Karlie Kloss Doesn’t Think You Need To Be Buying So Much Stuff

Karlie Kloss has been in the public eye for so long, you might forget she’s only 31 years old. Having started modeling at age 15, she’s walked the runway for every designer you can think of on top of being a 40-time Vogue cover girl.

But she’s also an entrepreneur and tech maven in her own right. In 2015 she founded Kode With Klossy, a nonprofit that teaches young women to code and encourages them to pursue careers in tech. She’s an investor and ambassador for the wellness technology brand Therabody. And she bought i-D in November and will take over as chief executive officer. All that isn’t even to mention that she’s the mother to a 2-year-old and a five-month-old.

Her hectic schedule calls for forming a new relationship with wellness that reprioritizes rest and recovery in order to perform at her best, she says. “We live in a world and a culture that praises how much can you push yourself? How much harder can you work? ... I mean that's how I lived my 20s,” she explains. But now, “I really try to be in bed by 10, if I can. That's my biggest focus.”

Below, Kloss talks with NYLON about the evolution of her self-care habits, the weirdest beauty treatment she’s ever tried, and her favorite wellness gadgets.

Do you remember the first time you started thinking about wellness or your first memory of practicing self-care?

I was a ballerina before modeling became my life. I was classically trained — point shoes, everything. I think that was the first time I realized my body needed time to recover. I would push my body to train and have high expectations of performance and then I also knew I needed to give my body time to rest.

At age 10?

Yeah, age 10. I was like, “Okay, self-care Sundays.”

How big of a role does wellness play in your life now? How much time a week do you think you spend on it?

I should spend more. I am so low-maintenance — not because I don't appreciate it or want it — it's just that life is so busy.

I think the ideas around wellness need to be reframed. It's over-indexing on performance at the cost of the wellbeing of the individual, and I don't think that's sustainable. I mean, that's how I lived my 20s. It wasn't until the pandemic where the world forced me to slow down and that I actually had to retrain how to take care of myself.

What are some of those things you do every day to take care of yourself?

I feel so much more focused on sleep. I would say, it used to be I wouldn't go to bed before midnight, earliest. Now, I really try to be in bed by 10, if I can. That's my biggest focus.

You're into wellness, you’re into tech, you're into beauty. What does your TikTok For You page look like?

I mean it's probably listening to us right now, right? But I don’t know, I would say it's a mix of fashion, beauty, and kid stuff. Lots of random cute kid and puppy dog content. I get a lot of that. I'm also such a science nerd, I really do go deep on that stuff.

What is the weirdest self-care or beauty treatment you've ever tried?

So one time I was in Brazil for a Vogue shoot — it was an amazing photoshoot deep in Trancoso, Brazil — and they wrapped me in mud and leaves. The mud and clay had these amazing natural properties. It was so good. I feel I've done all the things.

Is there anything you've tried that you would not do again?

I'm open to all. All fun, new adventures.

What's the best beauty or wellness advice you've ever gotten?

I hate to be so cliché, but it's really the little things. It's to hydrate and sleep. It's so dumb, but it's so true.

And what’s some advice that didn’t work for you?

I don't think you need to buy a lot of stuff. I think you just need to invest in a few great things you really actually use. That's how I shop for clothing, that's how I shop for beauty products, and even gifts. It's like, nobody needs more stuff, just really intentional, good recommendations.

What are some of your favorite products?

My latest and greatest obsession is the Theraface Mask. Last night, I was going to be on a red carpet and in glam so I took a moment of wellness for myself and put the mask on before.

I always travel with the Theraface PRO in my beauty bag. The percussive therapy [attachment] is my favorite, especially for lymphatic drainage.

Do you still find time to work out?

My obsession lately is — during the pandemic, I shifted — at-home body-weight workouts. Even if I don't have a full hour, I will just get my bath towel or a yoga mat or whatever and stream body-weight workouts. I have a trainer, Madison Rose, and she has a ton of good free content online.

What has changed about your beauty and wellness routines since you've become a mom?

I have less time, so I need to be more efficient. The other thing I am focused on is the people in my life. That's such a part of the wellness of life, too. Since becoming a mom, I feel like I have my mom tribe around me, and that’s maybe one of the biggest things for me.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.