As the countdown to the Met Gala continues, celebrities are pulling out all the stops to make sure their faces look as flawless as their couture.
Neinstein Plastic Surgery in New York City has become a go-to for those seeking a red carpet glow, and I had the opportunity to stop by the practice’s gorgeous office above Bergdorf Goodman to try out two non-surgical treatments stars swear by.
First up? The $400 Aquagold facial, which promises to deliver serious results in under 30 minutes, making it the perfect treatment to squeeze in during your lunch break.
“The Aquagold facial is going to infuse your skin with Vitamin C, Vitamin A and hyaluronic acid to really give you that no-downtime glow,” nurse Tara Adashev tells me.
It also stamps neuromodulators into the skin, which is why Aquagold’s sometimes referred to as a “Botox facial” — but those with a fear of injections (or freezing their facial muscles) needn’t fret. I found the treatment relatively painless, even without numbing cream.
“Botox is going to go right into the muscle, so you’re injecting a little deeper into the skin,” Nurse Tara explains, whereas “[Aquagold] is very superficial, so that way you see the glow right away.”
This also makes the results temporary — ”a few weeks,” the nurse estimates — so it’s ideal for scheduling ahead of a big event like the Met ball.
Next, Nurse Tara treated my face with the Lutronic Ultra laser, which she says “helps to brighten the skin from the inside out” when paired with Aquagold. Since it’s non-ablative — meaning it doesn’t damage the top layer of the skin — it requires less downtime than other lasers on the market.
“It’s creating little microchannels in the skin — it breaks up pigmentation from multiple sources such as freckles, red spots, acne scars or even active acne, and shrinks pores while helping to stimulate collagen and brighten the skin,” she says, adding that she recently used the device on Teresa Giudice’s daughter Gia to diminish the look of some scars on her leg.
Priced at $699 per treatment, the Lutronic Ultra laser made my face feel warm and feel a little “spicy.” The following day as my skin started to heal, I noticed that it felt a bit like sandpaper — to be expected, as Nurse Tara had told me — and looked a bit flaky, both side effects that can be minimized with proper aftercare.
“You want to make sure you’re moisturizing. No makeup, no retinols, no toners, lots of SPF and no sun for 72 hours,” she says.
Unlike the immediate results you can expect post-Aquagold, this particular laser treatment is best scheduled at least a week before a big event — meaning stars are likely booking theirs at this very moment.
And it’s not just famous ladies hitting up Dr. Ryan Neinstein’s practice ahead of the first Monday in May; per Nurse Tara, about 40% of their patients are men, mostly of whom are opting for lasers or Botox.
“We definitely have a very large male [following] looking to stay glowy and fresh,” she says.
As for which procedures have fallen out of favor?
“People are definitely following trends of the celebrities, so as people start to dissolve fillers, there’s a downtrend in fillers,” Nurse Tara notes.
“I would say people are looking for maintenance, and they’re looking for volume replacement. They’re not looking to augment their face and have huge cheekbones, or a huge chin, so it’s very much a natural approach right now.”
Regardless of the desired outcome, however, Neinstein Plastic Surgery “could not be busier” at the moment.
“We are open the weekend prior [of the Met Gala] and two weekends prior for anyone that wants to come in for that extra glow,” Nurse Tara tells me.
