Your Ultimate At-Home Skincare Routine From One of New York’s Top Facialists

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Tucked away in a nondescript Upper East Side building lies Complete Skin MD and the office-come-treatment room of Jordana Mattioli, a licensed medical esthetician and—up until now—one of New York City’s best-kept secrets. Her well-guarded roster includes major name celebrities, models, and editors who all pay visits to Mattioli for her customized treatments. What she offers is a cared-for, but minimally made-up aesthetic that’s more about healthy looking skin than anything else.

Each of her treatments is tailor-fit to meet your needs on the day of your visit, so no two sessions with her will ever be the same. Mattioli keeps a variety of high-tech methods close at hand: ultrasonic deep cleansing, enzymatic exfoliation, dermaplaning, medical microneedling, vitamin infusions, pure medical oxygen therapy, to name just some. Her price tag may be high, but there’s no question that you’ll leave her office feeling like it was worth every penny. In my case, my pores were smaller than I previously thought to be humanly possible, and I noticed a significant reduction in redness, sun damage, and fine lines. In place of pimples, blackheads, and just generally tired skin, was a face I hadn’t seen before. I looked like I had never touched alcohol, or accidentally fallen asleep with my makeup on, and never forgotten to wear sunscreen.

Yet, maintaining the sin-free complexion of a new born baby requires commitment, which is why Mattioli’s adamant that clients like me keep up a rigorous at-home skincare routine in between her treatments. Here, she shares all of her best tips:

TAILOR YOUR PRODUCTS TO YOUR AGE
“It’s important for parents to instill good skincare habits with their children from an early age. Just like learning to brush our teeth every night, children should be washing their face in the evenings and wearing sunscreen every morning. As we get into our teenage years, our hormones start to change and we should add in a gentle exfoliant a few times a week. Choose between a light scrub, the use of a washcloth or Clarisonic, or a toner with some alpha hydroxy acids. In our twenties, there’s still time to preserve and protect, but you need to exfoliate more, add in antioxidants, and an eye product. As you enter the late twenties and early thirties, it’s crucial to start an anti-aging regimen: Fine lines creep up fast, so add in a Vitamin A retinoid a few nights a week. Dryness and wrinkles are usually the biggest concerns with people over 40, so increase your retinoid use and invest in really good creams, oils, and serums.”

STOP SUN DAMAGE WITH SPF
“There is only one product that can single-handedly preserve your beauty, save your life, and can be used by everyone regardless of age, skin type, or gender—and that’s sunscreen. If you find one you actually like to use, stick with it. The most common mistake I see all the time is not using enough sunscreen or not re-applying it throughout the day. The general rule is 1/4 teaspoon for your face and neck. Buy a measuring cup at a grocery store and actually measure it out, you’ll be surprised by how much it is.”

DON’T NEGLECT TO EXFOLIATE
“Our skin slows down it’s natural shedding process as we get older and it’s a change that starts to occur in our early twenties, so exfoliation is key to healthy and radiant skin. This shouldn’t be reserved for just scrubs and other manual forms like a Clarisonic brush. Those are great, but leave-on exfoliants with hydroxy acids, or even a weekly at-home peel are much more effective.”

MINIMIZE STRESS AND SUGAR
“Anything you can do to minimize stress—exercise, yoga, mediation—will help maximize your beauty routine. Stress causes hormonal fluctuation and inflammation which can lead to adult acne and faster aging. Sugar, high glycemic index foods, and dairy have also been shown to aggravate acne. Sleep, clean eating, and minimal stress levels are essential to maintaining a healthy complexion.”

TARGET BREAKOUTS INDIVIDUALLY
“To gently remove blackheads at home, wash and exfoliate, then hold a warm, damp washcloth on the affected area for a minute to help soften the blackhead. Wrap your fingers in thin, moist cotton pads and squeeze in an upwards motion to push the blackhead out. Only give it one or two pushes, and if it doesn’t budge, try again the next day. Then wash your skin again, apply a cold compress for a few minutes, and treat the area with a product containing benzoyl peroxide to kill bacteria. For pimples, wait until there is a an actual whitehead before squeezing it, using the same method as a blackhead. Knowing the type of acne is key: If it’s a pink tender bump leave it alone and treat it with a salicylic acid exfoliant to reduce the redness and minimize the oil. Regular use of a salicylic acid exfoliant and Vitamin A will help keep all kinds of pimples to a minimum.”

CLEANSE, MOISTURIZE, AND PROTECT EVERY MORNING
“Every morning should begin with a gentle cleansing wash—and every other morning that should be followed by a leave-on serum or toner with alpha hydroxy acids or beta hydroxy acid to exfoliate old skin. Then load up with an antioxidant-rich hydrator and finish up with the appropriate amount of SPF.”

AT NIGHT, CLEANSE TWICE, REPAIR, TREAT, AND HYDRATE
“First cleanse with an oil or balm to remove makeup and sunscreen, then cleanse for a second time with a gel, foam, or lotion to actually clean the skin. After that, apply a Vitamin A product (aka retinol or retinoid) and administer a target treatment, which will vary depending on your skin. Think either an anti aging product with stem cells or growth factors, something to fight acne, or brighten the complexion. Finally, hydrate with a serum or lotion loaded with humectants, cell communicating ingredients, antioxidants, and peptides.”

GOOD PRODUCTS EXIST AT EVERY PRICE RANGE
“At the drugstore, I love Olay’s serums, retinols and eye products, CeraVe’s cleansers, lotions and creams, and Neutrogena sunscreen. At Sephora, I recommend Clinique serums and toners, and almost every product from Drunk Elephant and Algenist. In the top price range, I love a new brand called Allies of Skin, Environ Skincare’s Vitamin A serums (which come in multiple strengths so that you can build up to a strong level without irritation), and Skin Medica, a clinical skincare line found at medical offices. The latter’s superstar product is its TNS Essential Serum, which includes growth factors coupled with serious anti-aging ingredients.”

FACTOR IN TIME (AND MONEY) FOR REGULAR FACIALS
“Most estheticians will tell you to get a facial once a month, but I’m aware that recommendation isn’t always realistic due to time and money constraints, so I outline the following protocol instead: If you have a specific problem, schedule monthly (or more) treatments until the issue has been fixed and then try to maintain the results at home with the right combination of products. If your skin is already pretty good, set aside money to get a facial once a season for a general clean up and to keep skin looking great.”

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