Take a shower with me.
— Soft Services newsletter
NYC’s favorite esthetician
Soft Services NYC’s favorite esthetician A shower is maybe the last bastion of individual privacy—even as cellphones have infiltrated other corners of the bathroom, staying connected to the outside world becomes perilous for our devices when under running water (or over a tub of it). While in the shower, we are left totally alone. Well, we’re here to change all of that.
We asked NYC’s favorite downtown esthetician, Sofie Pavitt , to bring us along as she takes us through her (admittedly questionable) bathing routine. “Well, I'm gonna throw you for a loop because I don't take showers. I take baths. Is that okay? We have two bathrooms in our apartment and I truly believe the secret to a happy marriage is that the shower-room is my husband's, and mine is the bath room.
But, I do share it with my kids, so it’s my sacred space once they've gone to bed—unless they're awake, and then I literally have to lock and barricade the door. I love to take scalding hot baths, which I know is really bad for your skin—too much hot water dries your skin out, but I just love them. So I have my Tekla towel ready, and I have a scalding hot bath filled, and I’m ready to go.
” Bar soap is like my favorite thing in the world, and of course I use the Buffing Bar, but it's not a washing bar. People buy me bars of soap whenever they go away, because they think it's hilarious that I'm the only friend who likes them, so I always have maybe four or five bars on deck, but you know what? My favorite one is by Moroccan Oil , the hair company. It smells like the Moroccan Oil smell, and it has a lux, heavy, dense foam.
I have to wash my hair every day—it gets flat super fast. I bleached it blonde for six years and I got used to that great texture that bleached hair has. Now that I don't have it, I really miss it, and had to find lightweight products that work with my baby-fine hair, especially thin after having kids. My shampoo and conditioner are R+Co Bleu . It smells deliciously of bergamot.
I have a jug, which is one of my kids’ bath toys, and I'll fill that with clean water from the tap to wash and rinse my hair in the bath. So then comes the Buffing Bar . I'm a full-on keratosis pilaris sufferer, so I love an abrasive scrub for the body. I always get the tops of my arms, legs for sure. I use it twice a week, especially when I’m drier. Exfoliation is key. It solves so many body skin concerns from keratosis pilaris , to acne , dry skin , and discoloration .
Moisturizing is only one part of it, you have to exfoliate the dead cells alongside that—and that's why I love your "Smoothing" system . Beyond that, with my clients’ bodies, I’m seeing how synthetic fibers in clothing are something that really affects skin. We wear a lot more synthetic clothing now that we are all into working out, so it may sound silly, but taking your gym clothes off when you finish your workout will make a huge difference in your body skin health.
Besides even going to do gym stuff, we're all in leggings and sitting in synthetic fibers all day. I really believe that's made a marked difference in people getting body acne. Wash your bra—I know that sounds crazy, but some people don't wash their bras, and then they wonder why they have body acne underneath their boobs and around their bra line.
Understanding the power of wearing natural fibers and loose, breathable clothing, can be really important if you’re getting body breakouts. I really committed to laser hair removal early on, so I’ve done it over my whole body. I mean, I have unlimited access to the laser hair removal device in the studio . I've done it for years, but if I see a stray one, it's going, I’ll zap it. So yeah, I'm pretty hairless at this point. It's fun.
Actually, I left out a step that I’ll do even before I go into the bath. I apply the Eve Lom cleansing balm to my face on dry skin. I've been using that for years. I use that to melt makeup off, and then I'll usually move to a gel cleanser in the bath to do a double cleanse. iS clinical has one called Cleansing Complex that has almost slimy gel consistency and gently foams up to remove all the balm. Then I use Comfort Cleanse on my body.
I actually use it on Rocco, my little one, too. He likes the pump—it’s so cute. That's pretty much it for the bath. I kind of just marinade—no shame in the game. I get in a really fancy bubble bath every so often, but honestly I’m just an old-school British girl who likes a hot water scrub-down. I’ll dry off and then I cover myself in Soft Services. I'm like a husk, so I love the urea and the richness of Carea Cream.
My husband loves Speed Soak because he hates the feeling of lotion, so for him it's a dream product because he's feeling hydrated, but he's not left with any sort of greasiness or film on his skin. Maybe in the summer it'll change and I'll be more into Speed Soak then as well. Lume is the deodorant I use , and you know what?
If you told me ten years ago that I would use natural deodorant now, I would have laughed at you because I've always struggled to find one that makes me smell good. This one is actually formulated with mandelic acid, which I'm a huge fan of, and I use it a lot in the studio. It’s an antibacterial, so it's eating the bacteria that makes you smell. It's not an antiperspirant formula, but you do not sweat, it's bizarre. S. Durga Bistro Waters scent is one I love—horrible name.
I think the marketing was meant to evoke a 90’s restaurant, but it reminds me of hot dogs. Actually, the scent is really really verdant and green—it’s beautiful and I wish it had another name. Then there’s Acqua di Parma, their classic yellow cologne . It’s just so timeless, very citrusy and clean.
” Buffing Bar Microcrystal Exfoliant $28 Smoothing Set Buffing Bar, Smoothing Solution, Carea Cream $102 Comfort Cleanse Ultra Soothing Shower Gel $32 Smoothing Solution Calming Gel Exfoliant $34 Carea Cream Daily Toning Lotion $40 Speed Soak Skin Rehydrating Gel $28
Tags: Community, Routine, Body Acne, Discoloration, Dry Skin, Keratosis Pilaris, Buffing Bar — Original, Comfort Cleanse, Smoothing Solution, Carea Cream