9 Skin Do's and Don'ts from Dallas's Facialist to the Stars

With clients like Anna Wintour (gasp!), Uma Thurman (swoon!) and Kate Winslet (Rose!), skin expert Joanna Czech is a celebrity in her own right, so we were thrilled we scored an appointment with her. Here are the nine most important things about skin care we learned during our session.

1. Say no to Botox as a preventative treatment. According to Czech, injections only change the shape of the face, and they do not solve skin-care problems. So if you are going to continue with Botox and fillers, do not neglect your skin-care regimen.

2. Embrace LED facials. People come from all over Texas to get one of Czech’s signature LED facials ($300), in which wavelengths of light stimulate cells to aid in healing. The results can be better than plastic surgery, and no knives are involved.

3. Balance your skin. You’ve heard it time and time again, but what does it mean? Czech says properly balanced skin has a healthy pH (5.5 is the best,but 4.6 to 6.4 is the ideal range). Balanced skin makes extractions easier. Her product of choice: Biologique Recherche Lotion P50.

4. Massage your skin. You pay to have every other hard-to-reach spot on your body massaged, so wouldn’t it make sense to practice self-massage,too? When you massage your skin, you are moving all the body fluids around and dispersing oxygen and nutrients.

5. Don’t over-exfoliate. It seems like there is such a fine line between not enough and too much when it comes to exfoliating the skin. Czech advises her clients to err on the side of caution when removing layers of skin from the face, since some harsh methods can interfere with the skin’s lipids.

6. Find a nighttime routine. Your mind, body and soul recharge while you sleep. That said, your skin is your body’s biggest organ and it needs that time to work a little magic. While you’re in dreamland, your skin is 60 percent more likely to absorb anything you put on it than it is while you’re awake.

7. Treat the rest of your skin, too. Czech tells her clients that the neck, chest and hands show the signs of aging first. She doesn’t think you need a cream specific to your neck or décolletage, and says any body cream or facial cream will work just fine.

8. Everyone’s skin is different. One of the biggest mistakes women makewith their skin care is doing exactly what their friends do, Czech said. Instead, it’s important to know your skin and address its specific needs.

9. Eyebrow shape is everything. Czech wrote a 117-page dissertation on the importance of eyebrows and the framing of your face, so you know you aren’t leaving her spa without getting a lesson or two. She or one of her staff will even help you pluck and fill in according to your particular face shape. Check out her spa in Victory Park.