Christina Ricci On Her “Gravity-Fighting” Skin Care Routine

In Bustle’s Pore Decisions, celebrities, influencers, and Bustle’s own readers recount their personal skin journeys: the good, the bad, and everything in between. Here, Christina Ricci shares her go-to beauty tool and the product she uses to “fight gravity.”

Though Christina Ricci has been starring in blockbuster movies since she was 9 years old, her beauty routine has remained pretty down to earth — in fact, it probably looks a little like yours. When getting her makeup done on set — for her role as, say, Wednesday Addams — she would turn to a tried-and-true staple afterward: makeup wipes.

“I would use that to clean my skin at nighttime, but then I wouldn’t really put anything on it,” she tells Bustle. Eventually, that film-ready makeup began to take its toll, and Ricci says she dealt with acne as a teenager. “That’s when I started putting [acne] treatments on my face and trying to keep it clean,” she says.

Fast-forward to today, and the actor has her skin care regimen down to a science — largely thanks to her longtime dermatologist, Dr. Harold Lancer, with whom she’s now partnered. Thanks to him, the Yellowjackets star has added a trusty exfoliant to her routine, as well as a face cream formulated to tackle her biggest skin concern: gravity.

Here, Ricci chats with Bustle about the first beauty product she bought, the most out-there thing she’s done in the name of skin care, and the most impactful part of her regimen.

On Her Earliest Beauty Memory

“The first time I ever became aware of skin care was when I started traveling with my mother for work as a child. We would stay in hotels, and I would watch her take care of her skin at the end of the night. She always used Pond’s Cold Cream, and she’d use it to remove all her makeup and then she’d put more on as a moisturizer.”

On Her First Skin Care Purchase

“I remember I was 18 and in London making Sleepy Hollow when I went to Harvey Nichols to buy my first night cream. When I was young, I was a little wild; I used to party a lot and smoke cigarettes, and I knew I wasn’t really taking care of my skin in terms of my internal health all that much. So at that age, I was like, ‘Well, I’m going to have to then use anti-aging stuff and night creams and those sorts of things.’

So I started that pretty young. I remember people telling me that I was too young to use this product I bought. It was a Clé de Peau cream — I went very fancy, just because I liked the packaging and the way it smelled. It just seemed like it must be good.”

On Her Most Out-There Beauty Treatment

“I remember reading about people shaving their faces as an exfoliating technique when I was younger. I did that for a little bit and then my mom caught me once and was like, ‘If you shave, you’re going to grow more hair.’ She said I would give myself a mustache if I didn’t stop.”

On Facials

“I’m not a big facial person. I don’t have a lot of patience in life, and just lying there getting a facial drives me crazy. I’m terrible at it. I can barely even get my nails done.”

On Her Go-To Beauty Tool

“I have this thing from FaceGym that I use — it’s one of those microcurrent things. I use it sometimes if I have to attend an event and or came in on a red-eye or am not feeling 100% great about puffiness in my face.”

On Her Skin Care Routine

“As I’ve gotten older, there have been different concerns that I didn’t foresee happening — like gravity. I forgot that gravity was going to start doing things to my face. Because of that, I’ve had to add different things to my routine. I use Lancer’s Gravity-Defying Moisturizer for lifting and tightening everything up and trying to keep everything where it’s supposed to be.

“I’ve also added different serums, like the Triple Peptide serum. I also use retinol, which I think is really effective and helpful.

“I think exfoliating is really huge. Something that I just love so much and use every day is the Lancer Method Polish. I get so sad if they ever take it from me at the TSA. It’s the most effective exfoliator that’s not too harsh on your skin and just really, really nice. It makes such a difference. You can see it right after you use it.”