Spencer Pratt Is the Skincare Guru You Never Knew You Needed
Whether you were Team LC or Team Speidi, there’s no denying that Spencer Pratt has come a long way since his days as resident villain on The Hills. It’s been almost seven years since the show ended, and while his love of healing crystals hasn’t waned, Pratt has been living a relatively chill existence-aside from becoming a Snapchat fixture, known for sharing pop culture commentary, daily ju-jitsu workouts, and passion for skincare.
After months of documenting his battle with the rashes on his body and even crowdsourcing product recommendations and tips from his Snapchat and Twitter followers, Pratt finally has the answer for what’s been making his sensitive skin angrier than an uncharged crystal: eczema.
Between the Snaps of his critiques of the week’s tabloid magazines and Allen and Anna, the hummingbirds that hang out in his yard, Pratt never fails to update his Snapchat audience on the current status of his eczema, but his latest project is going to confirm his new status as a skincare guru. Pratt told InStyle exclusively that he’s going to start a skincare-focused podcast with his go-to doctor, celebrity dermatologist Dr. Jessica Wu. “I just went to Dr. Wu, my super-famous, awesome dermatologist. We’re in talks to do a podcast together about skincare, because with the amount of information she knows and how many questions I ask her (like I stalk her); we might as well record all the things I quiz her about,” he says.
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In the meantime, Pratt shared which products he uses to keep the gnarliest rashes under control, along with everything else you could possibly want to know about his skin and wellness routines.
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On Becoming a Skincare & Lifestyle Guru Without a Perfect Complexion
Pratt has been a skincare enthusiast since first appearing on The Hills almost 10 years ago, but his passion has gone unknown until he started sharing his recent rash struggles on Snapchat. "I'm going to do a skincare podcast, and I have the worst skin on the planet now! It’s the devil! Ever since I started like talking how into my skin I am, I swear I’ve never had so many rashes in my entire life," he tells us. "The devil just knew how much I loved to have perfect skin and is just attacking me."
On His Eczema-Friendly Routine
Pratt used to be fan of weekly facials and masks, but had to simplify things once he started experiencing eczema-related rashes. Now, he maintains a routine that's heavy on hydration. "In the morning I wake up, go do ju-jitsu, come home, and shower. Right out of the shower I spray my face with Avène Thermal Spring Water ($19; dermstore.com)," he says. "I let it dry, and then I use the Avène Tolerance Extreme Cream ($38; dermstore.com), because I have sensitive skin. I spray myself, or my lovely wife will, with that spray about 5 -10 times a day; basically whenever I get overheated, which is a lot because I'm emotional."
On the Best Body Moisturizer
"When my eczema started breaking out like crazy recently, I was told to use coconut oil so I started covering my body cold-pressed coconut oil. Then Dr. Wu recommended Skinfix’s Eczema+ Fragrance Free Soothing Body Cream ($20; target.com), so I’ve been using that and it looks like my skin has been chilling out."
On Crowdsourcing Skincare Tips from His Followers
"I will say the information is more helpful than Google in the sense that you get real recommendations. Now I get the most interactions on Snapchat," Pratt says. "People send me so much information that it’s overwhelming sometimes. Since I was at the trying stage, pretty much anything people suggested I would go out and buy. We have so many cupboards full of products that Heidi told me I had to stop buying them. But, really nothing worked until I got into Avène with Dr. Wu."
On Sticking with a Routine that Works
"My skin is the best it’s been since I’ve stopped using masks so maybe it’s because I’ve kept the same routine. Before I was constantly switching it up and using different masks, so that would be my recommendation," he explains. "Once you lock in a routine, and your skin is the best it’s been in a while, stick with it, and do not introduce things to try to make it better. If your skin is 95-percent good, stick to what you’re doing and don’t drop in a new mask."
On Over-Juicing
"My skin was extra bad when doing too many juices. You can over-juice and that’s what I asked Dr. Wu about. Your body doesn’t recognize it’s a healthy juice, but gets a huge insulin spike of sugar. I was ODing on sugar every day because I thought I was being healthy."
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On How Healing Crystals Help Him Deal with His Skin Stuggles
"I would say that for me, holding a really dope crystal is calming," he explains. "The crystals are more of a tool to decompress and to be like oh this is so beautiful.’ It’s kind of like having the Breathe app on your Apple Watch and being reminded to breathe. They're a reminder to try to be more spiritual. Somebody else may grab their Bible. My wife will grab her Bible, which is great and that works. I like to hold things because I have ADHD and I like to play with things. So, I think maybe if they had a Bible that was a little more colorful maybe that would work for me."
On Being Known for His Healing Crystal Obsession
Thanks to an infamous scene on The Hills where Pratt stresses out over his crystals not working, he became known for his obsession with stones. "I will definitely say I was the first person in the media, I can’t predate someone talking about crystals on television or wearing them on red carpets or holding them on red carpets, so I will take that, sure. But I know Nicholas Cage was buying crystals before me, he just wasn't repping them as hard," he says.
On His Skin Condition Serving as Karma
Pratt used to do weekly facials and masks and had perfect, radiant skin from 8th grade up until his days on The Hills when he had to wear makeup during filming. "The problem is that I’m so obsessed with good skin, like weirdly obsessed. It’s [his eczema] is as if all my haters, all the witch doctors, and all the voodoo people got together and figured out exactly what to do to me. Nothing makes me more upset then my skin not glowing," he says. "The positive that’s come out of this is now I am a little bit more human. I'll see people with rashes and skin things in public and say a prayer for them. Now, I’m not like, I have the best skin ever, haha.’”
