Five Questions with Sofie Pavitt
Acne Whisperer, or Skin Polyglot?
Consumers, hi! I’m excited to bring you an interview with one of my favorite people in beauty: the icon, the legend, the aesthetic esthetician… Sofie Pavitt.
sofie pavitt has been a guiding light in my acne journey (more on that below), as well as a delightful friend and a constant source of brilliance and inspiration. We met somewhere in the trenches of the beauty world, and I will be forever grateful for her guidance, her energy, and any moment I get in the studio with her where I emerge both smarter and shinier. As Sofie herself says, “the studio is not a spa”—and that ethos carries through everything she does: thoughtful, rigorous, and refreshingly honest.
Don’t just take my word for it: Sofie’s client roster includes Lorde, Zendaya, and Benito Skinner! I’ve spotted Sofie’s Mandelic Serum (if you wanted to start with one product from her range, I think this is the one!) on many a celebrity’s vanity and it’s equally exciting to talk to friends and realize they’re using it too. I’ve been stockpiling my goodies over here in London since it isn’t available in the UK (yet!) and even got to try their latest SPF which made me let out an audible gasp the first time I used it. It’s that good.
What I love most about Sofie’s approach is how grounded it is. In an industry of endless products and promises, she returns to the basics: cleanse, treat, hydrate… and, most importantly, patience. Acne, as she puts it, requires “some detective work,” not a quick fix. Her philosophy is both practical and deeply reassuring, two rare adjectives for anyone who has dealt with persistent acne.
And yes, she’s as entertaining as she is insightful. Case in point: she’s currently “seriously into a sardine fast”—a three-day reset she swears by, featuring her brand of choice, Fishwife. Equal parts intriguing and slightly unhinged (her words, not mine), it’s very Sofie: curious, committed, and always experimenting in pursuit of better skin and better living.
If you aren’t familiar with Sofie’s oeuvre, she’s got quite the backstory from handbag designer to esthetician to skincare founder. I’m so excited to share more of her brilliance with you all here!
Adult acne often comes with a lot of shame and confusion. From your experience, what do you think people most misunderstand about why acne persists (or appears) in adulthood?
Sofie: Acne has so many potential causes, and for many clients there can be multiple factors at play. Lifestyle, stress, hormones, diet, forgetting to change your pillowcase. Clearing acne requires patience, consistency, and some detective work to really get to the bottom of why it persists. The first thing I always recommend is to simplify. Cleanse, treat, hydrate, and make sure to remove products with pore clogging ingredients. (Our ingredient checker is so helpful for this!)
When someone comes to you overwhelmed, inflamed, and product-fatigued, what principles guide your first reset—before specific products or treatments even enter the picture?
Sofie: I always say “the studio is not a spa.” It’s important to me that clients can come in and chat and really share their concerns. Treating acne is not a one size fits all approach, and so understanding my clients and really taking the time to listen and ask thoughtful questions is key to helping them get the best skin of their life. Nobody gets undressed into a robe, its more like a clinic appointment where we talk throughout your treatment, you go home with a protocol to follow and we check in bi-weekly.
For readers who may not have access to regular professional care, what’s one mindset shift or boundary you wish more adults would adopt when managing acne long-term?
Sofie: You need to give your products time to work, and be careful not to overdo it. I think it’s easy for people to grow impatient with their skin and continually seek the next new thing to clear it. Simplifying your routine, staying consistent, and giving products time will better manage your acne long term. I always recommend a basic cleanse, treat, hydrate protocol, with customizations in each step depending on the specific needs of my client. Three steps make it super easy to follow and to be consistent.
Not everyone knows your past life Sofie, designing handbags and working for massive fashion brands like Michael Kors. How and when did you decide to make the leap, and do you have any advice for anyone trying to navigate a career pivot?
Sofie: I worked in fashion as an accessories designer for 15 years before pivoting to beauty. It was during my time working for Michael Kors that I started going to Seoul for work every few months and fell in love with skincare during my time there. I would encourage anyone trying to navigate a career pivot to make decisions with confidence and learn to trust in your ability to figure it out. Also- working corporate was amazing training for me! I can stick to a calendar like nobody else :-) I think people underestimate cutting your teeth somewhere to then create your own thing. I highly recommend it.
In the spirit of the Friday Five, what are two things (art, music, poetry, anything truly!) that bring you joy, comfort, relief etc.?
Sofie: I told myself I would learn to knit again this year and just finished my first sweater. I’m truly obsessed! I love to work out and do hot yoga in the winter — I’m in LA alot and love Silver Springs Studio. I also am seriously into a sardine fast right now. Three days every few weeks — Fishwife is my brand of choice. I’ll let you research what that entails but its basically like a reset for your blood sugar. It’s a good new years reset albeit weird. I also recently just hosted an evening with Climax books in NYC showing some of my vast vintage beauty books collection; it was so fun nerding out with fellow beauty enthusiasts.
Thank you again Sofie for hanging out with us! For further reading or viewing, here’s some more skincare goodness from Sofie and yours truly. See you on Friday.