Everyone is allowed to do whatever they want with their body hair. Olympic athletes, too! But for some sports, certain grooming techniques make a lot of sense. Think swimmers, gliding through the water. Or figure skaters gliding in general? Hair wouldn’t hinder the movement, but a smooth finish, like a freshly zamboni’d rink, feels aligned with the sport.

Prior to her debut at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Byrdie sat down with figure skater Isabeau Levito to talk about how she was feeling, her beauty secrets, and her new partnership with Venus. (For what it’s worth, her favorite razor is the Extra Smooth Sensitive Razor, designed for sensitive skin and perfect for the cold of Milan/ice in general.)

Ahead, the Olympian tells us about her self-care routine in the village, the pins she’s collected, and the cake she can’t stop eating for breakfast.

The One Thing She Was Most Looking Forward to at the Olympics

“The Village is something I was super excited to experience, and the pin trading gets me very excited. I have this little [hello kitty] Baggu attached to my credential where I have the pins I’m willing to trade. And my coach’s pins, because I’m trading her pins for her.”

“[Some of my favorites are] and Olympic pin, Team USA Hello Kitty, the rings. [I have] a hockey one that a lot of people want from me so that’s why I’m keeping it. China’s pins are so good, so I have two China pins (and I might have to just keep collecting more, because they’re so cute), and a tiramisu one.”

The One Thing That Helps Her With Nerves

“Less thinking. The more I think, especially about skating… it’s not going to get me anywhere. Don’t think, just do—that helps me the most. Distractions also help me a lot with nerves. Sometimes I’ll distract myself with a really bouncy ball. It doesn’t take much.”

The One Way She Loves to Celebrate Her Success

“A nice pat on the back of myself. No, I feel like when I’m successful with performing the way I want to perform, the satisfaction just comes from within. And that’s all the celebration I’ll ever need.”

The One Thing Keeping Her Warm at the Winter Olympics

“My big heart. And the Eagle Skirt.”

The One Ritual That Helps Her Feel Confident

“My nighttime routine. Coming out of an everything shower nice and fresh and smooth. My portable Venus razor has the moisture bar on it, so I don’t need shaving cream, and I just feel so clean after that shower. Washing my face nicely, moisturizer, clean teeth. That’s perfect. That makes me feel confident because I just feel clean.”

The One Thing Everyone Gets Wrong About Figure Skating

“We all do our own hair and makeup. Some people, like the ice dancers, take hours to do it because the image that they portray is extra important. But it’s all self-done. We are just our own makeup and hair geniuses. I don’t know how to curl my hair, but yeah.”

The One Self Care Indulgence She Loves During the Games

“I feel like this goes hand in hand with the confidence thing: extra care of myself and my body. Compression pants are really good after training, but I would just, again, go with my night care routine, and that self care.”

The One Thing That Would Surprise Us About the Olympic Village

“I was expecting it to kind of be massive, and I can honestly lap that place in five minutes. Then again, I like, run. Maybe I’m skipping around the village.

“But I’m glad that it’s not that crazy big, because imagine if I’d have to travel stateside to get to the dining hall? That would be bad. My building’s right next to the dining hall.”

The One Dining Hall Food That’s “The Chocolate Muffin” of 2026

“Everyone’s trying to say it’s the lava cake that was really only there the first two days. I have not seen it in days. None of us have seen it in days. I tried this lava cake for science, and I thought there was nothing to it. I’ve had better lava cakes. I don’t think it deserves to be the next chocolate muffin, but I think since it’s in the chocolate category, they’re like, ‘it’s the next chocolate muffin.’

“What is actually the chocolate muffin? Like I can’t stop eating this? It’s the grandmother cake: Torta della Nonna. It is just beautiful, like your classic pastry from [Italy]. It’s custardy with a tiny bit of lemon, but it’s mainly custardy with the sprinkled sugar on top. I should have never tried it to begin with, because now I’m addicted. I had it for breakfast a few days. It’s not, like, the breakfast of champions—it’s problematic for me. But why are they serving it at breakfast? They’re setting me up for failure!”