The Ultimate After-Work
“Martini” (and What’s in It)

“Am I alive?” laughs GP, sitting down with her longtime acupuncturist and herbalist Paul Kempisty, who assures her that she is, if a little tired. With extensive training in traditional Chinese medicine and herbalism, New York–based Kempisty combines these two disciplines in the work that he does for clients from all over the world. In a typical session, he uses both tiny needles and essential oils to rejigger a client’s energy field, with goals that range from heading off a common cold to calming anxiety. “Every person is filled with qi, or energy,” he says. “When your qi is harmonious and balanced and flowing smoothly, then you experience a good mind, a good body, and good health.”

In their sessions, Kempisty and GP can cover everything from an active lung pulse to possible lingering jet lag, but it turns out that they also work well together. To try to make a little of what Kempisty does available to those who can’t experience an actual session with him, they created goop’s collection of five therapeutic baths. (Kempisty’s in the process of building out a bigger, brighter, and indisputably gorgeous new acupuncture, medical aromatherapy, and herbs and supplements clinic near his current one in SoHo so that more people will be able to experience his work in person, too. The new clinic also adds massage, infrared saunas, LED light therapy, and other healing modalities to the menu.)

Kempisty drew on his extensive experience as a master herbalist to help engineer each formula to best support the body. GP’s favorite bath, ‘The Martini’—an emotional-detox bath soak designed to quiet the body and mind after a hectic day—is made with frankincense, sandalwood, and myrrh, all considered holy anointing oils by many religions.

“With ‘The Martini’, I wanted to help calm the mind and also feed a feeling of expansiveness,” says Kempisty. He rounded out the bath with two more calming forces, vetiver and nagarmotha. “Nagarmotha is actually a Chinese herb, and it’s not a very common oil,” says Kempisty. “Its benefits were discovered only a few years ago, and it’s a fantastic oil for stress. The vetiver is deeply grounding, comforting, and soothing.” Himalayan pink salt, chia seed oil, and valerian root build on an already-powerful combination that’s pure heaven at the end of a long or difficult day. “Out of all the goop baths, ‘The Martini’ is the one that can most impact spiritual well-being,” says Kempisty. “It’s a meditation-focused product. So although the various ingredients are obviously meant to relax the physical body and the conscious mind, the inclusion of what we consider holy anointing oils from different spiritual traditions in the East and West allows the formula to help uplift and expand consciousness while it’s doing its relaxation job.”

Kempisty advocates dry-brushing before the bath. “It’s a positive addition to a health and detox regimen—or even as an intermittent blip on someone’s detox radar,” he says. “With light to medium pressure, it exfoliates the skin, encourages the shedding of old layers, and promotes the emergence of soft, healthy, and glowing skin.” For detox, Kempisty recommends light pressure and long continuous strokes from the extremities to the trunk. With a little extra pressure and circular motions, he says, the taut bristles of a dry brush can stimulate the skin in a similar way to acupressure and acupuncture, initiating sensorial feedback loops.

“Taking a piping-hot bath after a detoxifying activity like dry skin brushing helps accentuate the desired results by opening the pores to promote sweating and to allow the essential oils and botanicals to better penetrate into the body, as well as by soothing the recently stimulated skin,” says Kempisty.

Taking a cue from Kempisty and GP’s acupuncture session, we like to amplify the experience by diffusing some additional essential oils (he used lavender and tea tree on GP during her acupuncture session) into the air during or after the bath. “Emotional detox,” says GP. “We all need it!”

SHOP GOOP BATHS

Paul Kempisty has been an herbalist, an acupuncturist, a specialist in Chinese medicine, and an aromatherapist based in New York City for over fourteen years. After getting his master’s in traditional Chinese medicine, he worked in several Beijing hospitals in the oncology and gynecology departments. Returning to the US, he studied herbal medicine with a Taoist priest and interned in medical oncology before opening his private clinic in SoHo. His work combines Western and Eastern medical practices to help his patients overcome health challenges using natural and nontoxic treatments.

The views expressed in this article intend to highlight alternative studies. They are the views of the expert and do not necessarily represent the views of goop. This article is for informational purposes only, even if and to the extent that it features the advice of physicians and medical practitioners. This article is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should never be relied upon for specific medical advice.

The Ultimate After-Work “Martini” (and What’s in It)

SHOP GOOP BATHS

The Ultimate After-Work
“Martini” (and What’s in It)