There has never been more interest in cosmetic injectables.
BOTOX® Cosmetic, dermal fillers like JUVÉDERM®, lip enhancement, facial balancing and contouring, regenerative aesthetics and other minimally invasive treatments have become an increasingly normal part of how people care for their appearance as they age. However, there is something incredibly important that can get lost in the mix of before-and-after photos, social media trends and conversations about number of syringes and units:
The product is only part of the equation. The person administering it matters. A lot.
The best injectable results require an intimate understanding of facial anatomy, aging, movement and proportion. They require technical skill and meticulous attention to safety and detail. But they also require something that can’t necessarily be learned from a textbook or even by shadowing a more experienced provider: an intuitively aesthetic eye and the willingness to listen with open ears.
At Refinery Skin Clinic, that philosophy has shaped our approach to aesthetic medicine from the very beginning. Rather than treating individual wrinkles, lips, cheeks or areas of volume loss in isolation, our injection specialists believe in looking at the complete picture and creating individualized plans that help our clients look naturally refreshed, balanced and unmistakably like themselves.
Two women have played an especially important role in establishing that philosophy and treatment ethos: Refinery Skin Clinic Founder and Nurse Practitioner Rebecca Suess, MSN, RN, APRN, CNP, AGPCNP-BC, CPSN, CANS, ISPAN-F, and Nursing Manager and Injection Specialist Michele Lukkason, RN, BSN, CANS.
Meet Rebecca: Educator, Innovator and Big-Picture Thinker
If you’ve met Rebecca, you probably already know one thing about her:
She is really, REALLY passionate about medical aesthetics!
Aesthetics isn’t simply Rebecca’s profession. Learning, teaching, researching and continually searching for better ways to care for clients have been threads woven throughout her career.
Rebecca’s journey in aesthetics actually began long before she became a nurse. Her professional background spans more than two decades in aesthetics, beauty, dermatology and wellness medicine, including an early career in cosmetology.
That experience taught her something she has carried with her ever since: taking care of someone’s appearance can be deeply personal. It also taught her to listen.
Rebecca eventually pursued nursing, became a Registered Nurse in 2010 and continued accumulating advanced education and credentials throughout her career. Today, she is a board-certified Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner as well as a Certified Plastic Surgical Nurse (CPSN), Certified Aesthetic Nurse Specialist (CANS) and Fellow of the International Society of Plastic and Aesthetic Nurses (ISPAN-F).
She has served as a faculty member, educator, and key opinion leader for the Allergan Medical Institute since 2017, educating other medical professionals in advanced aesthetic techniques. In 2026, Rebecca also began serving as President of the International Society of Plastic and Aesthetic Nurses (ISPAN).
In other words, when Rebecca isn’t learning or treating clients, she’s often teaching and leading other professionals. And she brings that same educator’s mindset into the treatment room.
Cutting Through the Aesthetic Noise
Rebecca knows today’s clients have access to more aesthetic information than ever before. Unfortunately, more information doesn’t always mean better information.
There are viral procedures, celebrity treatments, TikTok trends, conflicting opinions, aggressive marketing and an ever-growing collection of products and technologies promising to be the next big thing. It can be overwhelming!
Rebecca considers helping clients navigate that noise one of the most important parts of her job.
The question isn’t simply, What treatment can we do?
It’s, What actually makes sense for you?
That means considering your anatomy, skin quality, facial structure, lifestyle, budget, comfort level, health, goals and how you want to age.
Sometimes Rebecca’s recommendation is an injectable. Sometimes it’s a skin treatment, regenerative procedure, skincare product or technology such as Sofwave™. Sometimes it’s a combination of treatments performed strategically over time. And sometimes the answer is simply: not yet.
Rebecca is perfectly comfortable telling a client when she believes more treatment isn’t necessary or if a particular procedure is not right for you.
Her goal isn’t to sell a syringe. It’s to build a relationship.
“My clients know I’ll always be honest with them. Sometimes that means recommending treatment. Sometimes it means recommending patience. Sometimes it means redirecting the plan entirely.” — Rebecca
That philosophy is at the heart of what we call The Refinery Difference.
Rebecca’s Signature: Seeing the Bigger Picture
Rebecca is particularly known for comprehensive aesthetic treatment planning, full-face rejuvenation, facial balancing and advanced injectable artistry.
But “full-face” doesn’t mean filling everything. Quite the opposite. It means understanding how different areas of the face relate to one another.
A concern that appears to be isolated to one area may actually originate somewhere else. As we age, changes in bone structure, fat pads, collagen, skin quality and tissue support change differently across the face. Treating only the area where a client notices the problem isn’t always the best way to create the most natural-looking result. That’s why Rebecca tends to zoom out.
Optimal outcomes rarely come from one syringe, one device or one appointment. They come from understanding the individual and thoughtfully layering treatments that support one another.
Increasingly, Rebecca takes that philosophy another step further by looking at the relationship between health and aesthetics.
Hormones. Inflammation. Nutrition. Insulin resistance. Sleep. Stress. Collagen quality. Overall wellness. They can all influence how we look and feel. As Rebecca likes to remind clients, your skin keeps score.
Her expanding work in functional wellness and longevity medicine reflects her belief that helping someone feel better and helping them look better don’t necessarily belong in separate conversations. Ultimately, the goal is much bigger than chasing a wrinkle. It’s helping clients reconnect with themselves and their best state of health.
Rebecca’s Skincare Shelf
Ask Rebecca to choose a few favorite products and you’ll quickly see that her skincare philosophy mirrors her injectable philosophy: invest in products that improve the skin’s health and quality.
A few standouts include SkinMedica® TNS® Advanced+ Serum, one of her favorite all-around products for clients over 30 who want to improve firmness, texture and radiance; SkinMedica® Neck Correct Cream, which she loves pairing with treatments such as BOTOX and Sofwave to address the often-neglected neck; and Plated™ Skin Science Eye Serum, an exosome-rich regenerative product designed to support the delicate skin surrounding the eyes.
Notice a theme? It’s all about supporting the foundation!
Meet Michele: Artist, Listener and Master of the Subtle Shift
Nursing Manager Michele Lukkason, RN, BSN, CANS, has been a part of Refinery Skin Clinic since the very beginning. In fact, her history with Rebecca predates Refinery.
The two originally worked together in facial plastic surgery. With encouragement from Rebecca and Michele’s husband, Michele eventually decided to return to school to pursue nursing. As Michele jokes, apparently she likes challenges!
While helping build Refinery, she also spent seven years working on the medical-surgical floor at Fairview Ridges, developing a strong clinical foundation that continues to influence the way she approaches aesthetic nursing today.
Michele became a Registered Nurse in 2018, earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and became a Certified Aesthetic Nurse Specialist (CANS) in 2022. She has been involved with ISPAN for more than a decade, currently chairs its Education Committee and has served as a faculty instructor for the organization’s cadaver course for four consecutive years.
But Michele’s credentials and technical expertise are only half the story. Her other superpower?
She listens. Those matters enormously when someone is trusting you with their face!
Michele’s Signature: You, Only More Refreshed
Michele specializes in advanced injectable treatments, full-face facial balancing, BOTOX® Cosmetic, dermal fillers and regenerative aesthetic treatments. She has a very clear opinion about what great injectable work should look like.
Natural. Balanced. Sophisticated. And definitely not overly obvious.
As Michele puts it, no one has ever climbed into her treatment chair and requested to look “overfilled and vaguely surprised.” Thankfully, that’s not her style either!
Her goal is to enhance what’s already beautiful, restore some of what time has changed and help a client look like a more rested and refreshed version of themselves.
That requires restraint.
It also requires an understanding that injectables aren’t simply about placing product into a wrinkle or adding volume to an area. Michele evaluates facial structure, movement, proportions, aging patterns and tissue support and considers how even very small adjustments may influence the overall face.
It’s where medicine meets art.
That artistic component of Michele’s personality and technique doesn’t disappear when she leaves Refinery. When she finds a little free time, she loves painting and drawing. Considering her career, that seems rather fitting!
Whether her canvas is paper or a treatment plan, Michele has an appreciation for proportion, subtlety and detail.
The Moment Michele Never Gets Tired of Seeing
Michele will also be the first to tell you that aesthetic medicine isn’t superficial. She sees firsthand how deeply someone’s appearance can influence their confidence. For her, one of the most meaningful moments happens when a client looks in the mirror after treatment and recognizes herself again.
Not a different face. Not a “done” face. Simply her true, radiant self shining through.
“One of the most rewarding parts of my job is watching someone catch their reflection after treatment and think, ‘Oh… there I am.’ That moment never gets old.” — Michele
That statement beautifully summarizes the philosophy behind Refinery Skin Clinic’s approach to injectable treatments.
We don’t want someone to look at you and wonder what you had done. We want them to think you look rested. Refreshed. Healthy. Confident. And, we want you to feel fantastic about your appearance!
Different Personalities. One Shared Philosophy.
Rebecca and Michele each bring their own personality, strengths and perspective to aesthetic medicine, but their approach is remarkably similar.
Listen first.
Understand what the client actually wants.
Look at the entire face, not an isolated feature.
Educate instead of pressure.
Respect anatomy.
Prioritize safety.
Think long-term.
Know when more isn’t better.
And never lose sight of the human being sitting in the treatment chair.
Both women are also deeply committed to continuing education. That matters because aesthetic medicine advances rapidly. Techniques evolve. Products evolve. Technologies evolve. Our understanding of anatomy and aging keeps growing.
At Refinery Skin Clinic, continuing education isn’t simply something our Injection Specialists do to maintain a license or add another certificate to the wall. It’s part of the culture.
Rebecca teaches other providers nationally through the Allergan Medical Institute and serves in national leadership through ISPAN. Michele is actively involved in ISPAN education and teaches anatomy through cadaver-based training.
Why Your Injector Matters More Than Your Syringe
It’s easy to shop for aesthetic treatments by product.
“How much is a syringe of JUVÉDERM?”
“How many units of BOTOX do I need?”
“What’s on special this month?”
Those are understandable questions. But there’s another question we’d encourage every prospective injectable client to ask:
Who am I trusting with my face?
A syringe doesn’t understand facial anatomy. It doesn’t recognize when adding volume to one area could disrupt balance somewhere else. It doesn’t know your history, your goals or what makes you feel like yourself. It doesn’t know when to recommend a different treatment.
And it certainly doesn’t know when to say no. But your Refinery Skin Clinic Injection Specialist does.
That’s why choosing an injector should be about far more than finding the lowest price per unit or syringe. Look for education. Credentials. Experience. Continuing training. A strong understanding of facial anatomy. An aesthetic philosophy that aligns with your own.
And perhaps most importantly, look for someone who makes you feel heard.
At Refinery Skin Clinic, we want every client to leave their consultation understanding not only what we recommend, but why. Because you deserve to be an active participant in your treatment plan.
Your Face. Your Goals. Your Refinery Plan.
Whether your goal is subtle lip enhancement, enhancing facial contours, softening the visible signs of aging, improving overall facial balance or simply exploring what might help you look a little more refreshed, your journey at Refinery begins with a conversation.
You don’t need to know which filler you need. You don’t need to arrive knowing how many syringes you want. You don’t need to understand the difference between every injectable, regenerative treatment or aesthetic technology available. And you certainly don’t need to walk in armed with an Instagram photo of someone else’s face.
Bring us your face. Your questions. Your concerns. Your goals.
Rebecca and Michele will help with the rest!
They’ll listen. They’ll educate. They’ll look at the bigger picture. Together, you’ll create a treatment plan that makes sense for your anatomy, your lifestyle, your comfort level, and the way you want to age.
At Refinery Skin Clinic, exceptional injectable treatment isn’t about chasing trends, treating individual features in isolation or creating a new version of you. It’s about having the expertise to know what can be done, the artistry to understand what should be done and the integrity to know when enough is enough.
It’s about building a relationship with Injection Specialists who know your face, understand your goals and can help your treatment plan evolve right alongside you.
Most of all, it’s about helping you look in the mirror and see exactly who you hoped to see:
Yourself. Refreshed. Balanced. Confident. Still completely you.
Ready to get started? Book a complimentary consultation or treatment with Rebecca or Michele today!