TikTok can make a 12-year-old think they need retinol and a 10-step routine, and it can make grown adults feel behind because they still have pores. We sit down with Abby Sipe, a dermatology nurse practitioner and mom raising Gen Z kids, to separate what is actually good for your skin from what is just good content.

We break viral skincare into three clear buckets: helpful trends (like smarter skin barrier repair and better sunscreen habits), overhyped add-ons that are usually fine if you enjoy them, and the truly harmful stuff that can leave you inflamed or infected. You will hear practical, evidence-based guidance on choosing a sunscreen you will wear, when to consider mineral vs chemical sunscreen, and how to respond when someone says they stopped SPF because they heard it was “toxic.” We also talk about why “million-step” routines cause irritation, why at-home microneedling is risky, and what UV maxing and UV contouring are really doing to your skin long term.

Along the way, we do a fun rapid-fire “trot or not” on buzzy ingredients and hacks like azelaic acid, niacinamide, snail mucin, hypochlorous acid spray, spicules “liquid microneedling,” beef tallow, and even the old toothpaste-for-acne myth. The goal is not to shame anyone, it is to help you build a simple skincare routine that protects your skin barrier, prevents skin cancer, and keeps expectations realistic in a world full of filters.

If this helped you rethink your routine, subscribe, share with a friend who lives on skincare TikTok, and leave a review so more people can find science-first skincare advice.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in the Derm-it Trotter! podcast are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the guests’ or host’s institution or employers. The Derm-it Trotter! Podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user’s own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.

If you have ever left a clinic wondering, “Wait, was that a doctor, a nurse, or someone else?” you are not alone, and that confusion can affect trust, follow-through, and even how quickly you get care. We sit down with Andrew Baker, a seasoned Physician Assistant working in dermatology, to make the PA role easy to understand without glossing over the details patients actually care about.

We trace the history of the physician assistant profession from the access-to-care shortages that sparked the first PA program in the 1960s to the modern reality of PAs practicing across medical and surgical specialties. Andrew walks through PA education step by step: the prerequisite science track, the master’s level training model, clinical rotations, the PANCE board exam, and what ongoing continuing medical education and recertification look like over an entire career. We also get practical about scope of practice, including why what a PA can do varies by state, and how fellowship-style training programs are changing the onboarding and specialty training landscape in areas like dermatology.

Then we tackle the questions patients ask in real exam rooms: how a PA differs from a nurse practitioner, what “physician assistant” versus “physician associate” means, and why name changes can create confusion even when scope is not changing. We close with what makes a PA-physician relationship work: collaboration, trust built over time, and a shared commitment to better patient care and better access.

If this helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend who has asked “what is a PA?”, and leave a review so more patients can find it. What is the most confusing part of the healthcare team for you right now?

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in the Derm-it Trotter! podcast are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the guests’ or host’s institution or employers. The Derm-it Trotter! Podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user’s own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.

That “sandpaper” patch you keep rubbing might be more than dry skin. We sit down with board-certified dermatologist Dr. David Cleaver to talk about sun damage, actinic keratoses, and why outdoor life in rural communities can quietly build a lifetime of precancerous change. If you have a history of tanning, years of farm work, construction, or just a lot of time outside, this conversation will help you connect the dots between chronic UV exposure and the day-to-day reality of prevention.

We dig into photodynamic therapy (PDT), a light treatment that targets a whole field of sun-damaged skin, not just the spots you can see. We compare PDT with liquid nitrogen freezing and topical field therapy creams like 5-fluorouracil and imiquimod, including why “less homework” can matter for real patients with real schedules. We also break down red light versus blue light PDT, how depth of penetration plays into the choice, and why many practices treat more often in fall and winter when sun avoidance is easier.

You will hear the honest version of the patient experience too: incubation time, what the light can feel like, how cooling devices and protocol tweaks can improve comfort, and what recovery looks like over the following one to two weeks. We also talk about newer directions, including FDA-approved red light use for superficial basal cell carcinoma in select cases, plus other emerging and off-label areas dermatologists are watching.

If you want practical skin cancer prevention that goes beyond “watch and wait,” press play. Subscribe, share this with someone who lives outdoors, and leave a review to help more people find it. What would you want to know before trying PDT?

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in the Derm-it Trotter! podcast are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the guests’ or host’s institution or employers. The Derm-it Trotter! Podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user’s own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.