Every Monastery product is formulated by founder and master esthetician Athena Hewett, who has been making skincare since childhood.
Long before the first bottle had a label, Monastery began at home, with Athena, her yia yia, and her mother blending remedies together. It was a craft passed down through generations, and it still shapes every formula today.
In this installment of Ask Athena, she shares the inspiration and genesis story of the line.
Q: Why did you start Monastery?
A: Honestly, I didn’t really mean to start a skincare brand. I always wanted my own spa. There’s literally home video footage of me at five years old saying so. (For the record, I did open one in San Francisco in 2019.)
Making products was just something I’d always done. I grew up making skincare with my yia yia and my mom. It was our family time, our craft. I’ve been formulating since I was nine. At nineteen I wrote my thesis on essential oils, then trained in Grasse and became an internationally certified educator. So when I started treating clients, making my own products felt completely natural.
In my mid-twenties I struggled with acne myself, and that’s what pushed me to turn years of recipes into an actual routine. Rose Cleansing Oil was the first product in the Monastery line, formulated to treat my own acne. Gold Restorative Oil came next to bring my skin back to life after my acne had subsided. I was formulating for myself so cost wasn't a consideration. I formulated with the most luxurious, potent ingredients I could get my hands on.
Q: What is your skincare philosophy?
A: It’s pretty much the same as how I think about food (and honestly most things in life). High quality, natural, not too much. But don’t obsess over it. Do what you want and don't be too precious.
Q: Has it changed since you started the brand?
A: Yes. For many, many years I was maniacal about the perfection of an ingredient label. My focus was acne, and my specialty was clearing it with ingredients from the ground. I was pretty strict with my clients. They were on my routine and nothing else, because I needed complete control over what went on their skin.
Today I’m more relaxed. I still care deeply about every ingredient, but I’ve learned that obsessing isn’t the answer either.
Q: How did you land on the products you launched with?
A: My clients were basically the test subjects, which made them the decision makers. Every product we launched with was one I’d had the most success with in my practice and one my clients always asked for. The response to Attar Floral Repair Concentrate in the treatment room was and is one of our strongest. My team of estheticians is also the best in their field. They all have different styles so their perspective is essential.
That’s still how I work. Anything new goes through the spa first, and it’s the best control I could ask for. Many of my clients have been with Monastery since the beginning, so their feedback is invaluable, and I think it’s part of what makes Monastery unique. Seeing how my products work on the thousands of skin types that come through the spa each year is meaningful insight most brands simply don't have.
Q: What does the Greek coin logo mean?
A: It’s a Greek Athena coin. My mom wore that coin on a necklace when I was a kid. In Greek mythology, Athena is the goddess of wisdom and craft. The coin represents me, but I hope it represents all strong women, and anyone willing to go against the grain.
Q: How did you name the brand?
A: I named it with my mom. She’s Greek, and I wanted to draw on her depth of the Greek language, so we bounced names back and forth. Nothing was landing. Then we started flipping through old photo albums and came across a photograph of a monastery that I had a strong memory of. We both felt it. Monastery was the name.
It evokes everything I believe in for the brand: special, ritual, quiet, slow.
Q: What will you never compromise?
A: Ingredients. Design. Working with people I’m inspired by.
