I’m so happy to be doing this interview with Dr. Mamina Turengo! I am a self-confessed “skin junkie” so I LOVED being able to talk to Dr. Mamina about diving deeper into skin issues. I had the best time interviewing her. Enjoy!

Hello Dr. Mamina how are you?... Hello, please excuse my face…I just had micro needling done. So, it is sooo red…goodness.

No, at least you are glowing though. I love micro needling personally, and I just thank you so much for joining me. It is an honor for me I am a skin care junkie.

Of course, you are so welcome.

Okay I am going to just jump right in - what I love about your Instagram page is that you are super informative, and you put things into simple terms.

You are a triple certified dermatologist. Can you please take us through how you decided to become a triple certified dermatologist….

I really was not sure that I wanted to become a doctor, so it was a gradual process. I really didn’t know that I wanted to become a doctor for most of my life, but it was always in the back of my mind.

While in college I was interested in more natural holistic medicine. I enrolled in Naturopathic Medical School in 2004. There was a doctor named Dr. Andrew Weil, and he was an Integrative Medicine physician. He has an Integrative Medicine Fellowship Program at University of Arizona.

I then decided that I was going to traditional Medical School, do Family Medicine, and enroll in the Integrative Medical Fellowship Program. When I was in medical school and doing my rotations, I was really interested in autoimmune diseases. With different autoimmune diseases there are a lot of skin issues. So, I decided to do rotations in dermatology.

Then I was drawn to pediatric and adult populations, then pathology where you look at skin diseases under the microscope….

Oh my gosh did you ever sleep during that time…

I tell you my health was definitely compromised during that time. My thyroid was like ‘what is going on’. Yes, it was a tough residency for sure. That is how I ended up getting those two residencies for internal medicine, and dermatology.

As I look back, I do ask myself, how did this happen and why. It was a journey. But I have a strong holistic, integrative approach with my patients. This past year I did an Integrative Dermatology Certificate Program, and it was a nine-month program. I try to incorporate those practices in my current practice.

I love that, because I have noticed that in the last eight to ten years dermatology has become more cosmetic dermatology. It seems that the emphasis is more on injections. Please correct me if I am wrong. It is more like a band-aid, have you found that as well in the industry….

I think that there is still a lot of medical dermatologists, but the ones that get a lot of press, PR exposure, and social media tend to be the more cosmetic dermatologists. So, it could present a more skewed view.

That is one of the things that is frustrating for me is putting a band-aid on issues, like you said. Instead of getting to the root cause of issues. Example…. Why is your collagen breaking down faster? … why is there all this inflammation? We are so quick to give steroids. Your body is reacting to something, so I am all about shifting the way that medicine is practiced in that regard.

Yes, that is why I was saying that I love about your Instagram page, it is informative; you give people the ability to look at what they are doing that could possibly be causing their issues. You are literally getting to the root.

The sunscreen post was one of my favorite posts. It seems so many people are not and do not wear sunscreen. It is so important, and crucial to wear sunscreen.

What would you say your top three advice that you give to your patients to maintain their collagen, and what do you recommend to your patients…

In terms of skincare… besides the basics of washing your face and using a moisturizer. Number one is wearing sunscreen. A lot of people do not wear it, but there is a huge difference that I see in my patients that have worn it (sunscreen) for a long time versus those that have not.

Their skin health, quality, is light years better than those that have not used sunscreen. It is also anti-aging as well; it is giving your skin a rest. With that it can rebuild and build more collagen; it can help get rid of wrinkles with sunscreen.

Second… are retinoids, RetinA. These work by going deep into the collagen and working. It works on the top level of your skin, the epidermis, to increase cell turnover.

The third thing that is showing compelling evidence is vitamin C. It is an antioxidant, which works deep in the collagen and helps with remodeling. As well works on the surface to fight what is called free radicals.

I love it! Now how can people connect with you, besides following you on your Instagram…

Yes, I also have an online dermatology platform called Skintap.com, and Skintap_official on Instagram. We treat acne, rosacea, hair loss, also things to help with eyelashes, and hyperpigmentation as well. We are licensed in about eight, to ten states. Hopefully you are in one of those states.

Thank you so much this has been an honor… aww thank you so much for having me today. I will not infringe on your time any longer. No, thank you for having me!

DR. MAMINA TUREGANO- TRIPLE BOARD-CERTIFIED DERMATOLOGIST

TEALA DUNN- ACTRESS, YOUTUBE STAR & ENTREPRENEUR

ALKA JOSHI- NYT BESTELLING AUTHOR OF ‘THE HENNA ARTIST’