Even though kombucha dates back more than 2,000 years, its popularity in the beverage industry has only grown in the last decade. This fermented and slightly fizzy drink is made from either black or green tea, sugar, healthy bacteria, and yeast, and features a number of benefits, such as weight loss, fighting illness, and heart health. It also offers benefits to the skin, which has made it a growing ingredient in skincare products today. “For thousands of years, people have consumed kombucha for its restorative health benefits,” says Natalie Pergar, lead skin care trainer at Eminence Organic Skin Care. “While this fermented tea is known to be beneficial for gut health, in recent years, kombucha has started to gain popularity as an ingredient in skincare. I think kombucha-based products are becoming more common in skincare today because more people are learning about the importance of maintaining a healthy, balanced skin microbiome, and a well-functioning skin barrier. Containing postbiotics, kombucha-based skincare products can help restore and maintain the skin’s natural balance, resulting in a visibly renewed and refreshed complexion.”
Beauty Beverage
Our experts are spilling the tea on all things kombucha in the spa space.
Q: What are some of the benefits of kombucha-based products on the skin?
A: “Kombucha can soothe blemishes and irritated skin, support maintaining the skin’s volume, help decrease grey skintone restoring a healthy glow, and help increase skin tautness and elasticity. It also helps improve smoothness and moisture retention, helps with the homeostasis of the cutaneous microflora, and more.” —Christian Jurist, M.D., medical director of global education, Pevonia Natural Skincare
Q: What are some of the top uses of kombucha-based products and treatments in the spa setting?
A: “Due to kombucha’s naturally acidic content, it will balance out the skin’s pH, protect the microbiome, and prevent infections and inflammation. It is seen in cleansers, toners, and exfoliation products, and often marketed as antioxidant, wellness, and organic when included in facials.It also can be used very successfully in treatments for breakouts.” —Angela McJoynt, regional educator, EmerginC
Q: Which clients are ideal for kombucha-based treatments?
A: “Kombucha-based treatments are gentle and suitable for most clients, but they can be especially helpful for those noticing signs of a damaged skin barrier. If your client is experiencing dryness, dehydration, flakiness, redness, irritation, or fine lines and wrinkles, they may benefit greatly from the nourishing effects of kombucha. Skincare products with this superfood help restore and maintain the equilibrium between bacteria living on the skin and protect the moisture barrier of the skin, resulting in increased hydration and a more even, healthy-looking complexion.” —Natalie Pergar, lead skin care trainer, Eminence Organic Skin Care
Q: What are some interesting ways to promote and market spa treatments containing kombucha?
A: “It would be clever for a spa to partner with a local kombucha brewery to make a special flavor for clients to enjoy after receiving a spa treatment with kombucha. If there are no local kombucha breweries nearby, it could also be a great idea to offer a complimentary kombucha with each service.” —Pergar
At Your Service
Learn about some of the kombucha-based treatments available at spas today.
The Spa at Desert Springs at JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa (Palm Desert, CA) offers the Kombucha Wellness Facial ($220, 60 minutes), which is a facial designed to refresh and balance skin with a combination of kombucha, white tea, ginger, and jasmine that work to ensure protection for the skin’s barrier. The facial illuminates and supports skin’s natural microbiome with gentle botanicals paired with pre-, pro-, and postbiotics.
At The Spa at The Post Oak Hotel (Houston, TX), guests can enjoy the Luminescence ($220, 60 minutes) facial, which features a blend of five tropical flower extracts and kombucha to help brighten and purify the skin. The treatment also includes a massage of the face, nape, and shoulder muscles to help awaken the senses.
L’Apothecary Spa at L’Auberge de Sedona (AZ) offers the Turquoise and Sage Hydration Scrub ($275, 90 minutes), which was designed to ground and restore energy with wild sage, chamomile, lavender, and rosemary. The treatment begins with a dry brush exfoliation to stimulate circulation and prepare the skin for an application of conditioning sage and turquoise stone-infused body butter. Then, feet and hands are exfoliated with herbal salts followed by a warm sage butter application to replenish and moisturize. The treatment concludes with a glass of rose kombucha, a truffle, and a handmade turquoise bracelet infused with sage as a gift.