A Collection of Exceptional Stories, Tips, Recipes, and Memorable Moments from the Ladies and Gentlemen of The Ritz-Carlton
It may seem obvious that we need more hydration in winter — the slightest drop in temperature and humidity can make skin parched. But using caviar to combat this seasonal skin-care concern may seem like a less-apparent solution. Although they’ve been on beauty counters for more than 20 years, caviar-based skin-care treatments still command a (skeptically) raised eyebrow. And yet that’s exactly what fish roe can do for skin: lift and firm facial features that are depleted of moisture.
That’s because caviar is nutrient-rich, containing loads of calcium (twice as much as milk) and omega-3, an essential fatty acid, which the body can’t make. Omega-3 is as good for the skin as it is for your diet. It protects collagen proteins, the skin’s mattress-like coils that provide firmness and become more brittle with sun exposure and age.
“The deeply hydrating properties of caviar cause a plumping effect that firms and lifts the skin,” explains Shawn Suzann Lopez, spa director of Silver Rain, a La Prairie Spa at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, which offers a 90-minute Caviar Facial. Caviar’s status as a sumptuous delicacy is just a bonus.
During the service at this Swiss Alps–inspired spa — the entrance is a dramatic illuminated quartzite glacier — the skin absorbs more caviar than a diner in New York’s Russian Tea Room. After cleansing, steaming and exfoliating, an elaborate eye massage is performed with the Caviar Luxe Eye Lift Cream: Your facialist swirls small chilled globes around your eye area, brows and temples, which helps to de-puff and drain away dark under-eye circles. Next, product-dispensing eye patches laced with caviar extracts are applied to lines and wrinkles. While the rest of the face is thoroughly moisturized with a Skin Caviar Crystalline Concentre, hands and feet are slathered with the Skin Caviar Luxe Body Cream and placed in warmed mitts and booties for the duration of the facial. The result is dewy, moisturized skin. All the benefits of caviar, sans silver spoon.