The Facialists Beauty Insiders Have On Speed Dial

You have a multi-step skin care routine you follow religiously every day. You chose the products based on your skin goals and carefully vetted each one via online reviews. However, despite the consistency, your complexion is stuck at “meh.” The dark spots on your jawline haven’t faded, your glow is nowhere to be found, and your face feels like sandpaper. This exact scenario is when it’s time to book a facial to reboot your skin. In addition to applying a series of top-notch skin care products that’ll replenish moisture, estheticians will often incorporate other methods to specifically target your areas of concern: Think microcurrent to firm, microdermabrasion to exfoliate, and extractions to declog pores.

But just like shopping for skin care products, there is an overwhelming number of skin studios out there. So which facialist should you trust with your skin? The Zoe Report’s comprehensive guide to the top facialists in major cities across the country is here to help.

Whether you’re looking for a relaxing yet snatching facial massage or a treatment plan that incorporates high-tech modalities like lasers, your search ends here. Spoiler: You’ll be looking to book the earliest appointment available.

New York City

The Acne Whisperer: Sofie Pavitt

You’re probably familiar with Sofie Pavitt even if you don’t live in New York. The esthetician’s cult-favorite acne-friendly skin care brand, Sofie Pavitt Face, is stocked online and in store at Sephora and Violet Grey. For locals dealing with breakouts, routine facial appointments with Pavitt at her Chinatown studio are a vital part of their clear-skin game plans. With training in aesthetics and hormone and gut health, she offers a 360 approach to treating acne. In addition to masterfully performing extractions that don’t scar, Pavitt also incorporates top-tier tech into her facials, including oxygen wands, LED, microcurrent, microdermabrasion, and lasers. Beyond her studio, she provides recommendations for your at-home maintenance routine, from topical skin care to supplements to help keep your specific type of acne in check, whether it’s a monthly hormonal flare-up or chronic deep congestion.

The Face Sculptor: Crystal Greene

Crystal Greene is known in NYC for her magic touch. While the Upper East Side-based esthetician does use popular modalities like microcurrent, LED light therapy, and oxygen infusion in her studio, Greene’s hands are the star of her facials. Her rhythmic massage technique she performs during her signature La Sculpture treatment stimulates circulation, relieves tension, and leaves skin looking radiant and sculpted. What also sets Greene’s approach apart is the custom serum infusion of vitamins, minerals, and plant extracts she concocts for each client on the spot. Unsurprisingly, Greene’s reputation for providing a transcendent yet snatching facial massage have beauty editors and celebrities like Jenna Ortega, Christy Turlington, and Laura Harrier making the pilgrimage uptown to her airy Madison Avenue studio.

The Skin Transformer: Raquel Medina-Cleghorn

Stepping into Raquel Medina-Cleghorn’s Tribeca loft studio, Raquel New York, feels like entering your coolest friend’s home. There’s a black-and-white decor color scheme, bauhaus furniture, and ’80s shoegaze music playing from the speaker in the treatment room. Vibes aside, Medina-Cleghorn’s treatments are the ultimate skin reset. On top of facial massage, she incorporates advanced, high-tech modalities like Procell, microcurrent, ultrasound, LED, medical‑grade oxygen mist, and microchanneling based on each client’s skin needs and goals. Chances are you won’t want to leave Medina-Cleghorn’s downtown oasis once your facial is over — and you don’t have to. The studio also offers body treatments, including massages and lymphatic drainage.

The Glow Giver: Elizabeth Grace Hand

The secret to the glowiest faces you pass on the streets of NYC? Facials with esthetician Elizabeth Grace Hand, the founder of Ställe Studios in Soho. Hand has quickly built up a loyal following — including Jennifer Lawrence — for her bespoke facials that leave your skin looking angelically dewy. Trained at Christine Valmy International School and with experience at L’Oréal’s Dermablend and Dr. Barbara Sturm, Hand’s techniques range from buccal massage and clinical grade tools to dermaplaning and manuka honey masks. Luminous skin aside, documenting your visit to Ställe Studios has become an NYC status symbol. Hand’s stylish clientele never leave without posting an Instagram photo of the chic Swedish-style waiting area decorated with vintage furniture and Hèrmes china.

The A-Lister Favorite: Cynthia Rivas

During award season, Cynthia Rivas is just as booked and busy as the year’s top nominees. The Chanel Beauty partner and esthetician is a go-to for celebrities in need of a skin tune-up before hitting a red carpet. Known for her intuitive, results-driven approach, Rivas offers Evelab skin analysis in her sun-soaked studio that overlooks the Brooklyn Bridge. This diagnostic scan measures hydration, pigmentation, and collagen levels, which helps her determine the most effective combination of modalities to use during a treatment. A few of her favorites? Microcurrent, radiofrequency, and cryotherapy. Rivas’ tailored facials act like a reset button for your skin — and that’s exactly why Meghann Fahy, FKA Twigs, Lila Moss, and more see her before big events.

The Longevity Guru: Georgia Louise

Georgia Louise is in it for the long haul. While her facials instantly leave celebrity clients like Anne Hathaway, Naomi Campbell, and Gwyneth Paltrow hydrated and snatched, the veteran esthetician recently revamped her Upper East Side atelier into a longevity center with a focus on regenerative treatments that target long-term skin health. The updated menu offering now includes hyperbaric oxygen therapy, IV nutrient drips, aesthetic injectables, lymphatic drainage, and exosome-infused therapies in addition to her signature sculpting facials. Consider a visit as a luxurious one-stop shop for timeless skin from the inside out.

Los Angeles

The Magic Hands: Joomee Song

No one in L.A. does a facial massage like Joomee Song, which is why she’s the go-to facialist of Hollywood’s biggest stars, like Zendaya, Lady Gaga, and Kaia Gerber, to name a few. Her trademark Kaika method combines ancient Japanese sculpting massage techniques with microcurrent to smooth on a surface level, but it also addresses poor blood flow and muscle stiffness to improve skin health from the inside out. Song’s holistic approach is her calling card and why she remains one of the most in-demand estheticians in the industry.

The Skin Clearer: Biba De Sousa

Biba de Sousa is the IYKYK facialist of L.A. For much of her 20-plus-year career, the esthetician and acne expert has kept a low profile, letting her work and her line of namesake skin care products speak for themselves. Through word of mouth, she’s built up a reputation as the Beverly Hills skin clearer for those dealing with breakouts, and she counts Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, and Hailey Bieber among her loyal clients. De Sousa’s signature treatment is called the Meta Facial, which is based on an advanced skin analysis of barrier integrity, hydration dynamics, inflammation patterns, congestion, and skin reactivity. The results guide the modalities she includes in each treatment, like microcurrent, ultrasonic therapy, iDerm infusion, galvanic current, and non-LED light therapy. De Sousa also includes one of seven massage techniques to help boost circulation, reduce congestion, and balance inflammation. Whatever custom facial de Souza decides for you, you’ll be well on your way to smooth, radiant skin.

The Facialist On Every Celebrity’s Speed Dial: Shani Darden

Jessica Alba and Shay Mitchell are just a few celebrities who trust Shani Darden with their skin. The esthetician started out giving facials in home before opening her incredibly stylish Beverly Hills spa in 2019. Her treatments are centered around giving skin what it needs at that given moment — nothing more, nothing less. This includes steam, deep cleansing, extractions, exfoliation, a custom mask, microcurrent, LED, oxygen, and/or ultrasound vibration therapy. Darden also has a beloved skin care line that’s inspired by the products she uses during treatments. So if you aren’t going to be in L.A. anytime soon, you can still experience her signature glow at home.

The Facial Boot Camp Coach: Vanessa Hernandez

An appointment with Vanessa Hernandez isn’t your average facial — it’s a turning point for your skin. The esthetician’s VH Skincare studio offers “boot camp” treatment programs that target specific concerns, like a five-week post-summer damage series. For those after more instant gratification, the signature VH Method Facial is a personalized hourlong treatment crafted based on clients’ specific skin needs. It includes wet/dry diamond-tipped microdermabrasion, dermaplaning, and infrared LED therapy to exfoliate and boost collagen product; oxygen infusion to hydrate and brighten; and the proprietary VH Skin mask to lock in nutrients and boost glow. In addition to facials, the studio also offers medical skin and aesthetic treatments, including microneedling, lasers, fillers, and injectables.

The Secret To Red-Carpet Ready Skin: Candace Marino

You don’t earn the nickname “The L.A. Facialist” unless your facials are actually transformative. Yes, Candance Marino has been caring for the skin of Hollywood’s biggest stars — Miranda Kerr, Penelope Cruz, and Rose Byrne are among her clients — at her Beverly Hills studio for more than a decade. Marino’s facials are bespoke and tailored to each individual’s skin needs, but always include extractions and her signature deep-tissue facial massage. The result? A glowing, sculpted, red-carpet-ready complexion.

Chicago

The Oprah-Approved Skin Perfecter: Mireille Hamon

Before opening her namesake studio in Chicago’s fashion district, Oak Street, Mireille Hamon worked on the Oprah Winfrey show. In addition to makeup, lash, brow, and massage services, Hamon offers an array of skin treatments to choose that will target specific concerns. There’s microdermabrasion for deep exfoliation, ProCell microchanneling for rejuvenation, and even a back facial to help clear congestion in the hard-to-reach area.

The Brazilian Beauty Expert: Cleise Gomes

At Cleise Brazilian Day Spa, owner Cleise Gomes brings traditional Brazilian beauty techniques to Chicago. Her facial menu includes a massage-centered treatment complete with a scalp portion, plus glycolic peels, oxygen, and LED light therapy to treat pain points like dullness, congestion, and wrinkles. Of course, no Brazilian spa would be complete with lymphatic drainage and wax services, and Gomes offers both. Even if it’s the dead of winter, after a spa session at Cleise, your skin with be smooth from head to toe.

Miami

The Quiet Luxury Facial: Melissa Fox

Your skin gets the luxury treatment from head to toe at Flawless by Melissa Fox. Master esthetician and owner Melissa Fox’s treatments are results driven, so the menu offerings span from bespoke Biologique Recherche facials to medical-grade technology like JetPeel, Hydrafacial, and Diamondglow. For a complete spa day at her modern, elegant studio, there are also a handful of massage options to choose from, including a head spa treatment. With more than two decades in the beauty industry, Fox has been tapped to consult on product development for top skin brands Dr. Brandt and Kylie Skin. Rest assured, your skin will be in good hands.

The Skin Savant: Amy Peterson

For a complete complexion overhaul, Amy Peterson, aka “The Skin Savant,” is your best bet. The medical esthetician keeps Miami glowing at Skincare by Amy Peterson, where she combines tried-and-true modalities with the latest cutting edge technology. She’s also known for device stacking in order to get the best results for specific concerns such as acne, rosacea, or hyperpigmentation. For example, the popular Amy’s Arsenal of Lasers Treatment is a treatment plan that layers various lasers on the face, neck, and body based on what each area needs. Peterson has recently made it possible to incorporate her skin health POV into your daily routine with the launch of her skin care line, Lenox and Sixteenth.

Nashville

The Blockbuster Facial: Toska Husted

Jennifer Lopez. Jennifer Aniston. Jennifer Lawrence. All three Hollywood Jennifers are known for their blockbuster films — and their glowing complexions on screen. The secret behind their flawless skin is facials with celebrity esthetician Toska Husted, who just opened a new location of her Toska Spa & Facial Bar in Nashville’s Green Hills neighborhood this fall. Lifted, plump, radiant skin is Husted’s calling card, which she achieves in each treatment by using top skin care brand Biologique Recherche alongside facial massage, light therapy, microcurrent, and more.

The One-Stop Shop To Great Skin: Karee Hays

The best skin in Nashville comes from treatments at Karee Hays Esthetics. With her experience as a medical esthetician, founder Karee Hays has curated a treatment menu that’s both transformative and relaxing. The Glow Facial includes modalities dermaplane, microdermabrasion, extractions, customized peel, treatment mask, red- and blue-light therapy, and lymphatic drainage based on your skin’s needs, and you’re sent home with a regimen tailored to your concerns. There’s also injectables, lasers, and peels for those who want to level up their treatments to achieve their skin goals.