Board-certified dermatologist Dr. Laurie Harrington recently brought the aesthetic part of her Louisiana practice to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
For over 30 years Dr. Laurie Harrington has been in practice, offering both medical and cosmetic dermatology services to people in Louisiana. She is co-owner of Renaissance Dermatology & Aesthetics, a practice in Zachary, just north of Baton Rouge, with a satellite location in Saint Francisville, and now in Bay St. Louis.
Dr. Harrington and her family always loved visiting the Mississippi Gulf Coast, but it wasn’t until the pandemic that they put down roots in the area. “We ended up buying some property in Waveland as a getaway since we couldn’t travel. It’s our little happy place,” says Harrington. “I feel like I’m on vacation everyday that I’m in the area.”
She may feel like she’s on holiday, but Harrington is still hard at work offering consultations and aesthetic dermatology services out of her latest installation inside Gulf Coast Home, a home furnishings and décor shop on Ulman Avenue. Co-owner Wendy DeBen of Gulf Coast Home reconnected with Harrington during her time in the Bay and expressed interest in forming an association with Renaissance Dermatology. “She said ‘I really feel like our clientele and the patients you would see would be much the same,’” says Harrington. “So she set me up with a little space in their beautiful store.”
The aesthetic dermatology “pop-up” offers the doctor a chance to “dip her toes into the water,” to see if there was an interest for these types of procedures and evaluations in the area. “We have more devices available in my Zachary offices, but here it’s more things that I can bring with me.” Even with her limitations, Harrington is still able to provide quite a few aesthetic services, what they call “lunchtime procedures” such as injectibles like botox and fillers, light chemical peels and a relatively new process called glowtox. “It’s similar to a process called needling,” explains Harrington “But it’s more like micro-infusion where you allow different products to infuse into the top two layers of the skin.” Many of these procedures while effective, also don’t require any recovery period which might affect the rest of your Gulf coast weekend.
Speaking of fun in the sun, one of the most dermatological problem is skin cancer. “Skin cancer are often caused by ultra violet light.” Regardless of the weather, sunscreen is a daily must, and should be reapplied especially when spending a lot of time outside. Wearing a hat and other protective clothing is also good advice, particularly in the Gulf Coast area. “Unfortunately, the South is literally a hotbed of skin cancer and nearly 80-90% of our aging changes are truly related to sun damage,” says Harrington. “Every little bit of protection from sunscreen onward is extremely important.”
So far, Dr. Harrington’s satellite clinic in Bay St. Louis has been going swimmingly, though her husband Scott teases that she’s been spending more than she makes. “I can’t help shopping around Gulf Coast Home after clinic hours!” Harrington does hope her installation will be successful, possibly allowing her to expand her practice in the area. “I just come down to BSL a little earlier on the weekends, so far it’s worked out really well.” One day perhaps her daughter Haley Claire, who is now in her dermatology residency, will join the practice.
For now, Dr. Harrington will continue her afternoon clinic pop-ups, remaining in the area for a little rest and relaxation over the weekends. “We love everything about Bay St. Louis and Waveland. The people here are so welcoming and friendly.” says Harrington. “I feel like it’s a little hidden gem that a lot of people don’t really know about.”
*Article originally published February 2024 in The Shoofly Magazine
