Driving beauty! Danica Patrick landed on a treatment that brightened and tightened her skin and she loved it so much, she partnered with the company. The 41-year-old stunner sat down with Us Weekly to dish the deets.
“I’ve been getting facials since I was 20,” Patrick tells Us. “I was told then, ‘if you keep doing this, you’ll stay looking the same.’ And that’s a long game to play.” But though she admittedly tried “so many treatments,” she finally found one that made what she perceived to be a major difference. That protocol was VirtueRF Microneedling.
First introduced to VirtueRF by Dr. Craig Koniver of Koniver Aesthetics in Charleston, South Carolina, the open-wheel racecar driver was blown away. “It was just amazing,” she raves. “I sent [the doctor] a picture a week later and I said ‘there’s no filter here, look at how amazing my skin looks.’” The results drove the star to reach out to the company.
Today, Cartessa Aesthetics, the parent company of the technology, unveiled their partnership with Patrick, meant to drive awareness of VirtueRF Microneedling and the company’s add-on treatment, CoolPeel, which boost results when used in tandem.
“We are thrilled to have Danica join the Cartessa family,” said Gabe Lubin, Founder and CEO of Cartessa, in a press release. “We look forward to partnering together to shine a light on the best, holistic aesthetic procedures and why Cartessa stands out in a growing, dynamic industry of aesthetic technology companies.”
VirtueRF Microneedling, which works via radio-frequency, followed by CoolPeel, described as a “unique, no-downtime superficial CO2 laser treatment,” is meant to improve skin laxity, dull tone and texture and reduce fine lines. Patrick noticed the biggest difference in her complexion clarity and color. She says she got “more pink, you have more life in your skin and evened out.” Since the microneedling helps activate one’s own collagen growth, “it turns it over and plumps it up,” Patrick explains. “It’s anti-aging magic!”
As for downtime after the procedure, the star says it was minimal and didn’t slow her down. She had some redness after three passes of microneedling but she “went to dinner with a hat on. I didn’t put any makeup on or anything, I just went out to dinner and that was that,” she says, comparing the redness to “just a little bit like a sunburn.”
At a time when women are more open than ever to share the ‘work’ they’ve had done, Patrick agrees “it’s definitely much more normal to talk about.” She admits she “does a little bit of botox” on her forehead, but she personally believes “there’s going to be a real commodity in knowing how you look,” and taking it easy when it comes to manipulating your face too much.
For this reason, she avoids filler. It can “really change the shape of your face,” she says. “It gets forgotten that there’s animation. You’re not watching yourself talk and laugh in the mirror, so it can really change the way look.” She believes that regular skincare from a young age is the most powerful way to avoid going overboard. “You won’t have to do dramatic things,” she says.
In fact, the athlete is into minimalism when it comes to makeup, as well. “I feel like it’s been 10 years since I’ve even put fake eyelashes on,” she admits. Perhaps one reason is because she believes that men prefer women to look more natural and advocates for less makeup. “I think guys like girls to dress up a little bit, but they want them to look like them.”
She’d like to see fewer filters in the age of social media, as well, noting that built-in filters have created what she calls a danger zone. “I think it really points in the direction of working on the self and your own confidence and how you’re going to generate it, and find ways to generate it outside of how you look or just how many likes you get,” Patrick says. “It’s really, honestly about confidence.”
