Candace Mooney, RN, CNM | Natural Results at a Med Spa: What to Ask Before You Book

Host: Joe Brown. Transcript of the published edit. Times are episode time. Auto-transcribed; minor errors possible. General information only, not medical advice.

0:00It's all about the relationship. It's all about the connection. So you've seen the frozen foreheads and the overdone lips, and maybe that's exactly why you've never booked that first appointment. You just want to look at yourself on a good day. So, Candace Mooney has spent more than 25 years in healthcare, first as a nurse midwife delivering babies. So today we're going to talk about what to look for before anyone puts a needle near your face, how to get results that still look like you, and what midwifery taught her about caring for women at every stage of life. So stay with us.

0:38So, welcome to the Top Providers podcast, where you get to meet the provider before you book. I'm Joe Brown. Today, I'm with Candace Mooney, a registered nurse and certified nurse midwife, and the founder of Elegant Aesthetics, a medical spa in Riverside, California.

0:56Candace has spent years as a nurse midwife, helping women through pregnancy and birth, and today she helps people across the Inland Empire feel confident in their own skin.

1:06Candace, thank you for joining me. - Thank you for having me, Joe. I appreciate it. So my first question I have for you is, when someone's looking for a med spa, what should they be looking for outside of a Google listing? Oh, the first thing I think that anybody in any kind of medical care, because med spas are medical care, is to look at the provider, their experience, and how long they've been doing, what they've been doing.

1:30I think it's always reasonable to call and ask questions. You know, how long have you been in practice? What's your specialty?

1:38I would, if I was the patient,, so I always advise people to absolutely call, ask questions, look at their website. But I think generally speaking, I always look into somebody's experience and always call the office and see what their staff sounds like. Is it welcoming? Is it inviting?

1:55Because you know, I suspect we've all been to the office where you walked away and was like that person wasn't very nice. So I feel like front office staff is hugely important as well, because it kind of gives the whole vibe of the entire practice and what to expect when you go in there. That's great. And you spent years as a nurse midwife delivering babies. So how did you end up in aesthetics and what did midwifery teach you that you still use every day? I have been in women's health for 31 years. So, and I've been a midwife for 25 of those years. So I was a nurse for six years, a midwife for 25 years. I still deliver babies. I do that part And about eight and half almost nine years ago, I decided that staying up in the middle of the night for the rest of my life probably was not the most feasible thing. So I started to look around to see what would be available to me where I could sleep like a normal person at night and make a reasonable income and still work with women.

2:56And of course, in this med spa, I work with men and women both especially considering since We do hormones here. I provide services and care for both. I also believe in it or not, men get Botox, men get filler, all of that type of stuff as well. Laser hair removal.

3:12So that's kind of what made me make the shift and I made that and you know, I still enjoy delivering babies. I still enjoy doing women's health. I still enjoy menopause, Pap smears, all of that type of stuff as a nurse midwife, but I also enjoy sleeping like a normal person. That's great. That's great. The number one fear I hear is I don't want to look done. So how do you keep results natural?

3:35You know, I think that's all about facial balancing and facial assessment.

3:39I think it's also about setting expectations and finding out what the client wants.

3:45So I think providing that service and hearing what someone is saying to me is probably the most important thing. I will tell you the largest percentage of my clients are over the age of 40, and none of them want anybody to know that they've had anything done. So we talk all about that and what does that mean and what does that look like and how do we achieve looking refreshed and feeling better about ourselves without looking overdone and there are lots and lots of ways to do that and so a lot of that is just education for me. Yeah and when do you tell someone that you know you don't need that specific thing.

4:23I tell them the truth. I do. I had somebody who came in recently and she's like, Oh, I think, oh, I think I need more cheek filler.' And I looked at her and I said, I, I think you look beautiful. I said, I realized that we all have that, like, monkey in our brain that likes to tell us that we're not good enough. We're not pretty enough. We're not all of those things. But, you know, you had it, I don't know, nine months ago, and I think I don't think you need it yet. Now, if I don't think you need it, the one of the conversations always comes up is I think one thing that patients really honor is the fact that I am very honest and to that I won't overfill them. That's so they look some of the stuff that we've all seen. So I just am very honest with them and have a very honest conversation with them. But I think I also have the ability to do that because I know my clients very, very well. I know how many kids they have, if they're married, if they're not married, do they have dogs, and I think that's a service that we provide here at Elegant Aesthetics is that it's a boutique service. There's a lot of one-on-one, you can call the office, you can text the office with lots of feedback, and I think that that provides for a trusting relationship, which makes it easy for me to be honest with them.

5:33That's great.

5:35For someone who's never had anything done before, walk them through a first consultation. What actually happens?

5:41So in the first consultation, you come in, I go through your history and physical. Are you on any medications? Have you had any surgeries? Have you ever had anything done done before? If you have, what were the effects?

5:53So we go through the history and physical. And then I always talk to my and I say, what is it that's bothering you the most?

6:01Because we all see something that's bothering us the most. So talk to me about that.

6:11So because I see very different things than clients will sometimes see. So let's focus on what's bothering you the most and then we can move forward from there. And so that's generally how I - how I start the conversation, and then I give them education. Like this is what Botox does.

6:46This Botox and filler like they're the same thing. So in plain English, what's the difference?

6:53Botox stops muscles from moving, so it helps with fine lines and wrinkles.

6:58Filler helps with volume loss. So where you're losing volume from the normal aging, aging process, we're trying to give you some of that back. So that's the difference.

7:06And what's a realistic expectation for how long either one lasts?

7:11So generally for Botox, they last generally three to four months.

7:16Filler lasts depending on where we put it. It depends on how long that will last in somebody's face. And as a midwife, you've cared for women from pregnancy through menopause. So what do you wish more women knew about the changes in their forties and fifties? I think it's getting better, number one. I think that women are starting to talk about this. I think men are starting to talk about this. And you know,, I think the assumption is that we, as we get older, we just have to accept that I'm tired. I fall asleep after meals. I've got brain fog. I can't remember words. And by the way, that happens for men and women both.

7:52And so I think we just, oh, I'm just getting older. Well, the fact is, yeah, we are getting older. We can't be the best version of ourselves. We can't feel better and so I will have somebody in here anything and then they'll say something. This is one for women. I'm gaining weight around my middle and I'm like, how old are you? We kind of go through that and then they just start educating people about how things tend to happen as we start to age. Because hormones... But most people just chalk it up to time, but you can feel better. And you know, I think for men, the same thing happens. In fact, we call it andropause for men and menopause for women. But I have people who are not menopausal who still come in and get hormones because they have fatigue, they have brain fog, they have, you know, three kids that are caring for and they're working full time and they're exhausted, or their sex drive isn't what they would like it to be. So all of those conversations I have with them as they start to discuss with me what's going on with them. That's great.

8:53And Riverside gets a lot of sun. So when does that, what does that do to skin over the years? And what's the one thing everyone should be doing at home?

9:01Sunscreen. Number one thing. Before you do anything, you do not walk out of the house whether it's raining today in Riverside.

9:09Sunscreen. I don't care if it's raining. I don't care if it's not raining. I sometimes clients will write down their history and physical form. They wear sunscreen when the sun's out.

9:17We live in Southern California. The sun is out probably about 340 days a year. So sunscreen is the most important thing that somebody can do for for their skin absolutely beyond a shadow of a doubt. So that conversation I have all day, every day with people, use your sunscreen because that is going to protect your skin in the long run. For someone with darker skin who's nervous about laser or light treatments, what should they ask before they book? They should ask if you have lasers that are compatible with their skin type because women and men who have pigmentation in their skin need specialized lasers and skilled providers. So it's twofold. What kind of laser does somebody have? And are you familiar? Have you done this type of skin type? Have you done this treatment on skin like mine?

10:04If you have pigmentation and because pigmentation and the skin and makes all the difference in the world.

10:10And what would you tell someone who's been thinking about going to a med spa for... - I would say probably take the first step and look at the website. That would be the first thing I would do. The second thing is to call the office, see what their vibe is, see how you feel about it. If it doesn't feel right, move forward. And you can always go to any practice and get a consultation and see how you feel after having that connection, after speaking with someone, after having a conversation with someone. Was it, did you feel like there was a connection? Did you feel like what you got was good information? Did you feel like you were being oversold? Did they seem like they were informed? All of those things. So take the plunge. If you're really feeling that way, go and ask questions and that's gonna be your best friend. That's great. And the last question I have for you. So after more than 25 years in healthcare, what do you want a patient to understand before they walk through your door or give you guys a call? I think probably I want them to understand that anything when it comes to aesthetics, generally speaking, it's all about the relationship.

11:16It's all about the connection, and to feel free to ask questions about your care because being at a med spa is medical care, it is medical care, and so get to know them, get to know, their experience. I think that's going to be your best friend and moving forward and establishing a relationship with someone at a medical spa. That's great. Well for anyone in Riverside that's Candace Mooney, a registered nurse and certified nurse midwife and the founder of Elegant Aesthetics. Her office is at 9448 Magnolia Avenue, Suite 103 in Riverside.

11:53You can call the office at 951-398-1932, or visit elegantaesthetics.net, and you can find Candace's profile on topproviders.com. Candace, thank you for helping people feel more like themselves, and if you found this helpful, subscribe to the Top Providers podcast where you can meet your next provider before you book. I'm Joe Brown. Thanks for watching.