NEW YORK — Like Greek mythology, the story of Mastic Spa begins by the Aegean Sea. Here, an evergreen scrub tree, the mastic, grows on the Greek island of Chios, and, remarkably, nowhere else in the world.
Locals say that’s because an underwater volcano lies just beneath the southern end of the island, where the resin-bearing trees grow. More likely, Chios provides the perfect balance of sun, soil and sea.
Called mastiha, the legendary elixir that oozes from the bark of the mastic tree has been known to Greeks for centuries as a sweet-tasting food additive. But more importantly, mastiha has been used since ancient times for its health benefits — chewed, or “masticated,” for stomach and tooth ailments.
Modern science explains why: Studies at the University of Nottingham, England (1998), show mastic has strong antibacterial properties, alleviating stomach ulcers by fighting helicobacter pylori bacteria. At Aristotle University in Greece (1984), mastic gum was shown to reduce plaque on the teeth and gums.
Christopher Columbus visited Chios in 1474, writing to Queen Isabella that he would bring back “spices and MASTIC” (sic), which he called “white gold.” Over a century earlier, the substance had appeared in the first book of pharmacology, where Greek physician Dioscorides noted that mastiha “makes the face shiny.”
Yet it is only in the last few decades in Greece that mastiha has become an ingredient in skin care, beauty products and cosmetics. The extract’s antibacterial and cleansing properties are said to tone, refresh and protect the skin, and aid in skin regeneration, scar healing, body firming and cellulite reduction. In Greece, it is not difficult to find mastiha toothpaste, chewing gum, dietary supplements, even sweets and brandy. But it is a rare find in the U.S. market.
“Chios is one of the few places left in the world with a unique secret most Americans have never heard,” said Michael Sodis, general manager of Mastic Spa.
Michael and his brother, George Sodis, said their father, Ioannis, who ran a pharmacy in Chios that is now the flagship Mastic Spa store, apparently squirreled away some secret, proprietary mastiha-based formulas that were discovered behind a wall during a recent renovation.
These include a selection of brightly colored soap, cut on the premises from bundt-shaped cakes, and formulated for a variety of skin types and needs. There are several pleasantly medicinal-smelling mastic-based moisturizers, masks and antiwrinkle creams.
The modern, minimalist packaging of the products could not contrast more dramatically with the rustic mastiha harvest on Chios, except for the remarkable aromas that they share. It is easy to become distracted by the combined perfume of mastiha and lemon and orange groves that lingers all over southern Chios, and has earned this place the nickname “the fragrant island.”