Joanna Czech Breaks Down The Perfect Quarantine Skin Routine

The slightly poetic thing about quarantining is that while we’ve all been advised to stop touching our faces, we’re all pretty much consumed with the state of them these days. Whether logging on to Zoom meetings, Houseparty catch-up sessions, or Instagram Lives, we can’t escape looking closely at what stares back at us.

Which is probably why famed facialist to the stars Joanna Czech is busier than ever.

For a woman whose booming business centers around massaging some of the most recognizable faces into tip-top shape–Kim Kardashian West, Jennifer Aniston, Anna Wintour among them–you would think Czech may have slowed down in the wake of social distancing. But as the effervescent esthetician beams in via FaceTime from her newfound work station at her home in Dallas, Texas, Czech tells me she is seeing more patients than ever, shifting her work from her two eponymous spa studios in Dallas and New York (located in the Webster boutique), to virtual consultations. “After 35 years, it’s a new strange feeling, but I have at least four to five consultations a day via Facetime with people from all over the world.” Ticking off such far-flung locales as Saudia Arabia, Italy, Mexico, and the UK, and as local as the U.S., Czech is still getting up close and personal with clients, and treating the effects of fear, anxiety, and worry on our skin. So many of her loyalists rely upon her wisdom.

Since landing in New York over 30-plus years ago after immigrating from Poland, the one-time competitive runner has culled a loyal following made up of fashion world vets, A-list celebs, and the skin-obsessed. Her dedicated legion drawn to her 90-minute treatments that include LED lasers, cryotherapy, ultrasound, and diamond microdermabrasion (all of which will set you back $850), and medical-grade knowledge of the body (Czech studied briefly at the Studium Estetyczne). But Czech’s online community (which boasts 119K Instagram followers) is just as devoted.

Scroll through her page and you’ll find yourself hypnotized by the esthetician offering prime skin advice while wearing a sheet mask and a pair of her signature chunky Thierry Lasry frames. It’s almost as cathartic as her widely successful facial massager that she rolled out last year. Now it’s in top shelf beauty cabinets the world over. Our own stock stays heavily in-demand. 

Here, Czech breaks down what sheet masks are the most “Netflix-friendly”, how to relieve that gnawing sense of tension, and the ultimate quarantine skin routine with an exclusive video tutorial for TRR.

EVERYTHING FEELS DULLER THESE DAYS
“It’s absolutely scientifically proven that mental health affects our skin. So the symptoms that I have been noticing now and what clients complain about most is that everyone feels dull and grayer. And it does not matter if you are see-through white or blue-black, you will see gray. Beautiful olive-y tones from Italy and from India they feel grayness. Another thing I see a lot of are dehydrated patches–very often that’s how skin reacts. Usually, the pH of the skin changes and if it gets too alkaline that’s how we experience this uneven tone. And then another layer is breakouts. Stress and hormone breakouts are usually lower face and sides of the face.”

DON’T BRING THE STREETS TO YOUR SHEETS
“My saying was always, ‘Don’t bring the streets to your sheets’. I could never convince my American clients to take showers at night, but it’s the most important way to prepare your skin for relaxation. Now, more than ever, we want to rinse off everything–it does not matter if it was just a walk in front of your building, a walk in the park and you are six feet apart. You really want to make sure more than ever, because we don’t know anything about this virus… so it’s important that as soon as you return home, you rinse everything off. Equally important as your face, is your body hygiene and body treatment.”

NIGHTTIME IS THE RIGHT TIME
“For general treatment, what I would recommend is really concentrating on the nighttime routine, to prepare your skin for relaxation and rejuvenation time. Sleep is super healing and strengthening to our immune system. Make sure you’re using a pH-balancing, hydrating toner, like those by Biologique. Toner was always misunderstood and people would say that toner is a second-step of cleansing. No. Toner is the first step of hydrating your skin. Use an adequate serum. Depending on whether your skin feels dehydrated, using a super hydrating and healing or super lipidic serum. And then the proper moisturizer.”

BUT NEVER SKIMP ON THE A.M. ROUTINE
“In the AM what I want from you is to brush your teeth and rinse your face–you can use cleanser or just water and a washcloth. Apply your toner. If you’re home, apply your liquid serum or just your moisturizer. Treat your skin! It starts with the nipples and goes to the hairline. Never forget about the neck and the decollete, and you’re good. Nipples up!”

NETFLIX-FRIENDLY SHEET MASKS AND CHILL
“After my nighttime routine, there is a choice of masks and moisturizer in my bedside drawer. For a basic routine, my very favorite line of sheet masks is 111 skin. They really address so many different skin conditions and have great brightening and biocell masks. Then you have lifting and tightening masks, Black Diamond. I also consider it super photogenic!”

SHE’S GOT THE TOUCH
“This is a different time at home. Even if your skin is resting from the makeup, it’s also being affected by the emotional stress. This level of stress is unknown. It’s on the level my 82-year-old mother, who survived WWII, doesn’t remember. At the moment what’s missing is the human touch–human touch releases a hormone called oxytocin. It’s the hormone in us that creates calm. Touch releases oxytocin and touch creates calm, and it doesn’t matter if it’s firm touch, it creates that calm and comfort.”

STEP-BY-STEP JOANNA CZECH MASSAGE:

The skin whisperer herself, Joanna Czech, so graciously offered The RealReal members a guided massage tutorial, which you can follow along here. Grab your own Joanna Czech Facial Massager, available through The RealReal, and find the worries of the world melting away….