In this send:
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:
A touch of High Touch
Violet Grey’s sale is on for one more day; it’s 20% off sitewide, which includes this Nood at-home IPL (actually recommended in the chat thread mentioned above), these Eighth Day resurfacing pads I am using three times a week, Biologique Recherche products, a stackable red light mask and helmet (for hair growth), and my HigherDose infrared PEMF mat I’ll always shout out when it goes on sale.
There’s a new wearable in pre-Kickstarter fundraising phase that I’m pretty interested in: Hiyd (“hide”) is a biometric-sensing disk that can be attached to the underside of any watch. So, instead of an obvious, ugly FitBit on your wrist, you can tuck it securely under a Cartier Ballon. Also noteworthy is the promise that they’ll offer their tracking + app with no monthly fees. As someone paying $13 a month to circulate water through a mattress pad, the de-subscription-ization of wellness tech is appealing.
Celebrity hairstylist Merria Dearman launched a high-end wig brand Provenir specifically to serve red-carpet and editorial needs. The eight styles offered are semi-custom, meaning they’re designed to be tailored professionally to each wearer. It’s actually quite chic and assertively design-y; feels like a great opp given that some estimates claim 2 million people each year try wigs for the first time.
Scarlett Johansson’s skincare brand The Outset, one of the few celeb product lines I actually liked for my skin, shut down. Too crowded of a space and shifting consumer values, ultimately. The site is already boarded up, but you can stock up on any grails (I liked the squalane moisturizer) at Credo, Revolve, Nordstrom, or Shopbop while they still have inventory.
Consumer tech roll-up! Therabody rolls out its percussion gun Therabody Mini in Y2K colors that look like early iMacs; I don’t know why they’re marketing them as though for Gen Z (is this another sheet masks for kindergartners situation?), but they are cute. Eight Sleep introduces the new gen Pod6 cooling mattress system—I have the Pod5 (the new version has a smaller control hub and more sensors), and while I will whine about the subscription model any chance I get (see above), it trends my metrics in the right direction every time I use it. And Peloton (remember them?) releases a folding treadmill. It’s space saving, but again, expect to pay separately for the subscription….
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 Derek C. Blasberg, Carson Griffith, and Office of Dr. Amanda Kahn. 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?)
Carson Griffith
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 Rich People Shit—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.
Office of Dr. Amanda Kahn
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 :)
Derek C. Blasberg
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.