Bustle's 2025 Beauty Icon Awards: The Next-Gen Skin Pros

At a time when beauty advice is just a scroll away, consumers have become experts in their own right. You see it at Sephora, where teens shop on a mission; you see it on TikTok, where creators share the hacks they’ve learned and dermatologists offer solutions you can try at home. Overall, skin care has never been more accessible — and routines have never been more sophisticated.

What at-home regimens are missing, though, is an expert’s touch. Today, there’s a wave of estheticians leading the charge on just what’s possible behind treatment doors. In a sea of standard facials, these pros are pushing the boundaries with cutting-edge technology, breakthrough ingredients, and innovative techniques that blend time-tested methods with modern science. They’re not just facialists — they’re the future of skin care.

This month, Bustle is shining the spotlight on 10 experts who are making a significant impact in various ways. And though these pros are mostly located in major cities, some offer a piece of their artistry via product lines or intel shared on social media. Even if that isn’t the case, their complexion-boosting savvy is influencing the industry at large.

Ahead, meet the next-gen skin whisperers of Bustle’s 2025 Beauty Icon Awards.

The It-Girl Facialist: Elizabeth Grace Hand

Follow: @elizabethgracehand

Followers: 14.9K

Elizabeth Grace Hand is the visionary facialist behind Ställe Studios, the SoHo sanctuary where bespoke facials deliver the dewy, sculpted “angel glow” skin she’s known for. Her signature treatment — beloved by the likes of Jennifer Lawrence and Alix Earle — blends everything from clinical-grade tools and buccal massage with dermaplaning, growth factors, and Manuka honey masks. Trained at Christine Valmy International School and with experience at L’Oréal’s Dermablend and Dr. Barbara Sturm, her technique combines deep medical knowledge with spa-level luxury. Ställe feels more like your coolest friend’s chic apartment than a clinical office with its Swedish styling, vintage art, and Hermès china, and it’s become a must-visit hotspot for downtown tastemakers.

The Tribeca Skin Savior: Raquel Medina-Cleghorn

Follow: @raquelmedinacleghorn

Followers: 6,767

Raquel Medina‑Cleghorn is your dream facialist: flawless skin, perfect playlists, and outfits you'll want to copy immediately. Her spa Raquel New York is a dreamy oasis tucked away in Tribeca where you can book a range of different treatments: body and foot massages, lymphatic drainage, peels — or one of her transformative facials. In the latter, she’ll incorporate advanced modalities like microcurrent, ultrasound, ProCell microchanneling, LED, buccal massage, and medical‑grade oxygen mist along with deeply intuitive handwork. Whether you’re after sculpted contour, barrier restoration, or just a moment of radiant escape, Medina‑Cleghorn blends smart, research‑driven methods with warmth — making every facial feel both educational and indulgent.

The Face Sculptor: Joseph Carillo

Follow: @sculptedbyjoseph

Followers: 7,149

Joseph Carillo is a bona fide facial sculptor. His renowned treatment, the S.E.L.F. (Sculptural Energetic Lifting Facial) Method, is a non-invasive technique that reshapes facial posture and natural contours via buccal massage, cupping, and acupressure. With a career that began in makeup artistry and evolved into esthetics, he applies decades of sculpting expertise to every session — where he works from the inside-out to release jaw tension, reduce puffiness, and reawaken facial structure. To get one of his treatments is to experience magic: You walk out visibly lifted, more defined, and glowing — results that can last for days (or longer with regular sessions). Carrillo’s technique is deeply intuitive and precise, placing him in a category of his own: not just an esthetician, but a true facial re‑architect.

The Healing Hands: Crystal Greene

Follow: @crystalgreenestudio

Followers: 4,796

Crystal Greene’s greatest tools? Her hands. The Upper East Side-based esthetician relies on her rhythmic massage (influenced by her background in dance) and intuitive technique to release tension, stimulate circulation, and leave skin visibly brighter and more sculpted. Her clients — who include Christy Turlington and Laura Harrier — swear by the results: lifted contours, restored glow, and a sense of calm that lingers well beyond the appointment. At her serene Madison Avenue studio, Greene’s facials are tailored to the individual, blending her signature massage work with high-tech modalities like the Lyma Laser, microcurrent, ultrasound, LED, and oxygen infusions. She also formulates custom serums on the spot using her curated library of over 40 nourishing botanicals to address each client’s goals. The experience feels like a ritualistic reset for both the skin and nervous system.

The Acne Guru: Sofie Pavitt

Follow: @sofiepavitt

Followers: 46.5K

All the skin care obsessives know Sofie Pavitt — the esthetician renowned for her acne expertise and track record for clearing it. Her results-driven approach happens in New York City, where she has two studios (one in Williamsburg, one in Chinatown) stocked with the best in facial tech, including LED, oxygen wands, microcurrent, microdermabrasion, and lasers. Pavitt’s insider knowledge comes from both aesthetic training and hands-on experience shadowing a dermatologist — which is why she’s as skilled with extractions as she is at explaining the science of acne. Her cult-followed product line, Sofie Pavitt Face, recently hit Sephora shelves, making her once-exclusive formulas accessible to a wider audience. Whether you’re dealing with deep congestion, post-breakout scarring, or the occasional hormonal flare-up, Pavitt’s name comes up again and again — for good reason.

The Parisian Fascia Whisperer: Sophie Carbonari

Follow: @sophie_carbonari

Followers: 40.2K

Sophie Carbonari is a Paris‑based facialist whose sculptural massage rituals and plant-powered protocols have earned her a devoted international following — one that includes Naomi Campbell and Rihanna. At her studio overlooking the Jardin du Palais Royal, her signature “Synergy Protocol” combines Japanese Kobido, shiatsu, lymphatic drainage, and Ayurvedic touch techniques to unlock facial tension, enhance circulation, and visibly lift and firm the skin. Her holistic approach takes stress, hormones, and diet into account when customizing facials for each client — proving she views skin care from both a scientific and a sensational lens. With a debut beauty line and buzzy collabs, Carbonari is exporting her touch-first philosophy to a global audience.

The Glow Curator: Kristyn Smith

Follow: @ksmithskin

Followers: 5,036

Kristyn Smith is the quiet force behind some of the best skin in New York — including Bella Hadid’s. At Practise, her Tribeca studio, she offers facials that are as calming as they are transformative. With over two decades of experience (she started in London as a makeup artist before training in medical esthetics in Los Angeles), her approach is equal parts clinical and intuitive. Her signature 90-minute treatment is tailored to each face that comes to visit her, and can include everything from LED to exfoliation and lymphatic drainage. The vibe? Chill, restorative, and radiance-boosting. Smith also runs a nonprofit called 0303, focused on skin education and mental wellness for teens — further proof that she’s as committed to long-term care as she is to short-term glow. In other words: she’s the real deal.

The Wellness-First Skin Healer: Madalaina Conti

Follow: @madalainaconti

Followers: 24.3K

Madalaina Conti is the skin whisperer who knows a true glow starts from within. The wellness-forward esthetician behind Synergistic Skincare, her Park Avenue South studio in New York City, treats the complexion as part of a bigger puzzle that factors in everything from inflammation and oral health to spinal alignment. Her expertise? Inflammatory skin conditions like acne and rosacea, which she addresses through a mix of modalities that include lymphatic drainage, gua sha, and buccal massage, all paired with customized at-home protocols designed for real, lasting results. Her client list reads like reality TV royalty: Amanda Batula and Paige DeSorbo both credit Conti with clearing their acne and transforming their skin (and confidence). For her, it’s not about quick fixes — it’s about long-term healing, which she delivers with a luxe, mindful touch. If your skin’s been through it, Conti’s the pro who can reset the system — not just your face.

The SoHo Skin Architect: Soo-Young Kim Abrams

Follow: @sykskin

Followers: 2,348

A former fashion editor and creative director, Soo-Young Kim Abrams brings that same sharply tuned eye to the treatment room at SYK Skin, her cool SoHo studio that looks more like a thoughtfully designed sanctuary than a spa. Her facials are fully bespoke and designed to actually do something — whether that’s calming a breakout, depuffing your face, or reviving your glow — without leaving your complexion red afterwards. She draws on her knowledge of Korean skin rituals, aesthetics, massage techniques, and high-tech to deliver whatever a client’s face needs on a given day. The goal? Long-term balance, less inflammation, and a serious boost in radiance.

The A-Listers’ Skin Secret: Cynthia Rivas

Follow: @cynthiarivasskincare

Followers: 37.3K

If your dream self-care activity is a facial with a view, Cynthia Rivas is your girl. Her light-filled studio offers an unbeatable scenic view of the Brooklyn Bridge. But it’s not just the location that’s worth lusting after: The celebrity facialist and Chanel Beauty partner — who works with Camila Morrone and Olivia Munn — has a signature treatment that’s truly transformative. With an approach that combines Western and Eastern techniques alongside medical-grade tech (think microcurrent, radiofrequency, and cryotherapy), Rivas tailors each facial to her client’s concerns. After training at Dermalogica Academy and honing her craft in high-end medical spas and dermatology clinics, she’s become a sought-after skin pro who’s called upon to prep A-listers for major events like the Met Gala. She doesn’t just treat skin — she teaches it how to glow.