Skinfluence with Dr. Dustin Portela

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

Skinfluence with Dr. Dustin Portela is a health podcast hosted by Dustin Portela, with 74 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Dustin Portela hosts Skinfluence with Dr. Dustin Portela, a health show with 74 episodes published.

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  Skinfluence with Dr. Dustin Portela

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

  Aug 20, 202629 min

  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

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  Skinfluence with Dr. Dustin Portela

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

  Aug 12, 202618 min

  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

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  Skinfluence with Dr. Dustin Portela

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

  Aug 6, 202631 min

  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

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  Skinfluence with Dr. Dustin Portela

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

  Jul 30, 202638 min

  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

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  Skinfluence with Dr. Dustin Portela

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

  Jul 23, 202643 min

  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

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