I’m usually very careful about recommending unisex products in this newsletter. So I’ll first preface this recommendation by sharing that I’ve noticed more and more men wearing visible pimple patches (usually from Starface) out and about in New York and LA. A win both for men’s self-expression and men’s skin care! Now, let me introduce you to pimple patches from the skin care company Kindia. They come in the shapes of lotus flowers, jasmine flowers, chandras, and jalebis (a common West Asian sweet snack), and each shape correlates to a different function, ranging from calming active breakouts to soothing already popped pimples. If you’re feeling nervous about taking the leap, maybe wear some around Halloween and tell people you’re dressed as an angsty teen.
Kindia
GlowGel Hydrocolloid Pimple Patches
Jennifer Black at Highland Holistic Acupuncture in Los Angeles is a real miracle worker. She’s gentle and effective with her needle treatments, an intuitive cupper, and not afraid to target aches and pains with some firm gua shua. I can’t recommend her enough.
While I was in New York recently, I had the chance to visit Lore Bathing Club in NoHo and sit in on a Friday evening aufguss set performed by none other than the club’s owner. For the uninitiated, aufguss is an aromatherapy-centric one-man show in which a “sauna master” whips a towel around in a sauna to move heat and essential oils onto sweaty onlookers. My session at Lore, soundtracked to Bob Dylan, included a wave of menthol that was especially energizing for the lungs. Lore is a clean, welcoming, no-nonsense space, and watching the set with fellow spa comrades really made me feel like I was in community with my people—especially when we all jumped into the cold plunge afterward.
