For the skincare maven Joanna Czech, the weeks leading up to the Met Gala are some of the busiest of the year. How did she become the A-list’s aesthetician of choice? She started out as Anna Wintour’s personal facialist, then spread the love to her family and invited guests, and has since worked her magic on the faces of Kim Kardashian, Hailey Bieber, Sydney Sweeney, Lily James and many, many more. We caught up with Czech between microcurrent sessions to get the inside scoop on how her celebrity clients have been prepping their skin for the First Monday in May—and to get her advice on how we mere mortals can get ourselves looking our best at home.
What are some in-studio treatments that you frequently incorporate into your pre-Met Gala facials?
The modality that I believe in the most is my own hands. At the beginning of every treatment, I do a very deep tissue facial massage. Then, we address muscles with more targeted muscle stimulation, with microcurrent—not just on the face, but on the arms, upper body, belly, and butt too. It’s a great toning and firming treatment, especially if a guest is wearing strapless or fitted gown. And I love stimulating ATP energy in the skin cells with ultrasound and LED light. Ultrasound allows products to penetrate the skin faster.
If there are any bumps or or rough texture, I make sure that skin is nicely exfoliated—that does not mean deeply exfoliated! I will usually use diamond microdermabrasion or an ultrasound water peel. I try to avoid any chemical peels, because I don’t want any unwanted reactions.
Once everything is shaped and sculpted, I love using cryotherapy over an algae mask or some form of sheet mask. That helps freeze everything into the shape that I created, while reducing potential inflammation and swelling.
Are there any products that your clients tend to stock up on before red carpets?
I send them home with some sheet masks. These days, it’s often my own sheet mask, which contains weathered volcanic…
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