Diving into the world of aesthetic treatments can feel a bit daunting—especially when it seems like there’s a parade of poorly done work walking around every day. The key takeaway? You don’t notice great treatments; you just think the person looks fantastic! So, how do you achieve that effortlessly stunning appearance? Aesthetic expert and business owner, Katie Mann of Curated Medical, shares with us a break-down into a foolproof plan to help you look like the best version of yourself.
The Three Pillars of Aesthetic Enhancement
To ensure a natural, polished look, we like to approach aesthetic treatments through three essential categories: skin quality, volume loss and face shape, and long-term anti-aging strategies. Here’s a closer look at each component:
1. Skin Quality: The Foundation of Fabulous
Having exceptional skin quality is the cornerstone of a stunning appearance. If you’re feeling nervous about starting treatments, focusing on improving your skin is an excellent place to begin. The goal here is to achieve hydrated, smooth skin with even tone—minimal redness, brown spots, or fine lines.
How to Achieve This:
- Skincare Regimen: Start with a tailored skincare routine that includes cleansing, exfoliating, and moisturizing.
- Regular Facials: Regular facials help to deep-cleanse and rejuvenate your skin.
- Peels and Laser Treatments: These can target uneven pigmentation and fine lines, improving overall skin texture.
- Botox: This can also enhance your skin’s appearance by smoothing out fine lines, giving you a fresh and youthful look.
2. Volume Loss and Face Shape: Restoring Balance
As we age, we lose some of the youthful curves in our faces, which can lead to a more gaunt or uneven appearance. The strategic use of fillers can address these issues, restoring volume where it’s needed and smoothing out transitions.
How to Achieve This:
- Facial Evaluation: Assess your face shape and identify areas where volume has been lost or redistributed.
- Targeted Filler Use: I use fillers to subtly restore volume and balance. For instance, adding filler to the temples can address the hollowed appearance that can make the brow bone more prominent and the cheekbone overly sharp.
- Natural Look: The goal is to enhance and balance, not overdo it. Subtle adjustments can make a world of difference, giving you a natural, youthful look.
3. Long-Term Anti-Aging Treatments: Boosting Collagen for the Future
Collagen loss begins in our late twenties and accelerates with menopause, affecting skin elasticity and firmness. Long-term anti-aging treatments help stimulate collagen production, keeping your skin resilient and youthful over time.
How to Achieve This:
- Laser Treatments: Stimulate collagen production and improve skin texture.
- Microneedling: A minimally invasive procedure that promotes collagen and elastin production.
- Collagen-Stimulating Fillers: Products like Sculptra work to gradually rebuild lost collagen, giving your skin a natural lift and smoothness.
The Path to Effortless Beauty
It may sound like a lot of work upfront, but the goal is to reach a point where you’re maintaining rather than constantly treating. With regular, thoughtful treatments, maintaining your aesthetic results becomes almost effortless.
By following these strategies, you’ll be able to achieve a look that is both beautiful and natural—without falling into the trap of overdone or artificial appearances. The end result? Looking like the very best version of yourself, rather than something out of a cautionary tale from reality TV.
So, embrace these approaches and step confidently into the world of aesthetic enhancements. With the right treatments and a bit of patience, you’ll find yourself radiating beauty that’s as natural as it is stunning.
Meet The Expert :
Dr. Katie Mann, DNP, FNP-C
Looking back, I think my journey started at a young age. My mom took me to get facials in middle school so I really started taking care of my skin around that time! After nursing school, I worked in a hospital and pretty much immediately knew it wasn’t for me long term. A friend of a friend mentioned a Botox class to me because she knew I was unhappy with my job. I had gotten Botox once or twice before that so I decided to take the class and here I am! That was over 8 years ago now and I haven’t looked back.
What encouraged you to start Curated Medical? I started Curated Medical because I wanted to provide a certain level of service to my clients. I wanted to create a place that client knew they could trust to provide the best services, the best results, and the best customer service and also be in a really great upscale setting. There are SO many different lasers, treatments, devices, etc, it’s very confusing for patients. I wanted to Curate our services to be able to address clients needs without being too overwhelming.
What licensing do you have? I am a nurse practitioner now so I have a doctorate in nursing practice. To be an injector in Arizona, you only need to take a 1 day class (very scary!). I want to be the best at what I do so I am always doing continuing education and classes with world leaders in aesthetics.
How have you seen the industry grow or change? Since I started 8-9 years ago, the industry has changed so much. I remember when I was first learning to do lip filler, it was still sort of taboo and trying to find people who wanted lip filler was so hard! I think the biggest shift I’ve seen though is that now we look at things a lot more holistically in aesthetics. We used to just do cheek filler or lip filler because we could. Now we really evaluate the whole face and do more “facial balancing” where we are making your features look more harmonious rather than augmenting specific areas and making them look obvious. For me, there’s been a shift into really focusing on skin quality and lasers. I really believe that skin quality is everything.
Anything in the industry to be cautious about as a patient? There are so many things to be cautious about! First, as I mentioned there are a ton of untrained injectors. You want to see someone who injecting is their primary role (not something they do on the side) and that they are regularly doing continuing education. There are a lot of med spas that are also very salesy and don’t really want the best for you. You want to make sure that your provider is doing a treatment because they truly feel that you will benefit, not just to make the money. Also, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
What is your long term goal with Curated Medical? Long term I would love to continue to grow Curated Medical but it’s really important to me to maintain our level of customer service and have highly knowledgeable providers.
Favorite product on the market? Favorite treatment and its benefits? My favorite product is a hard question. One thing I’ve learned is that most skincare products are meant to be layered together, so if you just use one product from a line, you don’t usually get as much of the benefit as you do when you do the full regimen. I do love the Noon Aesthetics Halo-Ronic and Double White products. Halo-Ronic is a hyaluronic acid serum that also has curcumin and neem so it’s hydrating, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial. Double White is a brightening product that’s amazing from brown spots and melasma but it’s also anti-inflammatory and can help with redness or evening out your skin tone. My favorite treatment is our CoolPeel laser. It’s a superficial CO2 laser that basically makes your skin look like it has a filter.
Learn more about Katie Mann on Social @curatedmedical or CuratedMedical.MD