The Best Facials in New York City, According to
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It’s physically impossible to re-enter the womb and come out a new person, but a transformative facial might be the closest you can get to rebirth. You don’t even have to have to travel to the most exotic corners of the earth to experience this level of rejuvenation—some of the best facials in the world are in New York City.
Of course, anyone can give you an opinion on the best place to get a facial, but since Allure editors are in the business of assessing the best of the best in beauty, you can trust that our recommendations are sound—not to mention, our team represents a wide range of skin types and complexions, so there’s something for everyone. (It should be noted, however, that we all got these treatments gratis, though many of us have returned to these spots on our own dime.)
By our standards, a good facial should address your skin concerns, be a relaxing experience, and leave you with impossibly glowy results that last days after your appointment. Scouring the city streets over the years, we’ve found seven facials that get our stamp of approval, including Raquel New York in Tribeca, Pietro Simone in SoHo, and Château Glow in East Williamsburg. Scroll on for the full list.
It was a fellow beauty editor who put me into the magical hands of Joseph Carillo. He’s a makeup artist who also does facials, so he has perfected the pre-event snatch. Among those in the know, he is heralded for his buccal massage (all his facial treatments start at $275). The intraoral technique is the only thing I’ve found that helps release the tension in my jaw (also highly recommended for those with TMJ aka temporomandibular disorder).
Carillo uses a combination of facial cupping, acupressure, and lymphatic drainage to get the ultimate facial contour and posture correction. Before going in, my face felt bloated. I was puffy all the time. The sweeping motions around my jaw, neck, and cheeks erased it all. My favorite part—and the reason I sing Carillo’s praises—was the buccal massage. I tend to clench my jaw at night from all the stress (blame the EIC title). When Carillo put his fingers in my mouth to get at my masseter muscles, my eyes rolled back. The results are visible from the start, and three days later my jawline was transformed even more. My brows were lifted, my cheeks were higher, and my chin was pointed. When I shared the results on my Instagram page, many of my friends rushed to his website to book. One friend who got in with Carillo texted, “That was life changing!”
I first experienced a facial with Joanna Czech when she had a cozy spa in Manhattan’s Washington Heights and I was a budding beauty editor. Fast forward 20 years and Czech is delivering her custom facial magic from an expansive loft space in SoHo—but with all the same intimacy and personal attention. (She also just opened her first spa in Los Angeles–on Oscar weekend. Czech has become a pre-red-carpet go-to over the years.)
If you do not employ a personal publicist and travel with a small entourage, you will want to brace yourself before this next sentence. A facial with Czech in the year 2024 costs $1,250. But 90 minutes with one of her trained aestheticians starts at $450. Not cheap–but also not a turnkey experience and one that, in my opinion, can help set your skin on a new course. No two facials with Czech or her team will be the same. Your skin’s needs are always changing, so Czech’s protocols are too. What you’re pretty much guaranteed though is a deep tension-releasing massage of your face, shoulders, and upper back, and time spent under an arc of collagen-building, redness-soothing LED lights. (Czech’s space is equipped with a full-body LED bed as well, should you want to lie down there after your facial.)
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You may also get extractions (if you’re not up for an Oscar the next day) and cryogenically cooled air to minimize inflammation and make pores appear smaller. On my last visit, I also needed some gentle physical exfoliation with Diamond Peel, and Czech pulled on conductive gloves to turn her fingers into microcurrent devices that helped coax my skin into a temporary tautness and increase the penetration of the skin care she’d applied. Czech now has her own line of products but she and her team still always use what’s best for your skin—which for me recently included Biologique Recherche PIGM 400 and Environ Vita-Peptide C-Quence Serum 1 to address my hyperpigmentation.
There are lots of reasons to love Raquel New York, a facial studio tucked away on a quiet street in Tribeca: the airy, loft-like atmosphere, the curated selection of hard-to-find skin-care brands (including Auteur, Cosmetics 27, and Environ), and, most of all, co-founder Raquel Medina-Cleghorn, an esthetician who trained with the best of 'em before opening her doors last year. The facials start at the not-inexpensive rate of $500, but include the bells and whistles that are—in my opinion—worth paying for, like microcurrent, LED therapy, and extractions. Just as valuable is the chance to nerd out with Medina-Cleghorn, a former stylist, who’s a wealth of knowledge about treatments, tools, and ingredients. Even though my skin is prone to redness, I’ve never left Medina-Cleghorn’s studio the least bit blotchy—so I can head right back to work without anyone the wiser that I snuck out for a midday facial (hey, it is part of my job).
By Aliza Kelly
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Nestled in the corner of a quaint brownstone is Brooklyn Face & Eye. The studio, owned by board-certified ophthalmologist Chaneve Jeanniton, looks like it belongs in the pages of Architectural Digest as the home of an accomplished Black woman who loves old-school R&B. I peeled my eyes away from the mesmerizing decor to lay down and experience the calming hands of esthetician Samantha Mims. The facials start at $140 (for a simple sculpting treatment using facial cupping) and go up to $700 (a facial that includes all the works like microcurrent, LED light, and microneedling).
I love the Essentials facial (it costs $240 and lasts 60 minutes), which begins with a consultation to assess your skin needs — mine are texture, oiliness, and hyperpigmentation. Mims begins by cleansing my face, before going in with the bells and whistles: an exfoliating treatment, extractions, and a sculpting massage—featuring Epi.Logic, a line of skin care products created by Dr. Jeanniton. I left feeling relaxed, glowy, and inspired to live out the rest of my day as the main character in a ‘90s Black rom-com.
I was first referred to Silver Mirror’s Upper East Side location by former Allure beauty editor Sable Yong (shout out to her newsletter, Hard Feelings, which I highly recommend) about five years ago when my skin was in a particularly rough, dull state. The setting feels more like a clinic than a traditional spa, which matches the results. After an hour-long facial (prices start at $159) which included thorough extractions and a pumpkin enzyme peel, my skin was transformed. For days after my appointment, I didn’t wear any foundation—that is how great my complexion looked and felt. My bumps and blackheads simply disappeared, the texture was softened and smoothed, and everything looked brighter. (I still wore undereye concealer, though, because a facial can’t quite make up for a lack of sleep.) Now, whenever I need quick results and an effective process, I turn to Silver Mirror. I’ve never been disappointed.
By Aliza Kelly
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By Marci Robin
I can’t count the number of facials I’ve had while living in New York City for 11-plus years. But I can count the number of great facials I’ve gotten since moving here, and one of those is the Triple Crown Facial at Joanna Vargas.
The spa, located across from Bryant Park, is eponymously named after the celebrity-loved aesthetician who founded it. (Vargas's famous clients include Naomi Watts, Greta Gerwig, and Rachel Brosnahan.) It’s an airy, sunlit space with treatments rooms for both facials and LED light treatments. While I’ve had the pleasure of partaking in both, the spa’s signature Triple Crown Facial is what keeps me coming back.
The 60-minute treatment features microdermabrasion for deep-cleaning and exfoliation, a generous amount of time with a microcurrent device to lift and firm, and a cool blast of oxygen at the end to hydrate and give skin a gleamy finish.
The Triple Crown clocks in at a cool $275 per session (plus tip) and does not include extractions. But with the taunt, glowy results, extractions don’t seem that important, especially considering the amount of compliments you’ll receive for the rest of the day. Trust me.
In the heart of Manhattan, high above the city, you will find aesthetician Edyta Jarosz. As you walk back to her cozy treatment room located inside Shafer Clinic on Fifth Avenue, a million-dollar view of the Empire State Building greets you on the left — but that hardly compares to the always-warm welcome from Jarosz. Once nestled under plush blankets, prepare to be pampered for hours with her signature Lift, Sculpt, and Slap technique. Facials start at $400 and each session is entirely customized.
For someone with sensitive skin like me, an appointment often includes Cavitation Peeling (non-invasive exfoliation) or the use of DiamondGlow (a resurfacing device), followed by an IonixLight Oxylight (including oxygen therapy, microcurrent, radio frequency, LED light, and more). After training around the world—in Poland, France, and Japan—she has integrated techniques like Kobido Japanese massage and buccal massage into her treatments to relieve tension and further define your face. Jarosz has a reputation for having “magic hands'' and it’s very apparent why: Even when she (gently) slaps your face to help boost circulation, it feels heavenly. I entrusted Jarosz ahead of my wedding—scheduling several app
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30 of April 2024
