Frankie Grande on the In-Office Treatment That Has Him Looking Like a Teenager Again

In the world of celebrity siblings, Frankie Grande holds the crown for having the most zestful personality. Just watching him on stage, on TV, or even a face-to-face sit down—like we did recently—the reality star and actor is unforgettable—and not because of who he’s related to.

We caught up with recently engaged Grande at the Perspectives: The Evolution of Aesthetics, an Aesthetic Biomedical symposium, where he spoke on a panel about the latest anti-aging treatments that have helped him the most. Without skipping a beat, the 38-year-old star candidly shared his own approach to aging with the audience, and refreshingly, there was no talk of olive oil or consuming eight ounces of water a day. He shared that in addition to injectable treatments, he’s recently added Vivace Radio-Frequency Microneedling to his skin-care toolbelt. Here, the self-proclaimed beauty enthusiast talks the pursuit of glowy skin, his at-home staples and which pre-wedding preparations he needs before he walks down the aisle.

You look amazing and you just got engaged to your fiancée Hale Leon. Is this treatment part of your wedding prep?

I’ve always been someone who has worked on their skin. I’m constantly looking for the next thing that’s going to work the best. I think I was the pioneer of prejuvenation before it even had a name. Skin care has just always been part of my daily routine, so yes, it is part of my wedding prep, but not because I’m getting married. It’s just something to keep my skin looking good. It’s part of my DNA. The real wedding prep we’re doing is hiring a wedding planner and talking to designers and finding a venue. But, in terms of getting fit or upping my skin care, no I’m always on top of my skin.

You’re 38 now. What are some of the aging concerns you’re seeing in this stage and what are you doing about it?

I would say, elasticity, I’m starting to notice it depleting. Getting treatments that restore elastin and collagen have become more important to me. Before I was more focused on just making sure my skin was clear, whereas now elasticity is a problem as well as sun damage from all of those years when I didn’t wear sunscreen religiously. I used to think, ‘I’m Sicilian, I don’t need it. Or I’m a Floridian, so don’t talk to me about the sun.’ Now, I need to get a laser to basically sear my face to get rid of the damage. So, I’ve been trying to combat the sun damage later in life, which is not the most fun.

Tell me about the Vivace Microneedling treatment you had. How many sessions did it take to see results and was it painful? You mentioned your mom said you looked 16 again.

Yes, my mom was like, ‘Wow your skin looks incredible.’ Maybe I was the one that said I looked 16, but she thought I looked fantastic right away and that was what I really liked about it. There was no downtime, and it wasn’t painful. The areas of sensitivity were my lips and my eyebrows, but really, I just flinched when those areas were treated. The no-downtime impressed me the most because I didn’t have any redness or swelling, it was just like an instant glow and plumpness in the good way. Not puffy, but more like ‘Wow, you look so like radiant and you have no lines.’

You also mentioned that you used to have a hard time taking compliments, which is so relatable. What are your best tips for someone facing the same issue?

I’m living in the present more and I’m understanding that those compliments are actually not given frivolously. If someone is going out of their way to say something nice about you, take a moment to absorb what they’re saying and thank them. It’s very easy for people to not give you a compliment, in fact, it’s much easier to insult someone. So, it’s actually honoring what they say to take it in and say thank you is like. It’s kind of beautiful. So, I’ve been trying to do that more and it does make me feel better and lets me stay in gratitude.

What do you use for your skin on a daily basis?

I use Dr. Lancer’s products because he’s my doctor. I use his Polish, Cleanse and Nourish method. It’s really good for my skin and helps with my seasonal acne. As soon as the seasons change, my head goes nuts. So, I use his benzoyl peroxide face wash, and that gets things under control pretty quickly. Then I’ll switch to his blemish control solutions. I’ve been my own little chemist because he’s not there every day. I mean, I can barely afford to have him, imagine if it’s once a day?

So, you listen to what your skin needs when you wake up in the morning?

It’s like a different thing every day. I’m the kind of person that wants to watch a movie until 4 a.m., but I make sure that I do my skin care before I get into that mood, because then I’ll fall asleep with my makeup on. So, I just make skin care part of my evening entertainment. I’ll bring my Neutrogena Face Wipes into the theater to watch a movie while I am taking my makeup off because I know otherwise, I’m going to fall asleep.

What’s next for you after all of the wedding-day planning?

I’m co-hosting a SpongeBob SquarePants podcast for Nickelodeon with Hector Navarro, who is also a SpongeBob super fan. It has been really fun and it’s an exploration of everything SpongeBob—we’re taking the world through all of the episodes and revealing behind the scenes secrets. It’s going to be amazing.