Dr. Nicole Martin is a board-certified anesthesiologist, a mom of two, and a fan favorite on The Real Housewives of Miami—and now she’s adding yet another credential to her impressive résumé. She’s a founding partner of a new, exosome-based skin-care line called Exoceuticals. We sat down with Dr. Nicole to talk about her beauty routine and her attitude toward aging—and yes, to get some RHOM spoilers.
RealSelf: Tell us about your history with skin care. Was it always something you were passionate about?
Nicole Martin: I wish I could tell you that I’ve always taken care of my skin, but when you’re young, you don’t think about repercussions. Growing up in South Florida, I was basking in the sun, not wearing sunscreen, not taking care of my skin like I should have. It wasn’t until about 10 years ago, when I turned 30, that I really started to invest in and take care of my skin. It’s been about a decade that I’ve been really passionate about wellness in general.
RS: Real Housewives are notoriously outspoken about their love for all kinds of cosmetic procedures. What kinds of treatments have you tried? You’ve previously said that you dissolved your filler.
NM: I’ve dabbled in all things skin care and cosmetic treatments. I’ve done Botox, I’ve done fillers. But I feel like now I really want to focus on my skin being the best version of itself. I had fillers, and it changed the way I looked. I felt like I didn’t look like myself and that the fillers were starting to migrate. I’d smile and see little uneven areas, and I was like, I’m going to try and dissolve as much as I can and work on my skin and try to build my own collagen. I still do Botox for wrinkles, and I’m doing monthly facials and then something like Morpheus8, microneedling with RF.
RS: Speaking of the show, what’s it like watching yourself get older on camera? Does that play a role in how you approach skin care?
NM: There’s a lot of pressure on women in general, and especially when you’re on TV, to look a certain way. There’s more opportunity to scrutinize yourself. You see little clips, and you think, “Oh, I don’t like the way that looks.” I’m okay with aging and seeing a change in my skin from one year to the next, but it was hard in the beginning, especially during the first season. Now it is what it is, and I’m at peace with that and embrace who I am.
RS: What inspired you to create a skin-care line around exosomes?
NM: I’ve tried it all, from high-end department store to drugstore products. I tried all these things and was spending thousands of dollars and didn’t always see the benefits. I began looking into what kinds of testing and studies they were doing to make these claims. My inner doctor and scientist kicked in, and I started doing a lot of research. There’s a lot of research around exosomes, but not a lot of lines using them. And that’s how I met [Exoceuticals co-founder] Dr. Robin Smith, who’s really a pioneer in the skin-care exosome space. The science is there, and these aren’t baseless claims.
Not all exosomes are created equal. Ours are isolated from adipose tissue. The base layer of our skin is fat and our exosomes come from fat, so they’re skin-specific and can really target the skin. If I didn’t have a science background, I don’t know that I’d appreciate the science behind it. It’s fascinating, exosomes are like little messages in a bottle that communicate with your own skin cells and tell them, “Let’s start regenerating, let’s start producing more collagen.”
RS: Have you shared the products with any of your RHOM castmates? What are their thoughts?
NM: I have! For my baby shower, I gifted all the attendees a box with all our SKUS. Guerdy [Abraira] and Lisa [Hochstein] were there, and they loved it. Guerdy went on a whole rant about how much she loved using the products on her skin. I have the same girl, Grace, do all of my glam, and she now has the moisturizer in her makeup kit and uses it for all of her clients.
RS: We have to ask—any spoilers you can give us about the upcoming season?
NM: So we’re on our break right now, but filming is set to pick up in the fall. There’s been a lot of personal changes for everyone, even in the last few weeks—I had a baby, there’ve been separations and breakups, so there will definitely be a lot to catch up on. It’s hard to show my life as a doctor on-camera because of patient confidentiality and HIPAA, so I’m hoping that you guys will see this side, of what I have going on with Exoceuticals.
RS: Before we let you go, what’s your best bit of beauty advice?
NM: I think in general, there’s a lot of focus on makeup. Everyone’s doing these makeup tutorials on social media. But it doesn’t matter what makeup you use—if you don’t have a good canvas, it’s not going to look good. So I think shifting the focus toward skin care and away from makeup is huge. And also, don’t underestimate the importance of general health and wellness. Beauty is multifaceted. It’s like a pizza pie, and everything is a slice and plays a role—skin care, Botox, overall wellness. It’s multifaceted, and you have to get at it from all angles.
