Q+A with Esthetician Sean Garrette

New York-based esthetician and skincare specialist Sean Garrette grew up in a "beauty-obsessed" family, which fueled his passion at a young age. Initially starting off in fashion and then beauty, Sean was encouraged by his clients to explore a career in skincare seriously when he was providing skincare consultations with his freelance makeup appointments. Fast forward to today, and Sean is now an extremely prominent expert in the world of esthetics — fostering a close-knit community online, supporting, advocating for, and helping to pave the way for skincare education for people of color, and of course treating and connecting one-on-one with his clients. Read on to hear more of Sean's inspiring story and hear what his go-to products are. This is a Q+A you do not want to miss!

Q: You started off as a makeup artist prior to entering the skincare space as an esthetician. Can you tell us a bit about how you got started in your professional career and how you ended up pivoting and getting to where you are today?

Beauty has always been a huge part of my life. I always came from a beauty-obsessed family. My mom, my grandma, all of my cousins, all of my aunts — they've always had vanities filled with makeup products, hair products, everything. That's what I've always been surrounded by, so I was always very beauty conscious growing up. I think I had my first skincare routine at, like, 11 years old with my mom.

I was also really, really into fashion, so that's what I thought I would do as my career. I worked in fashion for a little bit, on music videos and other on-set things as a stylist and I was like, “I love this, but I don't see my future in it.” So I leaned more into beauty because I needed a job. I worked in spaces like beauty counters and figured out what I wanted to do. Then I fell in love with it so much, so I started freelancing as a makeup artist. I built a roster of makeup clients and ended up working at a spa part time to make ends meet. I would always talk to my clients about their skin, because they would point out certain things that they didn't like, and I would always have a skincare solution for that issue instead of a makeup solution.

Then I moved to LA, was freelancing full time, and was doing the same thing basically, doing skincare consultations for makeup application. It then got to a point where my clients were like, “Okay, why don't you just actually become an esthetician?” I didn't think that was possible. Because honestly, growing up, I never really saw Black estheticians, and I definitely never really saw male estheticians at the time. I started to explore a little more, then I went to school to become an esthetician. It was in school where I really realized this is my passion. I was so obsessed with skincare, the science of skin, and the science of formulating products and how they work.

Q: What do you love the most about what you do?

Honestly, what I love most is that I get to connect with so many people. I'm really not an extroverted person. I'm a very introverted person, and I'm someone who connects better with people one-on-one. My job really lets me do that. I always say that I’m a skin therapist when I'm in my spa. Anyone who knows knows that you have a personal relationship your hairstylist or your esthetician, your manicurist — you have a very close relationship with them. I learn so much about my clients, and I become personally invested in their success. Plus, the way our skin looks is so tied to our mental health. To see the progression of my clients’ skin health, their self-confidence, that self esteem, feeling more confident to go for the things that they love — it’s a beautiful thing. It really helps me, but it really also helps my clients as well.

Q: What is a myth about skincare that you would like to debunk?

People online will say something like, their acne cleared up when they stopped washing their face. That's a huge myth. It's so funny because people think the less that you do, the better your skin is. But it's instead really about knowing what to do and what to use. For example, some people with acne will tell me that they're using something like black soap, which is something that's very astringent and very dehydrating to the skin. If you have acne, and you're using a very astringent and drying cleanser, that's going to exasperate acne. So of course, when you stop using that product, your acne is going to look or feel better because you're not dehydrating and stripping your skin barrier.

Another is that Black people don't need sunscreen. That is a huge myth. Something I've been going to war with for, like, five years is trying to educate people of color on the importance of sun protection. Although melanin gives us a little natural SPF or UV protection, it's not enough. If you're a person of color, you still can get sunburned, you can still get sun damage, and that exasperates hyperpigmentation and cell damage. SPF is definitely for everyone. If you are a person of color, you should definitely be wearing sunscreen.

Q: You're passionate about skincare for everyone, and the importance of inclusivity and accessibility within the skincare space. We'd love to hear how you use your platform to amplify these important messages and how you've seen the skincare space evolve in that way.

That's what started my whole career online. I started posting on Instagram because it was really hard for me to find other estheticians of color that were doing the things that I wanted to do. I saw a lane open there, and I made it my mission to create a platform that educated people of color, specifically Black people, on how to properly take care of their skin.

Being in esthetician school really ignited that passion too, because we were studying skin disorders and diseases. I had to be able to identify things like melanoma, staph infections, different types of acne, and different types of UV damage. But you never saw it on Black skin or any skin of color, it was always on white skin. I really wanted to be able to educate people, especially other estheticians, on how to properly be able to consult with clients of color. You're not taught that in any esthetician school, really.

Since then, I've seen an explosion of Black estheticians on the internet, really helping people of color and all races. I've had as many Black clients as I've had white clients and Asian clients. When people see that you are instinctively knowledgeable about something, and can treat darker skin, they automatically trust that you can treat anyone because sometimes it's harder to treat Black skin. There are nuances. Inflammation looks different on skin of color. Acne, hyperpigmentation, and even skin diseases look different on skin of color. You really have to be educated on that.

Q: What has been your audience’s and your followers’ response to that? How have you seen your own follower community grow?

My community has grown a lot because I, among other Black estheticians, have really opened the door and made people feel more inclusive in a space that they didn't necessarily see for themselves. Even in beauty ads for skincare and makeup, you weren't really seeing a lot of Black men and Black women in these conversations. To be honest, you still really don't see Black men in skincare advertisements. That's why when I worked for Fenty Skin, it was such a monumental thing for me, because you never saw a Black man be an ambassador for a skincare brand, especially one in Sephora, and have it be so largely distributed.

I definitely think my audience is happy that they finally have a landing place, as someone that they can look to for specific information. And if they don't necessarily find what they're looking for with me, there are now tons of other Black estheticians who are on Instagram and Twitter and really helping spread the knowledge. I know a lot, but I don't know everything, and I haven't treated everything. It’s so good to have a variety of people on these platforms.

It even comes down to things like filler. It looks different on different skin types and different facial features. So for me, when I decided that I wanted to try filler for my under eye, finding a Black doctor was really important to me because I knew that she specifically studied on Black skin, and that I could trust her, and that I could share that with my audience.

Q: What is one product everyone should be using, no matter what their skin type is?

Sunscreen! But everyone's going to say sunscreen. I will say antioxidants. Antioxidants are essential and beneficial for everyone. Antioxidants help repair and protect the skin from environmental stressors like pollution and reduce free radical damage in the skin. Antioxidants like Vitamin C, Niacinamide, Alpha Arbutin, Vitamin A (retinol), Vitamin E, and Resveratrol to name a few are all incredible antioxidants that help repair and restore the skin, but also can improve skin concerns like hyperpigmentation, wrinkles, and fine lines.

Q: What is your best advice for someone who's struggling to find a skincare routine that works for them?

If you have the resources to, try to find an esthetician or dermatologist to consult in your area. I really think estheticians and dermatologists work their best when they work in tandem. Dermatologists can give you the prescriptions and the medical diagnosis if you’re dealing with more advanced issues. The esthetician is the person who's going to help pinpoint certain ingredients and products that will create an effective skincare routine for you. So definitely try to look for an esthetician to get a skin consultation so you know exactly what your concerns are, how to fix them, and create a game plan for that.

If you’re someone who's just starting out, the easiest thing you can do is to find a good cleanser to use in the morning. If you have a specific issue like acne or hyperpigmentation, find one treatment, whether it be a sulfur mask or a salicylic acid exfoliant. You can also find a discoloration treatment serum if you have hyperpigmentation, and just do that as a basic routine. Then you can add things as you go and see how your skin changes and reacts to the consistent use of a good routine.

A simple starter routine: cleanser, hydrating toner or serum, moisturizer, sunscreen. Start with this simple routine, and then you can add in products like a retinol, chemical exfoliants, and other treatments.

Q: What do you wish people were talking more about in skincare?

Mandelic acid. It is such a great AHA. It really, really works incredibly on dark skin. Like I said, on dark skin it’s sometimes hard to pinpoint inflammation. And so with things like salicylic acid, sometimes they're a little bit too aggressive, but you're not seeing it because your skin isn't necessarily getting flushed or red, so you're not seeing that you're overexposed. Mandelic is one of those gentle exfoliants, so it's great for acne, it helps brighten the skin and treat hyperpigmentation, and it just smoothes texture like no other. Mandelic is just one that always gets my skin right.

Q: What does your current nighttime skincare routine look like?

My nighttime routine is definitely more advanced than my morning routine! At night, I tend to focus more on my treatments and resurfacing products. I love to double cleanse, but I honestly don’t do it every night. If I’m wearing light makeup, or have been outside and reapplying SPF throughout the day, I’ll definitely do a double cleanse.

Double cleansing products I love: Paula's Choice Omega Complex Cleansing Balm, Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm, and PCA Skin Daily Cleansing Oil.

I use retinol about two nights a week. I love Shani Darden’s Retinol Reform and Paula’s Choice Clinical 0.3 Retinol + 2% Bakuchiol Treatment. Both are great for refining the texture and tone of the skin.

In both my morning and night routine, I always include a hydrating/hyaluronic acid serum + a hyperpigmentation treatment. My favorite hyaluronic serum is PCA Skin Hyaluronic Acid Boosting Serum. It has multiple forms of HA + Niacinamide, Ceramides, and antioxidants.

Hyperpigmentation treatments I love: Topicals Faded Brightening & Clearing Gel, SkinMedica 2.0 Lytera Pigment Correcting Serum, Paula’s Choice Discoloration Repair Serum.

And I always finish with a rich and nourishing moisturizer! My guilty pleasure is the Augustinus Bader The Rich Cream. It’s the perfect texture. It's rich, but not suffocating on the skin, and my skin always looks plump and rejuvenated in the mornings. A more affordable favorite is the Naturium Plant Ceramide Cream. I went through two jars of this last winter and will probably go through about two this year.

Rapid Fire Round

Q: Worth the splurge:

Definitely the SkinMedica Pigment Correcting Serum.

Q: Favorite drugstore or budget find:

I would have to say the Naturium Niacinamide Serum, CeraVe’s SA Cleanser, and CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser.

Q: Latest beauty empty:

Today I just finished the Dr. Dennis Gross Body Exfoliating Pads. I've been through, like, four boxes. I love them. For the face, I just finished the epi.logic Master Plan Growth Serum. Again, expensive, but worth it. If you want to delay the fillers, get that serum. And finished the Naturium Alpha Arbutin Essence and Serum – love them both!

Q: Recent beauty discovery:

U Beauty! They’re fairly new. Their resurfacing compound is really, really good. I'm obsessed. I wake up, and I just have baby fresh skin.

Q: Product you can’t leave home without:

Sunscreen and lip balm. The sunscreen I’ve been obsessed with is the Peter Thomas Roth Water Drench SPF 45. It's a really good one. And for lip balm, the Paula’s Choice Hyaluronic Acid + Peptide Lip Balm. It changed my life, it’s so good. Also, the new MAKE Beauty Serum Balms are amazing. Nude Nova & Halo Moon are my favorite shades.

Q: Brand you wish people knew more about:

I would probably say SKNMUSE. They have an amazing body oil. It's the best, They're a small, Black-owned brand.

For more of Sean's favorite products, check out his shop: