Certified Cool Girls Spill Where to Go for the Best Skincare Treatments In New York City

The New York City beauty black book is coveted information. Finding a quality skin treatment can feel like hitting the jackpot, especially if you want to optimize the health, look, and feel of your epidermis. And because we are constantly inundated with sponsorships, ads, and free recs (a not-so-secret industry secret is that beauty editors like yours truly, celebrities, and influencers often get many of these facial treatments for "free"), it can really be hard to tell if a place is legit or if it’s just being pandered to because the person recommending it isn’t taking a hit to their credit card in the process. So where does one go to to get a professional facial, laser, Botox, and other facial treatments that are actually worth the big bucks?

To uncover the truth about the best providers in the city, I asked six cool New York women who they see for their facials, Botox, and other beauty treatment needs—and where they actually spend their money. Not sponsored. Not an ad. Completely unbiased. Just the most honest recommendations you’ll find, straight from NYC’s coolest beauty lovers.

Kim Strother, Personal Trainer and Instructor on Melissa Wood Health

• Skin Type: My skin type changes seasonally. In the summer, I’m combination and in the winter, I run dry.
• Most Pressing Skin Concern: Fine lines, loss of firmness, and keeping my skin really hydrated, plump, and lifted. I want my skin to look healthy and alive, not perfect.
• Go-To Beauty Treatment: Red Carpet IonixLight Facial
• Esthetician: Josie at SKIN PEACE in NoMad. She gives the best facial massage on earth. I’ve had a lot of facials over the years, and nothing compares. Her hands are magic.
• Cost: $550 for 90-minutes
• Frequency: Since I usually go every six to eight weeks, I think of it more as part of my overall self-care routine than something I budget for every single month. I especially love going before an event, a shoot, or anytime I want that extra lifted, rested glow.

Why Do You Love It?: It gives me that immediate lifted, plump, glowy look with zero downtime; that’s huge for me because I want results, but I also want to get on with my life. I leave looking refreshed, not like I just had a bunch of stuff done to my face.

But honestly, Josie is why I keep coming back. Her facial massage is hands down the best I’ve ever had. I swear I leave my body a little bit! It’s like the best savasana of your life, except you open your eyes and somehow have cheekbones. She combines different technologies like microcurrent, LED, oxygen, ultrasound, microdermabrasion, and radio frequency, so it does a little bit of everything: lifting, tightening, brightening, smoothing, and supporting collagen. I basically lie there and let her work her magic.

I love the experience so much that I actually give SKIN PEACE facials as gifts. It’s one of those things where once you experience it, you immediately think, "ok who else in my life needs this?"

Olivia MacKinnon, Soloist with the New York City Ballet

• Skin Type: My skin is on the drier side with occasional hormonal breakouts.
• Most Pressing Skin Concern: My biggest priorities are keeping my skin youthful, rejuvenated, and glowing while also keeping it unblemished and moisturized. I'm also very conscious about limiting sun exposure and protecting my skin from sun damage that can lead to premature aging and pigmentation.
• Go-To Beauty Treatment: A facial that centers around extractions, dermaplaning, and a "no-peel, peel" (a gentle treatment that refreshes and brightens the skin without downtime of a traditional peel). That said, my esthetician adjusts the treatment depending on what my skin needs at the time.
• Esthetician: Elena at Gerald Imber, MD, located at 121A East 83rd Street. She is incredible at cleaning everything out. It may not be the most pleasant at the moment, but the results leave my skin feeling so refreshed and clear. I chose her for my pre-wedding facial, which says a lot about how highly I trust her.
• Cost: $400 plus tax.
• Frequency: Considering this is a planned beauty expense that I do regularly, I will budget out my self care treatments for the year beforehand. I tend to do them every two months so I will plan accordingly to that timeline. Taking care of your skin is one of those investments that will pay off over time and I'm willing to invest in what is visually working for me.

Why Do You Love It?: This facial feels like a reset for my skin and keeps me on a good track for my everyday at home maintenance.

Sarah Godfrey, Art Historian

• Skin Type: Combo. It’s a bit more oily over the summer.
• Most Pressing Skin Concern: Now it's dullness. I’ve definitely run myself to the ground with work and other obligations lately and exhaustion always shows up in my skin.
• Go-To Beauty Treatment: A facial.
• Esthetician: I’ll really see anyone at Barbara Sturm, in part because because I really trust the products are going to work for my skin.
• Cost: Between 250 and 300. It can be a bit more if you get add ons. For my skin type, now that my acne is under control, it’s recommended I go about once a quarter, so that’s 1000-1200 a year. One facialist there recommended that if you don’t have active acne, it’s good to go once a season to combat the impact of changing weather on your skin, while avoiding aggravating it with unnecessary treatments.
• Frequency: Around four times a year.

Why Do You Love It?: I trust the products and the people. I’ve tried Accutane, multiple prescriptions, and tons of products throughout my life. Even into my thirties, I’ve had painful and persistent acne. It really impacted my confidence and self-esteem, especially as I got older. In full transparency, I take spironolactone now and I think that has made a huge difference, but I’m also much more diligent about my skincare and the products I use. Barbara Sturm products have been a big part of that journey for me, so I stick to what I know and love.

Morgan Knight, Baker and Founder of Saint Street Cakes

• Skin Type: Combo, but usually leaning dry.
• Most Pressing Skin Concern: Right now, my biggest concern is dullness. For years, I struggled with hormonal acne. So now that I have clear skin, I love just keeping it as glowy as possible.
• Go-To Beauty Treatment: A standard facial: cleansing, exfoliating, extractions, and sometimes LED light therapy. After spending a long day in a hot kitchen with sugar and flour in the air, I love paying extra attention and taking care of my skin.
• Esthetician: Altered States. It’s two doors down from my bakery Saint Street Cakes. It's extremely beautiful inside and all of the practitioners are fantastic.
• Cost: The facial I usually get is $155, which is well worth it for being the only treatment I do to my face outside of at-home skincare. At home, I really love the Ranavat Saffron Oil and The Ordinary AHA BHA exfoliating mask.
• Frequency: Once every two or so months! I do most of my skincare at home, and usually treat facials like a self-care special treat.

Why Do You Love It?: It’s convenient, it’s local, and it always leaves my skin with a little upgrade. I really like to keep it simple, and a good, uncomplicated facial by really passionate and talented practitioners always does the trick.

Téla D'Amore, Co-Founder of Who Decides War

• Skin Type: Oily
• Most Pressing Skin Concern: The fashion industry will steal your youthful shine if you let it . I have super sensitive skin, so I naturally gravitated towards medical-grade skincare early on to keep my skin at bay.
• Go-To Beauty Treatment: I love a Tone, Tighten, and Lift (TTL for short) facial and routine Botox.
• Esthetician: Brad at Contōr Studio. He’s the best and he also does my Botox.
• Cost: Around $1,000 give or take.
• Frequency: Every few months, standard maintenance schedule. With Botox, I get around 10-15 units.

Why Do You Love It?: I suffer from intense migraines, and a few years ago a doctor actually recommended I look into forehead Botox to lightly freeze the area so that I would pause the overuse of those muscles. It really does help, so I’ve always gotten it routinely since then. Of course, the aesthetic bonus doesn’t hurt.

Jaclyn Johnson, Entrepreneur and Investor

• Skin Type: Very dry. Hydration is always the priority for me, especially as I’ve gotten older. I have to be careful not to overdo treatments that can compromise my skin barrier, so I balance anything more active with a lot of moisture and recovery.
• Most Pressing Skin Concern: Fine lines and volume loss (hello, my forties). I’m much more focused on maintaining firmness, hydration and overall skin quality than treating breakouts. I want my skin to look healthy, rested and glowy without trying to erase every sign that I’ve aged.
• Go-To Beauty Treatment: Definitely a combination; I don’t think there is one magic treatment that does everything. Every month, I get a facial at Heyday, usually with dermaplaning and nano infusion, and I rotate in laser and microneedling treatments at Skin Laundry. Then, quarterly, I get Botox. I also recently tried Skinvive in my lower face at JECT. For me, it’s really about combining consistent skin maintenance with a few more targeted aesthetic treatments throughout the year.
• Esthetician: I see Marianna at JECT on the Upper East Side for injectables. At Heyday and Skin Laundry in Williamsburg, I usually book based on my schedule rather than seeing one specific provider every time. I travel and work a lot, so having flexibility matters, but I still want to go somewhere with a consistent approach and practitioners I trust.
• Cost: On a typical month, I spend between $500 and $700 on skin treatments. In the months when I get Botox or add something like Skinvive, that can jump to around $2,000. It is definitely a meaningful part of my beauty budget, but I would rather consistently invest in a few treatments where I can actually see a difference than constantly chase new products and trends.
• Frequency: I do some form of facial or skin treatment monthly and get Botox quarterly. I rotate the monthly treatments depending on what my skin needs—sometimes that is a facial and hydration, and other times it is laser or microneedling for texture and collagen support. I try to think of it as an ongoing routine rather than waiting until I suddenly feel like my skin needs a major intervention.

Why Do You Love It?: I genuinely see a difference. I’ve been getting Botox for more than 10 years, and I really believe consistency matters more than doing anything overly aggressive. The facials keep my skin hydrated and glowing, while laser and microneedling help with texture and collagen over time. Botox softens the fine lines that bother me most. I’m not trying to dramatically change my face; I just want to look like the most rested, refreshed version of myself.

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