I’m not sure whether I’m a massage therapist’s dream come true or her worst nightmare. Whenever a spa pro tends to my muscles, the reaction is always the same: “Your back is a mess!”

Yes, my back is a mess; I have chronic thoracic back pain due to a multitude of factors—a childhood filled with horseback-riding (and the inevitable falling that comes with it), pathetically poor posture, a heavily rotated ribcage and one leg that insists it’s 2 inches longer than the other. Add to that a huge ball of stress that I carry 24/7 in my trapezoids–it ain’t pretty.

So when I sidled up to a massage booth at New York’s Spa Week Media Party, I was ready for my massage therapist to be shocked, amazed, terrified… And she was. Being careful and tentative, she started off soft, but I’m the type that says, “Get in there!” So, she had a field day kneading my traps, as well as working out the kinks that contribute to (or are perhaps the cause of) my spinal pain. And then, it happened: She helped me do a simple stretch—one I’d never done before. However, as she pushed and I held, the whole party started to fade away into darkness. I felt like I was passing out.

I started sweating and felt sick to my stomach; I couldn’t think or move. Here I was, in the midst of a room filled with fancy media types, and I was about to melt into a pool of woozy goo.

Thirty minutes later, and after several glasses of water, I was now lying on a couch (embarrassing!). The toxins that had pumped full-force through my body started to dissipate, and I returned to my normal, jovial self. My massage therapist, who was completely terrified, kept checking in, making sure I was OK.

This whole chain of events got me to thinking: What do you do when a client falls ill on your table?

Of course, as spa pros and savvy business people, it benefits you to ask new clients to fill out a health history form. The hope is they’ll fully disclose all past and current ailments/medications/aches/pains, and you’ll be able to service them without fear of hurting them or doing anything that could interfere with any medication they’re taking. You should also follow up with your loyal clients—those who have been visiting you for years? As your clients’ needs and lives morph, the services they once desired might not be the best for them now.

We’d like to hear from you. Tell us if you’ve ever been in a situation where your client nearly faints, or if she’s asked for a certain treatment or amount of pressure you knew wouldn’t bode well for her. Email executive editor Rhonda J. Wilson at rwilson@creativeage.com.

I think the term “recessionista” has had its day—even though we’re far from at the end of our economic hard times. But everywhere I look, I see “recessionista this,” “recessionista that”—heck, I’m pretty sure I’ve written it in a couple of my columns.

Even though the term bugs me to no end, the meaning behind it holds value these days: A “recessionista” is a female who has fiscal smarts; she’s inventive in her cash-saving strategies, and she can sniff out cheaper services and commodities—life’s little luxuries—that can keep her just as happy as when her pockets were brimming with disposable greenbacks.

These females are a smart breed; they existed long before the media gave them the sound-bite “recessionista” label. They used to have non-sexy names, such as “coupon-cutters” and “bargain shoppers.”

But now “recessionista” has evolved to embrace full-price shoppers—the consumers who have never once produced a coupon at a grocery store checkout in our lives. However, maybe they’ve experienced unbelievable joy at throwing a few elbows for the perfect pair of boots at sample sales. Many consumers realize they need to adopt these ladies’ prowess for discounted prey. Otherwise, they won’t be able to enjoy the small (and big) luxuries they did before, such as popping into the spa for a facial or enjoying a pedicure every other week.

Lucky for this new band of “recessionistas,” the media has made it nearly impossible to ignore their needs. Smart businesses are jumping on the bandwagon to give them valuable services and products without sacrificing quality—or their own revenue. One example: Instead of slashing your service prices, why not adopt Manhattan-based Clay Health Club and Spa’s (insideclay.com) abbreviated approach to beauty: Seasonal express facials. The concept is simple: The spa is offering shorter versions of its popular signature facial services “designed to keep your pockets in mind.”

The cost for the consumer is less, the work for you is less—it’s a win-win. The abbreviated service works to pull in new clients who can’t splurge, but want to try your spa. For your existing clientele, keep in mind that this approach appeals to women who don’t want to shop elsewhere for a cheaper service, or give up their favorite treatments, even if their bank accounts are dwindling.

Do you have a “recessionista” approach to business? I’d love to know! Leave a comment.

About a year ago, I met with the marketing department of Redken For Men. The meeting was impromptu during one of the company’s education summits, so I didn’t think I’d take much away from it other than a bit of product info on the newly revamped line. But, man, oh man—did I learn a lot! Men really are women’s polar opposites—and it’s so apparent in the spa and beauty industry when you market to them. Women love to be pampered; we delight in all of those tiny, minute details—the more descriptive your explanation, the better for us to visualize the treatment’s wonderful-ness! We can’t get enough flowery packaging and product-intensive steps.

But men, oh men! Tiny things—like word placement, graphics, straightforward language and simple, masculine imagery—make all the difference. Men don’t ask for directions, so they don’t want too much instruction when it comes to grooming. (Though, I’m sure I’d be hard-pressed to find a man who wouldn’t mind indulging in a seven-step spa treatment—as long as he isn’t performing the steps.) The studies Redken conducted were endless—and endlessly fascinating—and I walked away from the meeting thinking, “Wow, my husband is so simple and so unlike me!”

Though Redken is a haircare brand, spa owners can take a cue from the company’s strategy of overhauling its Redken For Men packaging and re-focusing its marketing. Why? Well, lend me your ear: Even if you service a largely female clientele, these same women are likely to invite their male counterparts to walk through your doors for a service. I happened upon a recent study by SpaBoom (www.spaboom.com) that found that women tend to give spa gifts to their husbands or significant others above their friends, mothers or relatives. What does this mean for you? As men are now the top recipients for the female spa gift-giver, come January, you may experience an influx of male clients. You’ll need to toughen up your menu by offering visible, truly man-friendly spa offerings and packages. Using concise, masculine language is the way to win their hearts for repeat visits. If you have the budget to stock a few men-only skincare products, do so. (And, when retailing to them, don’t forget to let them “feel” it—I’ll explain in another blog!) And if you have frilly décor, don’t worry: Merely adding a few male-centric magazines to your waiting room area is enough to keep Mr. Simple happy.

Tell us about your best male-centric spa package in the comments section below. We’d love to hear about it!

I am one of those people who is on a gazillion mailing lists, so my email inbox is constantly bursting at its virtual seams. Most of the stuff I delete, but when a subject line catches my eye, I’ve got to check out the contents. While, I’m not going to reveal the exact subject line that recently grabbed my attention, it certainly made me do a double click. And I’m glad I did because the contents elicited a hearty laugh—and much appreciation for a beauty business that’s using some savvy to pull in new and existing customers during this economic slump.

Boom Boom Beauty Bar (gotta love the name!), a hair removal parlor in Manhattan’s West Village, sends this message:

“Boom Boom would like to bid a fine farewell to our former president by showing him the respect he truly deserves. Between now and Inauguration Day, we’ll be offering 25% off Bikini Waxing ($20 – $49) in honor of the dishonorable ‘W.’ Let’s have our own personal party in our pants and rejoice that we still have the right to choose a Landing Strip, Bermuda Triangle or Skinny Dipper. Boom Boom also hopes that this will help welcome the Big ‘O.’ YES, YES, YES we can!!!”

Yes, it’s a little bit crude and politically biased, but it’s also completely genius! This kind of creative marketing doesn’t take itself seriously, and in times like these, a sense of humor (and a discount) is what we need.

For day spas, this type of tactic may not be the way to go, but the point is to flex your creative marketing chops during difficult times by offering smart deals with provocative language. At the very least, you’ll put a smile on someone’s face. But, at the most, you’ll hopefully attract some new clients.

Do you have any fun (or funny) menu items or service packages you’re currently offering clients in need of some “Main Street” pampering? Let us know by emailing executive editor Rhonda J. Wilson at rwilson@creativeage.com.

Boom Boom Beauty Bar is located at 35 Seventh Avenue, between 12th and 13th Streets, in New York City’s West Village. www.boomboombeautybar.com.

Ask anybody who knows me: I’m obsessed with antiaging products. If it has peptides, ceramides, AHAs, BHAs, retinol or any number of free-radical fighters, I’m all over it. This might coincide with the fact that I turned 30 this year—a fact that I’m feeling and seeing every moment I move or look in the mirror. So when I discovered yet another sunspot on my face, I freaked and dipped into my endless supply of hyperpigmentation busters. And then, as if hearing my woe-be-gone cries, New York certified esthetician Robin Evans came to my rescue.

Evans has added MicroPhototherapy (also know as MicroIPL) to her roster of skin-saving services and for good reason: The FDA-approved machine is perfect for day spas. Why? Because an esthetician can administer the treatment without a doctor’s guidance. MircroIPL riffs on the popular IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) photofacials/photorejuvenation, in which pulses of broadband light energy are delivered into a targeted area of skin, but it does so at a slightly less aggressive degree. The combo of light and heat work to firm up skin, stimulate collagen production, zap wrinkles; and lighten pigmentation caused by sun damage.

I rushed into Robin’s office and settled in for the treatment. I’m a little bit giddy and scared. I kept associating the word “zap” with how the treatment would feel. But Robin set me at ease. She explained that unlike regular IPL and laser treatments, MicroIPL wasn’t as painful and allows for me to enjoy some minimal sun exposure soon after the service, if I so desire. But it was sun that got me in this mess, I think to myself. No more sun!

Robin administered the zaps (yes, they are zaps) to my burgeoning crow’s feet, deepening laugh lines and newest foe, Mr. Sunspot. Each zap felt like a rubber band snapping against my face, which might sound uncomfortable, but it wasn’t bad at all.

All in all, the service was quick and painless, and Robin told me that I wouldn’t need any downtime whatsoever. In fact, I can jet off to wherever I want, do whatever I want right after this treatment and nobody would be the wiser (which is a good thing as I boarded a train to Boston directly afterward).

I surveyed the results in the daylight: My skin was visibly plumped; my laugh lines certainly smoother. My big ol’ sunspot—it’s a tad bit lighter, but Robin told me that sucker would need multiple treatments (it’s recommended to have a series of six sessions for optimal results). Ah, the price of beauty and perpetual youth… Or at least one less sunspot.

Price: $195 (single session); $975 (series of six)

Robin Evans Skincare

For more info on MicroIPL, visit the manufacturer Radiancy

New York’s Fashion Week (NYFW) took place in September. One of the most exciting things about taking in the shows is getting to see what the brilliant masterminds behind CND are creating for runway nails. I’ve been following CND and its trendsetting runway turns for countless seasons now—and I’ve been witness to the evolution of how this team of tireless techs and their hardworking PR gals have turned into one of the most efficiently-run backstage presences in all of fashion week—if not the most.

Last NYFW, I popped by the suite where all of the nail magic—as well as the hardcore work—happens to talk to CND’s Team Red members Kristina Baune and Shelena Robinson about what goes into NYFW, from churning out hundreds of nail tips to custom-mixing polishes to meeting designers’ every whim.

Fashion Week is notorious for being “last minute;” you rarely receive invites to shows until the 11th hour, and designers love to change their minds 30 minutes before the show starts. So it’s no surprise that when dealing with nails, designers submit their final decisions with T-minus no time left. “As a general rule, we like to have two to three days lead time to create a nail,” Baune tells me. Of course, CND is always prepared. After the designer or stylist divulges their inspiration, the team often submits a myriad of nail designs from which the designer can choose. In most cases, CND hits the nail on the head. There are those times, however, where a nail design is picked, Baune and co. spend countless hours producing the nail tips, only to have the designer change his or her mind at—you guessed it—the last minute.

Kimora Lee Simmons, the fabulous creative director of Baby Phat and a diva known for loving her bling, selected uberlong tips dressed in blackest-black Voodoo lacquer and randomly-placed black rhinestones for the Fall 2008 season. “We bought 210 gross of rhinestones and spent 10 hours putting stones on nails,” Baune recalls. “We got the order on Thursday night; the show was on Friday night.” Talk about working under pressure.

But pressure has become second nature, and churning out nails tips is now a science. Large orders occur each season and they keep the team busy. The techs have to cut and shape each set of nail tips, polish them and apply top coat. If nail art is needed, it’s painstakingly applied, one tiny tip by one tiny tip. The Blondes, known for their over-the-top, glitz-glam style, always request nail tips that are truly imaginative works of art. “They’re great to work with; great about sending specific concepts and ideas,” Baune says. “This season the inspiration is the 1985 movie Legend, starring Tom Cruise.” Baune dreamt up seriously madcap nails, some featuring unicorn horns and others, the face of the movie’s “Lord of Darkness.” “In the end, we have 25 different nail looks; each model gets a different nail design, and we even created cat-like claws that have to be adhered to one of the clothing looks. The model has to be sewn in.”

Not all last-minute decisions are as daunting. At the “test” for design duo Badgley & Mischka, the two men hankered after a golden-burgundy that matched a fabric swatch from their collection, but they didn’t know if such a polish color existed. “I told them I’d custom-mix it right then and there,” Baune laughs. “I took one of our unreleased burgundies, added some loose gold mica and they loved it. They told me, ‘Boy, your kitchen must be a mess.’ But they were so impressed with the custom-blending.” From there, she scrambled to meet with designer Monique Lhuillier for her “test,” and a similar on-site blending made the designer swoon. “Kristina’s just really good at making it work,” chimes in Robinson.

The team is known for its punctuality, professionalism and creativity backstage, and it’s also known for its “nail boards,” which feature strips of 3M Foam Tape with all of the nails created (whether used in the shows or not) for that season affixed to the tape. “We went through eight big roles of that tape last season,” Baune laughs. And I’m sure that this Spring 2009 season, the team will go through eight more. I can’t wait to see what nail designs they affix to them.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the nail designs created by CND for the runways. What do you think a great Legend-inspired nail would be?

I am my mother’s daughter in that I change my haircolor like I change my nail polish—frequently, and often impulsively. Mom has gone from silvery blonde to auburn striped with gold, to berry-dipped burgundy. Every time I see her, she’s testing ROYGBIV* with bravado. Hence, it’s only fitting that I have plucked every hue from the universal color wheel and coated my locks in it, results be damned.

I’ve been magenta, cherry and fire-engine red. I’ve sported beige blonde, ashy blonde and blonde streaked with pink. I’ve gone blue-black, chocolate and skunk-y, chunky blonde and black. But now I wanted to acquire that perfect blonde (in my eyes)—a blonde that would mirror the beauty inside an abalone shell or surrounding a shimmering pearl.

To achieve this tonal ideal, I visited Cutler Salon, Redken’s hip flagship salon in SoHo, and sunk into the comfy chair at the station of stylist Rachael Bodt. I formed an immediate liking to Rachael. She has a silky mane of chocolate-mousse-colored hair, a spunky attitude and a guilty taste for reality television—just like moi . She also had a bauble on her finger that resembled the exact color we wanted to achieve on my hair. It was destiny.

After discussing my lack of direction in NYC (I’m a recent transplant and found myself wandering on Broadway—not West Broadway, on which Cutler resides—what a mess!), we discussed a direction for my hair. My naturally mouse brown (5N in haircolor terminology) mane needed a serious lift to start. Then, Rachael explained, she would paint my tresses in a multitude of shimmering tones that would play off each other to give me that multifaceted, coveted abalone look. In short, a double process with a kick. “What’s so special about a double process unless you push different tones through it?” Rachael asked me rhetorically.

Rachael retreated to the Redken Color Lab to mix and marry varying hues of Redken Shades EQ. Upon her return, she described how she was going to transform me into a shimmering, silvery blonde goddess: “We’re going to paint on two tones—blue-violet and ruby—in panels. Don’t worry; they’re diluted with clear to make the results subtle. Then, we’ll apply a beige-blonde over the entire head to make the hair look like creamy vanilla.”

As Rachael painstakingly painted my strands, we discussed the currently hot trends in SoHo. “I’m seeing a lot more golds—darker blondes and brunettes are looking to warm up their color,” Rachael told me. “And highlights are still really big, but they are more monochromatic. I’m creating a more natural look by lightening up the ends and keeping the areas near the root a darker shade. This usually takes two or three different colors to achieve. You’re not seeing screaming color when I’m finished. It’s more subtle.” She cited supermodel Giselle Bundchen as the muse for this look.
As I processed, Rachael clued me in that she had just received a visit from Bravo TV’s cast of Make Me a Supermodel. The models-in-training needed makeovers, and Rachael was assigned doe-eyed Aryn, whose brunette mane needed a dose of oomphf. “I wanted to make her more polished, more glam,” Rachael explained. Her prescription was some copper gold kicked in on the ends and rich, chocolate tones around the root areas to seal the deal. Though Aryn got booted from the show shortly after my visit to the salon, her hair sure looks great! Even the show’s host, supermodel Nicki Taylor, loved Rachael’s technique so much that she came back to get her own tresses finessed!

By the time I was done, I felt like a queen. (See the shimmering results, left.) Rachael had tended to my every need (including a sour stomach at one point) and my hair was a glistening representation of pearlescent beauty that even an abalone—or a chic supermodel—would envy.

*Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet (the color spectrum)

I admit it. I’m a beauty hound. I sniff out the latest trends in the professional “cares”—you know, hair care, nail care, skin care, body care. And don’t forget makeup! I’m all over that, too.

As fashion and beauty editor for Creative Age Publications, I get to indulge my inner and outer beautynista on a daily basis. Is there a new long-wearing lipstick on the market? Let me see how many sips of Diet Coke I can take before it wears thin. New body butter promising baby-soft skin? That’s music to my ashy elbows’ ears…er, skin. Vibrant haircolor that’s also nourishing? I hear the beauty angels singing! It’s a tough job, glossing up my lips, lotioning up my body and brightening up my tresses—but hey, someone’s gotta do it.

So I figured, what better way to communicate all this beauty madness than blog it? I’m going to love sharing my adventures in “beauty sifting” with you, my fellow beauty industry professionals. New treatments, new education, new products, new trends—I’ll sling it to you here, blog-style.

So, welcome! Let’s put our noses to the ground and zero in on the coolest, most cutting-edge professional beauty scoops out there—starting now!

Seize the Gray!

A few years back, I became obsessed with turquoise blue. To be truthful, I still am, but back then, I just couldn’t get enough of painting my fingernails in shimmering shades of aqua. However, I kept stumbling upon a rather large problem (for me, at least): Every blue polish I found had a pearlescent tint or flecks of glitter. You couldn’t find an opaque, turquoise polish anywhere. Sure, I found baby-blue creams, but they simply couldn’t satisfy my need for a thick, full-coverage, turquoise lacquer. I mentioned this in passing to CND co-founder Jan Arnold; it turns out she was on the same page and had already been dreaming up the perfect blue hue. A few months later, voila! One of my favorite lacquers to date came to market: CND’s Hot Pop Blue from the Hot Pop collection.

Well, here I am again, this time jonesing for an opaque, slate-gray polish. Watching the current trend of celebs flashing nails in inky black or lacquers so dark they verged on the deepest midnight (think OPI’s mega-hit, Russian Navy), I kept thinking, “I just know gray polish is going to hit it big soon.” But just as I couldn’t find aquamarines without twinkle, I couldn’t get my hands on a heavily pigmented, flat-gray polish.

Until now. I’m happy to report that, once again, the polish manufacturers and I have been telepathically communicating: Grays are the hit color for spring. OPI’s soon-to-be-released India Collection contains Moon Over Mumbai, a delicate dove-gray that goes on like a dream. Meanwhile Essie Cosmetics “calls it a ‘gray’” with two versions of this subdued noncolor: the light and dusky Great Expectations, and Body Language, a sublime blend of pink and gray (which founder Essie Weingarten deems this season’s “new neutral”).

I love all of these soft heather tones, but I’m absolutely savoring the bolder, slate-gray Recycle from China Glaze’s spring Eco Collection. This cool number is like no other and is certain to win over the hearts of your trendier clients.

I suggest you keep all of these grays on hand; the light ones offer a stylish alternative to pale pink creams and putty, and the slates will offer a great go-to for your fickle style mavens.

See you next time! Don’t forget to write!