When it comes to seaweed-based skin-care brand Repêchage, luxury is the name of the game. Not only do its formulations use advanced ingredients—at the heart of all Repêchage products lies the brand’s exclusive, nutrient-rich seaweed filtrate—but they unleash a hydrated, bright complexion for plumpness you can’t help but show off. The brand is home to six different lines, but we’re zooming in on its Hydra Dew Pure collection, which boasts another unique ingredient that restores and renews the skin when applied topically and, as I recently learned, when ingested, too.
When I sat down with licensed esthetician and brand partner Shiri Sarfati before receiving the brand’s exclusive Hydra Dew Pure Moisture Lift facial, she brought me a glass of Greek Mastiha Flavored Sparkling Water ($3) and told me to take a sip. “Mastiha is one of the main ingredients in our entire Hydra Dew Pure line,” she told me. “It has amazing benefits for the skin, whether you drink it in its original form or when you apply it to the skin. But, using it in both ways is the most beneficial.”
Immediately, I was curious. It makes total sense that both ingesting and applying a skin-boosting ingredient—think of more common ingredients like collagen or vitamin C—would have the greatest benefit, but what is it about this under-the-radar, earthy-flavored water that makes it so worthy?
Mainly cultivated from mastic trees in the southern tip of Chios, Greece, “Our Mastiha water is a natural extract of the Chios Mastiha (Chios Gum Mastic) derived through a distillation process,” says Sarfati. “Steam carries away the aromatic, volatile ingredients, turning it into condensed, aromatic water. During this process, the Mastiha water retains beneficial properties of both the Mastiha oil and the natural resin.” She explains that its benefits are plentiful: “Chios Mastiha consists of nearly 70 elements and constituents. Among its many benefits, it has shown to have antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. As it targets dryness, it helps reduce the appearance of oil, pore size, fine lines and dark spots.”
But, before it was applied to the skin, it was used in traditional Greek medicine for over 2500 years. “In addition to its antioxidant properties, it has been studied to aid in the amelioration of stomach disorders, auto-immune disease and even certain cancers,” Sarfati tells me. “It has always been our mission to address skin-care concerns holistically at Repêchage, working with the medical community to consider how best to address these concerns topically while working with clients to pursue the science in creating overall wellness.”
The same idea is used with its other ingredients. “Our Moisture Lift Serum ($90) contains camellia japonica seed oil (also known as tsubaki oil), which was used in centuries for Japan to reduce inflammation. It is known to help strengthen the appearance of the skin barrier while it helps prevent moisture loss. As product formulators and manufacturers, Repêchage creates products with ingredients that work synergistically to create the optimum biome on the surface of the skin.”
