Jennifer Franz, RN, BSN, loves building relationships and customizing treatment plans tailored to her patients. One highlight of coming to work at our La Jolla medical spa each day is educating patients on why she recommends certain treatments.
As a social butterfly, talking to people of all ages and stages is easy for Jennifer. With 13 years of experience in aesthetics, she helps a wide variety of patients love what they see when they look in the mirror.
While working as a hospital nurse, she met a plastic surgeon at her son’s tee-ball game which led her to becoming an aesthetic injector. Today, she is an experienced aesthetic nurse with a rich passion for helping people feel more empowered and confident throughout the stages of life.
Book an appointment with Jennifer online
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La Jolla Cosmetic is located just off the I-5 San Diego Freeway at 9850 Genesee Ave, Suite 130 in the Ximed building on the Scripps Memorial Hospital campus.
To learn more, go to
LJCSC.com
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@LJCSC
The La Jolla Cosmetic Podcast is a production of The Axis:
theaxis.io
Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to The La Jolla Cosmetic Podcast.
Monique Ramsey (00:14):
Hello and welcome to The La Jolla Cosmetic Podcast. I'm your hostess, Monique Ramsey, and today I have a wonderful new person for you to meet. Her name is Jennifer Franz. She's an RN, BSN, and she's one of the expert providers we have in our medical spa at the La Jolla location. So, welcome, Jennifer.
Jennifer Franz (00:33):
Hi. Thank you so much.
Monique Ramsey (00:36):
Now you've been here for a whole week now. So, Jennifer, tell us how did you get into the field of injecting and helping patients in the med spa?
Jennifer Franz (00:46):
Right. Well, I've been an RN for quite a long time and got into aesthetics about 13 years ago. I, um, was right after work taking my son to a T-ball practice and struck up a conversation with another mother who just so happened to be a new plastic surgeon in town, which in town was Wichita, Kansas. So I'm new to California. So she and I struck up a really nice conversation and found out that I was, at the time an IV therapist at hospitals and, and she asked if I was ever interested in injecting in aesthetics and didn't know a whole lot about it. So, long story short, she brought me on, and that was the beginning of a nice, long, specialty career. Uh, so it's been going on 14 years now, working alongside plastic surgeons.
Monique Ramsey (01:41):
Wow. That's kind of, that's kind of fun. And you threw me a curve ball
Jennifer Franz (01:58):
Yes, yes. It all started at a T-ball game.
Monique Ramsey (02:03):
So tell us about your training and, and what led you into being a nurse.
Jennifer Franz (02:09):
Sure. It was, uh, well, as far as going into nursing specifically, um, that was all my mother's idea. She always wanted to be a nurse, and I don't think that she wanted me to follow my aspiration to, um, join Greenpeace. So, um,
Monique Ramsey (03:12):
Well, I think it's wonderful that you have that background in the plastic surgery side of things, and especially because this practice, you know, it's all under one roof. We've got Right, the plastic surgeons who can do the things that they do to make people look and feel great. And then there's the me spa side, which, you know, whether you combine the two things as a patient or you go one way or the other, but it's nice that you have that background to help people.
Jennifer Franz (03:41):
Yeah, I think so too. I think what I've appreciated about this side of aesthetics versus med spa aesthetics is that we have so much more to offer. And like you said, sometimes there aren't a lot of injectable or laser type situations that can remedy a particular complaint that a, that a patient may have. And so that's when those surgeons are really crucial. And I think even though that may be scary to some patients, I, I hope that just with my experience both being a patient and also being a nurse for a lot of different plastics, you know, I can help talk them through that process and maybe make it a little bit less scary. And then obviously make sure that they end up where they wanna be at the end. Mm-hmm.
Monique Ramsey (04:31):
How to get the, to the goal. Yeah. And I, I think it's also for patients who might start on the plastic surgery side mm-hmm.
Jennifer Franz (05:00):
Absolutely. And maintenance is key no matter what stage you're in, no matter what you're doing, whether it's a surgery or a laser or, um, whether you're 20 or 60, it's that constant maintenance, whether it's just really good skincare products or a little Botox here and there, or a little laser here and there, chemical peels, whatever it is. I mean, I think from the aestheticians that offer such great skincare here to, you know, the more medical grade types of lasers or the injectables, those things all are so encompassing to the whole outcome.
Monique Ramsey (05:39):
Yeah. Yeah. So let's find out a little bit about you and what, what do you love to do in the med spa? Like, what are you, do, are you known for something specific, or do you have a favorite thing, or, you know, give us a little snapshot into kind of your scope of practice.
Jennifer Franz (05:57):
Sure. Well, I love doing Botox or any neuromodulator. I think there's so many great little, besides all the basic things, you know, that everyone knows of doing, doing your glabella or forehead lines or crow's feet. Um, there's also so many muscles in the face and neck that can be just tweaked a little bit with Botox and, and make a nice difference in the whole overall outcome of our look or, or the aging process or whatever it is that, that we're going for. So Botox I think is probably my favorite. Fillers obviously are, are fun too, but I think what I really like the most out of my practice, or from my practice is just meeting new people. I love having those relationships and those friendships with my patients. I like starting from the beginning and getting to know people and creating a plan and having hopefully a nice long relationship with people.
Jennifer Franz (06:56):
I think, um, I'm kind of known for giving it pretty straight to people. I think that the majority of my patients over the years have found that kind of comforting that I'm not going to sell them something that they don't need or that I don't know a lot about too. I, I think that I try to try as much as I can so that I know exactly how things feel or, or what the outcomes are going to be or if it's going to be an effective option. But yeah, I don't, I don't like to oversell. That's certainly never my goal. I think that there are a lot of things that we can do, even on a small scale that, that improve the way we feel about the way we look. So, yeah. And then lasers too. I mean, lasers are such a great option as well, because, you know, again, clearly there's just so much that goes into our faces or our necks or our hands, our bodies, whether it's volume replacement like you said, or whether it's relaxing muscles with Botox or making such a pretty smooth complexion so that you don't feel like you've got so much to cover up whatever it is that you wanna work on.
Jennifer Franz (08:04):
There are so many things and I just, I like creating that plan with people and having that long-term relationship.
Monique Ramsey (08:12):
Yeah. And I think, you know, we've been around since 1988 as a surgery center, and we added our medical spa in 2013. And so I think that's something that's so special about our practice is it's like we're in it for the long haul. Mm-hmm.
Jennifer Franz (09:06):
I do feel so excited to be with this group because of that, because of the mission statement that patients come first and we want happy patients. We wanna feel good about what we put out there. And that definitely aligns with the way I practice. I certainly wouldn't ever oversell, like I said, I, and I've even told people in the past, I've done this to my mother, and if my mother loved it and my mother trusted me, I promise you,
Monique Ramsey (09:38):
So now you said you were in Kansas. Did you grow up in Kansas?
Jennifer Franz (09:43):
Uh, since I was in second grade. So most of it, yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Monique Ramsey (09:47):
Okay. So what was the big draw to come to San Diego? Besides coming to us, of course,
Jennifer Franz (09:53):
Monique Ramsey (11:14):
That's a really brave thing to do, to be like, I'm gonna move and I'm gonna not even gonna move down the street. I'm gonna move far, far away. That's,
Jennifer Franz (11:23):
Yeah, I won't lie. It was scary
Monique Ramsey (11:52):
That's neat. So how long have you been in San Diego now?
Jennifer Franz (11:57):
I came in September, so a bit, but, um, I was still going back and forth to Wichita for those next couple of months. I was still kind of finishing out at, uh, Dr. Conrad's office where I was working, going back and just trying to see a few more of my favorite patients through December. So I was kind of going back and forth yet until the end of last year. So, so I've really been full-time here since Christmas.
Monique Ramsey (12:28):
Wow. Yeah. Nice.
Jennifer Franz (12:29):
Yeah. Nice.
Monique Ramsey (12:31):
So, back into aesthetics. So what have you learned over the years of listening to patients?
Jennifer Franz (12:36):
Hmm. I've learned from patients that more than anything, they just want to look as good as they feel. Uh, I think that's the, the weird thing about aging that you don't understand until you start aging that well, I guess everybody's aging, but you know, until you hit your thirties for instance, or your forties or your fifties or your sixties, that you don't necessarily feel like you're in your thirties or whatever. You assume that that's going to feel like you still feel young and vibrant in so many situations. And to not reflect that in the mirror or in your outward appearance is very bothersome to some people. And, you know, I think that's really why they seek us out, because we can help with, you know, those little things. Whether it's something specific that, that they see in the mirror that they don't like, or whether it's just the overall appearance of maybe looking tired.
Jennifer Franz (13:35):
And I think that most people really just want to look very natural and have just a more youthful, refreshed look. And hopefully, you know, I can help with that. I can help someone like what they're seeing in the mirror and make that image match up a little bit more so to how they're feeling on the inside. And, and I think sometimes too, it's even just having a conversation about it. I think sometimes as women, I think that, I don't know if I've seen that as much yet in California as, as I did in the Midwest, but you know, sometimes it's kind of a closed off conversation. Women are either very open with their friends about aging and what that looks like, whether it's, you know, something more medically related or whether it's just simple things like Botox and skincare and laser services. And, and I think, you know, again, being someone who is over 50, I can relate to that and I can say, well, this is what's working for me and this is what works for a lot of my patients. And, you know, to kind of hold their hand through that process and, and get to again, make a friend and help someone just to feel about the way they look, I think is really special.
Monique Ramsey (14:54):
That's nice. I think having that partnership is a really nice thing. And having somebody, like you were talking about earlier, making a plan mm-hmm.
Jennifer Franz (15:09):
So I mean, on multiple levels, I mean, both. Sometimes it's just too much to inject and do laser and all the skincare all in one setting. Obviously that's not possible. But then cost related too. That's, it's sometimes just way too much to ask to, you know, to dive in and, and throw all your, all your money at one service. And, and that's the other thing that I am so open to discussing with patients is, you know, spreading out those services so that we don't have to throw the kitchen sink at it all at once.
Monique Ramsey (15:43):
And when you want to throw the kitchen sink, the good thing is we have financing. Yeah. Because sometimes, you know, if you're getting ready for a certain life event, like I, my son is 25 and he's getting married next February, so it's like, okay, it's April, now I have some time to think about, you know, what are the things I wanna do to be fully healed by the wedding. Exactly. And so I think when, when you have maybe sometimes a bigger treatment plan, having the be able to pay, you know, $90 a month or whatever it is with the financing, people don't realize that in med spas, or at least our med spa, there is an option. And so it really does help to, and we're, we use it all the time, and patients use it all the time. And so it's not unusual and nobody really thinks about that. So that part's nice for when, when you wanna clump things together. Now, what kinds of devices, like, you know, we have so many devices, we have all therapy, and we have ThermiVa, and we have miraDry and Thermi. You know, there's a lot of different and all the lasers, so many lasers. So tell me about what devices you love.
Jennifer Franz (16:55):
Lasers are fantastic. I think they're, they're so fun. Whether it's, um, something simple like laser hair removal can be such a game changer for, for some people. And then, yeah, I, I love microneedling with radio frequency, for instance. I think we offer that at the Carlsbad Spa. Oh, the Morpheus, the Morpheus8
Monique Ramsey (17:15):
Morpheus8. Uhhuh
Jennifer Franz (17:17):
Such a great option for aging skin. So I love that as an option. I love simple things, uh, like lasers to just remove an unsightly little, little vein on the chin, or little tiny veins around the nose, for instance. That's probably one of my favorite lasers to do. Um, and then lasers for resurfacing, whether it's a mild resurfacing, helping with melasma and brown spots, the BBL is an amazing device to just reverse that sun damage. Yeah, we are, we are really blessed in this office with some really amazing devices. I've yet to learn about or learn how to perform the mirror dry, which I've known about for years, but I've just never had the opportunity to work with, but great for excessive sweating. So, yeah. And then I've done all therapy, uh, years, years ago I was one of the very first providers in, uh, the Midwest offer all therapy. So I go way back with that device and cool sculpting as well, so mm-hmm.
Monique Ramsey (18:35):
So what could a patient expect when they meet you for the first time?
Jennifer Franz (18:41):
So, when someone meets me for the first time, I think more than anything, what we always must start with is just a nice little conversation. I wanna get to know my patients and they should know about me. I know for a fact that all of my patients over the last 13 years know about my children and where my children are in college and what we're up to. And I love those kind of relationships, whether it's, you know, just coming in every three months for their Botox, and we get caught up again on a quick little "Hello and whatcha up to, and how is your vacation? And how are the kids?" And all this. I, I love those kind of talks. Um, and then we, we kind of get down to business and talk about what the patient wants to talk about, whether it's, well, just really whatever's concerning them. And then we talk about where to go from there, whether they wanna just start with Botox or whether they wanna plan for some laser treatments. And we create that plan together. So yeah, I think it's, I, I have a fun time when I see my patients. I like my days with patients and, and I think in most cases my patients have always felt that same way that we, we have fun together.
Monique Ramsey (19:52):
That's nice. So getting into getting to know you a little bit, I'm going to give you a couple questions.
Jennifer Franz (19:58):
Okay.
Monique Ramsey (19:59):
Who in your life has inspired you the most?
Jennifer Franz (20:04):
Well, uh, I'm gonna say my children really have inspired me the most because they make me wanna be the best person I can be, you know, as a mom obviously, but also as someone who is leading a good example, hopefully I can not only be their mother, but be their friend as well. And I like my children, they're turning out to be really cool adults and they all offer something so different to me and to the world. And, you know, I think they make me want to keep being cool. Number one,
Monique Ramsey (21:24):
I bet them wanting to come see you now that you're in sunny San Diego
Jennifer Franz (21:34):
I've got the, the two youngest here this weekend for a long Easter weekend, so.
Monique Ramsey (21:39):
Oh nice.
Jennifer Franz (21:40):
Yeah, yeah.
Monique Ramsey (21:40):
Yeah. I have one in Philly also. My daughter's at, yeah, she's at Villanova. She's a senior.
Jennifer Franz (21:46):
No way. That's where Avery goes to school.
Monique Ramsey (21:49):
Are you serious?
Jennifer Franz (21:49):
I'm not kidding. She's a junior.
Monique Ramsey (21:51):
Oh my gosh. Okay. We have to talk about that at the end, because you know he's up. Yes. That's what he's up. Yeah.
Jennifer Franz (22:14):
Yeah.
Monique Ramsey (22:19):
Oh wow. So if you could teach a class on one thing, what would it be?
Jennifer Franz (22:28):
Oh gosh. I would probably talk about just what everything is, when, what I mean by that is so many times I get a new patient or a returning patient who has maybe had some of these services in the past, but just have never heard some of the most basic things. Like, how does this work? Why does this work? Why are you being told to have these specific rules afterwards? Just educating the general public about how this stuff actually works and why we, why we have certain recommendations for pre-care or post-care. I have found over the years that so many practitioners are leaving out some of that just really most basic vital information. So I think that's what I love too about meeting with my patients is the education. I, you know, I think in any medical situation we should not be prescribing or doing any type of a procedure without the patient's full understanding of why we're doing this. Mm-hmm.
Monique Ramsey (24:02):
And I think if you know why or how, I guess the mechanism of how something works, then you can understand better why you don't wanna be doing
Jennifer Franz (24:14):
Like working out after Botox.
Monique Ramsey (24:15):
working out or go like, let's have Botox and then go get a massage tonight. You know, and have your face in a cradle. Things like that. And I think patients can, if they understand, like you say, the reasons behind it, they're more likely to be compliant cuz they under, you know, if, if you know why you're doing it, it's not just that Jennifer's telling you to
Jennifer Franz (24:39):
Monique Ramsey (24:57):
True, true. Yeah, that's a really good point. Like peer-to-peer knowledge. Okay, second to last question,
Jennifer Franz (25:20):
I'm thinking back how far back I wanna go.
Monique Ramsey (26:56):
Exactly.
Jennifer Franz (26:56):
So I definitely get that feel from here.
Monique Ramsey (27:00):
Oh, that's good. That's nice to hear because you know, you're, you've been here for five days and I've been here for I thousands of days cuz I met 31 years working with this organization. Oh. And so that's fantastic. It's wonderful to know that in a very short period you're picking up on that same collegial family, you know, supportive environment and really it is all for the patients. It's like what are each of, we're all empowered to do what's best for that patient in that moment. And um, so that's a, that's wonderful that, you know, it sounds like we're very aligned in terms of um
Jennifer Franz (27:36):
Absolutely.
Monique Ramsey (27:38):
Our values and so that's nice. Okay, last question Jennifer.
Jennifer Franz (27:42):
Okay.
Monique Ramsey (27:43):
So our podcast listeners, we have, if you show that you're a subscriber, you get $25 off of any product or service of $50 or more. So I'm gonna ask you, if you were to get 25 off of 50, what product or treatment or maybe one of each would you select?
Jennifer Franz (28:05):
Hmm. Can I say everything?
Monique Ramsey (28:10):
How about one? One treatment and one product.
Jennifer Franz (28:12):
Okay. Botox, it's time for Botox.
Monique Ramsey (28:14):
I figured when you said you love Botox, I'm like, is she's gonna say Botox,
Jennifer Franz (28:18):
It's time for that. Yeah, I think that would, Botox would be the one thing that I hope I don't ever have to go without
Monique Ramsey (29:18):
Yeah. Of the Elta MD, there, that line is so vast, like there's so many different ones and I'm always like, which is the one that you like maybe for face?
Jennifer Franz (29:29):
Well again, yes. Back to what you said, that's what I love about Elta MD is you can pick your sun care product based on your skin type, which I love. So if you are acneic and sensitive, there's a sunscreen specifically for you. It's very calming to the skin. If you're a little bit oily, there is one specific for you that's a little more mattifying. And of course if you need the hydration, there are some with the hydrators as well, hyaluronic acid, so they can really kind of plump up and give you a very dewy, fresh look. So here I'm gonna sell Elta MD but I love that product line for sunscreens. And I think I've used so many of them. I probably use the physical the most because it's lightly tinted and it doesn't have any parabens, it doesn't have any fragrance in it and it works really well on my skin. So that's the one I used.
Monique Ramsey (30:26):
I didn't know that they had one that has a, like a plump, you know, a little plumping or the hyaluronic acid. That's interesting.
Jennifer Franz (30:33):
The newer ones do. Yeah.
Monique Ramsey (30:34):
Nifty.
Jennifer Franz (30:34):
So yeah,
Monique Ramsey (30:36):
Well you learn something every day.
Jennifer Franz (30:38):
Monique Ramsey (30:39):
Well Jennifer, thank you so much for joining us today, especially jumping into a podcast after, you know, only a week at four at the center.
Jennifer Franz (30:48):
Monique Ramsey (30:49):
But here's what we found.
Jennifer Franz (30:49):
I was a little intimidated.
Monique Ramsey (30:51):
II know, I'm sorry. But here's what we found. It's like then you get busy, you know, here you're at least like, you know, learning certain things on certain days and shadowing people. And if we don't do it now, you're gonna be so busy then we'll never
Jennifer Franz (31:04):
Exactly.
Monique Ramsey (31:05):
We won't, it's harder to schedule. But I love the fact that you're interested in sort of doing deep dives. Cuz I would love for, well you know, we've done a lot of overviews of different treatments, but I would love to do a deep dive into something where, you know, we explore like what's it made out of and what are the, you know, cuz people wanna know what is hyaluronic acid, what, you know, you hear it's an ha filler. Well what does that mean versus what, you know, instead of what kind of filler. So I think that would be fun. And so be thinking about what you wanna talk about next and we'll, yeah, we'll dive into that.
Jennifer Franz (31:42):
Yeah, for sure. That sounds fun. Yeah,
Monique Ramsey (31:45):
So thanks everybody for joining. Thank you Jennifer. And we'll see you guys on the next podcast.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
Take a screenshot of this podcast episode with your phone and show it at your consultation or appointment, or mention the promo code PODCAST to receive $25 off any service or product of $50 or more at La Jolla Cosmetic. La Jolla Cosmetic is located just off the I-5 San Diego Freeway in the XiMed Building on the Scripps Memorial Hospital campus. To learn more, go to lj csc.com or follow the team on Instagram at lj csc. The La Jolla Cosmetic Podcast is a production of The Axis, the axis.io.

Jennifer Franz, RN, BSN
Aesthetic Nurse
Jennifer Franz, RN, BSN, has been lighting up our La Jolla Medspa with her personalized care and passion for patient education since April 2023. Don't be afraid to shoot away if you have a question at any moment of your beauty journey with Jennifer. She loves explaining why she recommends each treatment so you're on the same page.