How Beauty Sandwich Creator Iván Pol Gets Celebs Red Carpet–Ready

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Contrary to its name, The Beauty Sandwich is not food-related—it's a skincare treatment coined by celebrity facialist Iván Pol. His signature "sandwich" method combines high-frequency technology with his own line of skincare products (he calls them his secret sauces) to tighten, lift, and brighten the skin. As one of the most influential and innovative voices in the beauty industry, it only makes sense that his A-list clients include the likes of Emma Stone, Salma Hayek, and Sabrina Carpenter.

For the latest episode of The Who What Wear Podcast, Associate Beauty Editor Kaitlyn McLintock sits down with Pol to talk more in-depth about what a "sandwich" entails, how he made the pivot from makeup to skincare, what you can expect from a radiofrequency treatment, and how he gets his celebrity clients camera ready.

For excerpts from the conversation, scroll below.

You're an incredibly sought-after facialist. You have an incredibly long waitlist. I know you actually got your start in makeup, which I found so interesting. Can you tell me a little bit about what drew you to the beauty space in general, and why you ultimately decided to focus on skincare after being in makeup?

I was a beauty-obsessed child. I went to school for theater, but I fell in love with makeup. My dream was to move to Manhattan and work in high fashion. I moved to New York City at first. I started out on the beauty counters, and I worked for Trish McEvoy and Laura Mercier.

And then I meet Bobbi Brown. Bobbi taught me how I can enhance someone's beauty without completely transforming them.

I was that makeup artist that was all about glowing skin. I moved back to my hometown of South Florida, and I kind of fell out of love with makeup artistry, so I decided to pivot.

At that time, I meet Jennifer Lopez. I get booked to do her makeup, and she walks in with this incredible, gorgeous skin. I said, Oh, my God, you have the most beautiful skin. How do you achieve this? And she tells me, I get a facial before I get my makeup done.

I saw my whole life flash before my eyes. And I said, "This is what I'm going to do. I'm going to create the ultimate red carpet facial." I mean, it was so clear, I decided to go back to school. I get my esthetician license. And that's where the idea of The Beauty Sandwich happened.

So can you tell me a bit about what this process entails, and if someone is coming to you, what should they expect?

I'm designing someone's face. When I look at someone's face, the number one question I ask them is what bothers them. Every treatment starts with that intention. I'm just taking the beauty that I see, and I am elevating. It's about elevation, not augmentation, right?

There's something very powerful about receiving a treatment like mine, and when you're done looking in the mirror it's still you. So that's what The Beauty Sandwich is. It's enhancing that V-shape that resides within each and every one of us, and pumping that up and really custom designing a face.

When the light hits you, you look more beautiful and you're going to feel better. That's the most important thing. Beauty is a very powerful tool that we can use to uplift oneself.

For anyone who might be unfamiliar with radio frequency: What is radio frequency? What are the benefits and why is it so effective?

Radio frequency is using heat dispersed into the skin. Mine is in the dermis, the living part of the skin. That's where the collagen, the elastin, the connective tissue, everything that creates structure for the skin. Radio frequency stimulates collagen and elastin. Elastin is what gives our skin that bounce plumpness, and then collagen creates that tightness and firmness.

As we age, our collagen levels start to decrease so if you start early enough, you can maintain this bouncy, glowy, delicious skin. I always recommend that people do things in a gentle way. This is about the long haul. Every dermatologist I've ever spoken to will say that it's better to use less than more.

If you're using too harsh of a product, it can actually do the opposite of what you set out to do. It can cause irritation, inflammation, redness—all of that.

I love that you worked with Sabrina Carpenter ahead of the VMAs. What was your process leading up to that, and how did you prepare her skin?

It was all about my sauces. [Sabrina's] been a client of mine now for close to four years. We met pre-pandemic, and it's been so incredible to watch her career blossom. With Sabrina, it's all about that very plump skin—very fresh, very dewy.

But it's really about the manipulation of these sauces to create an effect on the skin that lasts. No matter [if you're] on the red carpet, on the stage, it's going to pick up light. Everyone talks about this glass skin, but if you get a glass skin facial right before getting your makeup done, you're a little almost too shiny. Shine picks up your flaws, and you want to do the opposite.

When thinking of a sauce, you want to have skin like fine china. You want to be like a beautiful porcelain plate. It picks up the light, but it looks perfect. That's what I want to create with skin. My SS02 has this active hazelnut oil, and hazelnut oil creates almost an invisible shapewear on your face. If you notice her, she is tight. It almost looks like she has an invisible pantyhose on her face.

What's the difference between the sauces?

The original product is SS01 Secret Sauce. I wanted to create a skincare line that would give your skin the vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids that will help you with anti-inflammation. If you're flying, if you're stressed out, if there are flare-ups, it's going to say to you, You're okay. That's what the original sauce was about: I wanted to create a filter for your face.

My latest sauce (SS02 Snatching Sauce) is more astringent. You're going to feel that tensing effect on the skin that also doubles as, like, a beauty armor because it has so many antioxidants. You want to use it in the areas where you want to contour, where you want to tighten, where you want to create that shapewear effect.

Keep scrolling to shop some of Iván's favorite products.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.