As the OG of natural skincare and wellness, Tammy Fender brings her holistic magic to Tennessee.

Words by Angela Caraway-Carlton

It’s a smidge past 8:00 a.m. when I speak to Tammy Fender, who’s easing into the day with a steaming cup of mint tea. From her cottage in the woods of Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee, the renowned holistic skincare guru is watching the mist hover over the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. “The last two days, we’ve had these cool, crisp fall mornings,” Fender says, noting the stark difference between the sweltering September temperatures in South Florida, where she splits her time between stints in Nashville. Fender is up early, readying for her role in the Autumn Renew and Restore wellness retreat at Blackberry Farm, where days are peppered with hikes to scenic mountain platforms, yoga, holistic conversations and mini-facials. “It’s the chance to embrace what it means to slow down and really feel connected,” she says.

Fender, who leads two eponymous spas in West Palm Beach and Delray Beach, began a residency at Blackberry’s Wellhouse Spa in 2023, after prodding from her Florida clients who frequent the luxe resort known for its picturesque setting. In addition to being on property for seasonal wellness events, she’s trained estheticians on her signature facial (that’s now a guest favorite), and even creates exclusive products for the spa, including kits that help guests transition to different seasons. As if kindred spirits, Fender says she instantly connected with the Farm’s commitment to the land and nature: from their use of surrounding ingredients in the food and cocktails to showcasing the serene surroundings for a rejuvenating mind-body getaway. “The attention to detail is exquisite, from the fresh meadow flowers that are prepared in your room, to the scenery of passing the white sheep in the fields,” she says.

It makes sense that Fender calls out the farm’s flowers—even as a kid, she gravitated to the powers of the plant kingdom. “I was the child that you would see running around with plants in my hands,” she recalls. “I always felt that there was this living consciousness, and that we could connect with the plants on an emotional and physical level. And that plants were healers in many ways.” That young intuitiveness would later lead her to becoming a pioneer in plant-based skincare and wellness. While working at a cosmetic counter in college, she obsessed over researching the efficacy and safety of the chemical ingredients used in the products that customers coveted. “I wanted to understand how ingredients affect the skin and I wanted to understand the skin on a deeper level.”  

While in school to be an esthetician, Fender pursued an alternative path—this was the late-80s, long before “clean beauty” was a buzz phrase—undergoing extensive training on a naturopathic level to learn everything she could about botany, aromatherapy and even seaweed therapy. By 1990, she’d become an esthetician with a holistic focus and quickly became well-known in Palm Beach for her plant-based remedies. “I would help people pre- and post-treatments, whether they were going through something emotional from an elective surgery or having medical issues and they couldn’t use chemicals, and support their healing through the skin,” she explains.

The skincare savant opened her first spa in 2002 in West Palm Beach, and today she has another namesake spa tucked inside the Opal Grand Resort in Delray Beach. Like Blackberry Farm, both spas have a sense of place, intently overlooking the water for a calming, balancing effect. When it comes to her sought-after products—which range from face oils to milky serums and rich creams—she sources unadulterated ingredients from around the globe, including lavender and rose from Bulgaria, sweet orange from Sicily and helichrysum from Corsica. “We source ingredients from the regions where they’re grown and thrive,” Fender reveals. If you opt for Fender’s signature facial, don’t expect a typical treatment focused solely on the face—everything is customized to what the client needs, from unique herbal blends to a cadenced head-to-toe massage that ultimately facilitates glowing skin. “True holistic skincare, even though you may be focusing on one particular area, means that the entire body receives that healing energy,” she advises. 

Fender has found a new source of personal energy in her part-time home of Nashville, where her 13-year-old daughter attends school and rides horses in nearby Franklin. Aligning with her holistic lifestyle, Fender regularly scours Franklin’s numerous farmers’ markets for seasonal produce, and she says the community’s Southern hospitality has been grounding. “Everyone is so friendly and welcoming,” she says. “Feeling that connection to the community has really nurtured my soul.” So much so, that the renowned aesthetician is pondering opening another skincare sanctuary in Nashville in the near future. 

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As we begin a fresh start in 2025, here are 3 products Fender suggests for a winter awakening.

Intensive Repair Balm. “This is our number one selling cream. It’s very healing and nutrient-dense. It’s a cream, but it also offers a protective barrier for cooler months.”

Quintessential Serum. “This serum is a concentrate of rose essence, and it will weather-proof the skin from the elements. Serums are going to penetrate deeper, and you can layer the serum at night with the Intensive Repair Balm. They work beautifully together.”

Bulgarian Rose Water. “Spritz yourself with this essence of rose from Bulgaria. It’s a heart opener, and its floral scent brings light into the darkness of winter. Rose is a powerful cell rejuvenator; it quenches dry skin and helps to keep the skin hydrated and beautiful.”