Since 2013, Certified Aesthetic Nurse Specialist Brittany Haley has been helping patients in the LJC med spa with her extensive knowledge of a wide range of treatments. Though she is brilliant at everything she does, she’s often referred to as our “laser wizard.”
Within Brittany’s 14 years of working in aesthetics, she has witnessed many innovations and improvements to the dermal fillers, neuromodulators, and lasers that were available at the beginning of her career.
As an international trainer for Sciton, Brittany sprinkles her knowledge with practices near and far to get them ready to go with the newest technologies.
- Learn more about Brittany
- Check out Brittany’s Instagram to see how she keeps her patients #foreveryoung
- Hear Brittany talk about some of the treatments she specializes in on our laser and ThermiVa episodes
Please request your free consultation online or call La Jolla Cosmetic, San Diego, at (858) 788-7989 for more
Transcript
Speaker 1 (00:07):
You are listening to The La Jolla Cosmetic Podcast.
Monique Ramsey (00:14):
Welcome everyone to The La Jolla Cosmetic Podcast. I’m your hostess, Monique Ramsey, and today I’m going to have a wonderful guest. You’re going to love. Her name is Brittany Haley and she’s an RN and she is a laser wizard. So welcome Brittany.
Brittany Haley (00:35):
Thank you. I’m happy to be here.
Monique Ramsey (00:38):
So when did you join the practice?
Brittany Haley (00:40):
I joined La Jolla Cosmetic in 2013. I actually worked for our current medical director in his private practice prior to that. And I’ve been in the world of aesthetics, gosh, it’s like it’s going to make me look old to say, but I believe 2010, I started in aesthetics. So I’ve been around in this industry for quite some time, enough time to see some amazing changes that we have had in technology and availability and always new great things coming out. And so I’m happy to be here to share a little bit of that with everybody.
Monique Ramsey (01:22):
You’re a nurse and your specialty really, I think, I mean you do everything and you do it all beautifully. So I don’t want to pigeonhole you into one thing, but you do a lot of laser treatments with a lot of different devices and you are a national trainer for Sciton, which is a laser manufacturer. So can you tell everybody a little bit about that?
Brittany Haley (01:44):
Absolutely, yes. So I do trainings for Sciton. I do them in the US and Canada. So technically I am international.
Monique Ramsey (01:54):
International. Love it.
Brittany Haley (01:56):
I’ve been doing that for the last five years. And so basically what I do with that is when a practice wants to get some extra training for their staff, for the laser systems they have or if they get a new system, they send me out to the practice to get them set up and running to give them additional training. So I kind of am their guru for the day and take them through the training and get them set up running, ready to go. And then I’m a resource for them clinically as well forever. I love getting to travel and meet other offices and see what they’re doing and I feel like I always learn something too, every time I go about something cool and new they’re doing other places. So it’s great to see what other places they’re doing and I’m happy to share my knowledge with them to make them better providers.
Monique Ramsey (02:46):
And where’s the farthest you’ve gone to train?
Brittany Haley (02:51):
I have been out to Fairbanks, Alaska. It was pretty cold. And then I’ve been as far north as Edmonton, Canada.
Monique Ramsey (02:59):
Oh my goodness. Great. So I’m assuming, no, I don’t know if this is true, but I’m assuming you decided you wanted to be a nurse, but when you went into nursing, did you ever think it would lead into aesthetic nursing and specifically being a provider where you’re treating people every day, all day?
Brittany Haley (03:19):
I love that question. And back when I was in nursing school, this was not considered a very common career path. There’s so much more available now than there was then. There’s now training programs and institutes and actually a new nursing certification from the ANA directly. And none of that was even heard of back then, but I was interested already. In nursing school, I was already interested in the aesthetic world and interested in those type of services. And so I sought it out quickly. And back then we only had a couple of dermal fillers on the market. We had Botox on the market, some laser devices, and so I started out operating lasers part-time and then it became, I was working for multiple practices throughout San Diego, did that for some time. And then La Jolla Cosmetic, they wanted me full time, so they said, “No, we want you to be here all the time. We don’t want you visiting other practices and that kind of thing, so we want you here and just here.”
(04:25):
But I’m really happy I did get that experience off the bat of working for different surgeons and dermatologists, different ethnic groups, seeing a lot of devices of what was on the market now and learning a lot about a lot of different ones. That experience is priceless in my opinion, and really helps shape you into the provider that you come to be and the things you’re comfortable treating. I mean, a good example is I did spend some time working for a Filipino dermatologist and that was eye-opening for me. A lot of the laser treatments that we do, they’re catered to skin type and conditions that certain skin types have and don’t. And laser treatments are typically a little bit more challenging for those with darker skin. And so I had a solid background on that early on. So that’s really helped give me a lot of comfort level in treating all skin types.
(05:19):
And so I feel like I have a good perspective on things that we need and the market they fulfill and things that we don’t. And that experience really helped shape that. So we’re able to provide treatments that are worth it, treatments that are good and are tried and true, and we know are going to be what’s leading device type treatments in this industry.
Monique Ramsey (05:43):
And how to evaluate them. Your background is so extensive. It’s not just knowing how to do the treatment, how to do the treatment on that particular patient to achieve the goal, but how the technology really works in the first place. And I overheard you talking about it one time, we were doing a video or something and it’s really complicated, the wavelengths. And so knowing how they work and knowing how to work them safely for every patient day in and day out and how to evaluate because like you say, new ones are coming all the time. And I’m sure they come in front of you and say, “Buy my device, it’s the best thing ever.” But knowing how to read the studies. I’m sure you look at studies and scientific papers of what’s really happening with these.
Brittany Haley (06:31):
Yeah. We do have, you know, new treatments, devices come out regularly. And I’m looking at so many things besides just what this salesperson is telling me. I’m looking at the device itself. Is it a quality device? Is it made well? Is it going to need a lot of repairs? Is it going to provide a consistent result that I can depend upon for my patients? I will only recommend treatments that I know produce a consistent, reliable result. I think that’s really important. Give me confidence as a provider that I’m recommending a treatment that’s tried and true. So a lot of things go into the decision making process when choosing those.
Monique Ramsey (07:10):
Yeah. Now tell me about your educational path and where you trained.
Brittany Haley (07:15):
So I did nursing school at San Diego State University. So I’m a local San Diegan, never left. I’ve been to a lot of places and must say I’m always happy to come home to San Diego. Even if they’re nice places, we’ve got it pretty good here. And then I was one of the first nurses to get certified as a certified aesthetic nurse specialist. So it’s called a CANS. And this is a certification process that is now an accredited nursing certification of last year. That’s where they formally got the title and the recognition from the American Nurses Association. And so this is just like a certification you get in the hospital, say if you are becoming a specialized ICU nurse or a diabetic nurse, there is now one that is a certified aesthetic nurse.
(08:02):
And so I’m proud that I did that early on and it’s becoming honestly something that we’re looking for now. If you have this accreditation, we’re looking at that and we know that you’ve gone through years of experience, you have to have a certain number of years in the field, you have to pass quite a lengthy exam, and then also be certified by a medical doctor, dermatologist or a plastic surgeon. So that’s an accreditation that we’re going to see more often coming out and something that we look for in even applicants that we have apply here.
Monique Ramsey (08:38):
And what have you learned over the years in listening to patients?
Brittany Haley (08:43):
So much. Part of being in the aesthetics world is being able to talk to patients and the consultation process and how delicate that is and seeing … It’s almost like we’re giving you a little bit of a psychological consult as well. What is this person really looking for? What really is going to make you happy? And what can I do on my part to nail down what it really is that’s bothering you? Fix it in a way that’s worth it and reasonable and meet your expectations. And this is something that takes time to figure out. There’s bumps along the way and we’re like, “Man, I really just didn’t nail down what was bothering that person.” And so it’s something you always get better at. So even now here, 14 years later, I feel that every day I get better at that.
Monique Ramsey (09:30):
Well, and I think having that extensive background and training in other offices and working in other places where you’ve worked with so many devices that you’ve kind of seen so many things that you’re able to distill it down and help them with a specific treatment or even, I know that you tend to combine a lot of things. Let’s say they’re concerned about pore size and they’re concerned about broken capillaries and some sun damage and some fine lines and wrinkles. Is there the one amazing machine? There’s a lot of great machines, but do you sometimes say, well, let’s add a little of this or that?
Brittany Haley (10:10):
Absolutely. And I think that’s something that really does set our practice apart as we do have a lot of options. We have a lot of devices, we have a lot of ways to get you to that goal. And I’m helping you figure out the fastest, most cost effective, safest way to get you there. And that’s why I will kind of tap into that I don’t do just lasers. I do everything we offer here. So what I like to do is create a long-term plan for patients that addresses multiple things for them. And a lot of times it will involve laser treatments customized to what the concerns are. I have lasers that I can focus on for redness in particular certain conditions like rosacea, even certain skin conditions like sebaceous hyperplasia, bumpy skin, severely photo damaged skin.
(10:54):
We can address all these things and since it takes me a few different tools in my toolbox to make that plan, that we have all that available and then how can we maintain that plan for a long time? And so other things like preventable injectable treatments, newer things that we’re doing now, things with threads, things with new devices, there’s always more tools coming out of this toolbox, which is so amazing.
Monique Ramsey (11:19):
And being in a busy practice with so many providers, we’re lucky that we have so many tools at our disposal because some offices might just have one. And if they just have one, that’s exactly what they’re going to recommend.
Brittany Haley (11:32):
Such a good point. Yes. And I do have that happen. I have a patient do a consult and they’re like, “Hey, well I went to this office here and they recommended that this is it. This is the thing for me and this is what it should be.” And I say, “Well, hey, that’s a great thing and we have it too. But that’s probably because they don’t have other things to offer. So that’s what they’ve got. But we have more options than that to choose from.”
Monique Ramsey (11:54):
Now let’s go into, we’ve covered professional Brittany. Let’s talk about in your free time, what do you love to do? Where could we find you?
Brittany Haley (12:06):
My days are pretty busy with my two little ones currently. So my daughter just turned five and she is in pre-K and she is just my little sweetheart, my little Mini. And so that’s where you’ll find me most days is spending time with her and my son. My son is two and he’s turning three soon. And so our weekends are full of SeaWorld and playgrounds and that sort of thing, which I love. But I do have other interests and passions. Pre-COVID especially, I was an avid traveler. And of course I travel frequently doing trainings, that kind of thing. But my husband and I usually would set a goal to do some kind of new travel experience once a month.
Monique Ramsey (12:51):
Nice.
Brittany Haley (12:52):
Yeah. Our soonest venture is coming up soon. We’re going to go to the Pacific Coast North of San Francisco, like that Mill Valley area. So we have a little trip coming up with some hiking involved.
Monique Ramsey (13:05):
Oh, fun.
Brittany Haley (13:05):
I’m excited for that. And gosh, I used to cook.
Monique Ramsey (13:10):
You used to cook?
Brittany Haley (13:11):
I cook macaroni now. My repertoire of dishes has declined. Macaroni and cheese, corn dogs and yeah, maybe a PB&J in there, but I make a mean charcuterie board, I will say that.
Monique Ramsey (13:27):
You do?
Brittany Haley (13:28):
I can still put that together pretty well.
Monique Ramsey (13:30):
Okay. Oh yeah. They can be like works of art. That’s the thing. They’re not only tasty, they’re beautiful.
Brittany Haley (13:36):
Oh yeah. I’m very into salami roses right now.
Monique Ramsey (13:40):
Oh, salami roses.
Brittany Haley (13:41):
Very pretty. Very pretty.
Monique Ramsey (13:42):
So tell me about what procedures you love to do and why?
Brittany Haley (13:48):
I do a variety of procedures. The best days for me are days when I’m doing a lot of different things. I like variety. I like a day when I’m doing maybe a big laser resurfacing in the morning. And then I have some fun filler plans going on for patients. And then maybe I have a ThermiVa to set the day apart. But really what I like doing the best for my patients is making a plan for you where we address multiple things, and seeing it through, and getting you to the place where you want to be at. And it will involve multiple things that we’re doing and long-term maintenance. But I like working in that method where I’m creating this complex plan where I’m able to see through all parts of it.
Monique Ramsey (14:29):
And I know that you are very communicative with your patients. One of the staff we do, what do they call them? Like Fab Fridays or we do something where we do shout outs for our team and people nominate other people for one, that you’re a superstar. And the one the other day was just talking about how happy your patients are, that you are so communicative with them and help them through the process. And I just think that it’s not just to see you and do the thing and then you’re gone. It’s that you’re there through the process with them.
Brittany Haley (15:06):
It’s so true. And I do a lot of communication through email. I have patients that I saw in 2015, 2016 sometimes still shoot me an email now in 2022. And they’re like, “Hey, I’m back. Do you remember me?” And I’m like, “Of course I remember you. Let’s talk about where you’re at now.” [inaudible 00:15:22]. So they even have a way to connect with me even though it’s been years.
Monique Ramsey (15:27):
That’s nice.
Brittany Haley (15:28):
And typically what I’ll do in office for, especially for my resurfacing procedures, is I will send an email to my patient while they’re there in the chair on their phone. They’re like, “Oh, I got it.” I’m like, “Perfect, you got me now. You need a question from me. You have a way to get a hold of me directly.” And so having that really easy way for you to have direct questions, concerns, that kind of thing, I think is so helpful. I do have patients who do pretty big treatments, laser resurfacing, things that have some healing time that they really need some guidance, some help along the way. And I’m there for them every step. They can always send me pictures, ask me questions, and I’m always pretty good, I think, getting back quickly and following through along the way. So I think that makes patients feel really safe. They know they always have that line of communication.
Monique Ramsey (16:14):
Well and like you say, I mean, you’ve been in one spot for all these years and really they know they can count on you. And even if you’re off having a baby, you’ll be back. Any more kids on the …
Brittany Haley (16:24):
No more. All done.
Monique Ramsey (16:26):
All done. Okay.
Brittany Haley (16:27):
Nope. Couldn’t be happier. I’ve got my two and yeah, definitely none of that set for the next steps. I’ll be here.
Monique Ramsey (16:38):
Yeah. Now talking about being here, where is here? We have a new location that will be opening in just about a month. Tell us about that.
Brittany Haley (16:49):
Yes. I’m so excited for this. We’ve been in the same space for a long time here. We’re at Scripps Hospital in La Jolla, and it’s a wonderful facility. We’re in a great building, but I do think that we do see a lot of patients from all over San Diego. We have a very big patient presence in North County. I live in North County, I live in Solana Beach. My family’s from North County. And so we are finally opening a new location in Carlsbad. It’s in a beautiful shopping center in La Costa. So it’s a really nice area, relatively kind of secluded on the end of a shopping center, and it’s going to be really nice in terms of parking in particular. It’s going to be very easy to cruise in, cruise out, plenty of parking, beautiful, spacious new office with fresh, clean new walls and environments.
(17:42):
We are having some new treatments offered there as well, which I am super excited to start offering our patients. We’re going to be having a new RF microneedling device there called Morpheus that we have already kind of put it into plan. And I’ve been super excited developing treatment plans and protocols for it so far. It’s going to be a wonderful new addition to the services that we offer here.
Monique Ramsey (18:06):
Fun. We’ll have to have a podcast about that.
Brittany Haley (18:09):
We definitely should.
Monique Ramsey (18:10):
So they’ll be able to find you in Carlsbad. Will you still be coming to La Jolla or will you be up in Carlsbad?
Brittany Haley (18:17):
I will. So I’ll be going to Carlsbad Wednesdays, and then I will still be here in La Jolla Monday. Tuesday, Thursdays are my clinic days.
Monique Ramsey (18:24):
Okay. Oh good. So everybody gets to have a piece of Brittany’s talent. So everybody who’s listening will have in the show notes, links to Brittany’s bio, anything that we talked about will have links too. One thing I didn’t ask you about, but I think you just recently started your own Instagram because it you and your family, Instagram all mush together and now you have your own. And so we’ll link that in the podcast notes. And what’s it called?
Brittany Haley (18:56):
It’s Nurse Brit, so just N-U-R-S-E-B-R-I-T_. So pretty easy to remember. It is a work in progress, but it’s going well. We’ve got some great support now and systems in place where we can create some really great information out there more before and after photos, and it’s going to just get better. So definitely if you get a chance to check it out, I would love that. And I love any collaboration from there as well. So we’ll be seeing more of that in 2023 for sure.
Monique Ramsey (19:27):
Good. And so you’ll have links to all that in the show notes. And on Brittany’s bio, we’ll have any of the videos or other podcasts she’s done. Also has all of her patient reviews. And so you can read what people have said about their time in Brittany’s chair and what they think of their results. It’s just a really nice, transparent way to get to know you other than face to face. And our brand promise is where dreams become real. So tell us, Brittany, what’s a dream of yours that became real?
Brittany Haley (20:01):
Of course, I’m going to say my family and my children because it’s just such a wonderful thing that I have two beautiful, healthy children, and that’s something that always has been a dream of mine. As well as being a part of such a great practice being established at our office, and we have such a wonderful growing team here, and such great teamwork and things that we do, and we do really make dreams become real. It’s just such a pleasure to work for a place where you can have that ability to do that.
Monique Ramsey (20:34):
We’re definitely very lucky, and to have you with us every day is a pleasure. And so thanks, Brittany. It was so fun getting to meet you and letting everybody who’s listening get to meet you as well. So thanks everybody for listening.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
Take a screenshot of this podcast episode with your phone and show it at your consultation or appointment or mention the promo code PODCAST to receive $25 off any service or product of $50 or more at La Jolla Cosmetic. La Jolla Cosmetic is located just off the I-5 San Diego Freeway in the XiMED Building on the Scripps Memorial Hospital Campus. To learn more, go to ljcsc.com or follow the team on Instagram @LJCSC. The La Jolla Cosmetic Podcast is a production of The Axis.