Meet the Team: Kayla Lopez, Lead Patient Coordinator

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the La Jolla Cosmetic Podcast.

Monique Ramsey (00:15):
Hello and welcome to the La Jolla Cosmetic Podcast. I'm your hostess, Monique Ramsey. And today my guest is Kayla Lopez. She's the lead patient coordinator in our med spa. Welcome Kayla.

Kayla Lopez (00:27):
Hi, thank you. Thank you for having me.

Monique Ramsey (00:30):
So tell us a little bit about how you help patients in our practice.

Kayla Lopez (00:34):
Yeah, so I am advocate for our patients that first initial call. So I get a great understanding of what their concerns are, the goals that they're looking to achieve with our wonderful providers. And then that will allow me to give more information in regards to what our providers truly specialize in, how we can customize treatment recommendations, and just best prepare them for that consultation with our providers.

Monique Ramsey (01:01):
Where would they expect to meet you or be cared for you while they're here with us? It would be that first phone call, but then would they see you at the consultation?

Kayla Lopez (01:10):
Yes, we actually are still conducting Zoom consultations. And so during that Zoom consultation, our providers will chat with them and get a great understanding of their concerns. We'll provide the recommendations. I'm there to present their quote, answer any questions they may have, and then look at some possible treatment days as well.

Monique Ramsey (01:29):
Oh, so you help them through the whole process? Really, from beginning to end?

Kayla Lopez (01:32):
Yes. And then after their consultation, they're in for treatment and it's always nice when they give a call for their follow up if I haven't already scheduled that, and just to check in with them and they're all super excited. And so, it's really a great process.

Monique Ramsey (01:47):
Did you have any training to do what you do, or is it kind of all on the job and learning as you go?

Kayla Lopez (01:53):
Yeah. I did have some training. Previous to La Jolla Cosmetic I was a surgical coordinator for cosmetic surgery, plastic surgery. And so I did a lot of reconstruction along with cosmetics. So I got my hands and feet wet with all of that. And then that's really where I learned the absolute most in how to really juggle coordinating for surgeons. And so, I had always had the passion for aesthetics and the surgery side and I thought, what better place than La Jolla Cosmetic? And I did my research and I thought, "Okay, this must be the place where I really want to grow and learn. And it's been exciting ever since."

Monique Ramsey (02:34):
Awesome. So tell us about you, and where did you grow up? Tell us about yourself.

Kayla Lopez (02:40):
I actually grew up in Northern California. I'm from Bakersfield, California. I actually moved out here when I was 17 years old.

Monique Ramsey (02:48):
Oh my gosh.

Kayla Lopez (02:50):
Didn't have any friends or family here, but coming from a small town, I just wanted to adventure out. And the first day I moved here was the first day I had ever visited San Diego.

Monique Ramsey (03:01):
Oh my gosh. Wow. So, sight unseen, you just came.

Kayla Lopez (03:04):
I just came.

Monique Ramsey (03:05):
It'll work its way out.

Kayla Lopez (03:07):
I did my research. I found an apartment and I said, "I just want to start over."

Monique Ramsey (03:12):
Wow. That's exciting. And so I'm sure now you've been here how long?

Kayla Lopez (03:17):
About eight years now.

Monique Ramsey (03:18):
Eight years. So you're having fun and you've made friends and you've got family. Do you have family here?

Kayla Lopez (03:24):
I do. Yes. So over the eight years I met my husband. We have a toddler. I don't have really any family here, but I've made friends, everyone, especially at La Jolla Cosmetic is really nice. So I really think I'm here for the long run, in San Diego.

Monique Ramsey (03:43):
I love that. Well, once you get to San Diego, if you've never been, it's hard to leave.

Kayla Lopez (03:47):
Mm-hmm (affirmative). It is.

Monique Ramsey (03:50):
Dr. Swistun was talking about that the other day on his podcast, that he had been here when he was with the Navy and then just fell in love. And he and his wife wanted to figure out how to get back here. So, yeah. What do you like to do outside of the office? Any hobbies or things that you're interested in?

Kayla Lopez (04:07):
My husband and I like to challenge each other to insanity. We love working out and just being super competitive with one another. Our daughter will join us on some hikes. But typically it's, I'm coloring with my daughter, or if you ask my daughter what she wants to do on her free time, she says, "let's go to Target. Let's have a girl's day."

Monique Ramsey (04:25):
Oh, fun.

Kayla Lopez (04:27):
That's really what we do. Anything with my daughter really? She's a lot of fun.

Monique Ramsey (04:32):
Oh, I bet. How old is she?

Kayla Lopez (04:34):
She is three and a half.

Monique Ramsey (04:35):
Three and a half.

Kayla Lopez (04:36):
I told her she was four the other day. And she's like, "No, I'm three."

Monique Ramsey (04:41):
Of course, they know down to the day. That's so cute. That's cute that she likes to go have a girl's day. So what do you want listeners to take away from listening to this podcast?

Kayla Lopez (04:53):
To call us if you have any questions? I feel confident that whoever answers that phone will be able to answer those questions. I will say a lot of times in this cosmetic aesthetics people have the wrong idea of simple procedures, such as Botox and fillers. They have the wrong idea and the wrong impression because of what's really out there in social media, of what they call the done up or the fake look. And that's really not what we do here at La Jolla Cosmetic. All of our providers are great at that natural, subtle approach.

Monique Ramsey (05:29):
I think that's really important, especially in the med spa, having fillers and injectables and people see something online or they see something on TV and they go, "Oh my gosh, I don't want to look like that." That's maybe 2% of the population that might be extreme or want an extreme look or want to be overdone, let's say. But really, most of us would just want to look better. Just want to look younger.

Kayla Lopez (05:58):
Our providers really do a great job at working with our patient's anatomy and customizing to their anatomy. It's what you came in as, you're going to look like the new and improved self when you walk out. Not only on the outside, but within as well.

Monique Ramsey (06:13):
So you've been with the center for two years now. Do you see some of the same patients where you've made some relationships with them?

Kayla Lopez (06:22):
Oh yeah, absolutely. I call them my little ladies. I get all the follow-up emails. It's just so cute and fun and exciting. And they keep me posted with their treatment recommendations over the course of a year, 18 months, whatever the case may be. Because people get confused, it's not a one stop shop. This is a med spa where you come in and you maintenance and you work towards your goals and you battle that clock. And so, I definitely do. And I get that question from patients in my initial call all the time, and I refer to my little ladies.

Monique Ramsey (06:59):
Your little ladies, that's cute. And then I'm sure the little ladies refer their friends too.

Kayla Lopez (07:04):
They do. Neighbors, friends, hairdressers.

Monique Ramsey (07:09):
Yeah. Right. So your little group has grown over time. That's neat. And it's a nice relationship to have with your patients over time. Because once they trust you and see that you're there to help them, and you're there to make their experience better.

Kayla Lopez (07:26):
I will say that is probably the most exciting about my position here at La Jolla Cosmetic, is being a part of their journey. It really is the most exciting.

Monique Ramsey (07:36):
So do you have any procedures that you love that you think are like under the radar? Like what are some Kayla tips on procedures that people might not necessarily know about or think of?

Kayla Lopez (07:49):
Yeah, I absolutely love the threads. I've had the procedure myself. I feel very confident in educating our patients on what they do, how they work, what you can expect, and how they can achieve that goal you're working towards. And when I hear these patients say like, "Well, I've seen some horrific video on YouTube." And I'm like, "Okay, send me that video." So they'll send me and I will tell them exactly what's going wrong in that video.

Monique Ramsey (08:18):
Oh, that's good.

Kayla Lopez (08:20):
And so, I like to just hear it all, and what they've been researching, what they've found, and allowing them to gather their thoughts. And I always tell patients threads is an investment for yourself. And so, I encourage you to do your research, but I'm here if you have any questions. And I do believe our providers do a wonderful job with it. It's very beautiful.

Monique Ramsey (08:45):
They do. Now we'll put in the show notes, but we'll link to the procedure page about it, that we use the Nova threads. And really what they are is suture. Right? This is dissolvable suture.

Kayla Lopez (08:59):
That's correct.

Monique Ramsey (09:00):
And they have different shapes. They are like spirally ones, and barbed ones, and they do different things, but it gives you kind of an instant lift, literally. You see an instant result but the threads stimulate collagen. Right?

Kayla Lopez (09:16):
Yep. That's correct. They're protein based sutures. Your body absorbs them like any other protein. We call it the gift that keeps giving. Week by week you'll notice changes. Month by month you'll notice changes. I am actually a little over a year out and I've had my little touch-ups, but other than that, I'm super happy with my results and I've heard this from patients as well.

Monique Ramsey (09:39):
Yeah. Tell us about, because your skin is glowing, you look absolutely amazing.

Kayla Lopez (09:43):
Thank you.

Monique Ramsey (09:45):
Do you have any specific skincare recommendations? And the reason I ask is because, for people who subscribe to our podcast, we'll give you $25 off of $50 or more. So, thinking about, if you had that free $25 to spend, where would you...How do we get to look like Kayla?

Kayla Lopez (10:05):
I would highly recommend the TNS advanced serum. That is my go-to. I am not that great at keeping a regimen, but I know that I need to put that one on before I leave the house. Our licensed esthetician has the most beautiful skin. And when I first met her, I couldn't stop staring at her. And I was like, "I promise I'm not staring at you. Your skin is so beautiful." And then I was like, "Tell me what you're doing." And she's like, "I can go through my whole regimen, but I'm going to tell you, it's the TNS advanced serum."

Monique Ramsey (10:34):
Yeah. It really is. It has the growth factors and they've redone it. It's now been out the TNS by SkinMedica. And it's been out for 20 years in some form or another. And they were the first company to really harness growth factors in a skincare product. But they came out about last year with this TNS advanced plus serum. And it is amazing. It's that one thing that when you run out of it and you don't get it right away, like I did, I made a huge mistake, and about the second or third week, I'm like, "oh my gosh," it's the thing that when you're not using it, you realize how much of a difference it was making when you were using it.

Monique Ramsey (11:16):
So, yeah, that's a great one. And so you can get it in our office, of course, in GLAMfam you save 15% every day with your GLAMfam on all skincare. But then if you go on our website to our shop and you subscribe for a home delivery of your SkinMedica, they give you 20% off. So you could say, Okay, I need it every two months or every 90 days or every 45 days, whatever, you set the interval and they ship it to your door so you won't run out, you won't make the mistake I made, and you're getting 20% off which you just can't get anywhere else. So it's a really nice little secret. I think that's one of the things that not everybody knows about. So do you have a bio on our website, or where can they learn more about you?

Kayla Lopez (12:06):
I do. Yeah. I'm on the website. You can learn a little bit more about me and my background, what I've done previous to LA Jolla Cosmetic and what I enjoy most at LA Jolla Cosmetic.

Monique Ramsey (12:17):
And then before we wrap it up. Again, I want to mention we've got the $25 off of $50 or more. So all you have to do is subscribe to our podcast and show us that you're a subscriber. And then we'd also love to have you write a review of our podcast if you like what you're hearing, if you like the content that we've been creating, we would love to have a review. If you go on our website at ljcsc.com, you'll see that reviews are a huge part of our practice. So we listen to our patients, we try to make positive changes if something isn't right.

Monique Ramsey (12:50):
And so, it only follows naturally that we would want to have reviews of our podcasts so we can get better. So if you have any questions about our services or would like to schedule a consultation with any of our providers, and Kayla can help you set that up, our contact information and links to everything we talked about today is in the show notes. So, anything else that you wanted to say, Kayla, before we sign off?

Kayla Lopez (13:13):
No. Other than I'm happy to assist the patients that are calling in with those questions. And thank you so much for having me today.

Monique Ramsey (13:19):
Thanks for being here. We really appreciate you stopping by.

Speaker 1 (13:27):
Take a screenshot of this podcast episode with your phone and show it at your consultation or appointment, or mention the promo code PODCAST to receive $25 off any service or product of $50 or more at La Jolla Cosmetic. La Jolla Cosmetic is located just off the I-5 San Diego Freeway in the XIMED building on the Scripps Memorial Hospital campus. To learn more, go to ljcsc.com or follow the team on Instagram @LJCSC. The La Jolla Cosmetic podcast is a production of The Axis. theaxis.io.