Courtney Applebaum, AGNP-C, Daxxify, PRF, Alexis Page, tinned fish, microplastics, Ray Peat, NEAT, microneedling, Les Roches Rouge, Aufguss, Nolita Dirtbag, cold plunge…

Hi, welcome back to High Touch after hours. A good time to talk all things aesthetics and longevity, don’t you think? It’s been a month of me doing stuff to my face—Daxxify and PRF at LA’s famed Contrapposto and microneedling with PRP at one of the NY chain clinics you keep hearing about, and a visit to the clout sauna (all very par for the course). Plus we hear from about implementing a strict sardine regimen into his diet. Sami has been on the “dark nutrition” beat for years before it earned itself a NYT trend story, so he’s exactly the person I would take seriously about this kind of stunt.

All of that below the fold, but first, what’s happening in this little “dark biology” world of ours.

A touch of High Touch

• I stopped by Lore this week—and write about it below—where I got an early preview of an excellent USM Furniture link-up between the bathing club, New Balance, and modular home goods brand: a cold plunge with attached deck built from the iconic chrome pipes and solid panels. Lore activated the plunge at a NY marathon event over the weekend while at the same time previewing a DSM x NB shoe, which cites Dover Street Market as a third collaborator, which is yet to launch. The sports-lifestyle-recovery synapses are firing.

• I was sent a WHOOP recently and realized on opening the box that I would never wear one. Even my Oura is becoming a visual hindrance. Anyway, I think wearables know their gadgety look needs to evolve—there’s one highly compelling-to-me expression of which I can tell you about on Friday. WHOOP, in the meantime, has collaborated with British designer Samuel Ross on a couple of bands that, while still techy, I guess lend that oomph of a cool creative agency. Also, a few “technical puffer” jackets, “performance bras,” and other apparel to round out the collection.

• New biometrics-to-prescriptions membership Aerwell launches. It’s like…peptides plus DEXA plus VO2 Max testing plus hormone therapy plus IV drips plus Botox? Lots of things that make sense in these pages, but which make even more sense in Las Vegas, where the subscription is launching first, in partnership with Everhaus, a physical wellness club also from founder Justin Hibbert.

Light touch

Facial balancing at Contrapposto

“The Row of aesthetics” they say, which I’ll reluctantly corroborate now that I’ve visited. It’s a sort of desperate superlative, but it telegraphs a few true things: first off, that the space was designed by Courtney Applebaum, who also did The Row’s Melrose Place store. So there’s a décoratif streak that runs through both, and it’s a lovely clinic to spend time in. I think what the phrase is supposed to shorthand is a restrained approach, where fashion half of this equation lends embellishment sparingly, and the cosmetic end, represented by Contrapposto founder and AGNP-C Casey Axelrod-Welk, is conservative with injectables.

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Barrier function, acid mantle, microbiome, fibroblast function, mitochondrial function, extracellular matrix, senescence, transepidermal water loss, glycation, happiness, purpose, community, pH balance, caratenoids, estradiol, copper peptides…

Hi! Welcome back to High Touch. When I launched this newsletter, multiple people reached out to me unprompted to tell me I had to speak to Kristina Holey. Cold emails, pulling me aside at events. It happened a lot. Kristina, a cosmetic chemist and skincare consultant, was framed to me as the thing that finally made a difference in people’s—sometimes lifelong—battles with their problematic skin.

Kristina formulates products for Marie Veronique, a philosophically in-step brand, but her consultations are a class of their own in a skin-support strategy that might also include a facialist, dermatologist, injector, acupuncturist, surgeon; she is the foremost topicals authority. We discuss the eight components of skin that can be addressed by product (and in which order), how to spot a real skincare brand as opposed to a marketing vehicle, diet-as-skincare myths, ingredient lists being enormously misleading, AI (inevitably), her network of trusted aestheticians in New York and California…lots more.

The full video interview is above, and our conversation’s highlights are transcribed below. Ignore the pimple under my eye that emerged right on time for this call, naturally! But first, what else is up in our aesthetic, longevity world:

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Laura Reilly: How do you describe what you do, and how did you arrive at this place?

Kristina Holey: I think of myself as a product designer. I work with a company called Marie Veronique and have for about 10 years—with the R&D department and designing skincare products. I'm also a skin health specialist and have been doing that for a little bit longer than working in the product world. I started off by building a business where I worked with women specifically with symptomatic skin. So, anything that related to inflammatory skin conditions was what was naturally coming to me in terms of clients that were wanting my support. I still work one day a week with clients. I do only virtual consultations, I don't see anyone in person.

My way into the industry was indirect. I wanted to be a perfumer. I went to school for engineering first, and then I did my Master’s in perfume chemistry and cosmetic chemistry in France. It was really my dream to be a niche perfumer. What I loved about the beauty industry was this ability of transformation, and fragrance was interesting to me because it was this medium in which you could communicate invisibly—you could transform your being in this secret way. I did start a little consulting company in Paris where I would go into people’s apartments and get to know their lifestyle, about their health, what they like, what made them feel beautiful, and then I would make them little trios of fragrances.

I got sideswept into skin in Paris by this woman who has a skin care center. Her name is Joëlle Ciocco, she still has it and it's very elite and crazy. Her treatments are like €3,000. She's a biochemist and we went to the same program for cosmetic chemistry. She brought me in as her intern; I had the intention of working in her lab and helping her with the formulation of her products, but then she convinced me to work in her center. I sat for an entire year in a chair next to her and watched her work with people, with the skin. I was really taken by that and her because it made me realize how complex the skin is—all the psychology and the emotional side that is involved with helping people feel beautiful. What an honor it is to have that role in working with primarily women.

After working with her I moved to New York and I started a practice there. I had never gone to school to become an aesthetician, but I started an aesthetician practice, which was a bit complicated because I didn't have a license or anything. I convinced the New York board of cosmetology that I had eight years of chemistry and biology and that I could sufficiently practice on people's skin and they gave me a license. It just kept evolving from that. I moved to California and I met Marie. We co-formulated a line specifically for my clients. This was about 10 years ago. And then our relationship really grew and kept getting stronger.

LR: When someone comes to you for a consultation, what is that top-down approach? Where do you start? What is the full scope of areas that you try to address?

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Blood draws, HIPAA, private clubs, protein popcorn, mental health days, J.Lo, Shake Shack, melatonin, speed balls, botox, exosomes, Forma pilates, contrast therapy, fat transfer, Loub jobs, knee tucks, Minnie Mouse, vocal cords, testosterone shots, Function, skinny jeans…

Hi, and welcome back to High Touch! Very excited about today’s feature, and frankly feeling quite smug about the dream team I assembled to talk about a pressing subject: what the rich and famous are doing to look like that. We’ve got the holy trifecta of Derek Blasberg, Carson Griffith, and Dr. Amanda Kahn on the horn (actually, in a newly formed and already-mischievous group chat) to divulge some of their institutional wisdom on the matter. Below the fold, you’ll learn whether you like it or not what a “Loub job” is and the ideal age for a facelift, according to one famous plastic surgeon. (I hate it.)

Before you scroll, though, I wanted to share that High Touch now has its own dedicated chat on Substack that is already brimming with intel. We have dermatologists commenting on Sculptra, PFRM injector recs in NY, Nefertiti lifts in the Bay Area, at-home laser device links, a whole thread of fixes for perioral dermatitis, and more. I’m leaving the chat open to all for the first two weeks and then moving it to paid subscriber-only.

Here’s what else is happening in our world of aesthetics and longevity:

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Laura Reilly

Hi everyone! Laura Reilly here. Thank you all for joining me tonight for this after-hours roundtable to discuss what the rich and famous are doing to look like *that*. With us in the chat we have , , and . I know I’ve said this already to each of you individually, but I seriously couldn’t dream up a better group of people to have this conversation with!

Let’s just jump right in. Can everyone introduce themselves and share what makes them qualified to speak to the aesthetic and longevity pursuits of the rich and famous? (Or why you think I asked you to participate?)

Love that. I’m Carson Griffith, I’ve been a New York-based journalist for 17 years (does that age me or what) for every publication you can think of, from The New York Times to the New Yorker, and earlier this year I started a newsletter called —or RPS as we all like to call it—inspired by the topics that I’ve been writing in said publications. Those can be everything from peptides to plastic surgery, fashion to finance. And I love to talk about them, too.

Sure thing! I’m Dr. Amanda Kahn. I’m a board-certified internist and I run a private advanced primary care and longevity practice on Park Ave. A lot of my patients are people with significant resources, very demanding careers, and access to essentially anything they want in health and aesthetics. My job is often actually the opposite of giving them more…it’s figuring out what is evidence-based, what is promising, what is marketing, and what they absolutely do not need.

I also think I have an interesting vantage point because I’m both a physician in this world and personally very interested in longevity, aesthetics, fitness and optimization. So I understand why people want to experiment, but I also know where the guardrails need to be. I was also born and raised in Manhattan. I’ve known Carson for 15 years (gasp!) and Derek, we have met briefly in the past but have loads of friends in common :)

Howdy, everyone! Derek Blasberg here. I’m a New York-based writer and editor. I flew back from Paris to New York today, so I’ll be nice and delirious for this chat. And I’m a few minutes late because my five-year-old twins are not being cooperative about their bedtime!

I have to confess that I don’t have a lot of first-person experience with this topic. I was born and raised in America’s Midwest on a steak-and-potatoes diet. I didn’t even know what kale or sushi was until I moved to New York! I also have zero brand loyalty when it comes to beauty products—the vast majority of the lotions and potions in my bathroom came from swag bags and influencer mailers.

That said, I’m an avid spectator of pretty people, so happy to share what (and who) I’ve seen working (and not working). I’ll also be taking notes

Laura

My first question to you all: There’s a common social media trope where someone will post a photo of a celebrity and ask, “how do they look so good?” And every comment is just: “Money.” What does that actually mean in practice?

Derek

Are you referring to those memes that say, “You’re not ugly, you’re poor.” Cuz those are terrible! Also, they’re hysterical.

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Queen Helene, Magic Molecule, toe spacers, Rohto, Chris vitamins, sermorelin, DHEA, clomiphene, vegan diet, Lunesta, OxyContin, Neighborhood Barbers, Kristy Godso, cold plunge, LASIK, lavender spray, hot girl alarm clock, Brick…

Hi from High Touch! Today we’re back with a fresh questionnaire (yes, so soon!) from a source a lot of you will be interested in hearing from. Chris Black is the first guy to come on the pod to talk aesthetics and longevity. If you know anything about Chris, you know he always brings his takes—on pimple stickers, ketamine in doctors’ offices, bottled water at restaurants—but he’s also very much about this life and, seemingly, down to try anything with a net health positive.

So, today you’ll learn from Chris about maintaining moisturized eyes, mastering the Wim Hof method, finding the concierge doc he’s referred half a dozen clients to, being the second freak I’ve interviewed here who does bloody wet cupping (with the same practitioner as , no less), the challenges of Lanserhof, the joys of sobriety, and so much more. But first, what’s bubbling up in the High Touch universe this week:

A touch of High Touch

• Custom skincare platforms have been around for a while (Musely, Nurx), but a new one, Cottonball, wants to merge that world with the world of luxury beauty. It tapped Ron Robinson, who made products for Clinique, La Mer, and Rhode, for its formulations; the intended outcome combines the clinical efficacy of ingredients like tret, azelaic, estriol, and rapamycin and a pleasantness of use that’s been missing from the previous gen. The packaging design would fit right in at Happier Grocery.

• Technogym, the fitness equipment company that satisfies both my workout and design inclinations, launched a Pilates reformer this week aimed at the high-end resorts and HNW households it typically serves (the machine costs almost $14,000). I will probably never have one in my house, but Technogym has the kind of pull that if I saw it listed among the amenities of a hotel I was considering staying in, it would move the needle; if I saw the reformer and the hotel offered classes / privates, that’s something I would seriously consider as a schedule simplifier during a busy FW trip or something like that.

• The sunscreen ingredient bemotrizinol that became the first new SPF ingredient approved in the US in decades this summer is finally trickling onto mass market shelves: Neutrogena’s Ultra Sheer Daily Face Sunscreen, $18, and its Clear Face Sunscreen Acne-Prone Skin Broad Spectrum SPF, $18, are both legit made-for-US-consumer products now sold on Amazon. Ultra Violette’s Unblock Screen SPF 50, $40, is the niche option.

• We’re making gut supplements from human breastmilk now. You’ve probably heard at least bits and pieces of the breastfed-vs-formula health dialogue, and kēpos is basically the inevitable outcome of that; think of it like colostrum but from from human-derived oligosaccharides that are being used to manage IBS. Worth a shot if other interventions haven’t helped much.

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At-Home Products

Skincare / SPF

I don't really do a whole lot. I think like most guys, if you live with a woman, you have access to stuff that you wouldn't buy yourself. I helped my friend Drew start a brand called Margin, so I use that cleanser. There's a moisturizer as well that I really like—it's just simple and it smells good. For whatever reason, I've used eye cream since I was in high school. I don't know why. When I was at the height of my drug use, before I go to bed, I'm putting on eye cream. I used Kiehl’s back in the day, but now I use the Aesop one because I like the way it smells. I don't need anything super technical. If I have to use sunscreen—I really don't like to, which I know is bad—I use Augustinus Bader. If I'm going to do a mask, I like the Biologique Recherche one that smells bad. I still use Queen Helene masks—it’s, like, CVS shit, but it just feels like it works. If I do a sheet mask, we use 111Skin. They’re really nice.

Haircare + scalp health

People think I’m crazy because I have a shaved head, but I shampoo and condition twice a day, because I shower twice a day. It just feels good. I use Santa Maria Novella, they make a shampoo for men that’s sort of for the whole body. The scent is Melograno, I love it. I’ve used it forever. Then I’ll use conditioner. I’ll use Nécessaire or Aesop, depending on how I’m feeling that day.

Bodycare

Magic Molecule: It’s one of those things, it actually already exists in your body, but it heals things faster. If you spray it on a cut or anything, it heals it quite quickly. I spray it on my face a couple times a day, almost like a rose water or something. It feels refreshing, but it also has healing properties.

Hands / feet / nails

I have a real issue with feeling moisturized. I don't like that feeling. I have every hand cream under the sun in this house—I have the Santa Maria Novella, I have the Aesop, I have the Frama, have them all. And I’ll do it if my hands hurt, but otherwise I’m like, I can’t. I tragically bite my fingernails, so that’s kind of off limits. Mondays, if my schedule aligns, I take a Chris day and I take a CitiBike to the East Village. I get my haircut and then I get a pedicure. I get a pedicure every two weeks, probably. I think that as a man, your feet are inherently gross, especially if you exercise. The least you can do is get a pedicure. It costs forty bucks, it’s fine. There’s nothing emasculating about it at all.

Eyes

I use those eye drops, they're Japanese, Rohtos. I buy three packs at a time on Amazon. I keep them in the refrigerator. I have a refrigerator in our house that’s my film, my peptides, and my eyedrops, and that’s my zone. I’ll use eye patches if there’s something coming up, like if I’m getting my picture taken. I’ll do those in the morning and those will be Augustinus Bader as well.

Oral health

I’m pretty old school. I really like to try new toothpastes, though. I’ll try any flavor of Marvis. When I go to Italy, I buy different flavors to try. I love giving those as gifts, too. I use the Marvis whitening toothpaste. I use Marvis toothbrushes as well. I use the Marvis mouthwash, too. I really like it. Even though they say it’s bad for you. There’s a lot of debate about mouthwash, but I like the way it feels.

Fragrance

I’m a big fragrance person, but I only wear one and I’ve worn it for probably 12 years: Wonderwood by Comme des Garçons. I don’t believe in switching up for the seasons. I love it. I honestly feel like I get a compliment on it every day, still. I wanted to talk about this new deodorant I got, from Taylor of Old Bond Street. I was with my friend Osman in London and we were doing some shopping. It’s like an old men’s barber shop, it’s a sweet tobacco scent and I recently ordered three sticks. I love it and it’s something I’m happy to import to add to my regimen.

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Ciele, Biodance, Chris McMillan, bare nails, gap tooth, social cryotherapy, Oura ring, perimenopause, Quince, testosterone cream, “Olsen water,” GABA, MAHA, weighted vest, Galleri, Lanserhof, blackout shades…

Happy Labor Day, and welcome back to High Touch. Today’s guest is Kate Young, the celebrity and editorial stylist even your non-fashion friends know to admire and fear. We connected at a dinner a few weeks ago when she shared some strong thoughts about the ‘taking things into your own hands’ approach a lot of people have around health these days (even in the pages of High Touch…). She puts it best when she tells me, “I believe in science.”

There are a lot of reasons to listen to today’s episode with Kate, not least of which to hear about her network of doctors and the changes she’s made to her lifestyle in order to feel this good. But also, she looks great—exactly how she wants to look, not a generic version of great—and is very candid about what she’s done and does to achieve that. Plus, she’s genuinely laugh-out-loud hilarious. Like, I was losing it on the rewatch and I told her as much.

So—full interview above, cheat sheet below. But first, what else is happening in our world:

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At-Home Products

Makeup

I spend a lot of my time with clients getting ready for events. I have to sit opposite them so they don’t turn their head to talk to me. I end up watching them get their makeup done. It’s made me obsessed because you can see the differences in what people do, the differences in what people use, the difference it’s making. I do think it changes everything. The Ciele sunscreen tint, it’s so good. I love Rhode bronzer and Rhode blush. There’s a mascara for eyebrows, GrandeBROW 2-in-1, it makes your eyebrows grow but also tints them. I line the upper waterline of my eyes with NYX, the cheapest waterproof. The Chanel waterproof is amazing, Hung Vanngo makes one that’s amazing. I don’t have very many eyelashes, so if I line the upper waterline, it gives the illusion that there’s a solid lash line there.

Skincare / SPF

I use Anthelios SPF 50 with Mexoryl. It’s a flat rectangular bottle that is spectacular. If I’m going out to run or walk, or I’m not doing anything where I need to look more presentable, I wear that. If I’m going to the beach or going to be outside, I wear that under the Ciele. I use Drunk Elephant cleanser in the shower in the morning, it’s so simple and it’s just great. And I use their Vitamin C serum, which I know there are more modern ones on the market. That’s my favorite. I use Augustinus Bader, The Rich Cream, and at night I use Tatcha cleansing oil to take off makeup or sunscreen. I use a DNA repair serum from Neova, which is supposed to cure DNA damage from the sun, and I’ve been using that for two years; I have the serum for my body, too. I love the idea of repairing all the damage. At night, I use Altreno, which is a prescription tretinoin.

I love Korean skincare. I don’t do well with essential oils and fragrance and traditional ‘rich lady’ products make me break out. All the Korean stuff is unscented and non-reactive. I love Torriden. I have their Dive In serum. I use their masks. Biodance makes amazing masks. I can’t sleep in them, but I’ll wear them if I’m working from home because you have to wear them for four hours. Anua makes an azelaic acid serum—apparently the retinoid and azelaic acid combination is the secret to beauty, so I’m working on that. At night I use an estrogen cream, which I use on my neck, backs of my hands, and my under eyes. Originally my dermatologist prescribed it, but then Linda Wells told me about Alloy, which is a very nice texture, so I use that.

Haircare + scalp health

My hair is very bleached, so I use a lot. I really like K-18. I feel like that’s been amazing for my hair not breaking. Oribe, their Gold Lust shampoo and conditioner are sort of my standby. I really like a mask once a week or something. I’ll put it on in the morning, slick my hair back, leave it all day, rinse it out. I’ll use whatever I get for free, but I got an Olaplex mask and it’s excellent. It’s super heavy. I like the Roz hair oil, it smells really good and makes my ends really nice. Chris McMillan makes this amazing little mascara wand that you can get edges with if your hair’s back. I don’t do anything for scalp care. I bleach my hair every six weeks and my scalp is often bleeding after.

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Geothermal springs, Epsom salt, Jacuzzi, lithium, grounding, kidney stones, cystoscopy, CT, pelvic floor therapy, microneedling, PRP, Eric Nietzel, WSA, Sant Roch, sauna, cold plunge, Bal d’Afrique…

Hellooo, welcome to High Touch. In this month’s edition of In Vivo, me and my group chats cover a lot of ground from low, medium, and high-touch endeavors to squarely medical concerns. Vesper Ireland talks mineral absorption at hot springs on the side of the highway in rural Colorado, Gray Broderick—our resident Parisian lifestyle correspondent—is back with a report on Sant Roch, the city’s most talked-about sauna, and I share what I think is the most brilliant bang for your buck when it comes to microneedling with PRP.

Today, we also have our first anonymous contributor (I know this person personally but they have chosen not to identify themselves here), discussing their experience with kidney stone removal. It’s a degree removed from our usual beat, but feels just as important and likely relatable to readers who’ve struggled to get a diagnosis, jumped from second to third opinions and ultimately to the ER, and felt confused about pain and discomfort amid an incredibly healthy lifestyle.

Are you up to anything aesthetically or longevity-wise that would make a good fit for this vertical? Hit me up. But first, here’s what we’re spotting with LASIK’ed eyes and contemplating with nootropic’ed minds this week:

Low Touch

Penny hot springs in Aspen, CO

Wellness in the American West brings forth a landscape of extremes; holistic, often esoteric practices on one side, and artificial advancements on the other.

Deep in the West, away from the 5G, LTE (really any form of cell service) that connects us to constant self-assessment and the latest treatments or tweakments, there is a primitive version of wellness so raw and real that it feels unknown to modern society.

Enter: the geothermally heated, naturally mineral-rich pools seated in Coloradan backcountry. The original Epsom salt bath. Earth providing the blueprint for what we know and love as the Jacuzzi.

On a recent trip to Aspen (with Laura), we sought out a pristine roadside hot spring. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a small group of other travelers, clean but rudimentary surroundings, and deep, steamy pools. While most springs have been built around and “resortified,” this one felt like an untouched treasure.

I sat in the mineral-laden, 100°+ pools, in awe of the constant rushing stream of hot water, and eased into a state of relaxation usually only achievable via 90-minute massage.

Aside from the mental-health benefits of daytripping to a remote locale, magnesium, sodium, manganese, calcium, and lithium were among the trace minerals that we absorbed transdermally during our soak. Although some sources say that the benefits pale in comparison to an at-home magnesium bath, I felt otherwise after our experience. Perhaps the consistent grounding, fresh mountain air, and the straight-from-the-source minerals all blend together as a powerful, restorative force.

I left wondering when I might experience something like it again. There was nothing to upgrade, optimize, or improve upon; no amount of money could manufacture what the land had already perfected. It simply existed, untouched and complete, there for us to enjoy.

– Vesper Ireland

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Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, Prenuvo, MRI, radiologists, propranolol, Penn Station, Arrested Development, NASA, heterogeneous fibroglandular tissue, adenomyosis, PMOS, Superpower, SimonMed…

Hi! Welcome back to High Touch. I think the first person I saw run a Prenuvo ad was Gabriella Karefa-Johnson? Memorable spon con from a fashion person back in 2023. Only after that did I learn Kim Kardashian had also done one, and only much later did I have any desire to do one myself. I’m lucky that my overall reaction to receiving my Prenuvo results was, “huh.”

Today, I write about my experience with the “influencer MRI,” share details on my 9 minor and 2 moderate findings, and answer some of the top questions I got when I offered up an AMA about the scan to my channels. The service is not uncontroversial, and the radiologist community reached out to me with pretty impassioned takes along the approval continuum. I, too, have my thoughts.

All that below, but first, what’s happening in the touchy, luxury, long-living world of High Touch…

A touch of High Touch

• Those interested in the aesthetics of aesthetics would be well-served to keep an eye on System, a peptide telehealth platform that’s drawing attention to its first-to-market moves like building out a 14,000-square-foot US-based compounding facility through enthralling video shorts such as “American Summer.” It’s hosting at dinner at Polo Bar this week to launch “Guided,” possibly a follow-up film project, possibly some other “bespoke brand experience.” It currently sells NAD+, glutathione, and topical Ghk-CU, among other FDA-approved compounds and is clearly throwing shoulders to carve out a top spot for when the barrage of sexier, hotly anticipated ‘tides (Reta, BPC-157, TB-500) get cleared, as they seem on track to be any week now.

• An entirely unexpected Magasin-High Touch crossover moment, the lingerie multi-brand store Journelle has pivoted to cosmetic services via JournelleSkin, its new clinic just off Washington Square Park. The platform where I once reliably shopped for strapless 32DD bras and other such intimate rarities now offers up Botox, Xerf, PFRN, and areola reconstruction. Truly the works.

• On the skincare-ish front: Skinceuticals’ industry-standard vitamin C, E, and ferulic patent lapsed, so it came out with a new-gen version with added Carnosine and Endophytol™; Dr. Diamond’s Metacine releases a plumping peptide lip product; new brand Tome launches with its BioNeedle treatment—a mask with microscopic spicules that enhance absorption; and Parëva rolls out an eye serum combining peptides, collagen fragments, growth factors, triple lipids, ceramides, multi-weight hyaluronic acids, and clinically studied botanicals.

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Getting scanned

I hadn’t slept well the night before, only like 5 hours or something…I wasn’t consciously anxious about it but you know how these things go. A bit groggy and agitated, I took two propranolol pills that I keep in my medicine cabinet for blunting the edge on public speaking events. Beta blockers like propranolol were originally released as blood pressure medication and have since also been indicated by the FDA for social use cases like work presentations or, for me, welcome remarks at co-hosted dinners (lol). It turns out they are also appropriate for, uhhh, voluntary claustrophobic situations, needing to stay perfectly still inside a metal tube for an hour, etc.

Prenuvo’s clinic is a couple blocks from Penn Station, and it feels vaguely like a VC dental chain with light-wood paneling and internet furniture. I balked when the receptionist who checked me in asked me to pull from memory the name of the Netflix show or Spotify playlist I wanted to play while getting scanned. Who just knows that kind of thing! Especially the sedated throngs showing up at this front desk. I defaulted to Arrested Development.

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Nutrafol, Zoï, Function Health, Quest, oral swabs, InBody, LLMs, cycle tracking, P5P, Sculptra, Prenuvo, lion’s mane, Oura, BPC-157, mood journal, Accutane, IGF-1, Pubmed, bimagrumab, Eight Sleep, Dr. Derya Unutmaz, Apple Health, Github…

Hi! Welcome back to High Touch. Today I’m writing about one of the other tabs that’s always open on my browser, in addition to this one and the MyTheresa new-in page: the Claude chat where I store all of my health and aesthetics data.

To quote a stat from memory, personal health is one of the fastest growing uses for LLMs, and companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are investing heavily in their biology teams. But in an informal survey I conducted via texts to friends, only one in nine is using AI in this way. Below is how I use it. Not necessarily the best way or the right way, just a case study of one such approach.

But first, thoughts and feelings from the High Touch universe.

A touch of High Touch

• We bought a set of electronic cupping tools recently—these ones from Revo—and my back has become a landscape of red and purple crop circles, the deepest of which indicating where my fascia is tightest. They’re <$100, a cheap and instant knot-relief alternative to WTHN’s $120 per-session fee.

• Allergan Aesthetics, maker of Botox (the official brand), introduced a new fast-onset, short-term neuromodulator called Boey, which just got approved for use in Europe. Visible in as little as eight hours, lasts as long as three weeks. Think of it as an event-prep treatment, if you can’t wait the typical 5-7 day period for traditional ‘tox to kick in. Not yet FDA-approved, but already available in some clinics in the US if you know where to look.

• Paging ! Casio (yes) launches a…ring watch that can track heart rate, blood oxygen, and sleep, record running, walking, and cycling workouts, and follows menstrual cycles. It costs $294 and is currently only available in China.

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My routine used to consist of taking Nutrafol and getting botox a few times a year. As my protocol became more informed and complex, my management system needed to be more sophisticated, too.

It started after my Zoï medical review (a French luxury health check-up, I documented my visit and data previously for High Touch). There were minerals I was supposed to take in the mornings while fasted, and others I was to take with food, hours away from other prescribed micronutrients. There were supplement courses that lasted weeks, others months, and others indefinitely. Some on alternating days, some only on weekdays, some only on the first of the month, some only during certain days of my cycle. I was advised to schedule specialist appointments and follow-up bloodwork over staggered time frames.

I organized this info into a Google Doc that was part visual pill organizer, part wall calendar. This worked fine for a while.

Six months later, I signed up for Function Health, an out-of-pocket biometrics platform with group-negotiated pricing, and ran an additional 153 biomarker tests. Results started to trickle into my Function app’s data tab, and then the full panel was in—including a new suite of supplement recommendations, each with their own rules. Now all together, I had pages upon pages of health documents from Function, Zoï, self-purchased Quest labs, and years of annual physicals. Not just bloodwork and urinalysis, but DEXA scans, oral swabs, InBody scores, bio-ages, autonomic readings, etc.

The numbers were siloed and not speaking to each other, just sitting in a folder on my laptop.

If everyone in 2026 is a coder, I am a luddite. And yet, I turned to Claude. I had it code me an artifact that could ingest, preserve, and demystify my entire medical records and dynamic treatment plan. What it created was a single, self-contained HTML file where all of my data is stored, which I keep open in a Claude tab on my browser.

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Buccal facial massage, TMJ, physical therapy, MOCEAN, fight or flight, radiofrequency, Morpheus8, Thermage, DENSITY, UV damage, Shafer Clinic, Dr. Macrene Alexiades, collagen production, osteopathy, Porsche, Yinova Center, TCM, acupuncture…

Can you believe it? It’s In Vivo time again. In case you need reminding, IV is our monthly franchise about what the High Touch community are getting up to across the worlds of aesthetics and longevity—i.e. what my group chats are actually doing.

In today’s send, a lot of journeys are launching. Most of what’s worth doing in this space isn’t one-and-done, it takes reps. begins a months-long physical therapy process to rediscover her parasympathetic state, I recap a deeply restorative introductory acupuncture session and share initial findings from my adventure with the device that Dr. Macrene says “prevents the need for surgery”, and Broderick shares the Parisian lymphatic masseuse who “finely tunes the body like a vintage Porsche”—the one she tells me is THE lymphatic guy everyone in the know goes to.

But first, a few conversation starters from the High Touch universe.

Journeys

Holistic physical therapy with MOCEAN

I’ve been an anxious person all my life, but once I hit my 30s, the physical consequences have officially started to announce themselves. The worst part is having this persistent clenched jaw. It’s messing up my teeth; it’s leaving me with constant neck pain and headaches. I’ve tried everything from acupuncture to buccal facial massages to TMJ treatments to regular physical therapy to a completely souped up exercise regimen. Everyone eventually tells me that, at the end of the day, I just need to “stop stressing out” lol.

Finally, on the recommendation of , I made an introductory appointment with MOCEAN (which they comped, courtesy of being a FOC—friend of Chris), and I’m feeling hopeful. As part of my initial evaluation, they did all these tests and scans that showed how my posture is making everything 1,000% worse (see scan above). Okay, fair! But there was also a lot of “data” from these tests showing that my nervous system is out of whack, that I’m spending far too much time in “fight or flight” mode versus “rest and digest” mode, which checks out. It felt validating, somehow, to see my inner chaos bear out on all those charts and tests. (For example, it turns out that, even laying down on a Thursday afternoon, my breathing patterns more so resemble that of a rabbit running for her life.)

I’m going to try out a couple of months of membership to access MOCEAN’s physical therapy in addition to their various recovery/optimization protocols, hopefully to enact some kind of factory reset to my nervous system. Even typing that sentence out makes me pretttttty skeptical enough of myself. I’m not usually one to get some crazy machines and equipment get involved, and honestly, I simply can’t afford anything longterm with them. But after that first session, I can’t deny that I left feeling wildly gooey and relaxed. It’s been a week since, and I can tell I’ve been sleeping better (and deeper), and at least seem to have a greater awareness for how I’m holding myself. Cross your fingers for me?

–

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Photobiomodulation, Harvard, natural sun, XERF, microwave, stem cells, ZenTite, Macrene Actives, sleep, snail mucin, Mad Cow, K-beauty, Pico Genesis, Neutrogena…

Welcome back to High Touch. You’ve seen Dr. Macrene Alexiades’ name in this newsletter before, when she balanced and brightened my face in all of 10 minutes of sitting in her clinic for PRF injections.

When we met for the first time a couple of months ago, I was bowled over by her—her three Harvard degrees, her pioneering work in so many of the most presently relevant aesthetic technologies, her time management??? She somehow writes textbooks, produces a podcast, has a skincare line, and still lives a fabulous, cosmopolitan lifestyle on top of running her practice. It has to be said that her eye for facial harmony, something that can’t be taught, makes all of those qualifications that much more pressing. After her inclusion in May’s procedure round-up, I had a handful of people who have access to the best providers in the world reach out to say they also see Dr. Macrene.

On a subsequent stop by her Upper East Side practice, I spoke with Dr. Macrene about her background, her philosophy, the common traps in cosmetic dermatology, plus what’s worth the money—the new, virtually painless intervention that’s staving off facelifts, say. Super actionable insights from her ahead, but first, some news from the High Touch universe lately:

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Laura Reilly: How do you describe what you do, and how did you get here?

Macrene Alexiades: I was an artist. I started doing portraits of family and friends as early as three years old. When I was a little bit older, I realized I had been drawing profiles. My mom was an artist and I basically watched how she would draw faces. I started to emulate her and copy the way she was drawing and painting and whatnot. The other thing that really captivated my attention was nature and science. Before I went to school, when I was really young, I put toothpicks in the garden, tracing the path of ants. I noticed that ants always followed the same circuitous path. Even though I was such a small child, I recognized that they were sending signals.

About 16 years later, I was in a Harvard auditorium with E.O. Wilson, a very famous animal and behavioral scientist, saying that they had discovered that ants release pheromones, invisible signals when they find food, and they meander their way back to the hill. All the ants use that random, bizarre pathway, it’s never the fastest or the straightest, but it is the pathway. It’s so cool that I figured that out when I was a kid. That was the competing parts of my mind. It was the artistic side, and then this science and math side. This continued throughout my childhood—I was winning science fairs, but I was also painting portraits.

In high school, I was already in a lab; I was working on plant molecular biology and insect biology. When I got to Harvard, I started as a biochem major. I switched to bio, but the first thing I did was go into a lab. I was working on insect development, finding non-toxic modes of insect control. My idea, which started years prior, was oral contraceptive for insects. It was really brilliant. Then I moved into another lab on plant molecular biology—I did five years on photo regulation, which is light regulation of genes. I started to become an expert on plant biology, photo biology, hence me being a laser specialist.

I ended up in medicine ultimately. I thought I could keep art as a hobby, and I couldn’t. So what I do now, which is basically injectables, lasers, developing technologies—it’s my art, and it’s my gift. I was so good at portraiture, I’m so good at seeing the beauty in the human form and in the world, but mainly the human form. I think that I found a way to give that gift back.

LR: I'm interested in photobiology. I've heard that sitting under LED lights is a crisis waiting to happen, because we're spending so much time indoors and not in natural light.

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Biologique Recherche, Timeline, Dr. Scholl’s, Lumify, WSA, Invisalign, Kaitlin Phillips, compression boots, Metagenics, liposomal phospholipid complex, methylene blue, progesterone, oxytocin, Ballerina Farm, Ashley Javier, wet cupping…

Welcome back to High Touch. Did you even notice we took Independence Day off? That’s wellness. Before I even launched this newsletter, people were telling me I had to talk to . She was, apparently, the beauty industry’s Swiss army knife, a Leónese fountain of knowledge, and at least as enthralled with the worlds of aesthetics and longevity—high tech and low, low brow and high—as I.

Today’s send is the outcome of that inevitable yet still entirely engrossing meeting: a nearly 2-hour interview, which you can watch in full above or read in highlights via her questionnaire below. It’s really good. Surprising and full of threads to pull and refreshingly honest about everything from hand cream to hormones to calisthenics to “RFK-coded” supplements that did for her what other interventions couldn’t.

But first, a few things heard, spotted, injected???? maybe??? in the High Touch universe this week:

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At-Home Products

Skincare

I do product development. I make skincare formulas. I test lab samples. When I’m sick of testing and I need to go back to simplicity, I go back to Biologique Recherche every time. I like a lot of drugstore stuff. Currently I’m using this really lame Cocokind face wash that I’ve written about. I just like the texture and the feel of it. I’ve been using a lot of Timeline products which I think are interesting. I’ve been using the new Goop vitamin C that I think is maybe the best vitamin C I’ve ever tried. I’m loyal to very few things. All the versions of P50 that every brand puts out, it’s not P50.

Haircare

Hair is the one thing that I’ve never gotten quite a handle on. I did the Harklinikken program for a few years. I was using their shampoo and conditioner and then their growth…it’s not even a serum, it’s like a weird liquid. It’s a very annoying process which I do think worked, and then I kind of fell off of it last summer and I need to get back on. Once in a while I have a craving for the Christophe Robin scalp scrub, I’ll have a jar of it that lives in my shower for, like, two years. I’m getting into hair masks, another thing Jen Brill turned me onto. I’ve become obsessed with bonding treatments—like a thing that you spray on before you shower, let it soak in for an hour or something, and then you shower and it gives you smooth, glossy hair.

Bodycare

Prior to Nécessaire launching from Nick Axelrod, who’s one of my closest friends, I would never have spent $30 on a body product like a lotion or a gel. I was using Aveeno and Dr. Bronner’s. He launched, I got a bunch of it. It’s really nice and now I’m spending $30 on body wash. It’s just a different texture and a different experience. I love the Soft Services buffing bar. I think it’s really genius. I go in and out of using oil. The Weleda oil I like a lot. The L’Occitane almond shower oil wash is a top-ten product. I’ve been using Paula’s Choice body retinol, which is neither here nor there. But I trust their formulas even though it’s not glamorous. They also have a weird estrogen line that’s supposed to be for crepey skin.

Hands, Feet, Nails

I hate hand cream. Nécessaire is the only one I’ve used nightly. It feels waxy and there’s a dry down to it. You don’t feel greasy. You’re still using your phone in bed or whatever. It’s really nice. This Dr. Scholl’s stick that I won’t shut up about, which is just like a giant Chapstick for your feet. It’s called cracked heel repair, or something disgusting. I use that a lot, especially in the summer because I like not wearing shoes. I do my own nails at home, I’ve turned into that person. The only shade that I’ll use is one coat of OPI Put it in Neutral. That’s my manicure shade. And OPI Big Apple Red is the only pedicure shade that I use.

Eyes

Lumify eye drops, the purple ones. Lash lifts don’t work on me. I very rarely wear mascara. I like getting my lashes tinted, but I don’t keep up with it. I do it once in a while if I remember, and I just do it at Benefit. Brows I don’t do, I just sort of maintain them myself. I was on a brow lamination journey for a long time and I would go to Jasmine Imani who was in Soho, but now she’s in the WSA building. I love her. She also does amazing lash lifts, I just can’t have one. I’ll dye them at home with Refectocil that I buy on Amazon.

Oral health

For many years, probably a decade, I was just using Crest Glamorous White because I liked the name. A friend told me she bought this new toothpaste and liked it, called Boka. So I tried that. It’s fine. I did Invisalign which I didn’t think I needed, and I felt like it made a huge difference. I had braces in high school and my teeth were sort of fine. I have small teeth, and I felt like the Invisalign actually is helping to hold up the foundation of my face which is nice as you get older. I do think it made a big difference. Not so much visually as sort of structurally.

At-Home Devices

Face + neck

It took me a really long time to get on the LED mask thing. I like the Omnilux men’s. It’s the one that I bought because I read or heard somewhere that it has more lights. I travel all the time. It’s easy to bring with me. I got that Medicube thing. I don’t really care about it. I have a ZIIP, which I do think works, but I’m lazy with it.

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Upper bleph, brow lift, Upneeq, Dysport, Daxxify, Christian Bale, nootropics, nicotine, microneedling, exosomes, LED therapy, centella, reishi…

Welcome back to High Touch. We’ve made it to the next edition of In Vivo, which, as a reminder, is a column where I share all of the procedures, practices, and products my friends and I are testing. Everything you read here started in a group chat or IRL, born out of organic conversation drift or the urgency to recommend something that “works.”

Below, you’ll hear from me about why Daxxify > Botox and what cult facialist Pietro Simone tells me is “the most underrated peptide” in beauty. Miranda Levitt talks almost-as-good-as-surgery eye drops. And Maggie Jones on the nootropic she takes to write for 10 hours straight. But first, what’s happening in the HT rumor mill.

Non-surgical

Upneeq

I’ve been using this eye drop that opens your eyes, and it’s amazing. I feel like it’s a really nice, gentle treatment for women feeling like they need an upper bleph. But it’s a godsend for people with drooped lids like me. It stimulates the Müller muscle (involuntary eyelid muscle) to contract, giving the appearance of a more awake eye. I don’t use it every day. In fact I’m trying to save it for only occasions. Hugely helpful at weddings. Idk if you can tell as much as I can (before I used it, my gf Polina kept being like, “look how much more awake I look!”), but to me looking in the mirror, the difference is huge.

Each tube is supposed to only be used once, but I usually get 2-3 drops per eye out of each. So you can use for 3 days. For me, no side effects. Polina says it makes her eyes a little tired feeling the next day. It’s by prescription only, so side effects are listed and warnings and everything.

I will eventually get a bleph and brow lift, my mom and grandma both had them partially covered by insurance. But for now this is a safe way to give the appearance of a more open eye on the days when I wake up just looking TIRED. Like if I didn’t get a good night sleep or I have an event, I use it and I suddenly look like I had 12 hours, no drinking, no problem.

– Miranda Levitt

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Sulwhasoo, Agent Nateur, water-based lubricant, Bottega Veneta, NuFace, Reddit, Vitamin D + K12 drops, protein, The Beauty Chef, Valery Joseph, Spencer’s Spa, Removery, Rumble, magnesium, veneers, LEEP, Brightwood, CGM…

Welcome back to High Touch. It’s been almost a month since we launched and can I just say how fun it’s been. More than ever, you guys are coming up to me at parties and DMing to tell me about what you’re doing to your faces and bodies, what new thing you heard about on TikTok, asking “is this worth it?” Because of this newsletter I can walk through the most private doors in the UES and ask top dermatologists and plastic surgeons anything I want to know; I can reach out to those among us with the je ne sais quoi and hit them with literal hours of questions that, if not invasive, I don’t know what they are.

Brittenelle Fredericks is one of my good friends who really walks this walk and is today’s subject of my prying, although, even prior to launching HT, she was always one of the most forthcoming people I could have these conversations with. Today, in the text below and in our video call (this is turning into a podcast somehow, excuse the rawness of it all as I settle into a new medium), she tells us about getting a mini facelift in her 30s, living with veneers, lasering off all of her tattoos, her LA ob-gyn who steered her away from cervical cancer. Truly a wealth of experience and intel in “this space.” But first, naturally, some gossip.

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At-Home Products

Skincare

I feel like I naturally have such dry skin. As someone who's blessed to receive gifting, I get to try so many different products. I've always had the notion: if it doesn't work right away, I don't use it again. I love Clarins. Their under eye serum and hyaluronic acid serum make my skin feel amazing. And it smells like I’ve just gotten a really expensive facial. I've used some of the U Beauty products, like the resurfacing compound. Sulwhasoo has a really light moisturizer and I really like that. Moussse miracle drops—I wake up and I feel like my skin is feels shiny and amazing. They have a moisturizer that’s unbelievable, but I already used it all.

Haircare

Diffar fragrance hair oil—it smells so good. I don't care how dirty your hair is, put it on; it's what I've been using to style my hair. I’ve been using water balm pomades to style my hair, I find that it gives my hair a lot more flexibility. Any kind of wax pomade makes my hair feel like a Lego man. I use a lot of purple shampoo. Once a month I do a hair mask—I color my hair so much, I have to.

Bodycare

The Agent Nateur body oil changed my life. I use it right when I get out of the shower before I put my robe on. Then I usually use Nécessaire body lotion or something afterwards, it’s my favorite combo.

Hands, Feet, Nails

L’Occitane makes a cuticle oil that I use and I'm obsessed with it. I’m low-maintenance with the rest of that stuff, to be honest. Sometimes I’ll use a hand mask or a foot mask.

Eyes

Clarins has this double eye serum. I use this a lot. I put it on at night or in the morning. They also have this eye lift one—I haven't really noticed a difference with it, but I love their products. Their serums are unbelievable. I have La Mer cold presses for under eyes—the metal things that you just put on and hold. I use those when my eyes feel super puffy.

Oral health

I use Marvis. This is probably going to be controversial, but I like the lavender (Jasmin Mint). I use one of those over-the-counter mouthwashes that are antiseptic.

Sexual health

Maude. So chic, I love it. I use their shine aloe water-based lubricant a lot, I also think a lot of their products, like their mini vibrators, are unbelievable.

Fragrance

Now I'm wearing Bottega Veneta Good Morning Midnight. I think it might be my favorite scent I've ever had. The packaging is very, very sexy.

At-Home Devices

Face + neck

NuFace. It’s a very temporary thing for minor lifts. It works for me, but a lot of people were saying online—I’m such a Reddit person—they didn’t like it. I like it. I use it when I feel like I’m not feeling that great, or my skin feels too held down by gravity, and I'm like, "Okay, I need some help here."

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Myoplastic facial massage, fascia manipulation, Environ, microcurrent, ultrasound, iontophoresis, scalp gua sha, corneocytes, chemical peels, CO2 Lift Pro, Dr. Evan Rieder, injectables, peptides, SkinPen, Biojuve, exosomes, micriobiome skincare, Cecily J. Braden, Traditional Chinese Medicine…

Welcome back to High Touch. What a night! Something about this newsletter is vaguely athletics-adjacent, right? Anyway, good enough timing for today’s feature on Raquel Medina-Cleghorn, New York’s number-one sports fan (she’s selling soccer jerseys out of her studio this weekend) and its best facialist, according to me. I’ve been going to Raquel for years, since she first opened up her space RAQUEL new york in Tribeca, and count on her to be my magic bullet whenever I feel like I need to pick my face up off the floor. I know I’m mogging out the door when she snaps on her microcurrent gloves for some cheekbone sculpting.

More from Raquel down below—plus a whole section at the end on the techy, biohacky-grade skincare products she uses at the studio—but first, word on the High Touch streets this week.

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Laura Reilly: How do you describe what you do, and how did you arrive at this place?

Raquel Medina-Cleghorn: I am a facialist, and I focus on a combination of technology and holistic manual modalities—different types of massage, lymphatic drainage—all with the intention of supporting skin health and delivering long-term skin health to people. There’s obviously the cosmetic component. People want to fight wrinkles, fight aging, look better, all that. But ultimately, my goal is to ensure that their skin is as healthy as it can be, because that’s what’s going to deliver those results. I’ve arrived here [via] all the education and training I’ve received over the seven years I’ve been doing this.

LR: Can you describe some of that?

RMC: From the jump, it was esthetic school, which is the most basic level of skin education you can get. And then there was the facialist I worked for before; I trained with her and learned her techniques. From there, I was introduced to skincare lines that, like Environ, have really incredible education. Learning more about all of the different cascades of the skin, how the skin works, how ingredients work. And then diving into different technologies: How do they work in the skin? Why are they beneficial? How often should they be used? Training I’ve taken includes manual lymphatic drainage; I’ve done something called myoplastic facial massage, which incorporates a lot of decompression to the tissue. I just registered for a fascia manipulation course. Different hands-on techniques that bring in different elements of supportive skin health, and tissue manipulation, and tissue health.

LR: Walk me through an appointment with a new client. What are you looking for when they come in, and how do you assess their needs?

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Kayla Barnes-Lentz, HIPAA, fasting glucose, visceral fat, WaterRower, Lp(a), Nokia, MethylAge, osteopenia, grip strength, “fish paradox,” Brazil nuts, turkey tail, hydrogen peroxide mouthwash…

Welcome back to HT. You’ve reached part II of this biometric double-header. In yesterday’s send, we toured Zoï’s teak wood Japandi womb of a facility and did dozens of clinical examinations on me. Invasive but somehow relaxing? As promised, today I am sharing the results of those tests in questionable detail. But, before that, a couple of High Touch-y things found around the house:

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A month after my visit to Zoï Paris, I had a follow-up Zoom call from back in New York to review my lab results with Dr. Grimonet. It took us about an hour to go through all of the lab findings and her recommendations for addressing any weak spots and personal goals. Again, this was the first time I’d ever really taken a clinical look at my body in any depth, beyond being told “looks fine, you’re good” after my annual physicals.

I’m sharing the main bits here, along with some relevant / representative lab scans. I get a lot out of others’ specifics— is a big one for me, and I keep up with Bryan Johnson through the ether, but even just hearing from candid randos on the biohacking and supplement subreddits—as it introduces new ways for me to think about health “on paper.”

It’s kind of funny what great lengths Zoï went for my discretion—assigning me the pseudonym Océane Raynaud in external labs, upholding my medical privacy rights under Europe’s version of HIPAA—only for me to release the data to the tens of thousands of you reading this. The first of many ironies to emerge from the gulf between being measured and receiving one’s measurements.

Here’s what I learned about myself:

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Ritz Paris, Frama, Sala Hars, ultrasound, blood pressure, ear thermometer, AGE reader, glycation, electrocardiogram, green anise broth, retinal OCT, NewTom 7G, DEXA, CO₂ bath, Japanese tea…

Welcome back to High Touch. Exciting to no longer be in “launch week” programming, and instead just be. Today I’m sharing the first of a two-parter on my experience at one of the world’s most beautiful biometric testing clinics, Zoï in Paris. Self-measuring is an integral part of longevity (in 2026 terms), so it only made sense for me to crack this journey open here—both in relaying what the labs and imaging felt like (that’s today), as well as what was actually sussed out, down to the individual markers (coming tomorrow). But first, a few things inboxed, screenshotted, whisper-networked since our last send:

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Zoï Vendôme is only two blocks from the Ritz Paris, which meant I had to walk past early-rising tourist couples staking out its entrance hoping to catch celebrities coming and going, as if part of a low-cost sightseeing date. I happened to see Paloma Elsesser exiting while en route that morning in October, implicating myself in their hobby. A few bends later, I approached Zoï’s address and held up a code I’d been issued via my app to the digital check-in, prompting the doors to swing open onto a Kubrick-ian hallway, illuminated by soft-box lighting and flanked with smooth wood walls. I was jet lagged and carrying several flasks of my own pee in a Row Marlo 12 bag.

I had first visited this space in the spring as a guest of Frama, who is an official partner for the on-site onsen, supplying it with towels, toiletries, and an additional layer of design-y credibility. I was back now for Zoï’s core offering: biometric testing covering 150 biomarkers across 32 individual examinations including lab tests, instrument readings, and advanced imaging devices.

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Platelet-rich fibrin, Emsculpt, Dr. Yael Halaas, Dr. Macrene Alexiades, PRF, Yale, cannulas, Helen Phelan, Shou Sugi Ban House, Dimes Deli, Lyma Laser, Remedy Place, the RICE method…

Welcome back to High Touch. It’s the final day of our launch week takeover and the inaugural edition of In Vivo, a monthly column about the procedures, practices, and products my circles and I are testing. Literally, what the group chats are doing.

Below, you’ll hear from me about Emsculpting my ass and PRFing my face. heals her boyfriend from a visible facial injury in a week. got married yesterday (!!!) and shares what beauty prep looks like for the modern bride. But first, some things we’ve seen, heard, or otherwise happened upon this week.

Face

PRF with Dr. Macrene Alexiades

It stands for platelet-rich fibrin, and it’s basically a dermal filler derived from your own blood. I had one of the most successful appointments of my cosmetic career with the delightful Dr. Macrene, an insanely accoladed dermatologist / scientist / Yale professor, etc, whose background as an ARTIST became extremely apparent in the way she surveyed my face and balanced all of my minor asymmetries and early signs of aging. They draw blood, put it in a centrifuge, and inject the fibrin matrix with a tiny needle you can barely feel (not like a filler cannula at all). I could see the results while still sitting in the chair, but your body’s own injected material will continue to promote growth factors in the areas over weeks. A friend I saw the next day told me I looked prettier, imperceptibly, “like I was ovulating.” But actually, this is me in luteal. The highest compliment!!

– Laura Reilly

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Semaglutide, Tirzepatide, Equinox, NAD+, food journaling, weight training, PCOS, breastfeeding, saffron, ubiquinol, perimenopause, alcohol tolerance, synchronized swimming, Lilly Direct…

Welcome back. It’s still High Touch week. Today we’re hearing from a cross-section of New Yorkers who’ve taken or are taking GLPs; brand-name Ozempic and Zepbound to gray-market product via “peptide guy.” One in eight Americans is on a weight-loss medication, and soon we’ll look back and find it hard to believe there was ever any stigma around them at all. (But, to be clear, at this point in time there still very much is.)

Below, I speak to three of my friends about their diverse reasonings for taking the peptide—”being thin” as its own end, as a treatment for PCOS, to lose the baby weight and find themself again…everyone has their reasons. But first, a few things we’ve seen, heard, pined for this week:

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Niko Zucchero, 32

How would you describe your relationship to food, eating, and your body before you started GLPs? What specifically led you to explore them?

I was an emotional eater and had insane food noise, and I was overweight for what I wanted for myself. All of that’s gone.

When and how did you start taking GLPs? I.e. who was your provider, what was the cost, what form(s) did you take?

I tried semaglutide and I was micro dosing it; this was early 2023 but was difficult to reliably get. I took it for a few months and noticed results but nothing major. In August of 2024 I started Trizepitide with a med spa paying $250-$350 weekly—Alchemy43 was my med spa, I chose them because a friend recommended and they had locations NYC and LA. After three months of this, I’d lost 20-ish pounds. Then a friend introduced me to her “peptide guy” and I’ve been with him ever since: it’s $175 per vial which lasts 2-4 weeks depending on my dose at the time, and he has every other peptide you could want; I’ve tried NAD+ injections and a copper-peptide blend, I liked both but didn’t like intramuscular injections with the NAD, and didn’t like the daily injections with the copper blend. I’ll probably circle back to a copper blend now that he has more options available.

What was your initial reaction? How soon did you begin noticing the effects? Did you experience any side effects?

When I switched to Trizepitide and increased dosing on schedule I really started to see results, I lost ~50lbs over the course of a year, quite rapidly in the first six months. (Starting to regularly work out helped.) My side effects have been mild, a bit of car sickness feeling or nausea if I ate too much. Possibly some hair thinning, not enough to stop.

What impact have GLPs had on your health and wellbeing—including any data you've tracked? Positive or negative.

Being thin has helped my wellbeing, sorry it’s tea.

What’s your current GLP protocol? Has it evolved over time?

I’ve taken breaks, and I’m currently more interested in maintenance, or a boost post-holiday / vacation. I’m no longer looking for drastic results, just quieting food noise and maintaining.

Have you noticed GLPs interacting with anything else in your life—other medications, supplements, exercise, alcohol, sleep, mood?

Well, I now take 11 different supplements + a green powder every morning because I am aware that consistently eating only once a day is not going to do everything.

Supplements as of now: NMN 500mg liposomal, probiotic, saffron, liposomal vitamin C 1000mg, B-complex, fiber, astaxanthin 4mg, zinc 15mg + bisglycinate copper 2mg, magnesium glycinate, ubiquinol 10mg, omega-3 (rTG, enteric coated).

Subject to change? I’ve been thinking about adding iron and a collagen powder but I can’t find one I love. My mood is great, being thin puts me in a good mood. I basically don’t drink at all now and I don’t want to be flabby so I also workout.

What do your circles think about your GLP use, if it’s something you’ve shared with them?

I’ve convinced so many people to get on it and try it. I'm screaming it from the rooftops.

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Peptides, BTL, Restylane, PDGF, medical tourism, liposculpture, COVID vaccine, topical Ghk-Cu, vaginal health, Dr. Levine, TM, cellulite, TikTok, GLPs, anti-inflammatory diets…

Welcome back to High Touch. A couple weeks ago I popped into the West Village office of Dr. Paul Jarrod Frank, cosmetic dermatologist and chief medical officer and founder of PFRANKMD and author of “The Pro-Aging Playbook”. He’d topped my list as someone to speak with for launch week after his name was passed to me multiple times during background interviews with professionals when researching this new vertical.

For people who feel the way about a list of aesthetic services the way others do when reading the martini menu at The Grill or a price list at a Prada sample sale—me, to all—Dr. Frank’s website is a dopaminergic blast of anticipation. Tools I know first hand like Morpheus8, Vbeam, and Clear & Brilliant jump out amid tons I haven’t tried or even heard of: Ellacor, AviClear, Aerolase NeoElite Laser (would make beautiful names for a girl), etc. There’s a whole section just for longevity interventions…Niagen IV Therapy, Pelvic Strengthening, even ExoMind, which, to paint a picture, uses magnetic energy to treat depression and is FDA-cleared!

Dr. Frank is a prime example of keeping a stacked deck while playing a conservative hand. More from him on the cosmetic-cultural paradigm shift underway and, more practically, what works and what’s probably a scam, below. But first, some things we saw, heard, chewed on this week.

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Laura Reilly: How long has longevity been a part of your practice?

Dr. Paul Jarrod Frank: Since I started. I have felt that, in a sad way, wellness and beauty used to sit on the opposite sides of the cafeteria when they were always the same thing. Dermatology is no better profession to understand this concept. Generally, beautiful skin is a reflection of the health of the skin. And you can’t see that with our liver, and our brain, and all these things, because [skin] is the largest organ, but it’s all visual.

I’ve always had this idea of “pro-aging,” not “anti-aging.” I started that about 10 years ago, and then in 2019 I wrote my book “The Pro-Aging Playbook.” It was really all about how beauty starts from within, and the things that I’m trained to do are icing on the cake. There’s only so much I can do. I’m having conversations with patients about getting surgery all the time. I don’t dissuade people—if they don’t want it, they don’t want it.

LR: Are you having a conversation with your patients about their lifestyle?

PJF: Eating habits, drinking habits, what their goals are. I talk to them about all of these things. The difficulty right now, which I like the most, is reeducating people, because there’s so much nonsense out there. The regenerative medicine stuff, the peptide gray market, the supplement market, these are all super exciting things in the future. But people don’t want to wait for data. They want to jump on bandwagons. But it’s teaching the ethos of pro-aging and living inside-out.

I went to school to become a dermatologist, and it was as simple as just being involved in skincare—being involved in the health of the skin, the beauty of the skin aesthetically. Now I look at it as: I want to empower people to feel comfortable about aging. Unfortunately, everyone comes in with very specific complaints and feeling that they’re going through it alone. I tell people, “You are special, but you are not uncommon.”

The first thing is to help empower people to feel good about the process. What they don’t realize is that we are all spoiled. A hundred years ago or 150 years ago, life expectancy was half of what it is right now. We’re actually doing quite well, and it’s a blessing to get old and see the wrinkles on our face. We weren’t meant to watch ourselves age. So it’s natural as visual creatures to want the inside and the outside to match. Now we have the technology, and we’re learning a lot about lifestyle things to hopefully help us not only have longevity, but also to have a better health span. There are a lot of technologies and things out now that are combined with that, like peptides, like the BTL products. Using technology that works on the inside, not just on the outside.

LR: You’ve had your practice for 25 years—what did longevity look like then? What kinds of interventions were you recommending?

PJF: I was trying to get patients to let me treat their rashes and do occasional Botox. Lasers were very rudimentary. I took out government loans, and I thought I had the most cutting edge practice, because I had a hair-removal laser, a vascular laser, a pigmented lesion laser. That was it. I always told people, because they’d come in with complaints—“this wrinkle bothers me, this bothers me”—I told them, the healthier we can get your skin, the better you’re going to feel about the way you look.

The first cutting-edge technology that is probably the most impactful thing of my career was Fraxel, which was a non-ablative, no-open-skin way to target sun damage and rejuvenate the skin. That was the ultimate pro-aging device. I do have patients that don’t care about their sun spots, broken capillaries, and things like that, but they do when I tell them it’s those things that are the precursors to wrinkles and loss of elasticity and need for a facelift. I can get your skin healthier, there’s a trickle effect of so many other things.

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TCM, Muay Thai, birth control, hypothyroid, collagen maxxing, intermittent hypoxia, Papa John’s, NAD+, mogging, Aajonus Vonderplanitz, Ray Peat, red Coke, Clavicular, Blue Zones, Carnivore MD, creatine, sauerkraut, EMF exposure, EVOO, Zaid Dahhaj, raw dairy, sleep, non-anabolic steroids, ruminant meat…

Welcome to High Touch! On day four of our launch week takeover, we’re hearing from Substack’s health and wellness new guard—lots to learn there, a million rabbit holes in which to dip an ancestral carrot—but before we get into that, a few things we spotted, tested, heard this week.

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Laura Reilly

Hi Lily, Sami, and Chris,

Thank you all so much for agreeing to participate in this roundtable for High Touch, Magasin’s coming-soon newsletter about aesthetics and longevity.

I’ve said this to each of you individually, but your respective publications represent, to me, the new wave of health and wellness media and are some of the few voices adequately reflecting the real conversations being had on the matter out in the wild. I’m (maybe selfishly) excited to learn more about how you navigate that, and to see some of these topics through your eyes.

So—to start us off...Can everyone introduce themselves and their respective platforms, with some context as to how you arrived at doing what you do?

Hey! I'm Chris. I'm a longtime magazine editor (spent a decade-ish at GQ) and now I'm the EIC of SSENSE, Canada's no. 1 ecommerce platform for buying Lemaire and such. I also host the podcast SuperHuman.

I started my Substack because, like everyone in their mid thirties, I got addicted to working out (Muay Thai) and wanted an excuse to talk to other people about their wellness practices, and maybe even launder a lifelong interest in TCM into the zeitgeist. The name HEAVIES is what someone at my gym called the big kettlebells, and I thought it was a funny name for a newsletter, so here we are.

Fantastic—thank you for hosting us, Laura!

I initially launched as a way to make sense of the ever-evolving world of Health Twitter and related forums. It felt like there were so many insights that simply weren’t being translated for the audiences that could really benefit from them (ie, girls in their 20s who were wanting to get off birth control but unsure how; or people demonizing carbs and generally undereating while also experiencing hypothyroid symptoms1). As I was putting together the pieces in my own healing journey, I felt the urge to share—creating a space for honest explorations of underrepresented / ”alternative health” approaches, along with an open forum for conversation. The name came to me in a dream.

Outside of the newsletter, I work as a copywriter + creative consultant for brands / founders in the health and wellness space. I currently live in Chicago, after 5+ years in NYC.

Hey all, hey Lily, hey Chris, thanks Laura for doing this.

I’m Sami Reiss, I’ve been writing on Substack for three years after a stint of another newsletter, freelance magazine work and working in sports leagues. It began as a feature in my other newsletter a decade ago then a series of columns on Inverse and GQ. It evolved from pure lifting into wellness into something else now… no hard mission but letters now focus on edge of health protocols—raw dairy2, red milk3, collagen maxxing, intermittent hypoxia4, real sicko shit—but framed to an analog tilt: in context of maxxing out the subtle big rocks of groceries and sleep and light environment and movement / lifting / cardio first. The genesis is I started lifting hard in high school because of hardcore music (spec. the back photo of the Age of Quarrel), and got quickly into shakes, PPL splits and macros; I got into the demon obscure shit after an assignment a few years ago and began n=1ing hard on basically everything I cover now years ago. I’ve simplified a bunch since then but do the odd / regular demon intervention / experiment. The name super health… because health isn’t enough…. I am from Ottawa Ontario and live in NYC.

Laura

Yayy we’re all here! Thank you for clocking in and being here everyone.

Jumping in—

The word “health” shows up across each of your newsletters. What does health entail in 2026—what practices fit into that framework?

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