“I’m an Aquarius!” Joanna Czech proclaims over the phone from her New York City apartment. “Aquarians are the most caring and the most generous of the signs, and when an Aquarius has nothing else to give, they give their time, and they are good listeners.” Indeed, these values lie at the core of Czech’s work as both a world-renowned skin expert and beauty entrepreneur.
The skin-care guru behind some of the most famous faces in the world (Kim Kardashian, Hailey Bieber, Christy Turlington, and Vogue’s Anna Wintour, just to name a few), Czech’s expertise extends beyond mere knowledge and skill—it emanates from a profound sense of nurturing where each of her clients receive tailored treatment plans designed to bring out their best selves.
At 21 years old, Czech had initially set her sights on a career in medicine having taken a myriad of chemistry, biology, and physics courses. Yet, despite her intention to go to medical school, she found herself drawn to the world of esthetics while learning about nail and skin health. “At that point I was prepared on a medical level,” says Czech. “I was planning to be a doctor, but without communicating with my parents or anybody else, I became an esthetician. I never reapplied for medical school after that.”
Embracing this path wholeheartedly, Czech dedicated herself to completing a rigorous 12,760 hours of training—far surpassing the standard requirements in the U.S., which typically range between 600 to 1,000 hours. Then, at the age of 25, Czech made her way to New York City where she landed at Reebok Sports Club working 18-hour shifts for $35 a day. “They didn’t have openings for skincare, but I didn’t care because I was trained for every body treatment,” she says. “I was prepared for anything. I did brows, Brazilian bikinis, manicures, pedicures, facials, ingrown removals—everything.”
One day, fate presented itself in the form of Trish Goff, who came to see Czech for a nail appointment. Later in the year, when the December 1995 issue of Vogue hit stores, Czech found her name written in the credits. “I did not buy Vogue at the time, but then one of my clients told me ‘Joanna, your name is on the credits, it says manicure and pedicure by Joanna Czech!’” she reveals. “I did not know then that years later Anna Wintour would become one of my steady clients.” Her A-list roster began to grow, starting with Barbara Streisand and Lauren Bacall for The Mirror Has Two Faces, then Kim Catrall in the late ’90s while filming the first few seasons of Sex and The City. Natasha Richardson, Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet, and many more followed.