Remember the feeling of pure joy bubbling inside you on Christmas morning? The excitement of something new, accompanied by fast-paced butterflies signaling the unknown? To feel that same exhilaration by walking into a skin care center caught me pleasantly by surprise. Arriving at Dr. Jeffrey Carls Family Medicine and Aesthetics for my consultation with Christie Viands Carls, BA, LT, instantly evoked a giddy feeling of rebirth. I had landed in this seat through a loving nudge from a friend.
Ads might catch my attention, but personal referrals make me pull the trigger – and her glowing skin had proven to be all the convincing I needed to take my leap of faith. Full disclosure. I’m a mid 30’s mom who worshiped the sun sans sunscreen (brown spots) and was struck by melasma (more brown spots) while I was pregnant with my son. I’ve tried every cream, serum, and smashed avocado face mask I could find to rid me of my cheetah’d appearance, all to no prevail. Thousands of dollars and minimal progress later…here I am.
Just search Dr. Jeffrey Carls Family Medicine and Aesthetics and you’re there. With my busy life and a young child who makes phone conversations challenging, this option was perfect for me. Christie confirmed my appointment by email, which instantly added a nice personal touch. She sent all the paperwork I needed to complete prior to my visit, so we were ready to hit the ground running when I arrived. A chat with Christie is the first step in the process, as she provides the consultations, skin care regimen recommendations, and skin performance evaluations.
What's it like to get a skincare consultation with us? Watch the video to learn more.
She was warm and welcoming and instantly made me feel right at home. Every bone in her body radiated knowledge that was bursting from within her. Skin health and helping you to look and feel your best is undoubtedly a true passion she holds high. She listened intently to my concerns and wishes and helped to ease my apprehension by offering success stories of others in my position. I was giggling inside, thinking to myself that admitting there is a “problem” is the first step on the road to recovery. She wholeheartedly knew this, feeling it seep from my sometimes shaky words.
We started with imaging my face to measure spots, texture, wrinkles, pore size…all the fun stuff. The results gave us a baseline of current and underlying damage, followed by Christie’s breakdown into layman’s terms and suggested a course of action. The results from the scan are scientifically backed, giving us measurable data to work from. This imaging is included in all treatments and is ongoing free of charge to ensure expected results are being achieved.
Cliche, but seeing is truly believing. Fancy machines aside, what impressed me most was Christie’s focus on health. I’m a hippy at heart, and she spoke right to it as she hailed the powers of water, nutrition, vitamins and healing from the inside out. Sunscreen and protection were top on her list, prior to any commitment of treatments. Makes sense. Start protecting immediately to prevent further damage, or treatments will end up one step forward, two steps back.
I appreciated Christie not being pushy about products, but rather maintaining a focus on a slow and safe process. I had been duped so many times in the past about miracle bottles; I knew anything of the sort would be a turn off for me. She sent me home with some simple samples to moisturize and protect, along with an extensive packet rounding up everything we discussed so I could further digest at home. With just one question left, I inquired about makeup, knowing my road back to healthy skin would be long. “We do not sell makeup, just inexpensive, medical grade products designed to make you look fabulous without makeup,” Christie answered. Well, if that’s not a beacon of light, I’m not sure what is. Next up, I meet with the doctor. Stay tuned for my course of action.
