Our Story
About Us
About Privai: Botanical Spa Skincare, Crafted in the USA
Privai is a women-led, employee-owned botanical skincare brand crafted in the spa treatment room and made for daily life. Our formulations are used at Kimpton EPIC Miami, Pike and Rose North Bethesda, and dozens of luxury hotel spas nationwide, alongside independent estheticians, day spas, and wellness practitioners who choose Privai for the integrity of the ingredients and the craft behind every bottle.
We make spa-grade botanical skincare. The phrase carries weight: it means the products that work in a professional treatment room also work on your bathroom shelf. Same formulations. Same intention. The only thing that changes is the setting.
Our Story
2006
The beginning
Born inside the spa industry
Privai was founded twenty years ago in the spa treatment room, co-founded by Innovative Spa Management, an operator of spa and salon locations across the United States founded by Christina Stratton and Ilana Alberico. The exclusive formulations were developed by botanists, chemists, estheticians, and massage therapists to perform under professional standards. Privai was created to bring spa-grade wellness into daily life, a "spa in a bottle" approach using results-driven, botanical formulations.
2022
A corporate phase
New frontiers
Over the next fifteen years, Privai's formulas earned a steady following inside the spa industry. As the clean beauty movement saw massive growth in the 2010s and store shelves filled with marketing-led brands, Privai stayed close to its spa-room roots, where formulas had to perform on real skin under professional hands. Estheticians and massage therapists trusted the line because it delivered results their clients could feel.
In 2022, that reputation made Privai an attractive acquisition. The brand was folded into Arch Amenity Group, a national amenities management partner overseeing spa, fitness, and lifestyle programs at hotels, residences, and commercial properties across the country. The fit was clear on paper: a premium spa-grade product line inside a premium amenity portfolio. Privai gained dozens of new accounts through AAG's network and kept growing.
2025
This is not the end
The show must go on
Three years later, when the conglomerate began preparing for a merger, Privai was deemed an outlier, not closely enough related to the core business. By late 2025, Privai was on the verge of being shut down. Its loyal core team began looking for a way to keep it operational, knowing the products would be missed in the spa-grade skincare market.
2026
Botanical skincare, spa-grade and made for every day
Female-led, employee-owned
Today, Privai is independent again, woman-owned, and led by Tiffany Harlan. Tiffany came in to assess the brand on behalf of the corporate group, with a mandate to sell it off or close it. After months reviewing the financials, the formulations, and the brand itself, she came to a conclusion: the brand, the products, and the people behind them were capable of succeeding, and worth saving. She left her corporate role and took ownership, along with the team members. The operations, production, and education teams who built the trust this brand carries are all still here, and more invested than ever.
Explore Privai
Shop all skincare · Our spa experiences · Find a partner spa · How to spa · Gift cards
How Privai is different
Spa-grade botanical skincare sounds like marketing copy.
We make it concrete. Every Privai formulation is developed by the same botanists, chemists, and estheticians who serve guests in luxury hotel spas. The active concentrations that perform under their hands are the same ones in the bottle you bring home.
Formulated for performance
Privai's formulations target visible results: hydration, brightening, firming, calming, recovery. We work with established botanical actives, hyaluronic acid, kojic acid, matrixyl, plant oils, alongside extracts chosen for their proven performance in professional skincare. Every product is hand-crafted and hand-poured in Asheville, North Carolina.
Crafted in small batches
Privai is not mass-produced. Every batch is hand-mixed and hand-poured in our Asheville facility, in quantities small enough that we can monitor quality at every step. This is artisan production, not a factory line. That's also why our partner spas trust the consistency.
Partnered with luxury hotel spas
Privai is the in-spa skincare brand at Kimpton EPIC Miami, Pike & Rose North Bethesda, and a national network of hotel and resort spas. Our formulations are chosen by spa directors who use professional skincare every day. See our full list of partner locations.
Made for your skincare ritual
Whether you're building a daily routine for sensitive skin, adding a brightening serum to address hyperpigmentation, or curating a body care ritual that mirrors a spa treatment, Privai's range supports specific concerns with targeted formulations. Browse by collection or take our skincare quiz to find your match.
Frequently asked questions
What is botanical skincare?
Botanical skincare uses plant-derived ingredients as its foundation: plant oils, plant extracts, and naturally occurring botanical actives. Privai formulations are paraben-free, cruelty-free, and hand-crafted in the USA.
What does spa-grade skincare mean?
Spa-grade skincare meets the performance standards of a professional treatment room. Same formulations, same active concentrations, same craft as what an esthetician would use in a Privai-partner spa.
Who owns Privai?
Privai is independently owned by Tiffany Harlan as of late 2025, with employee ownership across the team. The brand is women-led.
Where is Privai made?
Privai is hand-crafted and hand-poured in Asheville, North Carolina, USA.
Is Privai cruelty-free?
Yes. Privai is cruelty-free, paraben-free, naturally inspired, and vegetarian-friendly. We never test on animals.
Where can I find Privai products in person?
Privai is stocked in luxury hotel spas, resort destinations, and independent wellness practices across the United States. Find a partner spa near you.
Does Privai offer wholesale or professional accounts?
Yes. Spas, salons, hotels, and wellness practitioners can apply for a professional account through our Professional page.
We are always
Our Philanthropy
We value our planet and feel passionate about the preservation of nature. As ambassadors and cheerleaders of the Blue Beauty Movement, we donate a percentage of our net profit from our product line to the IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN.ORG) to protect nature’s habitat and endangered species.
We are dedicated to the holistic empowerment of women and proudly donate to Women For Women International (www.womenforwomen.org), a passionate organization devoted to enlightening women about their self-worth through education, business skills, and elevating self-esteem. Women are the roots of society and through their strength, families, and communities become more fortified, stable, filled with integrity, and balanced.