Tefi Pessoa Gives Us the Lowdown on Peptides, Facial Rebalancing, and Skin Scans

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Tefi Pessoa Gives Us the Lowdown on Peptides, Facial Rebalancing, and Skin Scans

All photos courtesy of Tefi Pessoa

Far and wide across the web, you will always find Tefi Pessoa described as “the internet’s best friend.” Spend five minutes with her and you’ll find out why. Whether she’s schooling us on TikTok, answering questions in her advice column, or guest hostingLove Island, the Miami-born media personality can make a pop-culture history lesson feel like a gossip sesh with a trusted confidante. And with over 2 millioncombined followers, it’s safe to say plenty of us have attended the University of Tefi Pessoa. It’s clear the internet trusts Tefi, and fortunately, she trusts us back enough to let us in on her best-kept beauty secrets. For this installment ofFace Card, we dove deep into her skincare dos and don’ts, her newfound affinity for peptides, and her journey with facial balancing.

TUESDAY 5:30 PM AUGUST 11, 2026 BROOKLYN

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EMILY SANDSTROM:I have to tell you two things before we start

TEFI PESSOA:Okay

SANDSTROM:The first is that I didn’t write down a single question for this for some reason

PESSOA:You’re so me

SANDSTROM:I had a feeling that this was just going to be awesome and really easy for us. The second is that I watch your TikTok couple series religiously. 

PESSOA:I was thinking about giving that series to someone else, like a media partner. Then this week, I was like, “No, I have to get back to it. That’s myjoy.”

SANDSTROM:The Brangelina series is my favorite

PESSOA:I love that one

SANDSTROM:You’re a gifted storyteller. Let’s jump into the beauty stuff. What’s your skincare routine right now?

PESSOA:I feel like during COVID, because of sheer boredom and panic, I was really falling for the 10-step routine. It seems like that really worked for so many people—not for me. But the past two and a half years, I have really leaned into sunscreen. I went to get a skin scan at a med spa and I saw the age of the skin affected by UV, I really locked the fuck down and tuned the fuck in

SANDSTROM:[Laughs] What the hell is a skin scan? 

PESSOA:A skin scan? You scan your skin and it tells you the amount of wrinkles, your skin age, the UV, how much sun has affected your skin. It could be capitalism at play, but I don’t care. I’ve always had a thirst for knowledge. So in the mornings, I wash my face with PanOxyl. I know people hate it because it stains their towels. But I don’t care, my towels come second to my face

SANDSTROM:Got it

PESSOA:I have cystic acne, like hormonal acne, and that’s the only thing that I feel combats it. Then I put on my Caudalie Beauty Elixir. I use it like a toner. 

SANDSTROM:Nice. 

PESSOA:Then I have a peptide that I keep in a little fridge on my nightstand. I started taking peptides because I have PCOS. I know they recently rebranded to Big Bitch Syndrome. But I have the GHK-Cu, and I also take NAD+ for inflammation, which is supposed to help with PCOS. Those two things together really help. I wash my face, and you know what? People don’t leave it on for a minute. You have got to leave your face wash on for at least 60 seconds so that it can work. 

SANDSTROM:You do?

PESSOA:That’s my belief. Then I put on my toner, then I put on my peptide. Then I take my little hand fan, like I’m a little flamenco dancer, and I let that dry for a minute. Then I put on my moisturizer. Right now, I’m using the Tatcha Dew moisturizer. Then I put on my Korean sunscreen. It’s the yellow one—I’ve got it written down somewhere

SANDSTROM:Oh, by Beauty of Joseon?

PESSOA:Yes!

SANDSTROM:That one is good

PESSOA:Or Round Lab Juice. That’s another good one. They sell that in Greenpoint grocery stores because they’re chic. That’s my day routine. At night, I like to double cleanse. I use the Elemis cleansing balm. Also, I will say, the Alix Earle cleansing balm and the About-Face cleansing balm are good. 

SANDSTROM:Oh, wow

PESSOA:So I wash my face and I put on a toner or beauty spray. Sometimes just my retinol, but I always end it with the Caudalíe night cream

SANDSTROM:Nice

PESSOA:During the summer, I like to layer in a hyaluronic acid somewhere in there, especially on my neck and chest. I’m from Miami, so I see a lot of women who spend all of their time in the sun, and they have more crepey skin now. But no matter what, every time I step out of the shower—I shower three times a day—I put on a moisturizer and I bathe in it. Right now, I have a lotion from Pure Fiji in the scent guava.

SANDSTROM:What does hyaluronic acid do?

PESSOA:It kind of traps moisture in. So I picture it like a bubble. It keeps the bubble of moisture, and I especially like to use it under my eyes. My Botox lady said, since I started using the peptide and hyaluronic acid, my Botox lasts longer

SANDSTROM:Okay, amazing. Have you ever injected GHK-Cu?

PESSOA:No, I use it topically. I got my haircut very short and I told my injector—the person I talk to about skincare and all that stuff—that I wanted my hair to grow back. They said, “Why don’t you just put on this peptide and rub it into your scalp at night?” Then I was like, “What would it do to my skin?” And I Googled it and I was like, “Oh, this sounds like it traps collagen too.” 

SANDSTROM:Did it work for your hair?

PESSOA:It did

SANDSTROM:Do you inject the NAD?

PESSOA:Yeah. I was telling my doctor that I feel like my lymphatic system is super slow. My lymphatic masseuse was like, “Anything you do will inflame you. Digestion inflames you.” So I started taking the NAD+, plus my vitamin D and my iron, and I started being very serious about my fiber. All of that together works. But I tell people, ultimately, if you’re not taking care of yourself and putting on sunscreen, no laser is going to help you.

SANDSTROM:Right

PESSOA:Well, I read that somewhere. Okay, I saw it on TikTok. but I want to help my body as much as possible. And through that feeling of accomplishment and consistency, one does glow from the inside out

SANDSTROM:Do you have any tips for managing PCOS?

PESSOA: There’s a hormone you take every day, and then there’s another hormone that you take two weeks on, two weeks off for your luteal phase. But at the end of the day, trying to manage my emotions and knowing that I get overwhelmed—that was something else. I was getting really overwhelmed and getting confused a lot. A lot of the symptoms of ADHD in women mirror PCOS

SANDSTROM:Like brain fog?

PESSOA:Yeah, it’s brain fog. I also think getting my PCOS diagnosed has given me the mental space to stick to my routines, as crazy as that is. In the morning, I take my vitamins, I do my NAD, my little peptide, I take my hormones, and I feel like I’m taking care of myself.

SANDSTROM:Interesting. PCOS is such a tough one

PESSOA:It’s kind of like an umbrella term for so much. I feel like in due time, we’ll find out exactly what it is. I know that some women get facial hair. I didn’t get facial hair. I was looking for very obvious signs that you see on TikTok. 

SANDSTROM:You mentioned having Botox. Are you doing under your eyes or forehead or neck?

PESSOA:I do forehead. Crow’s feet. And my 11s and my bunny nose

SANDSTROM:Wait, your where?

PESSOA:Your bunny nose, like when you scrunch

SANDSTROM:Oh, wait, so now it doesn’t scrunch?

PESSOA:It gives me more of a tip. I have filler in the tip of my nose. But I just scheduled something for facial rebalancing because—well, I don’t want Instagram face

SANDSTROM:You don’t have it

PESSOA:Thank you. I want to be as balanced as I can be. I don’t want to look like an Australian youth. You know what I mean?

SANDSTROM:I absolutely do. Can you tell me about facial rebalancing? 

PESSOA:I don’t really know what it is, except that I’m getting a consultation first before I do anything. But for example, when I first got filler when I was 31, they were like, “You have a weak chin.” I want to know what that means. I see people doing it on TikTok, and they do not look different, but they do look refreshed. Maybe just getting something done is all a bitch really needs

SANDSTROM:I feel like I’ve heard that phrase, but only in the Clavicular universe

PESSOA:Well, I hate that. [Laughs] I saw someone that said, “I want to look like my family and I want to look like myself.” I feel like sometimes I see women who can’t see themselves anymore. They want more, they want more, they want more. I feel like going to somebody who knows what they’re doing, who wants me to look my best, not like anybody else, is a way to combat that. But I don’t want to look 22. I don’t want to look 30. I’m happy looking 36. I just want to look my best. I know some women even now who lie about their age, and I completely reject it. If the cast ofGreasecan do that at 45, I’m fine.

SANDSTROM:Totally.

PESSOA:I’m not attached to youth, but I can’t deny that I am a product of a society that told me that this way is best. I could get a nose job, but I’m actively fighting that. I just want it straight. I’m trying to meet the standards in the middle

SANDSTROM:I like that ethos. Do you think some of these feelings have amplified since being on camera more?

PESSOA:I think lessened, to be honest. Seeing yourself on camera is never as bad as you anticipate. There are certain things that I do though. I don’t drink the night before I have to be on camera, because that is horrible. You get so bloated and blotchy. Also I lose my voice when I drink too much and I don’t want to do that. I hope that part of my brand is also my voice. I think because of my age, I’ve kind of been like, “Bitch this is it.” I’m not going to spend 20K in some Manhattan office for a nose job. If I was 24 and still finding my voice, I do think it would affect me more.

SANDSTROM:I hear you. What do you think about girls changing things younger and younger? I find that very difficult to contend with, girls getting baby facelifts at 21 or 22

PESSOA:Growing up in Miami, it was very common for girls at 18, 19 for graduation gifts to get nose jobs and breast augmentations. I think that a lot of the things that people are doing now, like fillers and Botox, are much safer than getting a nose job or a breast augmentation at 17. When you’re young, you’re looking at yourself so much. I can’t blame someone trying to find out what looks the best, but I do think that the girls that are getting threads today, like fox eye threads, they won’t be doing that at my age. They won’t.

SANDSTROM:Yeah

PESSOA:Phases are tough. 

SANDSTROM:The threads scare me more than anything.

PESSOA:Horrible

SANDSTROM:I want to know what beauty trends you kind of hate. 

PESSOA:I mean, this clean girl shit. What does a clean girl mean to me? A clean girl is a bitch that doesn’t smell like BO. I think that at a rapid pace, we are losing weird bitches doing cool stuff. Everyone should embrace being as weird as possible, as soon as possible. If you want to wear teal eyeshadow, teal eyeliner and red lash, you should lean in

SANDSTROM:What do you think about the new trend of extreme weight loss in celebs?

PESSOA:As someone who’s gone to rehab for an eating disorder, the truth is they don’t know what they look like. Like anything that you depend on, they are leaning on it because they have no sense of control in their life. Also, as any girl knows in the world, the moment you start losing weight, people start complimenting you. If you’re going through trauma or there’s things that you’re avoiding, and the only thing that you have is compliments, you will abuse it. It’s very hard to talk somebody into getting better when they like the way that they feel and they do not see what you see. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of rest to be able to process. I cannot blame somebody for latching on to control in any way that they can. So I hope that people talk about them like people that need empathy. When people are like, “This is such a bad example for girls,” they have no idea what they look like. I promise you.

SANDSTROM:Do you think it’s the responsibility of people around them to let them know? And what do you think about young people watching them?

PESSOA:It reminds me of when Diane Sawyer told Britney Spears, “Do you feel like you are a bad example for children because of the way that you dress?” And she said, “I am not raising your children.” People in the limelight cannot be avoided. I think it’s important for you to sit down and be like, “You’re looking at a girl who’s gone through a lot and she’s very sad and you’re a happy girl, so you don’t have to look like that.” It’s important to raise your own children.

SANDSTROM:Before we jump off, I’m going to ask something really frivolous in comparison. Tell me your favorite lip product. 

PESSOA:Oh my god, it’s this one by Dior. It’s the shade Talk My Dior. And my favorite lip liner is every bitch’s favorite lip liner, which is Stone by Mac

SANDSTROM:It’s a really good one and it mixes with everything

PESSOA:It mixes with everything. I put this together and I feel like I just got a small little seafood allergy, just enough