BACK TO SIMPLE.

Skincare rooted in mushrooms, purposeful ingredients, and a simpler way of living.

Hongo began with a belief that still guides everything we make: beauty does not have to be complicated.

In a world that constantly asks us to add more, simplicity can be a way of returning—to our bodies, to the earth, and to who we are beneath all the noise.

We wanted skincare that felt true to its ingredients. Products made with recognizable materials, prepared with care, and designed to bring a sense of intention back to an everyday ritual.

So we returned to something simpler.

MEET THE FOUNDER

I’m Krystina, the founder of Hongo.

My connection to nature, family tradition, and my Colombian heritage shaped the way I came to think about beauty. I have always been drawn to the things that feel honest and enduring: ingredients grown from the earth, knowledge carried through generations, and the quiet satisfaction of making something with your own hands.

The name Hongo—pronounced “OHN-go”—is the Spanish word for mushroom. It reflects both the heart of our formulas and the world I wanted this brand to inhabit: grounded, curious, natural, and a little unexpected.

I did not create Hongo to add more products to an already crowded beauty world. I created it to offer fewer products with greater intention—and a ritual that brings us closer to what our skin truly needs.

Why Mushrooms?

Mushrooms are not a passing ingredient in our formulas. They are the foundation of Hongo.

They grow quietly, close to the earth, as part of an intricate living world beneath our feet. For centuries, mushrooms have held a place in traditional wellness practices, and today they continue to inspire new ways of caring for the skin.

We work with reishi, shiitake, and tremella, pairing them with botanicals, purposeful oils, and traditional ingredients in a simple ritual for cleansing, toning, and moisturizing.

Three products. Three steps. Nothing needlessly complicated.

Where Hongo Began

The first Hongo formulas were created in the kitchen of my fourth-generation family home in New York.

It is a place shaped by family, resourcefulness, and a respect for using what the earth provides. Creating Hongo there made the process feel connected to something larger—a continuation of the care, creativity, and knowledge that pass from one generation to the next.

Every product is still made in small batches, allowing us to remain close to the process—from the ingredients we select to the formula that reaches your skin.

  • DAD & SABRINA — OUR ANGELS

    Forever part of our story. Their love for nature and the way they lived continue to inspire what we create.

  • MY FAMILY

    The Gauer's

    (circa 2003)

  • ROOTS

    Krystina’s fourth-generation family home in New York, where the first Hongo formulas were created.

  • US TODAY

    Mom, Veronica, Monika, Erik, Krystina & our Abuelita

A Return to Ritual

Caring for our skin can be more than another task to complete.

It can be a moment to slow down. To notice how our skin feels. To reconnect with our bodies and remember that we are part of nature, not separate from it.

Hongo is an invitation to return to those small, grounding rituals:

To cleanse without stripping.
To hydrate without unnecessary steps.
To moisturize with ingredients chosen for substance rather than trends.

Our products are versatile by design, giving you more ways to care for your skin with fewer things crowding your shelf.

This is skincare created to fit into your life, not take it over.

Simple. Purposeful. Transparent.

Hongo brings together old-world ingredients, modern curiosity, and a belief in knowing where things come from.

We are here to make skincare feel personal again: prepared in small batches, grounded in nature, and centered around the quiet, remarkable world of mushrooms.

A return to our skin.
A return to the earth.
A return to ourselves.

Welcome back to simple.

With love and mushrooms,

Krystina
Founder of Hongo

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