ESSpa Kozmetika

In 1996, former model and esthetic expert Eva Kerschbaumer sold all of her grandmother's jewelry and bought a plane ticket from her native Hungary to New York City. She arrived in June of that year with literally nothing more than $50 and the clothes on her back, no relatives and no understanding of or ability to speak English (which she learned by watching reruns of Gilligans Island).

After getting married in 1999, Eva opened the original ESSpa Kozmetika Organic Skincare in Pittsburgh on 02/02/02 with the specific intent of creating a spa like those in Budapest where her mother took Eva and her younger brother every week since they were little kids. According to Eva, in the 1970s and 80s (under communism) there were no drugstores, no pharmacies, no "quick fixes" (the markets only had a few bananas to sell on one or two days a month). But there were little spas everywhere. And mothers (and fathers) would take their girls and boys with them for facials, massages and other spa treatments all the time. Going to the spa, for Eva and her brother, was part of their personal grooming habits - having a facial was almost like brushing your teeth - it was normal and expected.

When Eva came to America, she was disheartened to see that in the USA, the idea of visiting a spa was perceived as something reserved for well-heeled executives or "ladies who lunch" or a luxurious indulgence that was only to be enjoyed while on vacation - and in most cases, children were verboten. She built ESSpa Kozmetika Organic Skincare not only to look like a little Hungarian village (each room is a little house complete with rafters, windows, cedar shingles, porch lights, etc.) but to also provide the same, healthy, effective face and body treatments to every visitor regardless of age or gender.

Today, ESSpa Kozmetika Organic Skincare is recognized as one of the leading small spas in the United States and Eva is a guiding light in the American spa industry.