Sofie Pavitt
We’ve never had a facial from Sofie Pavitt, but it’s up there on our list—if only we can make it on the list. To give you a sense of how in demand this aesthetician is, she posts her appointment schedule a few days before the first of each month and it’s that similar rush-to-book feeling you may get when buying tickets to a Jay-Z concert you know will be sold out in minutes (RIP concerts). The UK born skin guru began her career designing handbags for Michael Kors, and one of the perks of the gig was that it brought her to Korea quite often. It was in Seoul that she fell in love with Korean beauty culture and knew it was time to make a major change.
On her way to becoming an esthetician, Pavitt took zero shortcuts and pushed herself madly along the way, making her a brilliant example of how you can keep the job you have while dedicating yourself to pursuing your real dream. Between studying on the weekends and giving facials to friends, Pavitt grew her skincare empire and has stayed awesomely open, humble and generous throughout her ascent to “celebrity facialist” status. Known on IG as an “IRL Face Tuner,” Sofie Pavitt customizes facials for each skin type and offers a plethora of advanced skincare technologies that make clear and vibrant skin a real possibility, no matter your skin woe. Pavitt is highly motivated, warm and lovely, and super devoted to making people feel good in the skin they’re in—all of which and so much more makes her so damn Dandy.
Life is crazier than ever. How are you doing mentally?
This year has been insane! Mentally I’m doing okay. I’m so fortunate compared to others during this time and I constantly remind myself of this when life feels overwhelming. But yes, 2020 is a dumpster fire.
You customize facial treatments for women with all kinds of skin conditions. That feeling of seeing progress and helping people literally feel more comfortable in their own skin must be gratifying. Do you see people's entire demeanor change over the course of treatment?
100%. My main focus when opening my studio was inclusivity. A lot of our clients are so bummed out about the state of their skin when they first come to us and are nervous/embarrassed to even go for a facial. I wanted to welcome everybody—whether you have naturally clear healthy skin or cystic acne! Seeing their confidence return over the course of treatment is why I do what I do. Perfect skin doesn’t exist, but there’s always room for improvement!
We read you were inspired by the way Korean women approach beauty. What are the main differences between K Beauty approaches and traditional American ones? Or if that's tough to answer, what about Korean skincare methods are so alluring?
What I was really taken with on my first trips to Seoul is how skincare is something you’re started on at a pretty young age. That isn’t the case in America or the UK, or at least it wasn’t when I was growing up. The innovations in skincare from Korea are so cool because there’s a massive market for it. When I would be going every couple of months for work, I would see the trends start small and become these massive entities; like sheet masks. 10 years ago in the states nobody had seen a sheet mask before. I used to bring them back for my friends and they would be looking at me like, ‘Are you insane? You look crazy!’ Now they’re in Duane Reade. I miss going all the time purely for this alone. So many of the skincare trends we see here start in Seoul. Now everyone in the US has had some exposure to K beauty in some way. It’s so great to see it kind of explode over here. I credit Charlotte Cho of Soko Glam for doing the most work to make that happen!
Did you ever suffer from acne or any skin issues?
I had great skin when I was a teenager. My problematic skin started happening when I was moving around a lot. First in my early 20s, I moved to the states in 2004 and my skin was terrible. Then I moved to London in 2006 and my skin erupted. New York in 2008 skin was terrible again. It was interesting to figure out what environmental factors were coming into play as well as stress, food, alcohol, etc. Playing detective in these circumstances is exactly how I work with my clients now. There’s usually something going on.
How often should we exfoliate?
Everyone is different. If your skin is naturally pretty breakout-free and non-sensitive, I say 2-3 times a week max. If you’re broken out and you have a history with acne, you’re skin is likely genetically predisposed to over-shedding (due to your pores and follicles shedding 5x faster). This clogs the pores with dead skin and oil so you’ll want to ramp up your exfoliation to a few times a day. Figuring out what that looks like in terms of products and strengths is so individual, I recommend working with an esthetician on finding out how.
What are five beauty products you always use?
Share one marketing tip for a woman trying to grow her business on social media:
Be yourself. Not everyone is going to like you, but who cares? I’m so bored of social media just all blurring into the same post. If you’re not authentic, it’s so obvious. Be nice to people. I try to answer all questions from followers. I’m also big on educating, so I share some of the studios’ secret sauce. That’s three tips! Always give more than asked for!
All pregnancies are obviously different, but we're curious to know how yours was. Was it an "easy" one or truly tough mentally and physically?
I was really physically fit before getting pregnant. Working out was my way of decompressing. My first few months were easy! I was running until I was about six months pregnant, then I just kept weekly PT with Thea from Session in Williamsburg. I attribute these workouts to the fact I managed to push my gigantic son out of my body; he was huge and stuck and I pushed for 3.5 hours. I can’t believe I did it. I worked at my studio and a med spa right up until the day I gave birth, waddling round NYC in July. I didn’t stop. I did slow down though! My husband gets mad when I remind him I pushed a 12 foot high bookcase across the room during baby renovations in our loft when he was at work. The hardest part about being pregnant for me was that my brain kind of melted. Mom brain is real. It’s still partially melted because now I have a 15 month old lemming falling off everything if I close my eyes!
You criticize yourself the most when:
I try to do too much. I had a great therapist a few years ago who told me there’s five pillars: work, sleep, family, working out, friends. Every day you get to pick three. That was a game changer because I was constantly burning myself out. Family, work and sleep are the things I do the most of at the moment— although I wish I could see friends and workout more often!
What's your take on the editing app Facetune? Sometimes it really is so obvious when people over use it and we get second-hand embarrassment. But we've used it subtly before and it's crazy how you can manipulate your body and face to fit your ideals of beauty.
It is crazy! I’ve definitely used it, but like everything there’s a dark side to that too. When I see some clients really fretting over the condition of their pores and I’m looking at great skin, I tell them skin texture is 100% NORMAL we aren’t meant to look like a filter.
You left your gig as a handbag designer and dedicated yourself to learning all you could about skincare. Was taking that leap super scary? What kept you going?
It was super scary. I worked for 15 years as a handbag designer, had a great position and salary, but I had to scratch the skincare itch. I wanted to do this for so long. I studied in school for a year on the weekends while working in fashion. I literally had no days off. Then I did facials on the weekends and evenings on friends for free to practice for a year. When I booked out 86 appointments one month, I figured it was time to leave fashion for good. I only started paying myself this year. What kept me going was that I knew at some point I would be waking up every morning doing something I love! it was super hard work, but so worth it.
You're having a dinner party. What's on the menu? What's the soundtrack?
I’ll eat anything. If I’m cooking then it’s probably something Mediterranean style with grilled meats and some hefty salady things. Lots of bread. Playlist is almost always by my husband. Right now we are having a real dad rock moment at our house. My son is obsessed with the NBA theme song. What is that about?! If I had my way, it would be Megan Thee Stallion all day.
What you're currently nostalgic for:
Travel. My in laws are in California and my family is in the UK. We haven’t seen anyone since last December so we are just bummed that it’s so hard to go places right now. We had plans to go to Seoul this year with our son, too. Here’s hoping next year is better!
If you were to give recommendations for what to do/eat/see in your hometown of South Wales, what would they be?
If you’re a Roman nerd, then I highly recommend Caerleon , where you’ll find a Roman amphitheater, baths and barracks and a cool little museum. I grew up there. There’s castles all over Wales, but my favorite is Raglan Castle and Caerphilly Castle is pretty impressive too. Not sure what sports looks like post-Covid, but at some point you would have gone to see a massive rugby match at Millenium Stadium in Cardiff, had too much to drink and ended up in chip shop alley (best chips). Le Pub and the Murenger in Newport are the best bars in town too.
Did you stay in NYC throughout the height of the pandemic? It's fascinating to see how we are all adapting to this new normal. How does it feel to be back at work and actually interacting with people?
I did! April was scary. I live in Brooklyn and would take my son out in his stroller for fresh air. The streets were empty and all you could hear were ambulance sirens. In March I thought we were going to be closed for two weeks; how hilarious is that now when you hear it? I’m so happy to be back up and running and seeing my clients that I started working with virtually in April/May. Now I’m seeing them for the first time in person and it’s so fun!
Is wearing all of the PPE when giving facials really annoying? Or have you also just gotten used to it?
It’s totally annoying. I wear scrubs, a mask, goggles, a face shield, gloves. Then you think of medical staff working in hospitals on an 18 hour shift in even more PPE and it puts it into perspective. It’s necessary right now to be safe and that’s okay. I also get a Covid test every week.
You have to order _________ at this place:
You have to order the Dakos salad at Loukomi in Astoria. I can’t explain what this tomato salad does to me. It’s a Cretan salad with these barley rusks crumbled into it. I spent a lot of childhood holidays in Greece and it’s nostalgic for me, but it’s also insanely delicious. Loukomi has the best tomatoes in New York! They keep them on the bar for you to see. Some Greek grandpa in Astoria is probably growing them and they’re insane. Their horta is also other worldly.
You relate most to people who:
Hustle like me. Who work hard, play hard. If I say I’m going to do something, I do it. People with intention! And that intention can be intention to anything—but I like that as a quality.
In a past life, you were probably:
A French bulldog. I’m obsessed with them. I’m on my second. They’re like Pringles; you’ll never have just one. French bulldog energy is the vibe I’m going for in life. They DGAF but they are 100% love. It’s the best.
Your vices:
Buying ridiculous clothes for my son and overeating because I love food and I just can’t stop.