Santu Is Reclaiming Ancestral Mexican Beauty Rituals & Now They’re Part Of Mine
Natasha López has had her fair share of spa massages, but she says the scrubdown she received last month at Angelique’s, a boutique wellness spa in Guerrero, Mexico, was unlike any she’d experienced before. “I remember looking at my legs and the water drops that were repelling against the oils in the scrub, and I loved how they looked,” says Refinery29 Somos’ social producer. “[It] felt super relieving, like I remember thinking, wow, I didn’t realize how tense I am in these random parts of my body.” Part of what set the treatment apart, she says, were the products her massage therapist used throughout the service: Santu Beauty, a Mexican-owned skincare and wellness brand that incorporates locally sourced and traditional Mexican ingredients into its formulations. “It’s not only about how you look, but also about how you feel.”Angelique Van Wyk The 120-minute treatment began with a concentrated scrub made from Guerrero salt that gently exfoliated her skin. “It was one dry hour, where they practically bathe you, scrub you dry, and then rinse you. Then they wash your hair and give you a little facial. I felt very vulnerable, but also held,” she says. Then it was time for the massage. They used a massage candle that melted into a silky oil for the rubdown. The oil is infused with Mexican lime, soothing eucalyptus, and grounding rosemary to nourish her body as well as copal resin sourced from trees native to Mexico that left her feeling radiant, both physically and spiritually. “When I opened my eyes, I felt very pretty and clean,” López adds. “With beauty, there’s often a misunderstanding. It’s not only about how you look, but also about how you feel,” Santu co-founder Angelique Van Wyk tells Somos. As a massage therapist and esthetician, she says she wanted to create products that promote healing beyond the skin. “When we move blockages, they can be physical, but they can also be emotional.” She and co-founder Alicia Nogales founded the brand in 2025. Santu, short for “santuario,” which translates to sanctuary, is intended to be more of a ritual than a routine, an invitation to slow down, take some extra time for yourself, and do it intentionally. “We have different rituals as humans that comfort us and help us,” says Nogales, whose background is in nonprofit and community-centered work. “And for me, yes we created this line, and we did it because we understand it’s loving ourselves that allows us to take care of others, our families, our friends, our community, and our world. This is my version of that.” “It’s loving ourselves that allows us to take care of others, our families, our friends, our community, and our world.” Alicia Nogales But the women behind Santu Beauty have another goal: to celebrate and reclaim Latin American beauty traditions, rituals, and ingredients. As Latinas are among the most influential beauty consumers in the U.S., they want to create products that speak directly to our community while honoring the region’s cultural practices and botanicals. Ahead, learn more about Santu Beauty’s debut line, from its grounding scents and botanical ingredients to the formulations inspired by Mexican wellness rituals. What is Santu Beauty and what are the benefits? Santu Beauty is a beauty and wellness brand based in Guerrero, Mexico. The brand currently offers a line of heritage-inspired body care products made with sustainably and locally sourced ingredients. Its collection includes vegan and cruelty-free body lotions, salt scrubs, massage candles, and aromatherapy candles. Each is available in three fragrances: Lima Mexicana is a fresh, citrus scent blending Mexican lime, copal oil, eucalyptus, rosemary, shea butter, and aloe vera for an energizing, uplifting feel. Jazmín Tropical is a soft, floral, and calming scent that blends Aztec jasmine, mango, pineapple, copal oil, shea butter, and aloe vera for a warm, comforting aroma. And my favorite, Coco Corazón, is a warm and soothing scent with a blend of coconut, coffee, and Mexican vanilla, along with cocoa butter, shea butter, and copal oil, designed to feel nourishing and grounding. What makes Santu Beauty Collection special? Across the line, Santu blends locally sourced Mexican botanicals and ancestral ingredients, including eucalyptus, rosemary, coffee, tropical fruits, and rich moisturizing butters. But the stand-outs are its Guerrero sea salt and copal resin. The brand sources its salt from one of the few locally owned, family-run producers that still harvest sea salt in limestone pools rather than plastic tarps. “And that’s another tradition that has been alive for about 2,000 years,” Nogales says. “The lady is 100 years old and her son is about 75 years old, and they are one of the only families that still do this in its traditional way because they really want to keep that tradition alive.” Copal resin is another ancestral ingredient. For centuries, it has been used in Mesoam
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Natasha López has had her fair share of spa massages, but she says the scrubdown she received last month at Angelique’s, a boutique wellness spa in Guerrero, Mexico, was unlike any she’d experienced before.
“I remember looking at my legs and the water drops that were repelling against the oils in the scrub, and I loved how they looked,” says Refinery29 Somos’ social producer. “[It] felt super relieving, like I remember thinking, wow, I didn’t realize how tense I am in these random parts of my body.”
Part of what set the treatment apart, she says, were the products her massage therapist used throughout the service: Santu Beauty, a Mexican-owned skincare and wellness brand that incorporates locally sourced and traditional Mexican ingredients into its formulations.
“It’s not only about how you look, but also about how you feel.”
Angelique Van Wyk
The 120-minute treatment began with a concentrated scrub made from Guerrero salt that gently exfoliated her skin. “It was one dry hour, where they practically bathe you, scrub you dry, and then rinse you. Then they wash your hair and give you a little facial. I felt very vulnerable, but also held,” she says. Then it was time for the massage. They used a massage candle that melted into a silky oil for the rubdown. The oil is infused with Mexican lime, soothing eucalyptus, and grounding rosemary to nourish her body as well as copal resin sourced from trees native to Mexico that left her feeling radiant, both physically and spiritually. “When I opened my eyes, I felt very pretty and clean,” López adds.
“With beauty, there’s often a misunderstanding. It’s not only about how you look, but also about how you feel,” Santu co-founder Angelique Van Wyk tells Somos. As a massage therapist and esthetician, she says she wanted to create products that promote healing beyond the skin. “When we move blockages, they can be physical, but they can also be emotional.”
She and co-founder Alicia Nogales founded the brand in 2025. Santu, short for “santuario,” which translates to sanctuary, is intended to be more of a ritual than a routine, an invitation to slow down, take some extra time for yourself, and do it intentionally.
“We have different rituals as humans that comfort us and help us,” says Nogales, whose background is in nonprofit and community-centered work. “And for me, yes we created this line, and we did it because we understand it’s loving ourselves that allows us to take care of others, our families, our friends, our community, and our world. This is my version of that.”
“It’s loving ourselves that allows us to take care of others, our families, our friends, our community, and our world.”
Alicia Nogales
But the women behind Santu Beauty have another goal: to celebrate and reclaim Latin American beauty traditions, rituals, and ingredients. As Latinas are among the most influential beauty consumers in the U.S., they want to create products that speak directly to our community while honoring the region’s cultural practices and botanicals.
Ahead, learn more about Santu Beauty’s debut line, from its grounding scents and botanical ingredients to the formulations inspired by Mexican wellness rituals.
What is Santu Beauty and what are the benefits?
Santu Beauty is a beauty and wellness brand based in Guerrero, Mexico. The brand currently offers a line of heritage-inspired body care products made with sustainably and locally sourced ingredients. Its collection includes vegan and cruelty-free body lotions, salt scrubs, massage candles, and aromatherapy candles. Each is available in three fragrances:
Lima Mexicana is a fresh, citrus scent blending Mexican lime, copal oil, eucalyptus, rosemary, shea butter, and aloe vera for an energizing, uplifting feel.
Jazmín Tropical is a soft, floral, and calming scent that blends Aztec jasmine, mango, pineapple, copal oil, shea butter, and aloe vera for a warm, comforting aroma.
And my favorite, Coco Corazón, is a warm and soothing scent with a blend of coconut, coffee, and Mexican vanilla, along with cocoa butter, shea butter, and copal oil, designed to feel nourishing and grounding.
What makes Santu Beauty Collection special?
Across the line, Santu blends locally sourced Mexican botanicals and ancestral ingredients, including eucalyptus, rosemary, coffee, tropical fruits, and rich moisturizing butters. But the stand-outs are its Guerrero sea salt and copal resin.
The brand sources its salt from one of the few locally owned, family-run producers that still harvest sea salt in limestone pools rather than plastic tarps. “And that’s another tradition that has been alive for about 2,000 years,” Nogales says. “The lady is 100 years old and her son is about 75 years old, and they are one of the only families that still do this in its traditional way because they really want to keep that tradition alive.”
Copal resin is another ancestral ingredient. For centuries, it has been used in Mesoamerican spiritual and healing traditions. Burned as incense, it is believed to purify spaces. In modern wellness, it is also associated with antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. “It wards off energy that you are ready to release,” Nogales says, suggesting it does so both physically and spiritually.
How to use Santu Beauty?
Santu Beauty is designed to feel more like a ritual than a routine, so each product is meant to be used slowly and intentionally. The salt scrubs are typically applied to damp skin in circular motions, allowing the Guerrero sea salt to gently exfoliate before rinsing away to reveal smoother skin. The body lotions can then be massaged into the skin to lock in hydration, with ingredients like shea butter, aloe vera, and copal oil helping to soften and nourish while leaving behind a delicious scent. For a more immersive experience, the massage candles are lit and allowed to melt into a warm oil, which can then be applied directly to the skin for a slow, full-body massage. Meanwhile, the aromatherapy candles are used to set the mood. You can burn during or after a shower or self-care ritual to fill the space with one of the brand’s signature scents.
Final Thoughts
While I didn’t get the full body treatment experience that my colleague received, I’ve been using Santu Beauty at home. My favorites from the line are the Coco Corazón body scrub and aromatherapy candles. The scrub is rich and textured, buffing my skin and leaving me feeling renewed and soft. I follow it with the Coco Corazón lotion to lock in moisture, and it’s truly one of the most addictive scents I’ve ever worn on my skin. To keep the mood warm, I light the Coco Corazón aromatherapy candle, which burns in a traditional Mexican barro vessel that adds a handmade, earthy touch to my space. Like its name suggests, it creates a sanctuary-like feeling in my home. And shouldn’t our homes and our bodies be treated as sanctuaries we care for intentionally?
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