I Saw Pamela Anderson’s Facialist & Now I Also Want To Ditch Makeup

Since late September, Pamela Anderson has dominated the headline news. Whether you’re watching TV, reading your favorite style blogs, or scrolling TikTok, the former Baywatch star has been the topic of conversation.

Since she first hit the scene in the early ‘90s, Pamela has been a master of, unintentionally, causing a stir. Her Playboy covers. Her banned PETA ads. Her marriage to Tommy Lee (and their infamous sex tape). Her Hepatitis C diagnosis. Her alleged romance with Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange. The list goes on and on.

Now she’s at it again. This time, for a reason no one expected: ditching makeup.

It all started when Pamela attended Paris Fashion week completely barefaced. The move was shocking, especially coming from the woman who influenced an entire generation with her iconic bombshell beat. There’s even a TikTok filter, “90s Pam Makeup,” inspired by her thin penciled-in eyebrows, smoky-black eye shadow and icy-pink pout.

For many people, it was their first time seeing Pamela without a stitch of makeup and they were genuinely surprised by how beautiful she looked without it. At 56-years-old, her skin was literally glowing. In an interview with Vogue Paris, the actress admitted, “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my own skin.” It shows.

As one of Pam’s contemporaries, I know first-hand how elusive it can be to maintain a youthful appearance. As we age, collagen production slows, and elastin fibers become thinner causing wrinkles and sagging. Additionally, melanin production goes into overdrive and clumps together causing “age spots” to appear. These issues often require potent products with active ingredients, lasers, sometimes even surgery, to remedy. At 53, all these issues are evident on my face. So, I wanted to know what Pam was doing to keep her skin so smooth, even-toned, and radiant.

Pamela’s decision to cancel cosmetics came after her longtime makeup artist and dear friend, Alexis Vogel, died of breast cancer in 2019. That’s when she turned to Klara Chrzuszcz, a master medical esthetician and founder of Klara Beauty Lab in NYC, to help elevate her skincare game.

When Pamela was starring on Broadway, she had weekly appointments with Klara. And whenever she is back in town, Klara Beauty Lab is always one of her first pit stops. It’s a relationship that has existed for eight years now. Chrzuszcz is tight-lipped about the details of her client’s treatments but shares that “there are cues Pamela follows religiously: hydration, oxygenation, maintenance and consistency.”

So, what does she think of Pam’s new makeup-under? “I think she is tired of having the label of the Playboy Bunny. I think she is tired of having to pretend,” says the skin care pro, who also has a degree in psychology. “You can only be strong when you let yourself be vulnerable. What she did is so powerful.”

I needed Klara to have work her magic on me.

My Experience At Klara Beauty Lab

On the day of my appointment, Chrzuszcz conducted a skin analysis and recommended a combination treatment: Broadband Light HERO photofacial (BBL) and Morpheus8. The BBL, a non-ablative procedure that utilizes pulsed broadband light and photo-thermal energy, would address my sun damage, hyperpigmentation, broken capillaries, and any acne. Morpheus 8, a combination of micro-needling with radiofrequency, would boost collagen and elastin levels in my skin, helping to tighten and firm my jowls and plump up my hollow under eyes. The combination treatment cost $1700 (for face, neck and décolleté).

The Pre-Treatment

When I arrived for my consult, Chrzuszcz was ready to do the treatments that day — but I wasn’t. Morpheus8 is a very intense treatment and requires pain management, which I hadn’t planned for. On the day of my follow-up appointment, I arrived an hour early. Klara applied medical grade numbing cream and I took a pill for pain. We waited 45 minutes for them to work. I was getting a little anxious right before the treatment began, so Chrzuszcz gave me some nitrous oxide, a.k.a. laughing gas, to keep me calm.

Morpheus 8 and BBL Laser

Chrzuszcz started the treatment with 30 minutes of light therapy to “wake up the skin and get it ready for what’s to come.” She did the treatment in sections, working from my forehead (the most sensitive area) down to my chest. With each section, she would do a pass with the BBL laser, then follow it with Morpheus8. After my entire face, neck and chest were completed, Klara finished up with another 15 minutes of light therapy to “jump start” the results.

What surprised me — and Klara — was that I didn’t feel a thing. Her pain management regimen worked like a charm. I’ve had two die-hard beauty friends who did not receive this level of pre-treatment care and had to stop Morpheus8 halfway through because of the pain — not ideal if you want even results. After the pain meds and numbing cream wore off, my face was a little red and tight, but I was surprised by how minimal the side effects were. I was prepared for it to be much worse.

The Results

On day two, my under my eyes were a little puffy and I had some minor flaking. Nothing that stopped me from going outside in public. By day four, the only evidence that I had a treatment done was some residual flakiness.

The only downside of BBL and Morpheus8 is that they are not one-and-done treatments. To achieve real, visible improvements, a series of three treatments is advised. Chrzuszcz told me that I would see some subtle improvements from this first treatment within two or three weeks. A week post-treatment, I have already noticed that some of the sunspots on my nose, forehead and cheek have faded dramatically. Finally, some hope…

I never imagined that the woman who inspired me to pluck off most of my eyebrows in the ‘90s, would be the same woman that would inspire me to embrace my maturing face and feel empowered by it. “What Pamela showed the world is that you are beautiful, and it can shine through even without the makeup,” says Chrzuszcz, adding with a giggle, “...as long as you have good skin.”