Pratik Shetty has the kind of face you don’t forget—sharp cheekbones, clean skin, and a laid-back confidence that makes him equally convincing in a classic suit and a sleeveless tank. At 26, the model has walked for Alexander McQueen, Bottega Veneta, Fendi, Hermès, and Lanvin, to name a few, and featured in campaigns for Chanel Beauty, Dunhill, H&M, J. Crew, and Ralph Lauren. This season, he’s walked the Todd Snyder and J. Press shows at New York Fashion Week. At the J. Press show—his first in the city—he not only walked the runway but also locked eyes with BJ Novak from The Office. “When I saw him while walking, in my head I was like, I have to meet this guy,” he recalls excitedly. Presentation over, he did exactly that. (And yes, he even got a picture.)
Shetty’s mornings start with skincare—gentle, practical, but consistent. He learned by quietly observing makeup artists, snapping photos of their products, and slowly curating his own arsenal. And like most models who live out of a suitcase, he’s pared down his kit to the essentials: a cleanser that makes him “feel French”, a moisturiser and Korean sunscreen he takes everywhere he goes, and an ice-dunk ritual picked up from Bella Hadid.
We caught Shetty in New York to talk about the products and rituals that keep him runway-ready, why he doesn’t spend on haircuts, and the fragrances he wears while out and about.
My skincare education happened with makeup artists on sets. I didn’t have a proper routine for the longest time. It took me a while to figure out the right mix of products for me. During shows and shoots, the makeup artists take everything off the face. They prep the skin with their own set of products and are very experienced, so they know what’s good for you. When I’m in the chair, I don’t speak. I just look and listen and observe what products they put on. I may not buy them, but I take pictures of products for reference.
Currently, I literally have just three products in my AM routine. I use cleanser, moisturiser, sunscreen, and I’m done. I use a La Roche-Posay cleanser that I’ve used for the longest time. It makes me feel French. It really takes the dirt out, and makeup as well. When I’m in India, I use Cetaphil, because it’s gentle and easy to get your hands on. After cleansing, I use the Bioderma Atoderm Crème Ultra moisturiser. It’s with me everywhere I go.
I use a lot of sunscreen because I am in the sun a lot, playing football with friends—it’s usually Beauty of Joseon. It doesn’t leave a white cast and just blends in with your skin. I used to think it’s a myth—that sunscreen doesn’t actually help—but I’ve seen the difference.
At night, I use the Glow Deep Rice + Arbutin serum and Revive eye serum from Beauty of Joseon. I follow the same routine as the day in the evenings, minus the sunscreen. I wash my face with cleanser and I apply three to four drops of the serum and leave it on for two to three minutes. Then I put on the moisturiser to lock it in and that’s it. My skin is nice and shiny. Here’s a tip: don’t put everything on quickly; you don’t have to hurry like that.
I did a show with Bella Hadid back in 2021. It was a Missoni show in Milan. Her makeup chair was two chairs down from mine and she had this whole routine set in front of her. There was this big bowl full of ice and water, and I actually saw her dunk her face in it. It was crazy. And then I started doing it as well and found it to be really helpful. It wakes you up in the morning. You can even do it with an ice cube; just close your eyes and rub it over your eyelids and your face and it gets the blood flowing and helps with depuffing. However, I do feel it only shows better results if you do it every single day.
I don’t wear makeup outside of shoots and shows. I shot a Boy de Chanel makeup campaign this one time, and they gave me this skin tint as a gift. It’s a really nice product, but I’ve barely used it except once or twice, when I had a pimple to cover up. This was in 2022, so I don’t think I should be using it anymore, but I’ve just kept the bottle as a souvenir and it’s always in my pouch. It’s a nice memory.
If I get a zit on the morning of a show, I just let it be. I drink a lot of water and stay hydrated. It’s usually on my forehead, so I pull my hair back to keep it out of my forehead. I’ve tried pimple patches, but for some reason they don’t work for me. If I put one on and go to bed, it’s even bigger the next morning. So now I have this anxiety about it. A zit can just pop out of nowhere, but I still try to eat clean and avoid eating any junk or sugar the day before a show or a shoot.
The biggest reason I got a skincare routine was so I can use my mornings productively. A lot of people, the moment they wake up, are in front of the phone and that’s it. One hour is gone. When I wake up, I drink water, I get out of bed, I wash my face, I do my skincare, then I do whatever I want to do. It’s a habit and I’m happy that I’m not looking at my phone first thing in the morning. I don’t really have any routine other than this. I go to the gym every day, but I go any time I feel like, but with skincare it’s always the first thing in the morning.
I don’t usually get haircuts at salons. I always love getting a haircut on set. The best part? It’s free. I go in about 20 minutes early, and they cut it if they need to. I don’t really have a preference when it comes to how my hair is cut. I usually keep it long because usually whenever I’m shooting, the client prefers to keep it slicked back. It’s pulled back with a lot of gel mixed with glue. Obviously, it looks shiny and great, but at the end of the day my head hurts, so I’m kinda tired of that look.
I’m south Indian, so I’ve grown up with my mother putting coconut oil in my hair. But I stopped doing it because I feel it makes my scalp really cold and my head heavy. So now I just use two to three pumps of the Kérastase hair serum after I wash my hair and blow-dry it. It smells really good and has this nice, gooey texture that’s gone when you put it on. I definitely think my hair feels better when I use that.
