Beauty
The dermatologist found fame by whistleblowing beauty misinformation in her #PillowTalkDerm series.
Now shes ready to go inside the game.
Have you seen this?
Dr. Idriss exclaimed, before pulling me onwards in a tour of her new practice.
Painting is a new hobby for the Instagram famous dermatologist.
The new space resembles a boutique hotel lobby more than a waiting room.
It sits three stories up, with large windows overlooking Bryant Park.
Joanna Vargas, celebrity esthetician and long-time friend of Dr. Idriss, remembers it very clearly.
She was frantic about not having the space done on time and having bookings.
I know how much love and care she has taken to build what she has.
She actually came to see me when she was in New York to say thank you.
It was very sweet.
But I was like, why are you paying a consult fee just text me!
Dr. Idriss said, laughing.
Born in Lebanon, her family fled the civil war just days after Shereene, 37, was born.
Dermatology happened to combine her scientific inclinations with her passion for people.
Originally, she applied for a seven-year program studying plastic surgery at George Washington University.
It wasn’t the doctor who was convincing her that she had a problem, you know?
That experience caused her to switch studies, which didnt surprise her family.
She has always been the artist in the family, alongside our older sister, her sister Nayla shared.
Anything that involved her using her hands and creativity she excelled at.
What has been more unexpected, though, is the relationship shes built with people on the internet.
It started very, very sporadically, Dr. Idriss explained of #PillowTalkDerms origins in July of 2018.
[My nurse] was like, stop venting to me, go online and just vent to Instagram!
I just wanted to vent.
And then it snowballed.
I’m very proud of myself for never aligning a hundred percent with a brand.
Thats why shes starting her own.
I was alone for two weeks in my room, so it was a little bit off the cuff.
I was like, who wants to create a skincare line?
Do you think we should do it?
And it was like 99% Yes out of, no joke, 20,000 people.
So I was like, OK, done!
Way before we even thought of products, Dr. Idriss spent years building a community of skin nerds.
Community and education have and will always be the foundation of our brand, he shared.
But more powerful than that, shes earned their trust.
Pillowtalk Derm is tentatively set to launch sometime next spring.
Its going to take a lot more than Pillowtalk Derm to fight the machine.
Its a culture with billions of dollars behind it, and Im in debt!
Judging by the loyalty of her clients, that wont be a concern for long.
I felt like I was talking to a friend that I had known for years, Giammarino said.
After a few months, Dr. Idriss recommended a thorough skin spot check.
She noticed a tiny spot on my foot that most doctors would probably have overlooked, Giammarino went on.
It turned out to be in the early stages of melanoma.
Giammarino now sees Dr. Idriss about twice a month for various different treatments.
They met when Nic made an emergency appointment at Wexler Dermatology.
I was not happy.
I was like, Who are you?
Dr. Idriss solved their problem and has been their friend and dermatologist ever since.
Shell be Botoxing me when were in rocking chairs and beyond.
Photographer: Nicholas Calcott
This article was originally published onDec.
