Studio Anatomy in Conversation With:Andrea Pfeffer

Salon. C Stellar is the latest venture from Andrea Pfeffer, the brains (and beauty) behind the revered salon favourite, Pfeffer Sal. The concept behind Salon C.Stellar is rooted in transformation in its truest form, the name itself pulling from the latin ‘Circumstellar’ - the matter that orbits around a star. 

Andrea has created a new, 4-story world, where an exciting collective of practitioners have come together to orbit around the individual, and guide them through their wellbeing journey. We sat down with Andrea in her chic and celestial new home, nestled in the heart of Soho, to talk about her journey through the wellness space, what inspires her, and of course, how to get that A-list glow…

SA: We’d love to know more about your journey into and through the wellness world, where did it all begin for you? 

ANDREA: Before launching my first business, I helped build bands for almost 10 years and I loved it. Building brands for other people pushes you to think differently, as someone else, for someone else. It challenges your perceptions in a way that is so valuable, it’s good to be pushed creatively that way. 

That being said, there was a point when I felt ready, and wanted, to build something for myself. I’ve always been really interested in beauty and wellness and it seemed like the natural transition for me. My first venture taught me so much and when I left Pfeffer Sal in March 2021 I knew it was time to start something new again.

I really try to continually give myself a fresh perspective, and not become too indoctrinated by trends and the industry in general. I don’t want to repeat what other people are doing, I don’t find that stimulating, and ultimately I think that would be boring for everyone else. I think you have to be a lateral thinker, I think you have to abandon the rules a bit. I wanted to push the boundaries of beauty and that’s how Salon C. Stellar was born. 

SA: Can you tell more about the Salon C. Stellar concept, and how you brought it to life? 

ANDREA: In many ways it was a response to what I was feeling in the beauty and wellness space, as well as a shift I was seeing in my clients. COVID changed and morphed everything. People were no longer looking only for experiences, they were looking for transformations. The positive side of that, was that I found people really holistically committing to their health and wellbeing; viewing their fitness, strength and skin health as a system rather than as individual elements. 

I wanted to dive into that and challenge how beauty can be interpreted differently. Beauty to me is inherently individual and as a business I wanted to see how far we could take that idea. How tailored could we make an experience for a client? That was such an exciting prospect for me. 

 I wanted to create a multi-disciplinary offering where practitioners genuinely collaborate with each other; our aestheticians are talking to our nutrigenomics practitioners, who are talking to our intuitive guides, trying to understand the interlinked nature of the mind, body, skin connection. We wanted to be able to tailor insights for our clients that ultimately allows for them to be in control of their path, creating a more unique and cohesive wellbeing journey.

Finding the right physical space was also really important for us, we wanted to create and design a space that impacted your mental state as well as the physical. 

SA: We love the idea of a mind, body, skin connection. It’s a philosophy that feels very ‘Studio Anatomy’, is it something you feel your clients are really interested in too? 

ANDREA: It’s a journey I’m really excited to take people on. I’m most interested in creating a business that opens up new possibilities and new ways of doing things. The mind, body, skin connection is really nuanced. Neurocosmetics is a whole new and exciting area of beauty. I love it because it really brings the idea of ritual, touch, and self connection that ties in so beautifully with other kinds of mindful practice, whether that be breathwork or astrology. When you can hone and experience that true personal connection, it becomes so much more than just seeing a physical change. 

SA: What are some things we can all be doing to better look after our skin?

ANDREA: There are some really easy things, like changing your pillowcases regularly, even if you can’t be bothered to change your sheets, change your pillowcases. I would say choose a cleanser that you just really love. A cleanser isn’t going to change your skin really, so just pick something delicious that you look forward to using, have your cleanser be your pleasure centre so you get into the routine of taking care of yourself. Spend your money on your serums, and a good Probiotic never hurts!

SA: And what should we avoid? 

ANDREA: Always be careful not to base your routines solely from people with high visibility (influencers etc). Often their skin is very different to yours. Getting good recommendations from an esthetician every 6-12 months is worth its weight in gold. Avoid overusing harsh products like very stringent toners or over exfoliating that can compromise your skin barrier and make your skin much more sensitive, reactive, dry and flaky. 

SA: What are you most excited about in the beauty and wellness space at the moment? 

ANDREA: I’m so excited by stem cell therapy and research. The underlying principle of stimulating the body's own ability to heal, rather than poking and prodding and filling. I love the idea of finding the core of what makes something healthy, physically, mentally, aesthetically, and trying to preserve and maintain that for as long as possible - that’s really what we’re striving towards in our approach. 

SA: And what are you most looking forward to in Salon C. Stellar’s future? 

ANDREA: Building our community, more events and more of the advanced treatments. We’ve got lots of other exciting stuff planned for the space as well, aerial yoga, sound healing in a tibetan bowl so big you can sit in it! We’re so excited for the brand partnerships we’ve lined up and bringing them to life in different ways, we want everything to always feel lovely and organic and fresh - our event with Studio Anatomy was a perfect example of that. We all want to be in an environment that feels collective and supportive, that’s really important for us. 

You can find Andrea and more at www.saloncstellar.com

19B Beak St, Carnaby, London W1F 9RP