Name:
Dr. Dana Stern
How your clients refer to you:
Dr. Dana
Company:
Dr. Dana Stern P.C. (my private practice)
Dr. Dana Beauty (my product line)
Contact info:
Website: www.drdanastern.com
How many years have you been in business in NYC?
I have been seeing patients at my office at 905 Fifth Avenue for nine years. Prior to that I was chief resident in Dermatology at Mount Sinai in NYC. When my family moved full time to our home in Amagansett, I also began seeing patients in Southampton at The Laser & Skin Surgery Center. I launched my product line, Dr. Dana® this past March on QVC. I am proud to have created the first and only dermatologist developed nail care line.
How did you get your start and what was your initial inspiration?
I am a board certified dermatologist with a unique niche area of expertise – I specialize in nails. Early on in my training at Mount Sinai when I was doing clinical research I applied for and was awarded a research grant and published a breakthrough study on brittle nails in our premier dermatology journal and my passion for nails was born. My patients have always been my inspiration. It was shocking to observe how many nail issues people were suffering with and to see the nail products that were loaded with harmful chemicals that so many of my patients were using.
What do you feel differentiates you from others in your field?
My expertise is definitely what differentiates me. I diagnose and treat a very wide variety of nail issues from nail melanomas and infections to product related allergies and trauma. I am one of only a handful of dermatologists in the country who devote their entire practice to nails in fact my entire Fifth Avenue practice is devoted to nails and nail surgery.
How do you positively impact your clientele?
Often my patients have been to many doctors before coming to me and have been told that there is nothing that can be done or have been brushed off. I make them better and they are extremely grateful and I am grateful for them as I have the nicest patients!
What is your favorite part of your job?
I am a problem solver and there is nothing more satisfying than to be able to treat an issue that someone has suffered with for years or to make a life saving diagnosis. I also channel that problem solving into truly innovative nail products that are effective, easy to use, and formulated with the highest quality ingredients that are based upon the latest scientific research. I love what I do. As hard as it is to be a working mother who juggles two offices, a product line and 3 children, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
What is your favorite secret NYC spot?
I love Café Sabarsky at the Neue Gallery in the afternoon for a coffee and delicious pastry. It is a trip to a Viennese café without leaving Fifth Avenue. I love to visit my dear friend Amalia Dayan’s incredibly inspiring gallery Luxembourg & Dayan. A jewel box of a townhouse turned gallery, it is always thought provoking and a tranquil escape from the neighborhood.
How do you benefit mamas?
I have been a trustee of the Children’s Museum of The East End (CMEE) for several years. The museum is so much more than a place to play. One of the biggest missions of the museum is to serve the surrounding underprivileged communities. People think of the Hamptons and have no idea how many children so close by are living under the poverty level. CMEE has welcomed these communities within the museum with incredible free programming and has provided local outreach within their communities as well. I am proud to be a part of an organization that is so focused on helping mothers and children.
What is the most memorable feedback a client has given you?
The customer reviews for my Nail Renewal System have just blown me away. I knew it was a great product, but receiving the feedback from so many women from all over the country has been a truly inspirational and humbling experience. Women have expressed feeling liberated to not have to spend time in the salon and many women have said that they no longer hide their hands. Hearing how my product has elevated their self-esteem makes me very proud and further inspires me to innovate.
Pay it forward and name your top colleagues in the same field or related field:
Naming dermatologist colleagues is like being asked to choose your favorite child! Chris Adigun (North Carolina) and John Yost (Stanford, CA) are two incredibly talented nail specialist colleagues whom I adore. We often confer with one another on challenging nail cases. Mark Lebwohl (psoriasis), Marc Avram (hair restoration) and Roy Geronemus (laser & Mohs) are three dermatologists and giants in their fields whom I have had the privilege to work with and have been mentors to me.
What is the best advice anyone's ever given you? Or what is your "mantra" / words to live by?
My grandmother, a former model who is almost 95, absolutely stunning and loves a margarita on the rocks with salt gave me some words of advice when I was first starting medical school and feeling a bit overwhelmed. “Time goes by very quickly, you may as well be accomplishing something.”
As moms, the day can escape us, what is your best time-saving trick?
My nail renewal system. I no longer sit for manicures. Ten minutes once a week and my nails are healthy, shiny and chic. Sometimes necessity is the mother of invention!