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Scoring a spot at NYC’s upcoming Met Gala is just the beginning for boldfacers and A-listers lucky enough to be included in the top social event of the spring season, held on May 6 this year.
What follows the sought-after invite is months of preparation. There are fittings to attend at top ateliers, high-priced hotel suites at The Mark to secure — and, for many, trips to Joanna Vargas’ glossy Fifth Avenue spa to achieve that camera-ready glow.
Naomi Watts, Rachel Weisz, Laverne Cox, Emma Roberts — all have turned to the high-profile esthetician, whose facials can cost up to $1,200.
But a Post investigation revealed accusations of a toxic workplace behind the scenes, where staff were allegedly belittled and criticized, worked until they fainted or had panic attacks, and were required to participate in training and performance exercises they say were tied to Scientology.
“Joanna and Cesar Vargas — they’re the crux of the operation,” a former front desk assistant explained of the elite spot. “They’re some of the worst people I’ve ever met.”
For many women who dreamt of building careers as estheticians, landing a job at Joanna Vargas’s spas — there are three locations, one in Midtown, one in Brooklyn and a third in Los Angeles — was the holy grail. Vargas built a loyal following over the last 20 years — according to those close to her, she’s employed more than 300 people during that time — and positioned herself as a leader in wellness and female empowerment.
Yet, according to some former employees, the reality at her spa sharply clashed with that public image.
From 2013 through 2024, 16 former staffers, all of whom asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, told The Post that the workplace was defined by fear, hostility, and relentless pressure to perform.
Their accounts are supported by internal documents, emails, and recordings reviewed by The Post.
“Behind closed doors, she was really vicious to the point where some of these estheticians would come to me crying,” said one former office manager.
The Post reached out to Joanna and Cesar Vargas for comment. The couple declined to respond to allegations.
‘I am in danger’
Many former employees recall references to Scientology being not only present, but at times, explicit. Some recalled Vargas and her husband openly discussing their involvement, while others allege they were given materials, including books and pamphlets, in the workplace.
“They kind of forced us to read a lot of their Scientology books, saying that it’s good for business and personal business and saying that that’s very informative to us, for ourselves, for our future, our career,” said one former esthetician.
Photos and internal notes reviewed by The Post show weekly performance-tracking formatted as “conditions,” a Scientology system used to categorize employees based on output.
Workers said they were labeled according to their performance, such as “affluent” or “danger,” and photographs reviewed connected exercises to Scientology-related books, like The Model of Admin Know How Program.
In one example shared with The Post, an employee placed in a “danger” condition was required to complete a written exercise to identify what they had done wrong, acknowledge responsibility, and outline how they would correct it.
The document included directives such as “bypass habits and normal routines,” “start being positive,” and consistently introduce products and services to clients and “never fall out of work mode.”
In one section, she wrote: “I am in danger.”
Employees said they were also required to watch videos by known Scientologist Grant Cardone — as a scheduled part of their work day and to complete written reflections.
“We’d have to write reports on it… it was f—ing weird,” said another former esthetician. “He would ask how that made you feel… what did you take away…it was mental.”
“I didn’t know Grant Cardone was a Scientologist until later. I just thought that he was some kind of business mogul that Cesar loved,” said a former office manager. “I guess we were gullible, because we kind of ate that shit up. I felt extremely brainwashed.”
Emails and recordings reviewed by The Post show Cesar using terminology associated with Scientology, such as “Theta” and “flaps on handlings.”
In one recorded meeting, he referenced the video trainings directly, telling staff: “This is why we have you watch Grant Cardone.”
Pressure to perform
Across interviews, former employees described an environment in which job security felt unstable. After twisting her ankle, one former aesthetician received a warning for failing to provide an exact return date, noting that three warnings could lead to termination.
“I was constantly scared for my job. Even though I was doing well, it felt like it was never enough for them,” said one former office manager.
Staff said the couple set the tone. Cesar managed operations and sales; Joanna worked with estheticians.
“His approach to this was extremely paternalistic,” said one former front desk assistant. “Not a whole lot of regard for us as competent human beings.”
Another former employee describes Cesar as a narcissist who belittles staff and flaunts his designer wardrobe and luxury items. A practice that can also be seen on several of his social media posts.
“He would literally say verbatim to us, ‘ Do you think I look rich? How rich do you think I am? How much money do you think I have in my bank account? And he would literally make us guess, and then be like, this is what you’re working towards,” said one former front desk assistant.
“He is super controlling and just has a view that everyone who works for him is lesser,” said a former front desk staff member. “People worked there for years without raises.”
While Cesar was allegedly the controlling one, employees said Joanna was subtler but equally unsettling, often criticizing employees indirectly. One former esthetician recalls Joanna, through a coworker, saying she could never wear a certain outfit again because she ‘looked tired.’
“She does that so you feel unworthy of even being addressed by Joanna,” she said.
During a training on a new facial, a former esthetician recalls Joanna, who is known to use profanity, cursing at staff over a Q-tip left in a cream jar, calling it “f–ing disgusting” and demanding to know who was responsible.
“She’s staring at you. Your hands are shaking. You can’t do your job. She’s just broken you down. As you work, she just says, ‘No. Wrong.’”
Fainting on the subway
Employees said performance was driven by package and product sales. Front desk staff said they were expected to meet daily revenue targets—sometimes as high as $30,000—through cold calls, email campaigns, and upselling packages. When the quota was not met, a former front desk assistant alleges Cesar would sit at the desk and monitor them.
In an email reviewed by the Post, Cesar wrote, “If we aren’t demanding or making them work, very little sales is made.”
Beyond seeing clients, staff were required to write 25 handwritten letters weekly to encourage bookings. In an email reviewed by The Post, Cesar criticized an esthetician recovering from overuse hand pain for not writing letters, calling her “not MASTER worthy” and demanding more output with “acknowledgement.”
When one front desk assistant was just shy of her daily quota, she fainted from stress, according to a former aesthetician who was with her.
“She’s only 22 years old, she’s passing out on the train because of work,” said a former esthetician who was with her during the incident. “She made $18,000 for them that day, and that still wasn’t enough for them.”
In a resignation email reviewed by The Post, one former front desk assistant described the workplace as “toxic and demoralizing,” citing “constant micromanagement and belittlement” and “a relentless pursuit of profit at the expense of employee well-being.”
The letter also alleged that Cesar made inappropriate comments about employees’ finances, calling his conduct “profoundly unprofessional” and “lacking empathy or respect.”
‘Cannot work like a machine’
12-hour shifts were routine, with little time for breaks or recovery, leaving staff physically drained. One former esthetician recalls working 9 days in a row.
Taking time off was difficult without consequences. Company policy allegedly required staff to make up missed days, making it impossible to recover from illness or injury and leading to burnout. Internal emails reviewed by the Post show one massage therapist saying demands worsened existing injuries.
“Working extra days to cover myself defeats the purpose… since it will be adding more stress to my inflamed hands,” she wrote. In another email she asked about having a 30-minute break. “I simply cannot work like a machine. I can’t stress enough how important this is for my health and the longevity of my career.”
That inflexibility, employees said, extended even to personal crises. One esthetician, learning her father had a heart attack during her commute, said she was still expected to finish treatments before leaving.
“I had to work even if my dad was dying…,” she said, adding similar expectations applied during serious health issues, including partial paralysis from herniated discs.
Even quitting was difficult. When one former esthetician tried to resign, she was disregarded.
“They were just saying, ‘No, you’re not going anywhere. You’re fine. You’re not gonna find better than this.’”
The ‘ugly’ reality
Former employees said the pressure inside the spa also stemmed from how they were spoken to.
Weekly company-wide meetings were tense as performance was discussed in front of peers. One esthetician said the meetings diminished her, regardless of her performance.
Others described moments where Cesar allegedly made inappropriate remarks about worth being tied to appearances, which was particularly unsettling.
“He said, ‘ugly people can not make more money than beautiful people. The same thing goes for fat people; they make less money than skinny people,” a former employee with knowledge of internal operations alleges.
“This is a room full of women. And you’re degrading us,” she remembers thinking at the time.
Comments about appearances were not isolated to just meetings. One former office manager, struggling with an autoimmune flare-up, describes “countless” times where Cesar asked if she had free time to go to the gym.
“He would always reference it,” she said, recalling the repeated comments directed at her weight. “I really didn’t appreciate that.”
They also allege that Joanna’s behavior added to the culture through favoritism, gossip, and public embarrassment, creating a catty, “high school-like” environment.
“Joanna was like a full-grown adult mean girl, times a thousand,” said one former esthetician, who alleges Joanna saying things like “I hate her voice,” and “oh my god she’s so annoying,” about her staff.
“In public, she talks about girl power, but we all smirk, knowing she isn’t about girl power,” said another former esthetician.
In some cases, that dynamic played out through direct humiliation, according to several accounts. One former esthetician recalled Joanna allegedly lashing out during a training session after she asked a question.
“She said, Are you stupid? You just need to shut up and listen sometimes,” she said. “I started crying… it was the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to me.”
Violations alleged
The spa’s environment also raised concerns about compliance with labor laws.
One former internal operations employee said she immediately identified worrying issues, such as failing to track or pay employee sick days. She alleges that Cesar dismissed her concerns.
“They were like, ‘We don’t. You don’t have to pay them for it. They’re not working,” she said.
She also said she raised concerns about an alleged policy requiring employees to make up missed time, not giving staff breaks.
According to a representative from the New York Department of Labor, practices such as failing to provide required breaks, requiring employees to make up sick time, or improperly handling pay could constitute violations of state labor law.
“We would encourage this individual to file a formal Labor Standards complaint so that our team could review this matter,” the representative wrote in an email.
In fact, The Post’s investigation found no legal complaints or investigations against the spa or its owners that reflect this, nor is there any evidence that they have ever been cited or found liable for any violation of law. Still, several former employees said they did not report incidents because they were unfamiliar with labor protections or because they had no other options.
Relief and recovery
One former brand manager who visited the New York salon only once per month recalls a lukewarm experience working at Joanna Vargas and admitted she did not see anything particularly toxic during those visits; however, she was usually sitting upstairs in the office.
Overall, she told The Post that she was impressed with the business they built and mentioned that many other beauty brands she’s worked with operate similarly in terms of pushing package sales.
Despite her recount, the overwhelming negative reports of the environment inside the Fifth Avenue spa left a lasting impression on employees.
Staff reported suffering anxiety, self-doubt, and symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress.
While some staff members attested in emails sent to The Post to having positive working experiences, the 16 employees interviewed by The Post shared negative experiences that reflected similar patterns.
“I have workplace anxiety now because of this job, just the constant feeling like someone is out to get me,” said one former office manager who described feeling “broken” and unable to work for months. “I was having nightmares. I was crying in the shower.”
Others reported physical symptoms like stress rashes, hair loss, exhaustion, and burnout. One esthetician said it led to panic disorder.
“When I left there, I had a full-blown mental breakdown,” she said. “I had to be on medication, and I couldn’t work for four months because I was a fucking mess.”
One former office manager said quitting made her feel “exuberant.”
“I loved writing that email saying I was quitting,” she said. “I came to work in a luxury space, and this is the exact opposite. This is disgraceful.”
Still, some found consolation in their resilience.
“The best thing I did was work for her, and the best thing I ever did was to leave her,” said a former esthetician.
“Working with her has taught me to be so strong that no one in this world could destroy me.”
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