's in a salon suite or in an esthetician's place or even your hairdresser.

Yeah.

I mean, they're everywhere. They really are everywhere. And to me, it's just getting like anything. Just be a wise consumer and don't be afraid to ask questions. I don't get— I don't get intimidated. I don't get insulted. And honestly, your injector shouldn't. Yeah, you shouldn't. I mean, it should be with 100% confidence. I mean, I will tell you, this is my Galderma rep, you know, this is where I get it from. And or here's my, you know, Allergan rep or here's my whatever rep. Yeah. And stuff. Just be confident that where you're going, you're safe.

Yeah.

And I think that has to do with You know, any medical procedure, right? Sure. Um, things you don't do on the cheap, your teeth. Yeah. Plastic surgery, eyes, and anything having to do with your private parts.

Yeah.

You don't do anything on the cheap. Yeah. Especially when it, especially when, um, it has to do with injecting something in your body. No.

And that's so true. That's good advice. I mean, you know, we're all on these like moms groups and stuff, right?

Mm-hmm.

And you see people that'll say stuff sometimes where it's like, I wanna do this, but I don't want it to cost an arm and a leg. And it's like, yeah, I feel like that should cost you an arm and a leg.

Yeah. There are some things that you just pay for. I would be willing to give up an arm to get it get it done right.

Yeah, of course, because you don't want to get it done wrong and, you know, have that experience.

And, you know, people go— people also go across the border, and I have nothing against that. There are great dentists, dermatologists, plastic surgeons. Just again, be, be aware and be— and don't be afraid to ask questions. Yeah, just don't be afraid to ask questions. That's, that's my biggest stance on it. Um, because again, there are a lot of us. Yes, there are a lot of us. And it's, it's, it's a trust industry. It truly is a trust, and it's a, it's a trust fall. I always say it's a trust fall. I don't like those, by the way.

Yeah.

Well, this has been a lot of good information, um, but I would be, uh, remiss if we didn't talk about the exciting thing that you have coming up.

Oh my God, can I say I'm so excited? It's unreal.

Yes.

I'm excited. I'm nervous. I'm every single emotion running. So Solimar Med Spa is officially opening up its own retail location. Yes. 281-1604. Easy access in the Northwood Shopping Center. I am literally adjacent to Marshalls, Ulta, HomeSense, Nordstrom Rack. I know where I'm going to be when I don't have clients. Phenomenal location. Super excited. We are hosting our grand opening in conjunction with the Working Moms of San Antonio. I'm so excited because it's also my birthday. Yes. And everybody knows my birthday is a big deal. At least I know, um, and my husband. But, um, July 17th, we're hosting a happy hour, 5:30 to 8:30, or whenever the party decides to dissipate or the cops come. No, I'm just joking. But, um, I've got food lined up, we've got cocktails. Our bartender that I always have is gonna be there. Um, decorating it like crazy. The one thing that I have to say I'm truly excited about is When I thought about this location and opening at this location, I really thought about, you know, what, going big, right? Yeah. Getting bigger. And then I realized I like the smallness of my business.

Yeah. I do like it.

But I also want to join forces with other women who provide very similar services. And unlike a salon suite, I decided that I wanted to make it more like a collaborative suite. Yes. So I'm very excited to also announce that Piel Bella will be joining Solimar Med Spa. Again, independent, basically part of our, part of our facility.

Yeah.

And also Beauty Bar by Carla will be joining us. So we are a powerhouse.

I love those gals.

Yes.

I still have 2 more rooms available. So really looking again for someone who has similar services or similar mindset and wants to provide exceptional service. And for me, it's really about supporting each other and helping us grow in our independent businesses, but as one. When I was thinking about this, the more and more I thought about helping someone to, you know, as cheesy as it sounds, live the dream. Yeah. The more I got excited about it, and I'm truly excited that they're joining us and Like I said, I, I just really wanna make it a space where someone comes in and one, they have a plethora of services, right? Yeah. That we can provide them. And two, that they're in an environment where we all support each other and it's a very trusted environment because again, we're referring to each other. It's like, you know, we're, we're right there and supporting each other. And I, I think it, just providing that attitude and sense is, is really gonna drive traffic to our location.

Yeah.

So I'm so excited about that. I can't even tell you like, yeah, how I feel. But, um, um, hopefully, um, everyone is invited. Yes. Um, and I, I'm always about the more the merrier.

Yeah. Um, I can say that we've done many collaborative events with you.

Yes.

And you have not been to a spa happy hour if you have not been to a Sole Happy hour. So they're always fun. It's always a blast. Marisol always does like it big.

So my husband always says, he's like, um, you crack me up because when you say let's throw a party, I know it's not just a dinner party with 3 people. It's like, I think we need a bartender. And that's when I start to get nervous.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But that is, that's a great party.

Yes. Yes. Yeah.

I'm so excited. I think that's gonna be awesome. I think we're gonna have a great turnout. Um, and I'm so excited to share.

I have lots of raffles, lots of giveaways, just like we always do. So yeah, truly, I can't wait to, I can't wait.

Yes.

And then will you also just really quickly share with our listeners how they can find you on social media and stuff as well?

Sure. So, um, in on, um, Facebook, I'm at, uh, Solimar, uh, Med Spa. On Insta, I'm the same, just solimar_med_spa. Okay. Um, and then on my website, solimarmedspa.com.

Perfect. Okay, well we'll put all that stuff in the show notes as well as this episode. Um, And then I just want to thank you for being on.

Uh, so welcome.

This was so informative. Um, like I said in the beginning, I need all the skincare help. I am not like a beauty product person, and so many busy moms and stuff aren't. Um, we, like you mentioned before, we, we don't prioritize ourselves really. Um, so this was great, and I'm sure that our listeners will get a ton of value out of it.

The one thing I did want to add too is I'm also a great resource. Don't ever feel obligated to call me and ask me like about a filler, about a Botox. Yeah, this isn't a sales pitch. It's, it's definitely, again, education. I think education brings more tranquility and tranquility brings trust.

That's right. No, that's good. That's a good thing for all business. So, okay. Thank you, Erika.

Yes. No, thank you.

And then just really quickly, I'll thank our listeners for tuning in to this week's episode of the podcast, and we'll catch you guys next time. Thanks so much for tuning in to this episode of the Working Moms of San Antonio podcast. We hope you loved today's chat and found a little inspiration to take with you into your week. If you have a podcast topic suggestion or a question you'd love for us to cover, definitely send us an email at hello@workingmomsofsanantonio.com. We'd love to hear from you. And until next time, see you in the community.