Latest / Skin Anarchy / Scratching Beyond The Surface of Nail Health with DefenAge
Transcript
- 0:00SPEAKER_00: Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of Skin Anarchy.
- 0:03SPEAKER_00: This is Ekna, and I am so excited to have the brand that we're hosting today.
- 0:08SPEAKER_00: I I know a lot of you know about them because um they were all over our top picks awards this year, and I am a huge fan of pretty much every product that they create.
- 0:17SPEAKER_00: The science is just remarkable.
- 0:19SPEAKER_00: It's, you know, every product is very science-backed.
- 0:22SPEAKER_00: So without further ado, I'm gonna introduce you guys to Dr.
- 0:25SPEAKER_00: Natalie Curcio, who is representing uh DeafAge here today.
- 0:29SPEAKER_00: Welcome, Doc.
- 0:30SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited to host you.
- 0:31SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
- 0:33SPEAKER_00: Um, I'd love to learn more about what got you involved with um the brand.
- 0:38SPEAKER_00: If you could tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.
- 0:43SPEAKER_01: Sure.
- 0:43SPEAKER_01: So um I am a uh board-certified dermatologist and Mo surgeon.
- 0:49SPEAKER_01: Um I have been practicing dermatology for 15 years, and I've owned my own practice in Nashville, Tennessee for the past 11 years.
- 0:57SPEAKER_01: Um, I originally was introduced to Definage in 2016 at the American Academy of Dermatology meeting, and I was so impressed by the innovative science and technology behind the products.
- 1:11SPEAKER_01: So I decided to try uh the original two products, which was their barrier balance cream and bio serum, on my face just to see what type of results would ensue.
- 1:23SPEAKER_01: Uh, within a week, people were commenting on my facial texture.
- 1:28SPEAKER_01: And, you know, as somebody who is a little bit skeptical of immediate results, I was kind of like, this is interesting.
- 1:36SPEAKER_01: So I continued with the products.
- 1:38SPEAKER_01: And after one month, reps would stop in my office, and everybody was trying to touch the skin on my cheeks, saying that my texture looked unbelievable.
- 1:47SPEAKER_01: And I wasn't somebody with bad texture to begin with.
- 1:50SPEAKER_01: So this was kind of exciting.
- 1:52SPEAKER_01: And then after six months, um I had returned to another core dermatology meeting, and everybody was asking me what products I was using, um, including fellow dermatologists, because they wanted to use the same things.
- 2:05SPEAKER_01: And so I was convinced.
- 2:07SPEAKER_01: And by that point, I had already added Defunage skincare as a product offering in my practice for my patients, and they were having simultaneously the same experience as me.
- 2:19SPEAKER_01: And so it really was a true revolution in topical skincare.
- 2:24SPEAKER_01: And then every product that is followed has continued to impress and exceed expectations.
- 2:29SPEAKER_01: And I have used them all.
- 2:31SPEAKER_01: And then with the brand itself, my involvement, you know, quickly evolved from being a consumer and physician promoter to a key opinion leader, speaker, medical advisory board member, um, clinical dermatology expert to help new products pre-launch and an investigator for small clinical studies.
- 2:52SPEAKER_00: That's so cool.
- 2:52SPEAKER_00: And I'm glad that you you mentioned how well the products really worked, even for yourself.
- 2:58SPEAKER_00: You know, I know that, you know, you've probably seen it all, you know, in dermatology with all the different skin conditions, but it's really kind of I guess nice for consumers to hear when dermatologists really love a brand, you know, especially in the OTC space.
- 3:13SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, there's a lot of options out here.
- 3:15SPEAKER_00: And I think sometimes consumers get confused.
- 3:17SPEAKER_00: And definage for me as a consumer, I mean, I felt the same way, exactly what you described when I first tried the brand.
- 3:23SPEAKER_00: I was like, this is amazing.
- 3:24SPEAKER_00: You know, it's it's replacing like three steps in my routine automatically, you know, just with the serum.
- 3:29SPEAKER_00: I'd love for you to give us a little refresher, if possible, just for the audience, so that we can understand the science of definage and what really, you know, what's the hallmark science?
- 3:39SPEAKER_01: So that's really key to definage.
- 3:41SPEAKER_01: So um the technology and definage is based on the defensin molecule.
- 3:46SPEAKER_01: So defensins are natural messaging molecules in our body.
- 3:51SPEAKER_01: And what they do is they wake up a dormant stem cell called the LGR6 positive stem cell that for most of our life just remains dormant, except when we need it during the wound healing process.
- 4:05SPEAKER_01: And when activated, this stem cell creates new uh basal cells at the base of our epidermis or top layer of skin, which then creates new fresh skin cells.
- 4:17SPEAKER_01: And so um, definage has patented these age repair defensins, which when applied to the skin, um trigger this process to create new fresh skin.
- 4:28SPEAKER_01: And this can then help address the appearance of fine lines, coarse wrinkles, textural irregularities, sagging, excessive pigment, inflammation, and pore size while promoting cell renewal.
- 4:43SPEAKER_01: What I love about it is it's one product that can address global anti-aging.
- 4:48SPEAKER_00: The wound healing is a very interesting topic, I think, for all of us, you know, because we we often hear about, you know, like micro traumas and just things that are affecting our skin daily, you know, whether it's environmental triggers or or anything.
- 5:00SPEAKER_00: And to be able to then repair that with, you know, skincare that you can take home with you, that's huge.
- 5:06SPEAKER_00: I'd love to actually talk about some of the other products in the range, though, because I know that there's um obviously there's the hallmarks of the serum and the moisturizer that are pretty famous.
- 5:15SPEAKER_00: And I mean, I've tried them myself.
- 5:17SPEAKER_00: I use them pretty regularly, but I know that the in terms of like nail health, definage also has um products in this category.
- 5:25SPEAKER_00: And I'd love to talk about, you know, what made the brand or inspired the brand go in this direction.
- 5:31SPEAKER_01: Yes.
- 5:32SPEAKER_01: So, you know, historically they had two products, a face cream followed by a bio serum.
- 5:38SPEAKER_01: And then they expanded to really cover the whole skin with like an eye cream, neck cream, and body cream over which that serum can be applied.
- 5:47SPEAKER_01: Um, and they also have a mask and cleanser.
- 5:49SPEAKER_01: And then they looked at other needs in the body that are, you know, in dermatology we see a lot, which is hair loss.
- 5:56SPEAKER_01: Um, and so they developed a hair serum followed by um problems with, you know, nail splitting, nail growth, which they developed this nail serum, and then they recently just lost a lip serum.
- 6:08SPEAKER_01: So, really now we have all the products where defensins um can wake up the stem cells and address the skin, the hair follicles and the nails to regenerate all of the skin and its appendages.
- 6:21SPEAKER_01: So that's kind of how we landed at hair, nails, and lips after the skin, which I think is kind of a nice journey to think about and see how their innovation has kind of followed patient need.
- 6:34SPEAKER_00: That's interesting.
- 6:35SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, with nails, I mean, what is the role of defenses in nail health?
- 6:41SPEAKER_01: So, um, what they have found is that LGR6 stem cell that um activates the skin is also in the nail matrix or nail root to generate your nail.
- 6:55SPEAKER_01: So Defenage um and its founder, Nikolai Turvitz, was able to figure out how to trigger the um stem cells and the nail root to grow using the defensins.
- 7:08SPEAKER_01: And so that's why um this product has been um so effective and so innovative because prior to um the definage product, the current products on the market only had chemicals to go into the existing nail plate and try to like temporarily cosmetically fix an old damage nail or just moisturize cuticles.
- 7:32SPEAKER_01: But this product actually stimulates the nail matrix, produces a fresh new nail plate, and then actually improves the quality of the nail from the origin, creating a new fresh nail.
- 7:44SPEAKER_00: Oh wow.
- 7:45SPEAKER_00: So that that actually explains a lot because there was um, I I want to share a little story for all of our listeners.
- 7:50SPEAKER_00: I had a, you know, when I first tried the nail product, I um, you know, I'd kind of like broken my nail and it was very painful.
- 7:57SPEAKER_00: And I remember thinking, I'm like, you know what, this would be the perfect time to test out, you know, some of the PR I've gotten.
- 8:04SPEAKER_00: And I I was looking at, you know, Deaf Naja's product and I was like, let me try this.
- 8:08SPEAKER_00: And literally in two days, like I noticed a difference not only in like the pain response I was experiencing, but also like I started to notice that it is actually healing.
- 8:18SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I and I can tell you one of the things when I I never had bad nails, but I get that like split brittle nail.
- 8:25SPEAKER_01: And so it really helps with that.
- 8:27SPEAKER_01: And then a lot of times, you know, all of our nails look good, and then one just breaks off, and then you're like, man, no, I've got to cut all my nails back so it doesn't look bad.
- 8:35SPEAKER_01: But when if you apply it like let's say twice a day to that one broken nail and maybe once a day to the others, you will really see the rapid growth in that nail catch up much faster than if you just let it be and try to catch up on its own.
- 8:48SPEAKER_00: I want to actually talk about the clinical studies.
- 8:50SPEAKER_00: If I if you could like kind of tell us a little bit about some of the studies that were done on the nail root serum and the results that we're seeing.
- 8:59SPEAKER_01: Sure.
- 8:59SPEAKER_01: So um they conducted a pilot clinical study that was independent by a third party in a US-based clinic.
- 9:07SPEAKER_01: And um, there were four participants, three males and or excuse me, three females and one male.
- 9:13SPEAKER_01: So if you look take four patients times 10 nail plates, that was 40 nail plates that were analyzed.
- 9:20SPEAKER_01: And um, they evaluated uh this uh high concentration of defensin product at baseline months one, two, and three.
- 9:28SPEAKER_01: Um, and they looked at four clinical parameters in particular um nail plate smoothness, um, nail plate strength, uh, speed of growth, and skin quality around the nail plates.
- 9:44SPEAKER_01: And um, at the end of the study, they found that people had up to 92% smoother nails, up to 54% stronger nails, and up to 78% more hydration around the skin of the nails, um, and that a regeneration mechanism was triggered, which made the nails grow faster.
- 10:06SPEAKER_01: And people saw an initial result within 30 days.
- 10:09SPEAKER_01: So at about a month, you should start seeing results, and that this continued over the three-month period.
- 10:14SPEAKER_01: So with continued uh use, you should have continued results.
- 10:18SPEAKER_00: That's really interesting.
- 10:20SPEAKER_00: Now, you know, that makes me think of a lot of people who we go and we get our nails done, right?
- 10:24SPEAKER_00: Like a lot of people love to get manicures, and I know acrylic nails.
- 10:28SPEAKER_00: I mean, back when I was in like in college and high school, acrylic nails were the thing, you know, everybody was getting them.
- 10:33SPEAKER_00: And I remember it would just make your nail so thin, the nail bed so, so thin, like paper thin.
- 10:39SPEAKER_00: And um, I'm just curious, you know, in terms of anyone who does get nail treatments, um, you know, it can this help with that, like in terms of like the paper thin nail and like the the brittleness that you see and all of that.
- 10:55SPEAKER_01: Well, so the one thing that is nice about this product, um, regardless of what type of polish you have on, you can actually apply it around and behind the nails, um, like at the cuticle, because the product will go down into the matrix matrix, even with polish applied.
- 11:13SPEAKER_01: So that is one nice thing.
- 11:15SPEAKER_01: You don't have to stop if your nails or toenails are polished.
- 11:18SPEAKER_01: Um, now with acrylic and some gels, if they're grinding your nail down, it can't fix that part distally.
- 11:26SPEAKER_01: But you know, it's going to work on regenerating the nail back at the base.
- 11:30SPEAKER_01: Um, but it like if you're just using regular nail polish where they're not grinding down your nails, it can actually make a huge improvement as well.
- 11:39SPEAKER_01: But what I always tell patients, and I do myself follow this because I do paint my toenails, is I do recommend at least once or twice a year taking at least, depending on how fast your nails or toenails grow, you know, a four to six to eight week polish holiday, because you'll find your nails regenerate actually really quickly.
- 11:57SPEAKER_01: And then a lot of the um like hyperkeratotic material like that looks like white crust on your nails, which isn't fungus, but some people think is, that will all you know come off and your nails actually look a lot healthier.
- 12:09SPEAKER_01: And I'm doing my polish holiday right now for my toenails.
- 12:13SPEAKER_01: And um, I mean, within two to three days of applying the definage, my toenails were growing faster.
- 12:20SPEAKER_01: Um, my nail like color and quality and um ridging improved.
- 12:26SPEAKER_01: And so it is really nice to see just really how quickly the nail responds to such, you know, I rejuvenating product.
- 12:34SPEAKER_00: Right now I watch it on TikTok all the time.
- 12:36SPEAKER_00: You know, young women are going and getting their nails done almost every week, you know, and it's I always wonder, I'm like, gosh, the damage that we're causing, you know, um, in terms of between treatments or between manicures, like there's gotta be something that we can use that is going to strengthen the nail and keep the integrity, you know, in terms of just uh I guess overall nail health, right?
- 12:57SPEAKER_00: So that's very interesting.
- 12:58SPEAKER_00: And I feel like this product is so perfect for that.
- 13:00SPEAKER_00: I want to talk about like just normal aging though.
- 13:03SPEAKER_00: I would love to actually discuss this topic with you because I think there's not enough education around, you know, what happens to our nails as we normally age.
- 13:11SPEAKER_00: I mean, what are some things that we can ex experience or signs and symptoms that we can, you know, notice as we're getting older?
- 13:18SPEAKER_01: Well, you know, some of the things that can happen, you know, as we age, and you know, some people are just more genetically predisposed to have these earlier than others, but you know, any patient can, you know, be more prone to brittle or fragile nails that easily split, break, or peel.
- 13:35SPEAKER_01: And, you know, brittle nail syndrome, which is just, you know, increased fragility of the nail plate that causes these kind of things, you know, affects 20% of the population.
- 13:45SPEAKER_01: And women are affected twice as often as men.
- 13:49SPEAKER_01: And so, um, you know, especially if you're predisposed to this, you know, you want to watch out for things um like occupational and environmental exposures, like frequent contact with water, um, chemical agents, recurrent trauma to the nail that may be from either your job or hobbies you have.
- 14:08SPEAKER_01: And then, of course, like we just mentioned, frequent manicures.
- 14:12SPEAKER_01: Um, all of this will exacerbate an underlying tendency for nail brittleness.
- 14:16SPEAKER_01: And then, you know, some people just have really slow growing nails.
- 14:20SPEAKER_01: You know, we tend to say nails grow um fully out in three to six months and toenails in six to twelve, but you'll often find people grow much slower, and that's just them.
- 14:30SPEAKER_00: That makes sense.
- 14:31SPEAKER_00: I and I want to actually, you know, just get your opinion on this in terms of because you don't hear a lot about nail health.
- 14:37SPEAKER_00: Like I feel like there's not nearly enough information out there as compared to something like, you know, facial skincare, which we hear about literally everywhere and every day.
- 14:46SPEAKER_00: What is Definage doing to like kind of raise awareness from the education standpoint around all this?
- 14:53SPEAKER_01: Well, I mean, the one thing, you know, cosmeceutical companies can't make medical claims.
- 14:58SPEAKER_01: So I think, you know, that that's important to say.
- 15:01SPEAKER_01: And there are a lot of medical conditions that can cause nail problems.
- 15:06SPEAKER_01: Um, and so I think the one thing I would say is if people have had significant chronic nail problems, they should see a board-certified dermatologist to be sure there isn't an underlying medical condition, you know, causing a brittle nail, a split nail, a pitted nail, you know, umicolysis like a lifted nail.
- 15:26SPEAKER_01: I mean, there can be medical problems, infectious diseases, and things like that.
- 15:29SPEAKER_01: So I think that is, we don't want to treat everything as a cosmetic problem.
- 15:33SPEAKER_01: Um, but I think there are many so many underlying systemic and infectious diseases that can call nail disease, you want to make sure to rule all of that out and seek medical treatment as appropriately before, you know, using a cosmosutical.
- 15:49SPEAKER_00: That makes sense.
- 15:50SPEAKER_00: So, in terms of like using the nail root serum, um, what are some of the best ways to incorporate it into our daily routine to see like the optimal results?
- 16:00SPEAKER_01: It's actually very easy to use and um ergonomically very well designed.
- 16:06SPEAKER_01: Uh so the recommended use is um twice daily, once in the morning and once in the evening.
- 16:12SPEAKER_01: Um, it has a little built-in brush made from um horse hair is at the tip, and you would apply one pump of the serum on the tip of the nail, and you um would start with your first finger, like your thumb, and then brush the serum from the cuticle forward to the nail end and make sure it is distributed on the skin around the nail, and then continue to brush on the remainder of the remaining four nails on that hand.
- 16:39SPEAKER_01: And sometimes one pump is good for all 10 nails.
- 16:42SPEAKER_01: And if you need another pump, then you would um do it on the, let's say the thumb of your other hand, brushing from cuticle to tip, and then continue on the remaining four fingers on the other hand.
- 16:53SPEAKER_01: And generally I find because most people's uh toes and toenails are smaller, that one pump is enough for all 10 toes.
- 17:01SPEAKER_00: That's interesting.
- 17:01SPEAKER_00: I guess you could do it at night just to make sure you're not wiping it off during the day.
- 17:07SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
- 17:07SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I was saying make sure your hands are washed, like you finish everything else, because it does either need to stay on a minimum of 30 minutes uh without contact with water or overnight.
- 17:16SPEAKER_00: In terms of like, you know, I mean, definage is just really leading the way, I feel like in a lot of ways, you know, when it comes to innovation and the science of all of their products.
- 17:26SPEAKER_00: I mean, I'd love to learn what's next for the brand.
- 17:28SPEAKER_00: Is there anything that's on the horizon or anything new that's coming up?
- 17:31SPEAKER_01: Sure.
- 17:32SPEAKER_01: So, you know, they just released their lip serum for like rejuvenation and anti-aging.
- 17:37SPEAKER_01: Um, so people may not know it's out, but it it just launched.
- 17:40SPEAKER_01: So that's really exciting.
- 17:41SPEAKER_01: I'm someone I feel like I always have dry lips.
- 17:44SPEAKER_01: And so it's a nice serum that you can apply twice daily.
- 17:47SPEAKER_01: It's it's not an ointment like like um like a Vaseline type ointment.
- 17:52SPEAKER_01: So, you know, you use it twice a day.
- 17:54SPEAKER_01: So I always tell patients, you know, you don't want to use it 15 times a day.
- 17:57SPEAKER_01: It's not gonna work better, but you may need something like a Vaseline or aquifort type product in between, and that's okay.
- 18:03SPEAKER_01: But you know, it lasts on about, I'd say, 90 minutes to um two hours uh without you eating and drinking.
- 18:10SPEAKER_01: So you don't want to be, you know, put that on and then drink your coffee because it's gonna come off.
- 18:14SPEAKER_01: But it really does make uh the lips feel a lot better, especially people struggling with like chelitis or lip inflammation.
- 18:20SPEAKER_01: So um that's a wonderful product.
- 18:23SPEAKER_01: And then um uh coming out next year, they're going to be um expanding into the uh post-procedure space with an exciting post-procedure product for you know, like things like microneedling, lasers, both ablative, non-ablative.
- 18:39SPEAKER_01: So that's really exciting.
- 18:40SPEAKER_01: It's the the more products that we have that can, you know, help patients minimize, you know, red list, redness, stinging, burning post-procedure, even if you know if you're not making holes in the skin, um, really is improved quality of life post-procedure.
- 18:53SPEAKER_01: And then, you know, reduced healing times and improved wound healing post-procedure is also excellent.
- 19:00SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
- 19:00SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm excited to see all the new products and you know, I really, really love the brand.
- 19:04SPEAKER_00: And for everyone listening, if you guys haven't uh checked out definage, you definitely need to.
- 19:09SPEAKER_00: I literally don't know a single product in the range that I don't love.
- 19:12SPEAKER_00: I mean, I I really, really enjoy them.
- 19:14SPEAKER_00: And, you know, the nail serum, I think is definitely a game changer in that space because I haven't seen anything else like it, honestly.
- 19:22SPEAKER_00: I mean, I see, like I said, uh to you, Doc, I, you know, I've seen a lot of the nail oils like for cuticles and whatnot, but they don't really often do too much.
- 19:31SPEAKER_00: So to see something that's really backed by science and it's actually helping nail health, I mean, that's huge.
- 19:36SPEAKER_00: So definitely check it out.
- 19:38SPEAKER_00: Let us know what you guys think.
- 19:39SPEAKER_00: But Doctor, thank you so much for your time.
- 19:41SPEAKER_00: It's been wonderful hosting it.
- 19:42SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
- 19:42SPEAKER_01: And I just want to say, definage really, really has the science to back up the products, and there's so many lines that don't.
- 19:48SPEAKER_01: And that's why I carry all of their products because they're scientifically sound and their clinical results are amazing.
- 19:54SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
- 19:55SPEAKER_00: No, they're I mean, it speaks for itself because the products I've used, I've actually seen real results.
- 20:00SPEAKER_00: You know, it's really rare to do to see that with topical solutions.
- 20:04SPEAKER_00: You know, I think um at the end of the day, results speak for themselves, and I've definitely experienced them.
- 20:09SPEAKER_00: I know a lot of people that have tried it have felt the same way.
- 20:12SPEAKER_00: So it's a very solid brand and they're definitely doing something right.
- 20:16SPEAKER_01: And and you know, people come back over and over again.
- 20:18SPEAKER_01: Most people, you know, stop something, want to try something else.
- 20:21SPEAKER_01: But once people see the way they look with definage, they never stop.
- 20:24SPEAKER_01: I mean, I won't stop.
- 20:26SPEAKER_00: I love it very much.
- 20:27SPEAKER_00: But thank you so much.
- 20:28SPEAKER_00: This has been so wonderful to chat with you and thank you.
- 20:31SPEAKER_01: Thank you for having me.
- 20:31SPEAKER_01: It was a pleasure.
- 20:32SPEAKER_00: Yes, likewise.
- 20:33SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
- 20:34SPEAKER_00: Hey guys, so I hope you love that episode.
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