A new brown door recently appeared at Bandra’s Chapel Road and it’s rather unremarkable. No one would guess that it conceals behind it a red light, an S&M style chair and a bottle of eucalyptus oil, all of which we personally tested. Have we been bad girls this week? Depends on who’s asking.

To Answer the Door

Curious cats, the new addition to your block is Skin Kitchen, a previously home-run service that provides natural beauty fixes made with fresh fruit and veggies (sourced from Lalu’s at Pali Market). Inside the studio, you’ll be greeted by potion maker and proprietor Diya Dembla, who after being a “professional gypsy” for years – she’s dabbled in modelling, fashion, art, communication – finally found her calling with Skin Kitchen. Qualified from the International Dermal Institute in Boston, Diya’s recently returned from a three-month Hong Kong stint where she was certified as a masseuse for pregnant women and babies.

Her luminescent skin is a great sell for why you should get one of the treatments, all of which sound good enough to eat - mango mousse cream, lychee cleanser, watermelon slushie, jamun scrub, avocado pack. We’d tried some of these face desserts already, so we decided to opt for a head massage instead. Clay treatments and acupressure massages are also provided.

Make Rooms

The space at Skin Kitchen is a long maze of therapy rooms, each one designed for a different part of your body. It’s the tiny scalp room that houses the abovementioned S&M style chair, imported from Thailand, which looks scary or sexy depending on what you like - you have to face the back of the chair and straddle it, bend your knees into niches, lean against a leather flap and put your face in a hole. But once all the facets are adjusted, you’ll find that it’s super comfy. The aunty who tried it before us, after much trepidation, will concur.  

We like that the ritual began with a dry back, shoulder and neck massage, therapist Appam’s hands  paying much attention to pressure points that lead up to the scalp. Next, a fragrant concoction of coconut, eucalyptus and herb oil that thankfully didn’t reek of naryal tel, was massaged into the scalp, where we stored more stress than we realised. And finally, a five minute steam (Hair washes will be offered only starting next month, so make sure you’re heading straight home after this one). During our 45 minute massage, the music changed from elevator to Dido to Enigma.

Good Advice

While our overall experience at Skin Kitchen was quite satisfying, we noticed a few teething problems which when fixed, could go a long way in making the operation more professional. Our advice: Add art on the walls (the rooms look more bare than minimalist), plain white towels instead of random printed ones that look like they were brought over from home, and cooler packaging for beauty products.

See you next tweak!

Getting there: 68 Chapel Road, Reclamation, lane before MET University, Bandra (W), for an appointment email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , start at Rs 1,900.