AFTER MANY YEARS AS A SPECIALIST IN AN ICU, DR. ANITA DORMER IS MAKING WAVES IN THE WORLD OF COSMETIC MEDICINE, PROVING THAT BEAUTY, HEALTH, AND YOUTH GO BEYOND SKIN DEEP

BY ELIZABETH HAZARD • PHOTOS BY ALEX BARRETO

Dr. Anita Dormer known to her patients as Dr. Anita of PHI Medical Aesthetics in Red Bank is, in her own words, a firebrand. The self-described Southern farm girl fulfilled her dad’s dream for her to become a doctor, and after 20 years as a critical care and pulmonary specialist, she realized both her need and passion for skin and cosmetic health. She’s considered a pioneer in the industry, and following the success of her many clinics, she has no plans of slowing down. Today she is one of the top specialists in the field of medical aesthetics in the Garden State and New York.

While today Botox procedures are considered mainstream, Dr. Anita was one of the first doctors to begin using the procedure cosmetically. After treating countless burn victims with laser therapy, she recognized the potential for Botox to treat a range of skin conditions and anti-aging concerns. Dr. Anita explained that Botox does more for a patient than what you see on the outside. “Botox is linked to making people feel better about themselves; it gives people extra confidence and that leads to people feeling better and doing better,” she said.

When she opened her first medical spa over 20 years ago, a shift in the cosmetic medical field was taking shape, and like the firebrand she is, Dr. Anita was at the forefront of change. She defined her work as “longevity medicine” and spoke of Dr. David Sinclair and his Information Theory of Aging. Both Dr. Sinclair and Dr. Anita believe that aging is something that can be reversed. “Skin is the very first thing that begins to age,” she explained. With the help of medicines like Rapamycin, Dr. Anita said that aging can indeed be reversed, and as she theorized, “We one day won’t be treating diseases, but preventing and eventually making some illnesses obsolete.” She said that gene manipulation and good diet are crucial in both health and anti-aging. Dr. Anita said her goal is not a life span, but a health span. She opened her Red Bank practice with RN Eric Nietzel in September 2021. In addition, they are currently opening two more locations in North Jersey and New York.

Along with a healthy lifestyle, Dr. Anita extols the benefits of proper skincare. So much so that she created her own skincare line, appropriately named Dr. Anita. Working with a team of chemists and medical experts over ten years, she did extensive research to develop a perfume-free skincare line to treat a myriad of ailments with only the most vital and advanced ingredients sans any unnecessary chemicals. Her skincare line is sought by countless patients and medical spas across the world. Dr. Anita credited her own frustration with finding skincare products to treat her patients on Tretinoic acid (retin-A) as the fuel behind her line. She wanted to give patients sunscreen without harmful chemicals, and at the time there was nothing on the market that lived up to her standards. She took matters into her own hands, and Dr. Anita was born. “I needed a way to moisturize my patients’ skin who were on retin-A. I didn’t do it to make money. I did it for my patients. You want something that produces moisture, not just holds it in.” She noted that creating a successful skincare line required three components: touch, look, and visible change.

While she’s a big proponent of sunscreen, Dr. Anita’s best anti-aging advice is to simply smile more. “A smile can wipe away a lot of aging,” she said, something her mother would remind her to do as a child. An added bonus of a smile? It releases endorphins, which also aids in combating depression and decreasing stress. This happiness is what inspires Dr. Anita to do what she does through her practice.

“Our goal is to make people happier,” she said. “I love to give and help people. I’m now able to use my talents outside the confines of a hospital setting. When I know that a patient can look in the mirror and feel happy and confident, we’ve done our part in sprinkling this happiness into the universe. That feeling of confidence translates into better relationships, careers, and overall productivity. That feeling of fulfillment is contagious.”

Working closely with her patients one on one, Dr. Anita prides herself on the relationships she builds with those she treats every day at her clinics throughout the tri-state. She is proud of the work she does and some of the work she “undos” when patients come in having had procedures that might not have performed in their best interest. “I am not a Walmart face girl; I treat it like it’s a date, and we go from there,” she said of initial appointments with patients. “We form a relationship from there. My clinics are not just a one-stop kind of place. We are a place where people feel safe.”

When speaking of her clinic in Red Bank, the Southern native referred to the town as a “Yankee home for a Southern girl,” and said she has the best staff. “I am there because I love the people and the work,” she added.

Dr. Anita admitted that while finding balance remains a challenge, when she does carve out a bit of downtime, she likes to write and listen to music, preferably after a hike in an ideal setting like North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, the Smokies in Tennessee, or the Dolomite Mountains in Italy. While she took a significant leap of faith to launch her own brand, Dr. Anita said her biggest fear is an unexamined life. “This is just a chapter of my life and I see myself having several other chapters to write.” Fittingly, her mantra in life, she said, is “to be continued…”

PHI Aesthetics
321 Broad Street, Red Bank / 732.807.1800 / dranita.com