Koali

Koali Pontual-Thorne has been a licensed esthetician since 2003 and started Botanika Beauty Studio in 2012 with the mission to bring natural beauty treatments and a holistic beauty experience to her clients in Sitka, Alaska.

Her passion is to combine the traditional techniques she learned in beauty school with her training and experience in natural healing modalities such as Reiki, massage, aromatherapy, and Ayurveda, to offer treatments that go beyond a simple facial and leave her clients looking and feeling renewed and rejuvenated, inside and out.

A serious student of her craft, she has studied at the International Beauty Institute, the International Dermal Institute, the Conservatory of Esthetics, the Makeup Studio NYC, the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center, Esalen, the Living Light Institute, and Thousand Petal Lotus and has continued to grow and hone her knowledge and skillset through many workshops and seminars in the beauty and health and wellness fields. She is also a licensed instructor of esthetics who trains and mentors apprentices and has been a lead trainer for Eminence Organic Skin Care.

Growing up between the United States and Brazil, with a massage therapist/artist mother and beauty maven Parisian grandmother, she brings a unique life experience to the table and seeks beauty in all facets of life. Her work in the beauty field has spanned twenty years and taken her to California, Arizona, Hawaii, Europe, and the island in Alaska that she now calls home. When she’s not in the treatment room you can find her out and about with her daughter, Genevieve, giving tours alongside her partner, Captain Gary, or playing at the beach with her dogs, Niko and Lola.