Lydia Sarfati
{{Infobox person
|name = Lydia Sarfati
|image = Lydia-Sarfati-2016.jpg
|caption = Sarfati in 2016
|birth_place = Poland
|other_names =
|known_for = Cosmetics
|occupation = Entrepreneur/Cosmetics Company Founder
|nationality = American
}}
Lydia Sarfati is a Polish-born American esthetician, entrepreneur, consultant and author. She is credited with having introduced seaweed-based skin treatments in the United States.{{cite news |title=Lydia Sarfati: Presents From The Pros |author=Leah Bourne |url=https://www.forbes.com/2009/11/10/holiday-gift-guide-forbes-woman-time-bobbi-brown.html |newspaper=Forbes |date= November 10, 2009|access-date=July 19, 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://www.aestheticsassociation.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=106&Itemid=85 |title=Lydia Sarfati- A Legend in Aesthetics |date=March 1991 |publisher=Aesthetics International Association |access-date=July 15, 2011}} In 1980, she founded the Sarkli-Repêchage, a seaweed-based cosmetics company, together with her husband David Sarfati.{{cite web |url=http://www.repechage.com/aboutus2_lydia.asp |title=Meet the Founder:Lydia Sarfati, The Queen of Seaweed |date=January 1, 2010 |publisher=Repêchage |access-date=July 15, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518102724/http://www.repechage.com/aboutus2_lydia.asp |archive-date=May 18, 2011 |url-status=dead }} She is the author of several books on cosmetology and wellness.{{cite book
| last = Sarfati
| first = Lydia
| author-link = Lydia Sarfati
| title = Success at your Fingertips
| publisher = Allured Publishing Corporation
| year = 2005
| isbn = 978-1-932633-11-5
}}
Early life
Lydia Sarfati was born in Poland.{{cite web|title=Repêchage CEO and Founder Lydia Sarfati Honored at 'Top Women in Business' Networking Dinner|url=http://www.massagemag.com/News/print-this.php?id=6295|work=Massage Magazine| date=16 April 2009 |access-date=29 July 2011}}{{cite web|title=A Museum Evening at the Sarfatis|url=http://polish-jewish-heritage.org/eng/06-03_cor_MHPJ_Newsletter_No6.html|publisher=The Canadian Foundation of Polish – Jewish Heritage|access-date=29 July 2011}} She is the daughter of Polish Jews Szloma and Sofia Mops, both of whom were survivors of the Holocaust. Sarfati grew up in Legnica; during her time in Poland, she took her first professional training, a medically oriented skin care course. Her family migrated to Italy, and in 1970, the family got the opportunity to leave for the United States, and settled in New York City, where she got her first job as a makeup artist in a salon on Madison Avenue.
In New York, she met her future husband, David Sarfati, and the two married in 1972.{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/15/style/good-company-a-night-at-the-lake-perfect-for-the-30-year-tango.html |title=Good Company; A Night at the Lake, Perfect for the 30-Year Tango |author=Jennifer Tung |date=September 15, 2002 |work=The New York Times |access-date=July 15, 2011}} The couple had two children, and to support them, Lydia worked as an esthetician in Queens and, in the evenings, received private customers at the makeshift beauty salon she had improvised at her home.
Career
Together with a friend, Shoshana Kliot, she opened a salon, the Klisar Skin Care Center, in September 1977. The popularity of the salon grew when magazines such as Vogue, Mademoiselle, Harper's Bazaar, and the New York Times Magazine{{cite news |title=Seaweed Cosmetics |newspaper=The New York Times Magazine |year=1982 }} wrote about Sarfati's esthetic services. In 1980, she introduced the Four Layer Facial and, today, her skincare method is taught in more than 200 schools around the world.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thespainsider.com/articles/beautyboss-lydia-sarfati-ceo-founder-of-repchage|title=#BeautyBoss: Lydia Sarfati, CEO & Founder of Repêchage®|last=Kirk|first=Kamala|date=2019-08-01|website=The Spa Insider|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-04}}
=Repêchage=
In 1983, she gave up on her successful salon business, and sold her share to her partner. She developed the Four-Layer Facial produced by the Repêchage company, which she founded together with her husband. The firm also manufactured cleaners, lotions, moisturizers and other skin care treatments. One of the most successful products was the full body treatment based on seaweed, the use of which Sarfati pioneered in the United States. Repêchage also popularized other ingredients used in thalassotherapy, such as sea water and salts.{{cite web |url=http://www.massagemag.com/News/massage-news.php?id=11043 |title=Lydia Sarfati Hosts Exclusive Event in United Kingdom for Spa Professionals |work=MASSAGE Magazine |date=June 2, 2011 |publisher=Massage Mag |access-date=July 15, 2011}}
Repêchage sells seaweed-based treatments and cosmetic products in over 45 countries. The company's headquarters are located in Secaucus, New Jersey, where Repêchage runs a 50,000 square foot, ISO 9001:2015 certified manufacturing, research, and development facility as well as a post-graduate esthetics academy.{{cite web |url=https://www.repechage.com/pages/about-lydia-sarfati |title=About Us |author=Repêchage |publisher=Repêchage |access-date=July 15, 2011}}
Other activities
Lydia Sarfati is a speaker{{cite web | url=http://www.iecsc.com/fl/program/2 | title=CIDESCO USA Education | publisher=IECSC | access-date=July 23, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012063255/http://www.iecsc.com/fl/program/2 | archive-date=October 12, 2011 | url-status=dead }} and consultant for the spa industry.{{cite web | url=http://www.beautylaunchpad.com/queen-of-seaweed-lydia-sarfati-invited-to-judge-empire-future-professionals-makeup-competition | title=Queen of Seaweed Lydia Sarfati Invited to Judge Empire Future Professionals Makeup Competition | publisher=Beauty Launchpad | access-date=July 23, 2011}} Sarfati published Success at your Fingertips, which covers all aspects involved in running a skin care business.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.lydiasarfati.com LydiaSarfati.com]
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Category:American businesspeople in retailing
Category:American business writers
Category:Women business writers
Category:American cosmetics businesspeople
Category:American people of Polish-Jewish descent
Category:American women in business
Category:Businesspeople from Queens, New York
Category:People from Queens, New York
Category:Polish emigrants to the United States