Celebrities Swear By This NYC Facial

We all know celebrities are "just like us," but we have to admit they often look way better. Celebrities have access to the best beauty treatments money can buy and go to the best spas to stay young and fresh. We've heard of the craziest luxury facials, but now we have the scoop on the latest facials for famous faces. According to Variety, when celebrities want to get ready for the red carpet, they head to Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills. The spa provides Elemis Targeted Toning facial to zap cellulite and wrinkles. 

According to People, Kim Kardashian books facials at Shani Darden Skincare. The celebrity mom gets Shani Darden's signature facial in L.A. to keep her dewy glow. Darden uses a variety of therapies, including chemical peels and LED lights, in her famous facial. Tracie Martyn's spa in NYC offers the Red Carpet Facial. Actress Lili Reinhart is a fan of the facial that Martyn calls "a gym for your face." But one of the most infamous facials that celebrities swear by in New York City gives new meaning to the phrase "beauty is pain."

Celebrities flock to see NYC facialist "Mean Christine." The New York City facial queen Christine Chin has many nicknames. Some call her "Mean Christine," and some call Chin names we can't mention at The List! W Magazine once said Chin was the "Leona Helmsley of the beauty world." But despite her reputation, there's no denying that Chin knows her skincare, even if her facials can get a little rough. The Cut wrote about "Mean Christine," who doesn't seem to mind her nickname. Chin asked The Cut reviewer with pride, "You know what they call me?"

Celebrities in NYC flock to Christine Chin Spa in droves. The website lists some of Chin's clients, including Gisele Bündchen, Mary J Blige, Mariska Hargitay, Christy Turlington, Zoe Saldana, Penelope Cruz, Padma Lakshmi, and James Franco. A review by Byrdie wrote, "Chin's spa is one of the few that centers its treatments around hard, old-school extractions and a 'no pain, no gain' mentality." The outlet noted, "almost every Yelp review of her salon mentions pain at least once, if not twice." Yikes. One Google reviewer wrote: "I joke with her the facial is torture but no pain, no gain as they say." The price of being poked and squeezed by Chin is a bargain that starts at $500 per session.

It sounds like a lot, but Chin's clients think it's worth every penny.

Christine Chin is legendary in New York City for her facials. According to The Cut, "[Chin] earned her nickname from her extreme devotion to painfully scraping the gunk out of your pores. Her clients love to hate her." The Cut reviewer described her painful facial from "Mean Christine," who told her she had skin fungus. Reviewer Kathleen Hou wrote, "I asked her for the scientific term so I could do more research, and she came back with, 'It's just skin fungus.'"

In her Byrdie review of Chin's facial, Rhea Souhleris Grous described the extraction process: "She continued to prick, dig, and squeeze all over my cheeks, forehead, and jawline, cleaning each and every pore on my face with quick and intricate precision." The Cut reviewer felt a bit weak after Chin showed her a mirror halfway through the facial. Grous wrote, "I opened my eyes and couldn't believe what I saw—blood, redness, and the end of Chin's needle of choice."

"Mean Christine" is quite sweet in person, as seen in her "New York Live" interview. Friends warned Ruby Warrington of The Times to take a pain pill before coming to see Chin. Warrington wrote the skincare legend "let out a cackle" when they met, and Chin told Warrington, "Ask any of my clients, and they'll tell you, 'A facial from Christine Chin will change your life.'" Experts recommend you should get a facial every other month. Are you brave enough to get one from "Mean Christine"?