February 7, 2025 • 25 mins
What if the key to beautiful, healthy skin lay not in the latest beauty fad, but in understanding the vital role of sun protection and the artistry of surgery? Join us for an insightful conversation with Dr. Brittany Buhalog, a leading dermatologist and Mohs surgeon, as she shares the intricacies of her profession, from removing skin cancers to the delicate process of facial reconstruction. Dr. Buhalog reveals the profound impact of ultraviolet radiation on skin health and the challenges her patients face, bringing clarity to a subject often clouded by misconceptions.
Throughout our discussion, we unravel the myths of a "safe tan" and emphasize the importance of sunscreen in maintaining youthful skin. Dr. Buhalog's compassionate approach shines as she discusses the critical importance of managing patient expectations and offering personal accessibility, which eases the anxiety often surrounding dermatological surgeries. Whether you're navigating post-surgery concerns or exploring preventative skincare, her insights provide invaluable guidance.
Beyond the medical, Dr. Buhalog shares her strategies for effective marketing and personal branding in the medical field. Discover how she leverages social media and podcasts to engage with patients, particularly in the realm of cosmetic procedures. We also serve up a taste of Las Vegas with Dr. Buhalog's favorite dining spots, while offering skincare tips that include the benefits of vitamin C serums and retinoids. This episode is a treasure trove of wisdom for anyone passionate about skincare and patient care, all sprinkled with a dash of local Vegas flavor.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Paki (00:00):
Welcome to Vegas Circle Podcast with your hosts, paki
and Chris.
We are people who arepassionate about business,
success and culture and this isour platform to showcase to
people in our city who make ithappen.
On today's podcast, we're goingto be sitting down with
dermatologists and Moz Surgeon.
We'll discuss some of thepractical ways that you can
better protect your skin,especially in this extreme Vegas
heat.
Let's welcome to the circle DrBrittany .
Dr. Buhalog (00:23):
I'll say it the right way.
Yes, thank you for having me on.
Chris was killing me before westarted.
You did it.
You got it right.
You got it right.
Paki (00:29):
So it is very good to meet you finally in person.
We'd love to have you to comeon just to kind of give us some
breakdown and we can kind oflearn from you a little bit.
But dermatologist is yourbackground.
Dr. Buhalog (00:46):
What made you line of work and care to get into
Great question?
When I was in medical school Iliked everything that I did and
I couldn't really pick aspecialty that I loved, but I
did really like operating and Ireally liked surgery and in
dermatology I felt like you werekind of the generalist of
specialists.
You do medical dermatology,surgical dermatology, cosmetic
procedures and throughout myresidency I just learned that I
liked skin cancer and operatingthe most.
(01:07):
So I spend about 90% of my daydoing skin cancer surgery,
specifically Mohs micrographicsurgery, and then I spend about
10% of my day doing cosmeticprocedures minimally invasive
things like injectables, lasers,things like that.
Chris (01:22):
Do you have, like, the flexibility to do multiple
avenues?
When you come to adermatologist degree and we say
cosmetic surgery, what does thatreally entail?
Is that full reconstruction?
Do you have the ability to dothat or do you just choose what
you want to do?
Dr. Buhalog (01:34):
Yeah.
So not every dermatologist isgoing to do the same type of
reconstructive surgery that I do.
So I did an additionalfellowship.
So I'm board certified indermatology and then also board
certified in Mohs, micrographicsurgery, which is the skin
cancer removal as well as thefacial reconstruction afterwards
.
So I'm not a facial plasticsurgeon.
I'm not doing nose jobs, browlifts, blepharoplasties, I'm
(01:57):
doing purely cancer removal andthen reconstruction.
So if you get a cancer on yournose and I have to cut off, you
know, half your nose, I'm alsogoing to put it back together
for you afterwards Wow, yeah,how do you put it back together,
like what is the process?
Paki (02:12):
Very carefully, great question.
Dr. Buhalog (02:15):
It really depends.
I mean, sometimes you can juststitch the sides of the skin
together in just a straight line.
That's very easy.
That's called a linear repair.
But then sometimes you have toget really creative and so if,
um, I am removing, you know,part of an entire nostril or you
know part of a nose, andsometimes I have to take skin
from the cheek and put it ontothe nose or the forehead and put
(02:35):
it onto the nose, sometimes Ihave to take cartilage from the
ear and also put it in to addmore support and structure.
So, um, it really gets.
I think there's a really goodmix of science and art when it
comes to Mohs surgery which isone of the reasons why I love it
.
I liked everything, so beingable to really mix the two has
been just a really fun career sofar.
Paki (02:57):
You must really impact a lot of people's lives, man.
When you, especially whenyou're dealing with your face,
you know what I mean.
That's a challenge, that's ahuge challenge, yeah.
Dr. Buhalog (03:08):
I think it's really anxiety provoking for a lot of
patients to come in First of all.
They've got the C word, They'vegot a skin cancer.
They're really nervous about it.
They're really anxious about it.
I walk in, I look like I'm 12,you know pretty old enough to be
doing this Um and then you knowwe're.
Everything that I do is underlocal anesthesia, meaning
patients aren't asleep when I'moperating on them.
So you know, we get to chat, Iget to know them pretty well,
(03:31):
get to know about theirgrandkids really well, but it's
it's a lot of anxiety forpatients and it's really
rewarding to be able to get themthrough that experience and and
have them feel like, oh, thatwasn't quite as bad as I was
anticipating.
Paki (03:45):
For sure.
What is some of the kind oflike how do you get cancer
surgery?
I know there's a lot in depth,but what's some kind of like the
average things that people aregetting you know on a regular
basis that you have to treatCause I know it's gotta be
similar.
You know a lot of similarlayers, yeah.
Dr. Buhalog (03:57):
So the most common type of skin cancer is basal
cell carcinoma and that is madeup from one very specific type
of cell in the top layer of yourskin that is almost always
entirely caused by ultravioletradiation from the sun.
So the more sun exposure youhave, the more burns that you
have.
That puts you at a higher riskof developing that type of skin
cancer.
Squamous cell carcinoma isanother very common type of skin
(04:21):
cancer that I treat, and thatis a lot.
A lot of that has to do withthe sun as well mainly
ultraviolet radiation.
But squamous cell carcinoma canalso be caused by a variety of
other factors, even like the HPVvirus.
It can be caused fromimmunosuppressive medications,
but a lot of that is caused bythe sun.
Melanoma is another one that Ioperate on commonly and that is
(04:46):
also very frequently driven byultraviolet radiation exposure.
But melanoma can have someother genetic causes or genetic
contributions to its development, so that one's a little bit
more multifactorial.
But by and large it isdefinitely caused by the sun.
Chris (05:02):
You're kind of seeing, like you know, dermatologists.
When I always think about them,it's like going to somebody for
a preventative maintenance,right, essentially.
But you're seeing it becomemore and more of a reactionary
type of you know, when peopleare saying, now you need to go
see a dermatologist becauseyou're past this threshold,
right, you know, is there partof your practice?
I know, because obviously youreally spend a lot of time and
(05:22):
how to prevent these things fromhappening.
And, like, what are somethoughts on, like you know,
somebody who may not be asmindful of what they're doing or
exposing their son where, yeah,I wear sunscreen but I'm not
wearing the right one or maybeI'm not doing some of the right
things.
Dr. Buhalog (05:34):
Yeah.
So, um, yes, there's prevention, and then a lot of what I'm
doing is reactionary, right?
People have not been usingsunscreen, or they grew up in
the era where baby oil andiodine was really in vogue and
everybody was, you know, holdingthose foil sun reflectors up to
their face right and sunscreenjust really wasn't widely
available.
The formulas were reallyunpleasing to use, and so a lot
(06:09):
of my job, too, is justeducating people on what they
need to do when it comes tosunscreen.
That's probably the most commonquestion I get asked is what's
the best sunscreen?
Paki (06:17):
That was going to be my next question.
What is the sunscreen I shouldbe using, exactly?
Dr. Buhalog (06:22):
And in reality, sunscreen anything that has an
SPF on the label is reallyheavily regulated by the FDA,
and so if something says that itis an SPF of 30, for example,
if you have two different brands, they're going to perform
equally as well at reflecting orchanging the sun's rays into
not being harmful, and soanything that has an SPF on it
(06:44):
is going to be equally aseffective.
Now, some may be a little bitmore water resistant, some, you
know, the formulas might bedifferent, but if you've got two
SPF 30 sunscreens, they're bothgoing to work equally well, and
so there is no one bestsunscreen.
It's really just a sunscreenthat you like using.
If you use it, if you apply it,if you know your partner
doesn't have to chase you aroundtrying to get you to rub
(07:06):
sunscreen on, then it's going tobe an effective one.
So I tell patients to look foran SPF of 50 or higher and to
try and reapply every two hoursif you're going to be outside.
Reapply more frequently ifyou're going to be sweating or
swimming in the water.
Chris (07:22):
Sure.
Dr. Buhalog (07:23):
But I actually really like sun protective
clothing, because nobody likesputting sunscreen on, Like I
don't.
I don't know a single personwho likes it.
Paki (07:30):
Everybody's fighting with their kids to get sunscreen on
them.
Dr. Buhalog (07:34):
Like, nobody likes it.
And so, um, if you're going tobe outside, especially for long
periods of time, wearing sunprotective clothing, sun
protective sleeves, things likethat is going to be even more
effective, because you don'thave to worry about user error,
of getting enough on, um,getting it in all of the right
places, um, and then you justdon't have to reapply it, you
don't have to feel greasyafterwards.
(07:55):
So, um, I like some protectiveclothing a lot.
Chris (07:58):
Yeah, and how quickly.
like you know, if I'm in therewithout sunscreen or like even
in Vegas like a normal day, Ifeel like nine out of 10 people
are not going to walk outsideand put sunscreen on a normal
day, and me I'm, you know, Ihave a bald head, so I'm
constantly getting some sort ofexposure, right, right, maybe I
don't have sunscreen on, likehow is that something like every
day, like you should be doingit, not necessarily when you're
spending a lot of time outside.
(08:18):
If I'm outside for 30 minutes,is that a time where I should
have had sunscreen?
Dr. Buhalog (08:22):
You should wear sunscreen every single day.
Rain or shine, summer or winter, it doesn't matter, because
you're getting ultravioletradiation through windows.
You're getting it reflected offof surfaces like glass water,
if you're.
Even if you're skiing, it'sbeing reflected off of snow.
So, all of those things you knowchange the path of that
ultraviolet radiation, so youreally have to wear it every
(08:44):
single day.
If you're in your car, you'regetting sun exposure.
If you're walking out to getyour mail, you're getting sun
exposure, and that cumulativesun exposure does really add up
when it comes to damaging yourskin.
I did not know that at all.
That one just caught me offguard.
Paki (08:59):
That's great information.
So like, for example, like it'sa sauna here, right, when it's
115, 116 degrees in thesummertime, like my kids play
soccer and stuff like that, andthen my wife is always yelling
at me, like when you go pastlike 10 am in the morning, right
.
So is there times in Vegas thatit's like don't go outside you
know what I mean as far as thator get your workout in maybe
(09:20):
earlier in the morning becauseyou're so exposed, yeah
absolutely and the sunscreen isprobably not blocking anything.
Dr. Buhalog (09:27):
You know what I mean Absolutely.
Between 10 and 4 are really 10and 2 is really the peak time.
But between 9 and 4 is a timewhere I say I mean definitely
have a thick layer of sunscreenon or sun protective clothing
and if you can just try to avoidthe sun but not everybody can
avoid the sun People have to bewalking their kids to school,
people work outside.
Here You're standing at thesoccer game you know.
so you have to live your lifeand that's why I really like sun
(09:52):
protective clothing.
But in general, you know,dermatologists recommend
avoiding being outside duringpeak hours if you can, but not
everybody can.
Chris (10:00):
And is there a time where like as an example, like if I
used to live in Michigan andwhen I was in Michigan I used to
get sunburns all the time?
I've been in Vegas now 10, 12years.
I don't think I've ever gottena sunburn, and does that mean
that it's less harmful for mebeing in an area like Vegas than
an alternative location where Iam getting sunburn Like a
sunburn, is there a thresholdfor when that exposure becomes
too much?
Dr. Buhalog (10:20):
So a sunburn is definitely damaging to your skin
, and having frequent sunburnsor intense blistering sunburns
is a huge risk factor developingskin cancer.
But so is just having acumulative sun exposure in
general.
Both are bad for you.
Anytime you're getting a tan oryou're getting a burn, it's
your body's response to havingtoo much radiation.
So a burn is like a, you know,a radiation response to the
(10:45):
sun's rays.
So, I'm from Wisconsin, sothat's our neighbors.
Um, and I, you know, grew uphaving tons of sunburns because
I hated wearing sunscreen, and Ithink, being in a really warm
climate too, it you're just moreprompt, like it prompts you
more to put sunscreen on becauseyou're in the heat.
It makes you think that youhave more sun exposure, um, and
(11:08):
so it's pretty frequent forpeople in colder climates not to
remember to wear sunscreenCause it doesn't feel like you
should be putting it on.
You feel like you should bewearing it if you're at a beach
or in warm weather.
Paki (11:18):
Yeah, that brings me to my next question about being at a
beach.
Right, like I'm always gettingcursed out by my wife, like when
you're going, like let's say,for example, we just went to
Tulum and we went to Bahamas andstuff like that.
So like the goal is to get asuntan during the week, right,
but that's probably horrible foryou, right?
Dr. Buhalog (11:32):
Yeah, not good Okay .
Chris (11:34):
Yeah, yeah.
So really there's no situationwhere you recommend getting a
suntan because essentially thatmeans you're doing damage, Like
I mean it's really good jobsecurity for me.
Paki (11:41):
So good point, very good point, but no anytime you have a
sun tan.
Dr. Buhalog (11:47):
that's your body's response to having had too much
sun exposure, so there's no suchthing as a safe tan.
Burns are not good for you.
Getting a base tan before yougo on vacation isn't good for
you.
So really just trying to avoidthe sun as much as possible, I
mean you don't need to be avampire.
I opened it for me.
This is why I wanted to sitdown with you as possible.
Paki (12:06):
I mean, you don't need to be a vampire.
Right Eye-opening for me.
This is why I wanted to sitdown with you.
Chris (12:09):
I've been a vampire my whole life, so I think I'm good.
Paki (12:10):
Well, you know it's crazy too, especially for black people
.
Right, you never wore suntanlotion?
Do you have to treat a lot ofblack folks?
You know what I mean.
As far as skin cancer, I'vetreated a lot of Hispanic people
with skin cancer Just becausethey're lighter.
Dr. Buhalog (12:27):
Yeah, yeah, but sunscreen may not help you
prevent skin cancer.
There isn't great data showingthat in people of color, people
who are black, that wearingsunscreen really prevents skin
cancer.
But it does prevent signs ofaging.
It prevents hyperpigmentation.
Your skin is really good atdeveloping pigment and so if you
(12:48):
have any sort of rash orinflammatory skin condition or
even like a bug bite.
It can leave a footprint ofpigment behind later and
sunscreen will help prevent thathyperpigmentation from forming.
So it's not like it isn't goodto use.
It may not change your risk ofdeveloping skin cancer, but it
will help prevent aging wrinkles.
(13:09):
You know those kinds of thingstoo.
Chris (13:11):
That's amazing, yeah, and outside of kind of sun exposure
, and I always spend a lot oftime on that because it's very
fascinating.
Paki (13:15):
No.
So, yeah, you can stay in thatrabbit hole, but we're in the
desert.
Chris (13:19):
But what are kind of some of the other things that you
know?
You see people doing thatreally impact, is it?
You know that some makeups thatare being utilized or some
lotions that are beingincorrectly applied, or even
like a tanner?
To that sense that we'reputting on to prevent going out
to the sun to get a tan, so whenI'm applying a tanner, that's
now negatively affecting me.
Dr. Buhalog (13:37):
So you're asking are there other things that are?
Chris (13:39):
What's one of the bigger items that also you see as a
contributing factor to kind ofsome of these skin cancers,
versus just being a sun relatedissue?
Dr. Buhalog (13:48):
So I mean the vast majority is sun related but,
immunosuppression.
So having a weakened immunesystem is also related to cancer
development.
So somebody who has had akidney transplant, for instance,
you have to be on medicationsthat suppress your immune system
in order for your body to notreject that, that grafted organ
from the donor.
So if you don't have your immunesystem in order for your body
to not reject that grafted organfrom the donor, so if you don't
(14:08):
have your immune system, yourimmune system is constantly
surveying your cells to makesure that they are working
properly, and if your cells arenot working properly, your
immune system targets to destroythem.
And so if you have a cancerouscell, your immune system
recognizes markers on thesurface of that cell and targets
that cell for destruction.
But if you're onimmunosuppressive medications,
your immune system can't do that.
(14:30):
And so some of my most frequentflyers are patients who have
had kidney transplants, hearttransplants, liver transplants
but, mainly kidney transplants,just because of how frequently
those are done.
Paki (14:41):
Got it.
Dr. Buhalog (14:42):
So immunosuppression is also a risk
factor for developing skincancers.
Paki (14:47):
That's power.
That's wild.
Managing a client's expectation, I know, is one of the biggest
challenges.
How do you overcome that?
Is it meeting with themmultiple times before making
them feel comfortable, beforeyou're sitting down with them
and doing a surgery on them, orhow do you make that work?
Dr. Buhalog (15:07):
that work.
So I'll see patients inconsultation just so that they
get used to me.
We can talk about the procedure, what to expect?
I think a lot of patientanxiety is just related to not
knowing how the day is going togo and how big is this cancer
going to be?
How is my scar going to look,what are my stitches going to
look like, things like that.
So trying to meet them first,to just get expectations on the
table and make sure that theyknow exactly how the day is
(15:29):
going to go as best that you cangauge it is really important
and then just throughout the day, making sure that they're
comfortable.
I see patients prettyfrequently in follow up, just
you know, holding their handthrough the recovery because I'm
operating near the eye oractually on the eyelid.
They can look really swollenlike, really bad for a couple of
(15:50):
weeks afterwards and so justletting patients know you know
this is normal, this is exactlyhow you should look.
You should look like I punchedyou in the eye.
You know that's all reallynormal after surgery.
So I like to see them prettyfrequently and follow up just to
make sure that they're um, thatthey know that they're on the
right track.
I this is kind of acontroversial thing, but I
actually give my cell phonenumber to every single patient
(16:12):
that I operate on, and I've Imean I've operated on thousands
of patients.
I've done almost 6,000 cancersurgeries and I have never had a
patient abuse that.
So sometimes just knowing thatthey can get ahold of me if they
need to is enough to just kindof temper some anxiety about the
whole procedure.
Um, I'm sure that will comesomeday Bite you a little bit.
Paki (16:33):
Yeah, for sure.
Dr. Buhalog (16:34):
But you know, for now I sleep better at night
knowing that patients can get ahold of me if they need to.
They can call me if they'rehaving any sort of issue, any
sort of problem, and I thinkthat alleviates a lot of anxiety
and a lot of fear that theyhave.
Chris (16:50):
That's awesome.
So I'm 36.
I've never been to adermatologist and this is
something.
Like you said, some of the jobis reactionary versus
preventative, and your jobreally is trying to develop
those relationships.
After an issue has presenteditself, is it recommended to
start building a relationshipwith a dermatologist so, in the
event that something does happen, you're more readily available
(17:10):
and aware of it.
Dr. Buhalog (17:11):
So it's not too late.
It really depends on your riskfactors.
So if you have a family memberwho has had a skin cancer, if
you do have some sort ofimmunosuppression, if you have
more than 50 moles on your body,if you have some of these risk
factors for having had, you know, an increased risk for
developing skin cancer, ifyou've had a lot of burns, which
it sounds like you have had,chris it wouldn't be the worst
(17:34):
idea to establish care with adermatologist.
You don't necessarily need togo every year for the rest of
your life, but if you do getchecked periodically or if you
do have those risk factors fordeveloping a skin cancer, then
it's a great idea to get an exam.
They're quick, they're like 10minutes.
They're non-invasive.
You know.
It's a scan of your body justto make sure that everything is
(17:54):
looking normal and healthyInteresting.
Paki (17:56):
Yeah, that's awesome.
That's a good question Makingme nervous.
You asked the question, I'mlike damn I got to schedule to
go see a dermatologist.
Dr. Buhalog (18:03):
Definitely yeah.
Paki (18:04):
With us being Vegas Circle , we always reflecting on the
importance of people you knowbeing in your circle and
impacting you.
What's kind of the biggestlesson in guidance that you kind
of learned from somebody,whether it's personal or
business?
Dr. Buhalog (18:15):
One of the things that I learned early on, and I
think this is true in medicine,but it's probably true in
multiple different fields.
But, whenever you're having aone-on-one relationship with a
patient, a client, whatever,trying to find something that
you have in common with thatperson, sharing some sort of
common ground, I think will helpboth of you reach your goals
faster, easier and with probablya little bit less friction.
(18:36):
And so usually you know if apatient's anxious coming in and
we can find something to talkabout.
I like to golf that's verycommon here in Vegas, so we can
usually talk about golf.
If you can get somebody's mindoff of an anxiety-producing
situation, if you can find somecommon ground, you tend to see
the humanity in each other alittle bit more, and I don't
think there's ever been a, youknow, an angry or unruly patient
(18:59):
that I haven't been able tofind some sort of commonality or
shared interest.
And then I think we bothrecognize the humanity in one
another and can find a mutualkind of way forward to make sure
that their goals are being met.
My goals are being met and wehave a clear path forward.
So I guess just findingsomething in common with
everybody, it's not hard.
(19:19):
It's like you can do it and thenlike that can make any
situation into a better one.
Chris (19:24):
Yeah, that's awesome.
You know they're kind of likeyou know you establish your
practice right, you haveexperience, you have a lot of
background of being successfulin these endeavors.
But how do you grow a practicein that way, because obviously
it's only you kind of navigatingthat and at what point is it
like?
Do you ever hit a threshold ofhow many clients you can see, or
is it consistently?
You have to get your name outthere, showing that you're
(19:45):
experiencing, because it is abusiness right Also, on top of
being a service-related industry.
You're still trying to growthat and, you know, have a
business model responsive tothat.
Dr. Buhalog (19:55):
So I'm one of several doctors in a practice.
It's not my own practice.
I'm one of the physicians there, so right off the bat, that's
great.
We have a marketing team.
We have people that try andhelp get the name out into the
community.
But then you know, sometimesyou just have to meet people and
you know again yeah, I do.
(20:17):
I mean, I think social mediapodcast like social media
podcasts all those kinds ofthings are really helpful.
I have a professional socialmedia account that I use that I
try to show before and afterphotos, do some education with
and um, I reach a lot ofpatients that way too.
I get a lot of patients comingin for cosmetic procedures
because of what they've seenonline.
So I think, any way that youcan, if you love what you do,
(20:38):
you never mind talking about it,obviously.
And so you know just word ofmouth that way and I try never
to like really promote myself.
Hopefully, if you, you know,are getting the word out and I
know you don't really need to,it's kind of hard.
Chris (20:54):
It's kind of hard to recruit for that right Like hey,
come see me.
It feels a little hard to do,but I'd rather give a good
experience.
Paki (21:01):
Exactly, yeah, I actually love your approach because
you're very funny, by the way,Like you've got a very like
organic way of doing it, whereit makes people feel more
comfortable.
We're like, wow, you know, Iwant, I want to go see her and
see what she has to do, which isgood.
Yeah, that's awesome.
I love food.
We've talked about this on thephone a little bit, so we always
ask our guests about favoriterestaurants in Vegas.
What's your favorite restaurantin Vegas?
Dr. Buhalog (21:22):
I don't have one.
I'll give you.
I'll give you the categories,because I have a lot of friends
who come in and visit andthey'll say okay, brittany, you
know, where do I, where do Ineed to go to eat.
Chris (21:31):
Where do I need to go?
Dr. Buhalog (21:32):
And again this is very subjective because, food is
very subjective, but when itcomes to if you want to strip
experience, my two favoriterestaurants are the Nomad
Library.
If you want to talk, if youwant to hear each other you
don't want to hear like louddecibel might damage your
hearing type of music duringdinner I would say go to Nomad
Library.
Paki (21:51):
I love Nomad.
It's an excellent restaurant.
Love it.
Dr. Buhalog (21:55):
I also really like Mother Wolf.
It's new, it's at the Fountain.
Paki (21:58):
View oh yeah, very good, you went to Mother Wolf.
Dr. Buhalog (22:00):
Huh yeah, some of the best like food I've had in a
long time.
Like very very good, excellentservice and also.
I don't like super loudrestaurants, I want to talk.
I want to have a conversation.
So those are my two on thestrip that are not crazy loud.
My two favorite kind of justoff strip restaurants would be
Sparrow and Wolf.
Excellent one yes, and Partageit's a prefix French restaurant.
(22:26):
It doesn't really have a menu,it's just like what the chef
wants to make and that'sfantastic.
Very, very good.
Paki (22:32):
Those are two we got to check out.
Yeah, Partage and Sparrow andWolf.
Sparrow and Wolf is great.
Oh my gosh.
Chris (22:36):
You went to Sparrow and Wolf, I haven't.
I'm going to go to some placesthat I've been to.
There we go For the first time.
Paki (22:45):
Shout out what else did we forget that we um, that you
want to leave us out on, orquestion that you want us to ask
you?
Dr. Buhalog (22:51):
I think we covered things pretty comprehensively.
I would say, questions that Icommonly get asked are you know
what's the best sunscreen?
We covered that.
Paki (23:00):
Yes.
Dr. Buhalog (23:01):
Um, I would.
Another question I get askedpretty frequently are if you
could just pick like two orthree products that pretty much
everybody should use, what wouldthey be Like?
Sunscreen, obviously.
Paki (23:11):
Okay, We've we've, I think , exhausted that one.
Dr. Buhalog (23:14):
Um, but I think a vitamin C or antioxidant serum
would be really great Um thathelps deal with sun damage.
If you've had it, um kind oftake care of some of the free
radicals that you can get fromultraviolet radiation and then a
retinoid prescription.
Strength is going to be best,um, but over the counter works
great too.
Less irritation, bettertolerability if you're using an
(23:34):
over the counter strength.
So that's a very commonquestion I get asked too, or
like what three things shouldeverybody?
Chris (23:41):
have in their skincare routine Sure yeah.
Dr. Buhalog (23:44):
Um, but otherwise, yeah, I think you awesome.
What is a retinoid?
Chris (23:48):
just for my own so it is a vitamin A.
Dr. Buhalog (23:52):
So tretinoin is the most common prescription
strength retinoid and it is aingredient that helps speed
turnover of the skin.
It can actually prevent skincancers from developing if you
use it.
With regular use it reducesfine lines and wrinkles.
It reduces pigmentation.
It is kind of the fountain ofyouth in a tube.
Paki (24:12):
I have never heard of it, so that was awesome.
Dr. Buhalog (24:14):
Is it just?
Chris (24:14):
like a face cream or something A whole body cream.
Dr. Buhalog (24:16):
It's a.
It's a face cream, although alot of um over the counter
products are now coming out withbody versions of it too.
Um, the concentrations have tobe lower, cause you can get
absorption through your skin, sothe concentrations for body
products are going to be lowerstrength than for face products.
But, yeah, very good thing forjust about everybody to use,
unless you have very sensitive,rosacea prone skin.
Paki (24:39):
This was very good.
Dr. Buhalog (24:39):
Yeah, it was very good.
Paki (24:41):
I learned a lot from sitting down with you.
This is excellent, especiallythe wearing sunscreen every day.
I never thought to do that.
Chris (24:47):
Yeah, because sun doesn't go away, so you think about
just your time in it.
Yeah, because the sun doesn'tgo away, so you think about it
just your time in it.
Paki (24:51):
Yeah, exactly, this is good stuff, man, brittany.
Where can people reach out?
What is your social handles andthings like that.
Dr. Buhalog (24:54):
My social handle is BrittTheSkinMD.
I'm mainly on Instagram, alittle bit on TikTok, and then
you can find me at VivitaDermatology in Henderson.
Paki (25:04):
Awesome.
Check us out atthevacacirclecom and appreciate.
You Appreciate your time.
Chris (25:08):
Thank you for having me.
Thank you so much.
It was amazing.
Lovely to be here.
That was great.
I definitely need to go buysome stuff.
Welcome to Vegas Circle Podcast with your hosts, paki
and Chris.
We are people who arepassionate about business,
success and culture and this isour platform to showcase to
people in our city who make ithappen.
On today's podcast, we're goingto be sitting down with
dermatologists and Moz Surgeon.
We'll discuss some of thepractical ways that you can
better protect your skin,especially in this extreme Vegas
heat.
Let's welcome to the circle DrBrittany .
Dr. Buhalog (00:23):
I'll say it the right way.
Yes, thank you for having me on.
Chris was killing me before westarted.
You did it.
You got it right.
You got it right.
Paki (00:29):
So it is very good to meet you finally in person.
We'd love to have you to comeon just to kind of give us some
breakdown and we can kind oflearn from you a little bit.
But dermatologist is yourbackground.
Dr. Buhalog (00:46):
What made you line of work and care to get into
Great question?
When I was in medical school Iliked everything that I did and
I couldn't really pick aspecialty that I loved, but I
did really like operating and Ireally liked surgery and in
dermatology I felt like you werekind of the generalist of
specialists.
You do medical dermatology,surgical dermatology, cosmetic
procedures and throughout myresidency I just learned that I
liked skin cancer and operatingthe most.
(01:07):
So I spend about 90% of my daydoing skin cancer surgery,
specifically Mohs micrographicsurgery, and then I spend about
10% of my day doing cosmeticprocedures minimally invasive
things like injectables, lasers,things like that.
Chris (01:22):
Do you have, like, the flexibility to do multiple
avenues?
When you come to adermatologist degree and we say
cosmetic surgery, what does thatreally entail?
Is that full reconstruction?
Do you have the ability to dothat or do you just choose what
you want to do?
Dr. Buhalog (01:34):
Yeah.
So not every dermatologist isgoing to do the same type of
reconstructive surgery that I do.
So I did an additionalfellowship.
So I'm board certified indermatology and then also board
certified in Mohs, micrographicsurgery, which is the skin
cancer removal as well as thefacial reconstruction afterwards
.
So I'm not a facial plasticsurgeon.
I'm not doing nose jobs, browlifts, blepharoplasties, I'm
(01:57):
doing purely cancer removal andthen reconstruction.
So if you get a cancer on yournose and I have to cut off, you
know, half your nose, I'm alsogoing to put it back together
for you afterwards Wow, yeah,how do you put it back together,
like what is the process?
Paki (02:12):
Very carefully, great question.
Dr. Buhalog (02:15):
It really depends.
I mean, sometimes you can juststitch the sides of the skin
together in just a straight line.
That's very easy.
That's called a linear repair.
But then sometimes you have toget really creative and so if,
um, I am removing, you know,part of an entire nostril or you
know part of a nose, andsometimes I have to take skin
from the cheek and put it ontothe nose or the forehead and put
(02:35):
it onto the nose, sometimes Ihave to take cartilage from the
ear and also put it in to addmore support and structure.
So, um, it really gets.
I think there's a really goodmix of science and art when it
comes to Mohs surgery which isone of the reasons why I love it
.
I liked everything, so beingable to really mix the two has
been just a really fun career sofar.
Paki (02:57):
You must really impact a lot of people's lives, man.
When you, especially whenyou're dealing with your face,
you know what I mean.
That's a challenge, that's ahuge challenge, yeah.
Dr. Buhalog (03:08):
I think it's really anxiety provoking for a lot of
patients to come in First of all.
They've got the C word, They'vegot a skin cancer.
They're really nervous about it.
They're really anxious about it.
I walk in, I look like I'm 12,you know pretty old enough to be
doing this Um and then you knowwe're.
Everything that I do is underlocal anesthesia, meaning
patients aren't asleep when I'moperating on them.
So you know, we get to chat, Iget to know them pretty well,
(03:31):
get to know about theirgrandkids really well, but it's
it's a lot of anxiety forpatients and it's really
rewarding to be able to get themthrough that experience and and
have them feel like, oh, thatwasn't quite as bad as I was
anticipating.
Paki (03:45):
For sure.
What is some of the kind oflike how do you get cancer
surgery?
I know there's a lot in depth,but what's some kind of like the
average things that people aregetting you know on a regular
basis that you have to treatCause I know it's gotta be
similar.
You know a lot of similarlayers, yeah.
Dr. Buhalog (03:57):
So the most common type of skin cancer is basal
cell carcinoma and that is madeup from one very specific type
of cell in the top layer of yourskin that is almost always
entirely caused by ultravioletradiation from the sun.
So the more sun exposure youhave, the more burns that you
have.
That puts you at a higher riskof developing that type of skin
cancer.
Squamous cell carcinoma isanother very common type of skin
(04:21):
cancer that I treat, and thatis a lot.
A lot of that has to do withthe sun as well mainly
ultraviolet radiation.
But squamous cell carcinoma canalso be caused by a variety of
other factors, even like the HPVvirus.
It can be caused fromimmunosuppressive medications,
but a lot of that is caused bythe sun.
Melanoma is another one that Ioperate on commonly and that is
(04:46):
also very frequently driven byultraviolet radiation exposure.
But melanoma can have someother genetic causes or genetic
contributions to its development, so that one's a little bit
more multifactorial.
But by and large it isdefinitely caused by the sun.
Chris (05:02):
You're kind of seeing, like you know, dermatologists.
When I always think about them,it's like going to somebody for
a preventative maintenance,right, essentially.
But you're seeing it becomemore and more of a reactionary
type of you know, when peopleare saying, now you need to go
see a dermatologist becauseyou're past this threshold,
right, you know, is there partof your practice?
I know, because obviously youreally spend a lot of time and
(05:22):
how to prevent these things fromhappening.
And, like, what are somethoughts on, like you know,
somebody who may not be asmindful of what they're doing or
exposing their son where, yeah,I wear sunscreen but I'm not
wearing the right one or maybeI'm not doing some of the right
things.
Dr. Buhalog (05:34):
Yeah.
So, um, yes, there's prevention, and then a lot of what I'm
doing is reactionary, right?
People have not been usingsunscreen, or they grew up in
the era where baby oil andiodine was really in vogue and
everybody was, you know, holdingthose foil sun reflectors up to
their face right and sunscreenjust really wasn't widely
available.
The formulas were reallyunpleasing to use, and so a lot
(06:09):
of my job, too, is justeducating people on what they
need to do when it comes tosunscreen.
That's probably the most commonquestion I get asked is what's
the best sunscreen?
Paki (06:17):
That was going to be my next question.
What is the sunscreen I shouldbe using, exactly?
Dr. Buhalog (06:22):
And in reality, sunscreen anything that has an
SPF on the label is reallyheavily regulated by the FDA,
and so if something says that itis an SPF of 30, for example,
if you have two different brands, they're going to perform
equally as well at reflecting orchanging the sun's rays into
not being harmful, and soanything that has an SPF on it
(06:44):
is going to be equally aseffective.
Now, some may be a little bitmore water resistant, some, you
know, the formulas might bedifferent, but if you've got two
SPF 30 sunscreens, they're bothgoing to work equally well, and
so there is no one bestsunscreen.
It's really just a sunscreenthat you like using.
If you use it, if you apply it,if you know your partner
doesn't have to chase you aroundtrying to get you to rub
(07:06):
sunscreen on, then it's going tobe an effective one.
So I tell patients to look foran SPF of 50 or higher and to
try and reapply every two hoursif you're going to be outside.
Reapply more frequently ifyou're going to be sweating or
swimming in the water.
Chris (07:22):
Sure.
Dr. Buhalog (07:23):
But I actually really like sun protective
clothing, because nobody likesputting sunscreen on, Like I
don't.
I don't know a single personwho likes it.
Paki (07:30):
Everybody's fighting with their kids to get sunscreen on
them.
Dr. Buhalog (07:34):
Like, nobody likes it.
And so, um, if you're going tobe outside, especially for long
periods of time, wearing sunprotective clothing, sun
protective sleeves, things likethat is going to be even more
effective, because you don'thave to worry about user error,
of getting enough on, um,getting it in all of the right
places, um, and then you justdon't have to reapply it, you
don't have to feel greasyafterwards.
(07:55):
So, um, I like some protectiveclothing a lot.
Chris (07:58):
Yeah, and how quickly.
like you know, if I'm in therewithout sunscreen or like even
in Vegas like a normal day, Ifeel like nine out of 10 people
are not going to walk outsideand put sunscreen on a normal
day, and me I'm, you know, Ihave a bald head, so I'm
constantly getting some sort ofexposure, right, right, maybe I
don't have sunscreen on, likehow is that something like every
day, like you should be doingit, not necessarily when you're
spending a lot of time outside.
(08:18):
If I'm outside for 30 minutes,is that a time where I should
have had sunscreen?
Dr. Buhalog (08:22):
You should wear sunscreen every single day.
Rain or shine, summer or winter, it doesn't matter, because
you're getting ultravioletradiation through windows.
You're getting it reflected offof surfaces like glass water,
if you're.
Even if you're skiing, it'sbeing reflected off of snow.
So, all of those things you knowchange the path of that
ultraviolet radiation, so youreally have to wear it every
(08:44):
single day.
If you're in your car, you'regetting sun exposure.
If you're walking out to getyour mail, you're getting sun
exposure, and that cumulativesun exposure does really add up
when it comes to damaging yourskin.
I did not know that at all.
That one just caught me offguard.
Paki (08:59):
That's great information.
So like, for example, like it'sa sauna here, right, when it's
115, 116 degrees in thesummertime, like my kids play
soccer and stuff like that, andthen my wife is always yelling
at me, like when you go pastlike 10 am in the morning, right
.
So is there times in Vegas thatit's like don't go outside you
know what I mean as far as thator get your workout in maybe
(09:20):
earlier in the morning becauseyou're so exposed, yeah
absolutely and the sunscreen isprobably not blocking anything.
Dr. Buhalog (09:27):
You know what I mean Absolutely.
Between 10 and 4 are really 10and 2 is really the peak time.
But between 9 and 4 is a timewhere I say I mean definitely
have a thick layer of sunscreenon or sun protective clothing
and if you can just try to avoidthe sun but not everybody can
avoid the sun People have to bewalking their kids to school,
people work outside.
Here You're standing at thesoccer game you know.
so you have to live your lifeand that's why I really like sun
(09:52):
protective clothing.
But in general, you know,dermatologists recommend
avoiding being outside duringpeak hours if you can, but not
everybody can.
Chris (10:00):
And is there a time where like as an example, like if I
used to live in Michigan andwhen I was in Michigan I used to
get sunburns all the time?
I've been in Vegas now 10, 12years.
I don't think I've ever gottena sunburn, and does that mean
that it's less harmful for mebeing in an area like Vegas than
an alternative location where Iam getting sunburn Like a
sunburn, is there a thresholdfor when that exposure becomes
too much?
Dr. Buhalog (10:20):
So a sunburn is definitely damaging to your skin
, and having frequent sunburnsor intense blistering sunburns
is a huge risk factor developingskin cancer.
But so is just having acumulative sun exposure in
general.
Both are bad for you.
Anytime you're getting a tan oryou're getting a burn, it's
your body's response to havingtoo much radiation.
So a burn is like a, you know,a radiation response to the
(10:45):
sun's rays.
So, I'm from Wisconsin, sothat's our neighbors.
Um, and I, you know, grew uphaving tons of sunburns because
I hated wearing sunscreen, and Ithink, being in a really warm
climate too, it you're just moreprompt, like it prompts you
more to put sunscreen on becauseyou're in the heat.
It makes you think that youhave more sun exposure, um, and
(11:08):
so it's pretty frequent forpeople in colder climates not to
remember to wear sunscreenCause it doesn't feel like you
should be putting it on.
You feel like you should bewearing it if you're at a beach
or in warm weather.
Paki (11:18):
Yeah, that brings me to my next question about being at a
beach.
Right, like I'm always gettingcursed out by my wife, like when
you're going, like let's say,for example, we just went to
Tulum and we went to Bahamas andstuff like that.
So like the goal is to get asuntan during the week, right,
but that's probably horrible foryou, right?
Dr. Buhalog (11:32):
Yeah, not good Okay .
Chris (11:34):
Yeah, yeah.
So really there's no situationwhere you recommend getting a
suntan because essentially thatmeans you're doing damage, Like
I mean it's really good jobsecurity for me.
Paki (11:41):
So good point, very good point, but no anytime you have a
sun tan.
Dr. Buhalog (11:47):
that's your body's response to having had too much
sun exposure, so there's no suchthing as a safe tan.
Burns are not good for you.
Getting a base tan before yougo on vacation isn't good for
you.
So really just trying to avoidthe sun as much as possible, I
mean you don't need to be avampire.
I opened it for me.
This is why I wanted to sitdown with you as possible.
Paki (12:06):
I mean, you don't need to be a vampire.
Right Eye-opening for me.
This is why I wanted to sitdown with you.
Chris (12:09):
I've been a vampire my whole life, so I think I'm good.
Paki (12:10):
Well, you know it's crazy too, especially for black people
.
Right, you never wore suntanlotion?
Do you have to treat a lot ofblack folks?
You know what I mean.
As far as skin cancer, I'vetreated a lot of Hispanic people
with skin cancer Just becausethey're lighter.
Dr. Buhalog (12:27):
Yeah, yeah, but sunscreen may not help you
prevent skin cancer.
There isn't great data showingthat in people of color, people
who are black, that wearingsunscreen really prevents skin
cancer.
But it does prevent signs ofaging.
It prevents hyperpigmentation.
Your skin is really good atdeveloping pigment and so if you
(12:48):
have any sort of rash orinflammatory skin condition or
even like a bug bite.
It can leave a footprint ofpigment behind later and
sunscreen will help prevent thathyperpigmentation from forming.
So it's not like it isn't goodto use.
It may not change your risk ofdeveloping skin cancer, but it
will help prevent aging wrinkles.
(13:09):
You know those kinds of thingstoo.
Chris (13:11):
That's amazing, yeah, and outside of kind of sun exposure
, and I always spend a lot oftime on that because it's very
fascinating.
Paki (13:15):
No.
So, yeah, you can stay in thatrabbit hole, but we're in the
desert.
Chris (13:19):
But what are kind of some of the other things that you
know?
You see people doing thatreally impact, is it?
You know that some makeups thatare being utilized or some
lotions that are beingincorrectly applied, or even
like a tanner?
To that sense that we'reputting on to prevent going out
to the sun to get a tan, so whenI'm applying a tanner, that's
now negatively affecting me.
Dr. Buhalog (13:37):
So you're asking are there other things that are?
Chris (13:39):
What's one of the bigger items that also you see as a
contributing factor to kind ofsome of these skin cancers,
versus just being a sun relatedissue?
Dr. Buhalog (13:48):
So I mean the vast majority is sun related but,
immunosuppression.
So having a weakened immunesystem is also related to cancer
development.
So somebody who has had akidney transplant, for instance,
you have to be on medicationsthat suppress your immune system
in order for your body to notreject that, that grafted organ
from the donor.
So if you don't have your immunesystem in order for your body
to not reject that grafted organfrom the donor, so if you don't
(14:08):
have your immune system, yourimmune system is constantly
surveying your cells to makesure that they are working
properly, and if your cells arenot working properly, your
immune system targets to destroythem.
And so if you have a cancerouscell, your immune system
recognizes markers on thesurface of that cell and targets
that cell for destruction.
But if you're onimmunosuppressive medications,
your immune system can't do that.
(14:30):
And so some of my most frequentflyers are patients who have
had kidney transplants, hearttransplants, liver transplants
but, mainly kidney transplants,just because of how frequently
those are done.
Paki (14:41):
Got it.
Dr. Buhalog (14:42):
So immunosuppression is also a risk
factor for developing skincancers.
Paki (14:47):
That's power.
That's wild.
Managing a client's expectation, I know, is one of the biggest
challenges.
How do you overcome that?
Is it meeting with themmultiple times before making
them feel comfortable, beforeyou're sitting down with them
and doing a surgery on them, orhow do you make that work?
Dr. Buhalog (15:07):
that work.
So I'll see patients inconsultation just so that they
get used to me.
We can talk about the procedure, what to expect?
I think a lot of patientanxiety is just related to not
knowing how the day is going togo and how big is this cancer
going to be?
How is my scar going to look,what are my stitches going to
look like, things like that.
So trying to meet them first,to just get expectations on the
table and make sure that theyknow exactly how the day is
(15:29):
going to go as best that you cangauge it is really important
and then just throughout the day, making sure that they're
comfortable.
I see patients prettyfrequently in follow up, just
you know, holding their handthrough the recovery because I'm
operating near the eye oractually on the eyelid.
They can look really swollenlike, really bad for a couple of
(15:50):
weeks afterwards and so justletting patients know you know
this is normal, this is exactlyhow you should look.
You should look like I punchedyou in the eye.
You know that's all reallynormal after surgery.
So I like to see them prettyfrequently and follow up just to
make sure that they're um, thatthey know that they're on the
right track.
I this is kind of acontroversial thing, but I
actually give my cell phonenumber to every single patient
(16:12):
that I operate on, and I've Imean I've operated on thousands
of patients.
I've done almost 6,000 cancersurgeries and I have never had a
patient abuse that.
So sometimes just knowing thatthey can get ahold of me if they
need to is enough to just kindof temper some anxiety about the
whole procedure.
Um, I'm sure that will comesomeday Bite you a little bit.
Paki (16:33):
Yeah, for sure.
Dr. Buhalog (16:34):
But you know, for now I sleep better at night
knowing that patients can get ahold of me if they need to.
They can call me if they'rehaving any sort of issue, any
sort of problem, and I thinkthat alleviates a lot of anxiety
and a lot of fear that theyhave.
Chris (16:50):
That's awesome.
So I'm 36.
I've never been to adermatologist and this is
something.
Like you said, some of the jobis reactionary versus
preventative, and your jobreally is trying to develop
those relationships.
After an issue has presenteditself, is it recommended to
start building a relationshipwith a dermatologist so, in the
event that something does happen, you're more readily available
(17:10):
and aware of it.
Dr. Buhalog (17:11):
So it's not too late.
It really depends on your riskfactors.
So if you have a family memberwho has had a skin cancer, if
you do have some sort ofimmunosuppression, if you have
more than 50 moles on your body,if you have some of these risk
factors for having had, you know, an increased risk for
developing skin cancer, ifyou've had a lot of burns, which
it sounds like you have had,chris it wouldn't be the worst
(17:34):
idea to establish care with adermatologist.
You don't necessarily need togo every year for the rest of
your life, but if you do getchecked periodically or if you
do have those risk factors fordeveloping a skin cancer, then
it's a great idea to get an exam.
They're quick, they're like 10minutes.
They're non-invasive.
You know.
It's a scan of your body justto make sure that everything is
(17:54):
looking normal and healthyInteresting.
Paki (17:56):
Yeah, that's awesome.
That's a good question Makingme nervous.
You asked the question, I'mlike damn I got to schedule to
go see a dermatologist.
Dr. Buhalog (18:03):
Definitely yeah.
Paki (18:04):
With us being Vegas Circle , we always reflecting on the
importance of people you knowbeing in your circle and
impacting you.
What's kind of the biggestlesson in guidance that you kind
of learned from somebody,whether it's personal or
business?
Dr. Buhalog (18:15):
One of the things that I learned early on, and I
think this is true in medicine,but it's probably true in
multiple different fields.
But, whenever you're having aone-on-one relationship with a
patient, a client, whatever,trying to find something that
you have in common with thatperson, sharing some sort of
common ground, I think will helpboth of you reach your goals
faster, easier and with probablya little bit less friction.
(18:36):
And so usually you know if apatient's anxious coming in and
we can find something to talkabout.
I like to golf that's verycommon here in Vegas, so we can
usually talk about golf.
If you can get somebody's mindoff of an anxiety-producing
situation, if you can find somecommon ground, you tend to see
the humanity in each other alittle bit more, and I don't
think there's ever been a, youknow, an angry or unruly patient
(18:59):
that I haven't been able tofind some sort of commonality or
shared interest.
And then I think we bothrecognize the humanity in one
another and can find a mutualkind of way forward to make sure
that their goals are being met.
My goals are being met and wehave a clear path forward.
So I guess just findingsomething in common with
everybody, it's not hard.
(19:19):
It's like you can do it and thenlike that can make any
situation into a better one.
Chris (19:24):
Yeah, that's awesome.
You know they're kind of likeyou know you establish your
practice right, you haveexperience, you have a lot of
background of being successfulin these endeavors.
But how do you grow a practicein that way, because obviously
it's only you kind of navigatingthat and at what point is it
like?
Do you ever hit a threshold ofhow many clients you can see, or
is it consistently?
You have to get your name outthere, showing that you're
(19:45):
experiencing, because it is abusiness right Also, on top of
being a service-related industry.
You're still trying to growthat and, you know, have a
business model responsive tothat.
Dr. Buhalog (19:55):
So I'm one of several doctors in a practice.
It's not my own practice.
I'm one of the physicians there, so right off the bat, that's
great.
We have a marketing team.
We have people that try andhelp get the name out into the
community.
But then you know, sometimesyou just have to meet people and
you know again yeah, I do.
(20:17):
I mean, I think social mediapodcast like social media
podcasts all those kinds ofthings are really helpful.
I have a professional socialmedia account that I use that I
try to show before and afterphotos, do some education with
and um, I reach a lot ofpatients that way too.
I get a lot of patients comingin for cosmetic procedures
because of what they've seenonline.
So I think, any way that youcan, if you love what you do,
(20:38):
you never mind talking about it,obviously.
And so you know just word ofmouth that way and I try never
to like really promote myself.
Hopefully, if you, you know,are getting the word out and I
know you don't really need to,it's kind of hard.
Chris (20:54):
It's kind of hard to recruit for that right Like hey,
come see me.
It feels a little hard to do,but I'd rather give a good
experience.
Paki (21:01):
Exactly, yeah, I actually love your approach because
you're very funny, by the way,Like you've got a very like
organic way of doing it, whereit makes people feel more
comfortable.
We're like, wow, you know, Iwant, I want to go see her and
see what she has to do, which isgood.
Yeah, that's awesome.
I love food.
We've talked about this on thephone a little bit, so we always
ask our guests about favoriterestaurants in Vegas.
What's your favorite restaurantin Vegas?
Dr. Buhalog (21:22):
I don't have one.
I'll give you.
I'll give you the categories,because I have a lot of friends
who come in and visit andthey'll say okay, brittany, you
know, where do I, where do Ineed to go to eat.
Chris (21:31):
Where do I need to go?
Dr. Buhalog (21:32):
And again this is very subjective because, food is
very subjective, but when itcomes to if you want to strip
experience, my two favoriterestaurants are the Nomad
Library.
If you want to talk, if youwant to hear each other you
don't want to hear like louddecibel might damage your
hearing type of music duringdinner I would say go to Nomad
Library.
Paki (21:51):
I love Nomad.
It's an excellent restaurant.
Love it.
Dr. Buhalog (21:55):
I also really like Mother Wolf.
It's new, it's at the Fountain.
Paki (21:58):
View oh yeah, very good, you went to Mother Wolf.
Dr. Buhalog (22:00):
Huh yeah, some of the best like food I've had in a
long time.
Like very very good, excellentservice and also.
I don't like super loudrestaurants, I want to talk.
I want to have a conversation.
So those are my two on thestrip that are not crazy loud.
My two favorite kind of justoff strip restaurants would be
Sparrow and Wolf.
Excellent one yes, and Partageit's a prefix French restaurant.
(22:26):
It doesn't really have a menu,it's just like what the chef
wants to make and that'sfantastic.
Very, very good.
Paki (22:32):
Those are two we got to check out.
Yeah, Partage and Sparrow andWolf.
Sparrow and Wolf is great.
Oh my gosh.
Chris (22:36):
You went to Sparrow and Wolf, I haven't.
I'm going to go to some placesthat I've been to.
There we go For the first time.
Paki (22:45):
Shout out what else did we forget that we um, that you
want to leave us out on, orquestion that you want us to ask
you?
Dr. Buhalog (22:51):
I think we covered things pretty comprehensively.
I would say, questions that Icommonly get asked are you know
what's the best sunscreen?
We covered that.
Paki (23:00):
Yes.
Dr. Buhalog (23:01):
Um, I would.
Another question I get askedpretty frequently are if you
could just pick like two orthree products that pretty much
everybody should use, what wouldthey be Like?
Sunscreen, obviously.
Paki (23:11):
Okay, We've we've, I think , exhausted that one.
Dr. Buhalog (23:14):
Um, but I think a vitamin C or antioxidant serum
would be really great Um thathelps deal with sun damage.
If you've had it, um kind oftake care of some of the free
radicals that you can get fromultraviolet radiation and then a
retinoid prescription.
Strength is going to be best,um, but over the counter works
great too.
Less irritation, bettertolerability if you're using an
(23:34):
over the counter strength.
So that's a very commonquestion I get asked too, or
like what three things shouldeverybody?
Chris (23:41):
have in their skincare routine Sure yeah.
Dr. Buhalog (23:44):
Um, but otherwise, yeah, I think you awesome.
What is a retinoid?
Chris (23:48):
just for my own so it is a vitamin A.
Dr. Buhalog (23:52):
So tretinoin is the most common prescription
strength retinoid and it is aingredient that helps speed
turnover of the skin.
It can actually prevent skincancers from developing if you
use it.
With regular use it reducesfine lines and wrinkles.
It reduces pigmentation.
It is kind of the fountain ofyouth in a tube.
Paki (24:12):
I have never heard of it, so that was awesome.
Dr. Buhalog (24:14):
Is it just?
Chris (24:14):
like a face cream or something A whole body cream.
Dr. Buhalog (24:16):
It's a.
It's a face cream, although alot of um over the counter
products are now coming out withbody versions of it too.
Um, the concentrations have tobe lower, cause you can get
absorption through your skin, sothe concentrations for body
products are going to be lowerstrength than for face products.
But, yeah, very good thing forjust about everybody to use,
unless you have very sensitive,rosacea prone skin.
Paki (24:39):
This was very good.
Dr. Buhalog (24:39):
Yeah, it was very good.
Paki (24:41):
I learned a lot from sitting down with you.
This is excellent, especiallythe wearing sunscreen every day.
I never thought to do that.
Chris (24:47):
Yeah, because sun doesn't go away, so you think about
just your time in it.
Yeah, because the sun doesn'tgo away, so you think about it
just your time in it.
Paki (24:51):
Yeah, exactly, this is good stuff, man, brittany.
Where can people reach out?
What is your social handles andthings like that.
Dr. Buhalog (24:54):
My social handle is BrittTheSkinMD.
I'm mainly on Instagram, alittle bit on TikTok, and then
you can find me at VivitaDermatology in Henderson.
Paki (25:04):
Awesome.
Check us out atthevacacirclecom and appreciate.
You Appreciate your time.
Chris (25:08):
Thank you for having me.
Thank you so much.
It was amazing.
Lovely to be here.
That was great.
I definitely need to go buysome stuff.
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