Skinfluence with Dr. Dustin Portela

Dustin Portela
  • 4.9 (88)
  • Medicine
  • Updated Weekly

Skinfluence is a podcast dedicated to helping you understand and take control of your skin health. Hosted by board-certified dermatologist Dr. Dustin Portela and Physician Assistant Austin Lee, each episode blends expert insights with practical advice to guide you through the world of skincare. From treating common concerns like acne and eczema to exploring the latest innovations in cosmetic dermatology, Skinfluence offers trustworthy information you can use—whether you're a skincare beginner or looking to take your routine to the next level. Tune in weekly for science-backed tips, patient stories, and honest conversations about what really works. Tag: 868329

  1. 1d ago

    EP 54: Ozempic Face — What GLP-1 Drugs Do to Your Skin, Hair and Appearance

    The weight is coming off. But something else is changing too, and nobody warned you about it. GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, Mounjaro, and Wegovy have reshaped the conversation around weight loss in a way that nothing has in decades. What that conversation often leaves out is what happens to the face, the hair, and the skin in the process. Dr. Dustin Portela and Austin Lee are seeing it in clinic every week now, often from patients who never connected their new medication to what they are seeing in the mirror. Ozempic face is real, and the biology behind it is worth understanding. The fat pads that give the face its structure and volume are among the first things to go during rapid weight loss. When that happens quickly, skin that spent years supported by subcutaneous fat suddenly has nothing to hold onto. The result is hollowing around the eyes and temples, deeper folds, and a face that can look older even as the body gets healthier. For patients who also carried excess weight for years, there is a second layer to this: chronic inflammation from obesity damages collagen over time, so the structural support was already quietly eroding before the weight came off. Hair loss is even more common, and even more misunderstood. Telogen effluvium, the shedding that follows a metabolic shock, typically shows up three to four months after starting a GLP-1 or escalating the dose. By then, most patients have forgotten what changed. The good news is that for most people it resolves on its own within six to twelve months. The hosts walk through what can help speed recovery, including oral minoxidil, finasteride, red light therapy, and PRP, and what to watch for if the shedding becomes chronic. The episode also covers what the emerging research is finding about GLP-1s and skin conditions like psoriasis and hidradenitis suppurativa, where the anti-inflammatory effects of weight loss appear to be driving meaningful improvement. There is even a retrospective study suggesting a lower incidence of breast cancer in women taking these medications, which opens a broader conversation about how interconnected metabolic health and immune surveillance really are. None of this is a reason to avoid GLP-1s if your doctor has recommended them. It is a reason to know what to expect and to have a plan. Product of the Week CeraVe Invisible Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50 A broad-spectrum mineral sunscreen with no white cast and a cosmetic feel that punches well above its price point. Available at most major retailers for around $10 to $15. Follow Us Dr. Dustin Portela TikTok | Instagram | YouTube (Reactions) | YouTube (Educational) | Pinterest Austin Lee, PA-C Instagram: @austinleepac Skinfluence Podcast Instagram: @skinfluence_pod

  2. Aug 27

    EP 53: Derm Myth Court: Tanning for Vitamin D? Oily Skin Doesn't Need Moisturizer? — Part 2

    Some skincare myths are easy to knock down. The ones in this episode are trickier, because the prosecution actually has a case. Round two of Derm Myth Court brings three myths that feel more defensible than last week's, which makes them more dangerous. Dr. Dustin Portela and Austin Lee trade sides again, and the debate format earns its keep here because at least one of these arguments is genuinely contested. The vitamin D and sun exposure debate is the most substantive of the three. Yes, UVB exposure triggers vitamin D synthesis in the skin. Yes, many people are deficient. The prosecution has real ammunition, and the hosts don't pretend otherwise. What the defense works through is the part the argument always skips: how much UV exposure is actually needed, why that varies dramatically by skin tone and latitude, and why you can be doing UV damage in winter months without getting any meaningful vitamin D benefit in return. The Swedish study that anti-sunscreen advocates love to cite gets a close reading, and the confounding factors are worth understanding. The oily skin debate is more one-sided but comes up constantly in clinic. The logic that oily skin produces its own moisturizer sounds reasonable until you understand what moisturizers are actually doing that skin oil isn't, and why barrier dysfunction shows up just as readily in rosacea, acne, and seborrheic dermatitis as it does in dry skin. The answer is not the same moisturizer for everyone, but it is still a moisturizer. Sunscreen contouring closes things out. The trend, popularized on TikTok and endorsed in at least one notable celebrity Instagram post, involves deliberately skipping sunscreen on certain facial areas to achieve a natural tan contour. The hosts walk through what cumulative UV damage actually looks like in uneven distributions over time, which is not what anyone is picturing when they try this at 25. Product of the Week Dean Skincare ActivCE Vitamin C Serum and All-Trans Retinol A stabilized vitamin C with green tea polyphenols for morning use, paired with a 5X retinol for nighttime. Available at shop.drdustinportela.com with discounts for first-time buyers. Follow Us Dr. Dustin Portela TikTok | Instagram | YouTube (Reactions) | YouTube (Educational) | Pinterest Austin Lee, PA-C Instagram: @austinleepac Skinfluence Podcast Instagram: @skinfluence_pod

    EP 53: Derm Myth Court: Tanning for Vitamin D? Oily Skin Doesn't Need Moisturizer? — Part 2

  3. Aug 20

    EP 52: Derm Myth Court: Does Sunscreen Cause Cancer? Beef Tallow? Lemon Juice for Acne? — Part 1

    Some skincare myths are easy to dismiss. Others are built on just enough real science to sound credible, and those are the ones that spread. For the first episode of Derm Myth Court, Dr. Dustin Portela and Austin Lee take three of the most persistent myths in dermatology and put them on trial. The format is simple: one host argues in favor of the myth, the other defends against it, and then the actual science delivers the verdict. It is more entertaining than a lecture and more useful than a scroll through your comment section. First up is the claim that sunscreen causes cancer. The prosecution has real material to work with: there are studies showing certain chemical filters like oxybenzone are absorbed into the bloodstream, and skin cancer rates have climbed alongside sunscreen adoption. The defense dismantles both arguments methodically, including the animal studies on endocrine disruption that get cited constantly online and why the math on human exposure makes those findings almost entirely irrelevant. Beef tallow is next, and it gets a fair hearing before falling apart on its own merits. The ancestral skincare argument, the fatty acid claims, the vitamin A comparison to retinol: each one gets taken apart. What remains is a product that is essentially an occlusive, costs significantly more than a jar of Vaseline, has a shelf life that is not always obvious, and carries a real risk of contact dermatitis when essential oils are added to cover the smell. The lemon juice for acne debate ends with a patient story that is hard to forget. The citric acid argument has some surface-level logic to it, and the hosts acknowledge that. But lemon juice on skin plus sun exposure is a combination that dermatologists are still treating in clinic, usually presenting as dark irregular marks on someone who just got back from a beach vacation and cannot figure out what happened. Each myth gets a clear verdict and a better alternative. Product of the Week Dene Skincare Sheer Shield SPF 50, Dean Active Repair Moisturizer, and Rapid Reveal Exfoliation Pads The three products recommended as evidence-based alternatives to what was debunked in this episode. Available at shop.drdustinportela.com with at least 15% off your first purchase. Follow Us Dr. Dustin Portela TikTok | Instagram | YouTube (Reactions) | YouTube (Educational) | Pinterest Austin Lee, PA-C Instagram: @austinleepac Skinfluence Podcast Instagram: @skinfluence_pod

    EP 52: Derm Myth Court: Does Sunscreen Cause Cancer? Beef Tallow? Lemon Juice for Acne? — Part 1

  4. Aug 12

    Featured Episode: A Medicare Proposal Could Change How You Receive Care — Here's What You Can Do

    Most people don't follow healthcare policy. But this one is worth your attention, and the window to do something about it closes September 14th. A new CMS proposal, if passed, would cut reimbursement by 50 percent any time a doctor performs a procedure on the same day as an office visit. On paper, it sounds like a billing technicality. In practice, it means that if your dermatologist finds a suspicious mole during a routine skin check, many practices would no longer be able to biopsy it that same day without losing money on the encounter. You'd be asked to come back. Two appointments, two copays, two weeks of waiting for answers about something your doctor told you looked concerning. Dr. Dustin Portela and Austin Lee break down exactly how physician billing works, why the CMS framing of this as an "efficiency adjustment" misses the point, and what the real-world impact looks like across every specialty. This isn't a dermatology problem. It's a pediatrics problem, a cardiology problem, an ENT problem. Any doctor who currently handles two separate concerns in one visit would be forced to split them. For patients in rural areas who drive long distances to see a specialist, that's not a minor inconvenience. For practices already operating on thin margins after decades of declining reimbursements, it could mean staff cuts, dropped insurance plans, or closing altogether. The good news: there is something you can do before the comment period closes. Contacting your two state senators and congressional representative directly, by phone or email, carries more weight than a CMS comment. Links to a sample letter and a tool to look up your representatives are in the show notes. If you add something personal, why this would affect your specific situation, it will land harder than a form letter. Please share this episode. The more people who contact their representatives before September 14th, the better the outcome for patients. Follow Us Dr. Dustin Portela TikTok | Instagram | YouTube (Reactions) | YouTube (Educational) | Pinterest Austin Lee, PA-C Instagram: @austinleepac Skinfluence Podcast Instagram: @skinfluence_pod

    Featured Episode: A Medicare Proposal Could Change How You Receive Care — Here's What You Can Do

  5. Aug 6

    Guest Episode: Dr. Mary Alice Mina on Perimenopause, Collagen Loss and What Women in Midlife Actually Need

    At 40, Dr. Mary Alice Mina noticed her neck for the first time. She was a dermatologist, she knew the science, and it still caught her off guard. That moment of recognition is exactly what she now builds her practice around. Dr. Mina is a board-certified dermatologist, host of The Skin Real podcast, and one of the clearer voices in a space crowded with noise about menopause and perimenopause skin care. In this conversation with Dr. Portela, she covers what actually happens to skin during this chapter of life, why perimenopause symptoms are so easy to miss, and what women can realistically do about the changes they are seeing in the mirror. A few things stand out. The collagen loss that happens gradually in your 30s can accelerate sharply once estrogen drops at menopause, sometimes up to 30 percent in a five-year window. The window to do something about it is earlier than most people think. Dr. Mina and Dr. Portela both practice what they preach: daily SPF, a retinoid, and an antioxidant serum cover most of the ground. Collagen supplements, creatine, and protein intake all come up, with honest takes on what the evidence actually supports versus what sounds good on a label. Everything beyond the basics is diminishing returns unless sleep, nutrition, and stress are also being addressed. The conversation on topical estrogen and hormone replacement therapy is candid and nuanced. There is promising data and real gaps in the research, and Dr. Mina is honest about both. She also makes a point that tends to get lost: vaginal estrogen is one of the most evidence-backed and underused treatments in women's health, and many women who could benefit from it have never been told it exists. On the in-office side, she walks through laser resurfacing, microneedling, and biostimulators like Sculptra and Radiesse for collagen restoration, with a clear-eyed take on why patience matters and why the lifestyle foundation has to come first before any cosmetic procedure can do its job. Follow Us Dr. Dustin Portela TikTok | Instagram | YouTube (Reactions) | YouTube (Educational) | Pinterest Dr. Mary Alice Mina Instagram: @drminaskins Podcast: The Skin Real Perimenopause Guide: hi.theskinreal.com/peri Skinfluence Podcast Instagram: @skinfluence_pod

    Guest Episode: Dr. Mary Alice Mina on Perimenopause, Collagen Loss and What Women in Midlife Actually Need

  6. Jul 30

    EP 51: Sunburn, Sweat Acne and Summer Skin Damage — What Dermatologists See Every July

    Summer has a way of reminding people that their skin has limits. Every July, the same things land in Dr. Dustin Portela and Austin Lee's clinic: sunburns that crossed a line, back acne that appeared out of nowhere, rashes from sources nobody thought to question. This episode is their honest take on the summer conditions they see year after year, what causes them, what to do, and in a few cases, what not to do. Sunburns get a proper breakdown, including the biology of why the damage keeps happening after you're already out of the sun, what actually helps during those first miserable hours, and when a burn is serious enough to warrant a trip to urgent care. The conversation on sweat acne and folliculitis is worth the listen for anyone who spends significant time outdoors and can't figure out why their skin keeps breaking out. Tinea versicolor comes up too, including Austin's admission that he deals with it himself every summer. The diagnosis that tends to stop people cold is phytophotodermatitis. Most people have never heard of it. But if you've ever squeezed a lime into your drink at a backyard barbecue and gone back outside, you've taken the risk. The case stories here are genuinely funny, and the condition is genuinely real. Sea bather's eruption, swimmer's itch, and chiggers round things out in ways that will make anyone reconsider their relationship with warm, still water. Somewhere in the middle, a 1933 physician decides to let a black widow spider bite his own finger to prove a point to skeptical colleagues. It goes about as well as you'd expect. Product of the Week Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Body Mist SPF 70 and Inner Glow Sol Defense Supplements A water-resistant spray sunscreen for easy summer coverage, paired with a polypodium-based supplement that helps neutralize UV free radical damage from the inside out.  Follow Us Dr. Dustin Portela TikTok | Instagram | YouTube (Reactions) | YouTube (Educational) | Pinterest Austin Lee, PA-C Instagram: @austinleepac Skinfluence Podcast Instagram: @skinfluence_pod

  7. Jul 23

    EP 50: When Your Skin Is Trying to Tell You Something Is Wrong Inside

    Your skin is not just your largest organ. It is also, occasionally, a window into something going wrong much deeper than the surface. Autoimmune disease has a reputation for being mysterious, slow to diagnose, and easy to dismiss. Part of the reason is that the early signs often look like something ordinary: a rash that won't quit, fatigue that sleep doesn't fix, joints that ache without a good explanation. What most people don't realize is that a dermatologist is frequently the first doctor to put the pieces together, sometimes years before a rheumatologist ever enters the picture. Dr. Dustin Portela and Austin Lee have both sat across from patients who had been to doctor after doctor without answers. In this episode, they talk openly about what those cases actually look like, what they're thinking when a rash doesn't behave the way it should, and what separates a routine skin condition from something that warrants a much closer look. Lupus, dermatomyositis, bullous pemphigoid, and gout all make an appearance, not as a checklist, but as real conditions with real presentations and real consequences when they go unrecognized. There is also a case that has nothing to do with autoimmune disease and everything to do with why the gut microbiome deserves more respect than it gets. A man was pulled over, failed a breathalyzer at twice the legal limit, and had not touched a drop of alcohol. What his body was doing instead is one of the stranger things documented in modern medicine. For anyone who has been told their labs are inconclusive, their rash is probably nothing, or their symptoms don't quite add up yet, this episode is for you.  Product of the Week Avene Thermal Spring Water Spray and Avene Cicalfate+ Fragrance-free, sterile formulas for barrier repair and inflamed skin. Links in the show notes. Follow Us Dr. Dustin Portela TikTok | Instagram | YouTube (Reactions) | YouTube (Educational) | Pinterest Austin Lee, PA-C Instagram: @austinleepac Skinfluence Podcast Instagram: @skinfluence_pod

    EP 50: When Your Skin Is Trying to Tell You Something Is Wrong Inside

  8. Jul 16

    Guest Episode: Johanna Young of Solbari on Sun Protective Clothing, Skin Cancer Prevention, and What Australia Gets Right

    Two in three Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer by the age of 70. That statistic is the backdrop for everything Johanna Young does. Johanna is the founder of Solbari, an Australian sun protective clothing brand now distributed in over 160 countries. What started as a solution for herself and her fair-skinned husband on the golf course has grown into a company of 35 people, a warehouse in California, and more than 800,000 customers worldwide. In this conversation, she joins Dr. Dustin Portela to talk about UPF clothing, why most people dramatically underestimate the sun protection their everyday clothes provide, and what the US could learn from Australia's decades-long commitment to sun safety. The conversation opens with something most people don't know: a standard white cotton T-shirt offers roughly the same protection as SPF 5 sunscreen, and when wet, that drops even further. UPF 50+ clothing, by contrast, blocks at least 98% of UVA and UVB rays and maintains that protection throughout the day without reapplication. Johanna breaks down what actually determines a garment's UPF rating, from fabric composition and weave density to color and stretch, and explains why Solbari tests every color in every product to ensure that rating holds through at least fifty washes. Dr. Portela and Johanna also get into the broader cultural question of why sun protection is non-negotiable in Australia while it remains a hard sell in parts of the US. The answer involves school policies, government-subsidized skin checks, a national ban on tanning beds since 2015, and a public health infrastructure built around prevention rather than treatment. It's a candid and genuinely interesting comparison between two countries with very different approaches to the same problem. For anyone who loves being outdoors but has felt caught between protecting their skin and actually living their life, this episode is worth your time. Product of the Week Solbari UPF 50+ Sun Protective Clothing Lightweight, breathable, moisture-wicking UPF 50+ clothing designed for all-day outdoor wear. Use code SKINFLUENCE15 for 15% off at solbari.com. Follow Us Dr. Dustin Portela TikTok | Instagram | YouTube (Reactions) | YouTube (Educational) | Pinterest Johanna Young / Solbari Instagram: @solbari Skinfluence Podcast Instagram: @skinfluence_pod

    Guest Episode: Johanna Young of Solbari on Sun Protective Clothing, Skin Cancer Prevention, and What Australia Gets Right
See All (77)

4.9
out of 5
88 Ratings

About

Skinfluence is a podcast dedicated to helping you understand and take control of your skin health. Hosted by board-certified dermatologist Dr. Dustin Portela and Physician Assistant Austin Lee, each episode blends expert insights with practical advice to guide you through the world of skincare. From treating common concerns like acne and eczema to exploring the latest innovations in cosmetic dermatology, Skinfluence offers trustworthy information you can use—whether you're a skincare beginner or looking to take your routine to the next level. Tune in weekly for science-backed tips, patient stories, and honest conversations about what really works. Tag: 868329

Information

You Might Also Like