Saving Face : When It Comes to Skin Care, Models Trust Ole Henriksen
When international fashion models Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista are in Los Angeles, they make a beeline for Ole Henriksen of Denmark, a small skin-care salon on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. What they and other loyal followers, including Sylvester Stallone, Nastassja Kinski, Maud Adams and Diahann Carroll, have found there is a simple, natural method of skin care.
Not the least of the appeal is Ole (pronounced ooh-la) Henriksen himself. The boyish-looking Scandinavian native in his 40s takes a practical view of skin care. “Beauty is a hygiene step,” he says matter-of-factly. “You do it and go on with your day.”
Henriksen says his fashion-model clients surprise him in some ways. “They have an aura of sophistication and worldliness, but they are really very young women. They giggle. They have lots of questions about personal grooming.”
Among their most common questions: how best to cleanse the complexion. “It should incorporate mild abrasive action,” to slough off dead cells, he says. He recommends using a complexion sponge and water-soluble cleanser. “The sponge will act as the abrasive.”
Most models are blessed with good skin, Henriksen notes. Their most serious complexion problems result from pore-clogging runway makeup and the drying effects of air travel.
He spot-treats blemishes with a solution of camphor and zinc oxide, which “flattens and disinfects the blemish,” he says. And when heavy-handed makeup removal leaves the skin around the eyes red and puffy, he offers this all-natural treatment: “Take a long strip of cotton, soak it in iced low-fat milk and cover both eyes with the cotton.”
Henriksen’s facials use steam and massage to extract impurities without overstimulating the skin, which can cause redness. This is particularly important if the client has to face a camera the same day, he says.
His light peeling treatment, made from a custom blend of salicylic, lactic and citric acids with papaya enzymes, gives the complexion a healthy glow. He brushes on the mixture, activates it with steam and leaves it on for only three to four minutes, to shed dead surface skin. “The light peel helps to even out the pigment and has a purifying effect on the skin, especially if there is a lot of clogging,” he says. “It is also good for sun-damaged skin or mature skin that is slightly leathery.”
A facial by Henriksen costs $100; facials given by his staff are priced at about $55.
His signature skin-care products, priced from $14 to $38, are made with plant and herbal extracts and available in the salon or by mail order. One favorite among the model clientele is his aloe gel, used at night instead of moisturizer.
