This Star Facialist Wears Simone Rocha to Peel Your Mug
Tucked away on Walker Street in Tribeca is the Raquel New York skin care oasis. The sixth-floor gem is a haven for fresh-faced editors and fashion folk who come to get their pores suctioned, lymph nodes drained, and faces sculpted. The replenishing hub is courtesy of Raquel Medina-Cleghorn, a rising-star facialist who is most likely massaging your mug while wearing a frilly Simone Rocha frock.
Medina-Cleghorn has all the markings of a star esthetician: premiere training (she got her start at the megawatt Joanna Czech), a head for deep research (she can wax poetic about the joys of a red light like no other), and state-of-the-art tools (though she pairs them with holistic treatments). But Medina-Cleghorn’s charm is her soft, youthful touch that doesn’t feel overwhelming yet still packs a vitamin A–boosting punch. “She just makes the whole experience so pleasant and informative,” says Chris Black of the podcast How Long Gone. “It’s the perfect combination of technology and human touch.” More notable clients on her roster? Medina-Cleghorn’s favorite designer—the one and only Simone Rocha—came to the facialist in 2023 ahead of the Met Gala.
The facialist’s fashion choices help connect her with her masthead of industry clients. (The fact that she worked as a stylist before she discovered her calling for skin care helps too.) In Medina-Cleghorn’s oasis, there are no sterile white lab coats. Medina-Cleghorn—who recently got married in three Simone Rocha looks and thrifted Margiela Tabis—wears a conversation-starting wardrobe of fantasy-to-street designers like the aforementioned Rocha and Molly Goddard. She comes off as a kind, clothes-loving friend with an encyclopedic brain about skin care and the CV to back it up.
As a teen growing up in San Diego, Medina-Cleghorn styled her hair in Liberty spikes and wore a rotation of local band shirts emblazoned with “Cattle Decapitation” and “Run for Your Fucking Life.” “When I was 15 or 16, I met this guy who got me into crust punk, the style of music,” says Medina-Cleghorn. “I was trying to be glam but also grungy.” There was no skin care for Medina-Cleghorn at the time: “I was a punk, so I would wear false lashes and heavy eyeliner and not wash it off and barely wash my hair.”
Medina-Cleghorn left high school early, and later studied in San Diego where she wanted to be a fashion designer. She was convinced by a friend to move to New York. There, she worked service jobs until her coworker at a restaurant brought her into styling. “So, I was probably one of the oldest interns in styling,” says Medina-Cleghorn.
While styling in her mid-20s for the likes of Heathermary Jackson and Bill Mullen, Medina-Cleghorn started to learn more about skin care: the K-beauty craze of the 2010s; the joys of snail mucin and bee venom. On a whim, she responded to one of Czech’s Instagram stories. The two bantered and Czech hired Medina-Cleghorn soon after. Medina-Cleghorn attended esthetician school on the weekends and worked in Czech’s office during the week. “By the time I graduated then, Czech was like, ‘You have long been ready to see clients,’” says Medina-Cleghorn. Four years later, Medina-Cleghorn made the jump and opened her own facial studio in 2023.
Facial studios often require their employees to wear uniforms, a tradition that Medina-Cleghorn couldn’t wait to break out of. Her own look is feminine and frilly—those Brit designers!—but is at time infused with workwear like Carhartt carpenter pants or Umbro shorts. A recent favorite look? A Prada camp shirt over a Sleeper slip dress with über-popular Sandy Liang mesh Mary Janes. “I usually try to make sure there’s something feminine in my look, so even if I’m wearing my baggy Carhartt carpenter pants with [an Adidas] Gazelle, I make sure that my top is a little bit more feminine or I put a ribbon in my hair, something just to zhuzh it up a bit.” Medina-Cleghorn is also an avid secondhand shopper—her favorite spots include Lara Koleji and James Veloria—and a sales searcher. “Vestiaire Collective and The RealReal are my go-tos,” says Medina-Cleghorn. “I’ve found some amazing past season pieces that way, like a never-worn Raf Simons–era Calvin Klein jacquard sofa coat for about 70 percent off.” The only vaguely uniform-esque look in Medina-Cleghorn’s wardrobe are her black discontinued Muji T-shirts. “They had the best baby tees.”
Though some of Medina-Cleghorn’s clothes seem a bit freaky-fantastical, don’t be fooled. Her outré garb does still incorporate some utilitarian basics of an in-office uniform: elastic shirring for movement and abridged sleeves. And most importantly? Nothing slippery. “So I’m not going to fall off of my stool.”
Below, see a week of Medina-Cleghorn’s outfits.
Courtesy of Raquel Medina-Cleghorn1/5Day 1
Muji T-shirt, Chopova Lowena skirt, and Gucci x Adidas sneakers.
Courtesy of Raquel Medina-Cleghorn2/5Day 2
Vintage SSC Napoli sweatshirt, Sleeper slip dress, Sandy Liang mesh flats.