Please welcome Lena from Lenametderm. Lena is a dermatology physician assistant with a focus on cosmetic dermatology. Lena is my botox injector, which I know some will find controversial, but once you hear Lena’s heart for serving women, you will learn why she is amazing at what she does.
Tell us about yourself (Who you are, what you do, and a favorite quote).
I’m Lena, I’m a dermatology physician assistant, focusing mainly on cosmetic dermatology, I’m also a wife, and mom.
My favorite quote: Everyone suffers in one way shape or form in this life, in the moment it is grueling but looking back you see the beauty and purpose of it. “We also glory in our sufferings, because we know suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character hope.”
Romans 5:3-4
What is your brand and what is its mission?
My brand is Lenametderm. I currently work at Dermatology Physicians Inc.
My mission is to love the woman in my chair and convince her how beautiful she already is.
What made you start your business and how does someone find you (social media, email, etc.)?
You can find me on instagram at Lenametderm.
In high school I chose the physician assistant career path. I was naturally drawn to dermatology because it’s a very visual field of medicine.
Early in my career I hit a low point where I was humbled and lost my job.
It’s funny, I was living in LA and driving to my job downtown that morning praying for CHANGE. With the way God works, you know He answered my prayer in a big way I was NOT expecting or wanting.
I viewed this as the biggest failure of my life to that point (being very type A, people pleasing, and early in my 20s). This to me felt like rock bottom, and it was interestingly freeing once the initial devastation passed.
I had time to really sit with God and understand my why, and come up with new goals.
It was during this time I received many new job offers and decided to pursue aesthetics, which had been a goal of mine to hone in on my injecting skills.
It’s funny how God sometimes has to physically push you out of a place knowing there’s something so much better on the other side that you would have never pursued on your own accord.
I mastered my skills in LA as a cosmetic injector and learned from some of the best in the industry.
God opened doors!
He continued to bless me more than I had ever imagined possible through this new path carved out for me.
How has your past led you to where you are today? (You can make this as detailed or brief as you want.)
I have always struggled with my own self esteem and felt very much like an “ugly duckling.” Over time I learned to love my nose and the features that make me, me. Like many young women, I struggled with seeking validation from the world with my appearances and struggled for a brief time with an eating disorder as well.
I read another quote recently that said, “where ever you are attacked the most, will reveal your calling, what you are experiencing is not to kill you, it’s to lead you to fulfillment.”
I found this to be so true, through my own experiences growing in my confidence and learning that my confidence comes from the Lord and not from my own physical appearance or actions.
What are the key takeaways you’ve learned since you started your healing journey?
One key takeaway I received from God through my healing journey was an amazing depiction of nature He used to reveal to me how He sees us.
I was praying and looked out the window to see my favorite pink roses blooming. They were stunning and lush. One pink rose stood out especially, it was the one turned towards heaven, the petals were radiant, the stem was taller and it just stood out as the most gorgeous rose of the bunch. Then I saw another beautiful rose, but it was turned face down to the concrete of the sidewalk. It was beautiful but the passerby would never know because it was facing down to the ground.
First I felt God was saying look at these stunning roses, could anyone deny they are beautiful? Do you know a single person who could say this rose is ugly? No, impossible.
How much more beautiful are you to me than this rose? There is no denying there is SO much beauty in every single person God created. Society may not see it but He does.
Then I felt He was saying, if you don’t look to me, your full beauty will not be appreciated.
Don’t look to the world for that validation of beauty, it will never be at its full potential just like that poor drooping rose, never fulfilling its true purpose.
What do you wish someone would have told you when you were healing?
I don’t think anything anyone could have said would have truly convicted me the way God did when He spoke to me that day. You can hear a thousand times that you’re beautiful or not fat from someone else, but you won’t believe it until you redefine what beauty is and understand that you are treasured by your creator.
Comparing your beauty to others or what society portrays will never be enough.
What advice or steps would you recommend for someone who may be on the same journey as you, or what services you are offering?
I offer Botox and filler, which seems counterintuitive to my mission, and I grappled with this for a bit until I felt God say to me- love the woman in the chair and you are doing my will.
I’m in a unique position in this industry to reach women who might be suffering in this way with their self esteem and seeking it externally.
I’m not really changing how anyone looks, we work on softening and prevention but embracing each persons natural unique beauty.
I would say if you are struggling with this, don’t give up, cry out to God, seek counseling, do things to make you feel better about yourself when you look in the mirror and remember what you see in the mirror isn’t everything.
I’m happy to be a listening ear and give you “needle therapy” but I’m not a trained counselor.
I’m a huge advocate for good counseling with a trained therapist.
Thank you Lena for being on the blog and sharing your heart with us.
If you are looking for cosmetic dermatology services, Lena is truly amazing at her craft and truly does love the woman in the chair.
Lena can be reached at Lenametderm on instagram or by Dermatology Physicians Inc.
If you want to hear more from Broken Until Now, subscribe to the blog or follow us on Instagram at @brokenuntilnow.
Blessings,
Ashley Marie
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