With over 20 years of experience as an esthetician and countless clients struggling with acne, Monastery founder, Athena sought to formulate a product to repair sensitized and over dried skin; two skin conditions that tend to trigger or exacerbate acne. The common thought that acne is associated with an overproduction of oil simply is untrue in many cases.

In collaboration with our friends at Pallas, a one a kind vintage bookshop located in San Francisco, & Sommer, a curated collection of artisanal objects based in Berkeley, we hosted an intimate celebration of the lunar new year guided by inspiration from the film ‘The Color of Pomegranates.’

In celebration of the launch of the Universal Balm, Monastery hosted an intimate event at our flagship spa for our community here in San Francisco. 

The truth about your skincare routine, less is more. Would you believe us if we said when it comes to radiant skin, less is more? When Athena struggled with acne nearly 10 years ago, she literally stripped her routine to nothing and started to see results. She eventually added in a crafted oil blend in order to cleanse her skin.