With a client roster that includes the Kardashians, Kirsten Dunst, Huda Kattan and Jessica Alba, celebrity skin care expert Jamie Sherrill (a.k.a. {Nurse Jamie}) has worked with LA’s glitterati for 20 years, with many devotees flocking to her renowned Beauty Park Medical Spa to get their world-weary complexions flashbulb-ready.
A trained nurse, it’s not only her treatments but now also her results-driven range of products, tools and gadgets that are stuff of legend. Her {Tourmaline Roller} is beloved by Khloe Kardashian and Hilary Kerr (co-founder of beauty-zine Byrdie), while her {Beauty Bear Age Delay Pillows} have a special shape and material to minimise wrinkles and facial tension while you sleep (there’s even a leopard print one – oh joy unbounded!) We caught up with her to find out more about the range and the secrets to achieve an A-List-worthy visage…
{Cult Beauty} Hi Jamie! Could you tell us how your journey into skin care started, and how the {Nurse Jamie} range came about?
{Jamie Sherrill} I’ve dedicated my life to skin. I opened my skin care clinic 10 years ago in Santa Monica, CA and we groom some of the most famous faces the world… to me skin is the sexiest part of the body.
My philosophy is that the combination of beauty tools and innovative skin care is the future of beauty. Think of topical skin care (creams/lotions) as ‘the fuel’ and a beauty tool as ‘the car’ – you need both to really get somewhere.
Combing beauty and science is always exciting – I have developed products with a celebrity cult following such as {NuLips RX}, {UpLift}, {Beauty Bear} and {Beauty Stamp} and we are always working on new products and investigating new raw ingredients – there’s always more on the horizon.
{CB} The benefits of regular facial massage are well documented. How do your tourmaline rollers make it extra effective?
{JS} Tourmaline is naturally energising and the 24 massage stones embedded in the roller work to firm, improve lymphatic drainage and increase product absorption. The {UpLift} is an innovative rolling massager for the face and body that temporarily improves and ‘lifts’ your skin’s appearance. And the rhythmic, rolling action replicates the techniques used in my signature facials – ensuring a more youthful-looking you.
{CB} Equally your Beauty Stamp Tool is like nothing else we’ve encountered. How does it work?
{JS} I was one of the OG’s on this beauty tool – in fact it was my very first product almost 10 years ago but all of a sudden it’s been getting tons of press (mostly after Huda and Khloé Kardashian did a social media post raving about it…)
The {Beauty Stamp} may very well be the best investment anyone can make. A small pad features a cross section of micro needles in a grid that helps with micro exfoliation, opens channels for product delivery and efficacy and supports the synthesis of elastin and collagen. It is my triple threat.
{CB} Are there any bad skin care habits you repeatedly encounter? What are they (and how are they best avoided)?
{JS} Side sleeping – it’s the No. 3 cause of premature ageing: (No. 1 is UV damage and No. 2 is smoking) – so don’t sleep on a wrinkle-maker (otherwise known as a typical pillow). Use satin only and – like my {Beauty Bear} – a shape that will encourage you to sleep on your back, or – if you sleep on your side – will protect the most delicate areas (such as cheeks, neck and around the eyes) from developing permanent crow’s feet and furrows.
Also over exfoliating – we need to treat our skin like silk or cashmere (not a piece of leather). When you over exfoliate (physically and chemically) it destroys the protective barrier that your skin has – once it is removed or compromised you are you exposing your skin to environmental toxins, sun damage pre-mature ageing, acne… a whole host of complexion woes.
{CB} From our thirties onwards, many of us notice a decrease in skin’s ‘bounce’, elasticity and radiance – what’s your best advice on how to tackle these changes?
{JS} To use an at-home gadget or beauty tool. You can have the best ingredients (in a product) in the world, but skin is the largest organ of the body and its main function is to protect – so you can apply cream ’til you are blue in the face but for maximum performance of your skin care use a beauty tool to help improve absorption and ensure the best results. Things like my {Beauty Stamp}, {TRIangle} and {UpLift} to mimic the effects of a Nurse Jamie facial.
{CB} Epidermal Growth Factor is a key ingredient in your product range, can you tell us a bit about what it is and how it benefits the skin?
{JS} Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) – stimulates cell turnover and has a significant effect on delaying the ageing process – including preserving skin’s overall vitality and radiance – without leaving you red, flaky, and shiny. I hate the tell-tale shiny face – it kills me every time…
{CB} Equally, which other ‘wonder ingredients’ have you discovered and can’t live without?
{JS} I’m crazy about cacay oil – the indigenous people of the Amazon have used cacay nut for decades, if not centuries, in the treatment of wound healing. It has the highest levels of natural retinol found… three times that of rosehip oil and eight-ten times that of argan oil.
{CB} Is there a ‘hero product’ that’s going to get everyone hooked on the Nurse Jamie line?
{JS} This is a hard question for me to answer because they’re all like my children. However, I feel like the ‘unsung hero’ of the line is the {Pigment Erase Bar in a Jar}. This product is amazing. At the time of creation there was no other benchmark and no other product like it – it basically diminishes dark spots, sun speckles and post-blemish scars before your eyes. Try it on the back of your hand – you’ll be amazed!
{CB} What aspect of the range are you the most proud of?
{JS} I developed my line to fill prominent gaps in the marketplace. As a busy working mom of three toddlers – I’m proud to say that I’m my own client. I’m also proud to say we are 100% cruelty-free.
{CB} And finally, after many years in the industry, what’s the best piece of anti-ageing advice you could offer?
{JS} Think ‘maintain, not reclaim’ and always try to take preventative measures. Think of the rules of eating that are good for your body; most apply to your skin as well. It is the largest organ so treat it like one – be consistent with taking off make up at night (and never with a washcloth), use a hypoallergenic and antibacterial surface to cleanse your skin – like my specialist silicone ‘loofahs’ – and exfoliate regularly (manually or with a tool) but BE GENTLE and never overdo it.