A New York Wellness Brand Focuses on Products and Treatments for Cancer Patients

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The spa and skincare brand Naturopathica was founded on the principle that touch has the power to heal.
“We believe that touch through massages and facials can have a transformative effect,” says Cathy O’Brien, the New York-based company’s CEO.
“Our first location, in East Hampton, N.Y., was actually called a healing center and a place where people would seek out Eastern remedies to help them with whatever ailments they faced from skin inflammation to body aches. They could also come there to meditate.”
Trained esthetician and massage therapist Barbara Close founded Naturopathica in 1995 after her mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. Close turned to natural remedies to ease her anxiety, help with radiation burns and dry skin, and soothe her pain. This experience inspired Close to share her treatments with more people and was the impetus to starting Naturopathica. Following the opening of her East Hampton center, she introduced a line of skincare products for the face and body including lotions, face oils, and pain-relieving gels.
Close’s original mission still speaks to the brand today, O’Brien says. The company is expanding its presence nationally with more spas and treatments specifically created for cancer patients.
The Items
Naturopathica’s Calendula hydrating cream. Courtesy of Naturopathica
Naturopathica’s lineup includes facial and body products, aromatherapies, and ingestible tinctures that are formulated with plant extracts and other botanical ingredients.
The brand also has four spa locations including its original in East Hampton, two in New York, and one at the Colony Palm Beach Hotel in Florida that opened on Nov. 1.
The Price
Products cost between US$18 and US$134. Best sellers include the Manuka Honey Cleansing Balm, US$68, the Calendula Essential Hydrating Cream, US$70, the Gotu Kola Intense Repair Balm, US$70, and the Oat Cleansing Facial Polish, US$68.
The products are available at Naturopathica.com and Amazon.com and are sold at more than 400 luxury spas and resorts across the country such as Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, Miraval Resorts, and Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tenn..
Treatments cost between US$100 and US$600.
What’s the Good
Earlier this year, Naturopathica introduced an oncology-specific spa menu comprising massages and facials that are designed for individuals who are undergoing radiation and chemotherapy. “Cancer can mean a long and arduous treatment process, and massages and facials offer relief along the way,” O’Brien says.
The services are available at all of Naturopathica’s spas and are offered for no charge at Mount Sinai West Hospital in New York to in-house cancer patients. Te company also launched a program to train estheticians outside of its own spas on the treatments so that they can reach more patients.
The brand strives to use recycled and recyclable packaging whenever possible. All paper cartons are made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper. In addition, O’Brien said that when plastic containers are needed to protect a product and its ingredients, they’re made from a minimum of 50% post-consumer recycled material.
Naturopathica’s East Hampton location Courtesy of Naturopathica
“Otherwise, we package our products in responsibly produced glass bottles and jars—all of which are entirely recyclable once they’re empty,” she says.
What’s Next
O’Brien said that Naturopathica has more spa outposts in the works including in South Florida, Dallas, and the Los Angeles area. It also wants to grow its sustainability efforts by moving to all recyclable packing in the coming years and build on its oncology initiative by bringing it to more hospitals around the country. “We want to offer these treatments to as many cancer patients as we can,” O’Brien says. “Helping people is the reason why we exist as a brand in the first place.”