New Year’s Day will be here before we know it. But before you pop open that bottle of champagne or sparkling cider to toast the arrival of 2010, consider what specials you have in place to help your clients detox from ringing in the New Year—or get a head start on their resolutions. These members of the International Spa Association have the following promotions lined up to bid farewell to a tough 2009:

• Joya Spa at Intercontinental Montelucia Resort & Spa in Paradise Valley, Arizona, will offer Hangover Treatments—including a 25-minute Hammam session for $35, or the Organic Facial (50 min./$125).

• Solace Spa at Boyne Mountain Resort in Boyne Falls, Michigan, has its Spa Renewal package on the menu to help clients get going on fitness goals for 2010. For $299 a night, two guests  receive accommodations as well as a $200 spa credit, breakfast, fitness classes and unlimited access to the spa facility.

• Flowering Almond Spa at the Founders Inn and Spa in Virginia Beach, Virginia, helps those who want to ease tension in the New Year with its Spa Lalala package. For a total cost of $120, it includes a 25-minute pomegranate body scrub and a 50-minute massage.

Thanks to a grant from the International Spa Association, an associate professor at California State University, Fresno has published data linking what many already suspected—there is a direct correlation between how satisfied we are with our jobs and our overall health.

With funds from the Dr. Howard Murad Research Grant on Cultural Stress, Michelle Calvarese, Ph.D., surveyed 500 college students between the ages of 18 and 35 for “Job Satisfaction, Stress and Health: A Microanalysis of California State University, Fresno Students.” She found that those who were content with their work were similarly in good health. But one of her more intriguing findings was the number of students who juggle numerous responsibilities—such as a part- or full-time workweek, full class schedule and families—and bear the fallout from all of those commitments, according to Calvarese. “While many may not necessarily be showing the effects of this chronic stressful lifestyle yet, due their younger age, it could quite possible show up later in life,” she says.

Howard Murad, M.D., associate clinical professor of medicine (dermatology) at UCLA and founder of Murad, endowed this grant starting in April 2008 due to his belief that stress in modern society wreaks havoc on our bodies. “Cultural stress ages us dramatically,” he says. “It keeps our stress hormone levels in a constant state of elevation–which damages the skin, as well as every other system in the body.”

While the world’s leaders are gathered in the Danish capital of Copenhagen as part of the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009, others with a vested interest in greening the earth are there as well to promote and discuss the issue. That includes the eco-friendly skincare and makeup line Aveda, which provided support backstage at the December 9th Fashion Summit staged by the Nordic Fashion Association and the Danish Fashion Institute. The aim of the show was to demonstrate that sustainability and social responsibility can be a part of every industry, including haute couture.

Stylists and makeup artists from the Palma/Aveda Lifestyle Salon in Copenhagen provided environmentally friendly looks for the show’s models, who sported eco-conscious clothing by local designers. Palma Sørensen created 1940s-inspired hairdos using Phomollient Styling Foam, Smooth Infusion Style-Prep Smooth and Air Control Hair Spray. The tones for the rest of the look took their cues from the show’s theme. “The inspiration for the makeup was very much about a dramatic yet natural look,” said lead makeup artist Annalisa Proto. “We used earth tones for a natural feeling with edge, and a hint of shimmer in the shadows to pronounce the features and contours of the face.”

While the overall effects of the climate-change conference remain to be seen, luminaries such as Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary of Denmark and Ritt Bjerregaard, the Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, attended the fashion show. “As a beauty leader in the green fashion movement, we are proud of having been chosen by the Nordic fashion industry as the Copenhagen Fashion Summit’s partner for backstage beauty,” said Vincenzo Minore, general manager for Aveda UK/Scandinavia. “We hope this initiative will inspire change in the global fashion industry.”

For a behind-the-scenes look at the show’s hair, click here, and for a look at the makeup, click here.

When it comes to implementing eco-friendly practices, think outside—or inside—the box.

As an environmentally conscious spa owner, you look for new ways to reduce (limit water usage), reuse (glasses instead of disposable cups) and recycle (you know the drill). So do the manufacturers who seek to do business with you.

Looking for a good skincare partner based on its green practices doesn’t necessarily mean only looking for an organic label. How a product is packaged and shipped can make—or break—a company’s positive carbon footprint.

We receive hundreds of boxes and packages here at DAYSPA. While testing, photographing and familiarizing ourselves with the top products in the industry is an invaluable part of our jobs, sometimes the deluge of cardboard, cellophane, Styrofoam and bubble wrap can turn our inner green goddess into grinches.

So when a company goes out of its way to make its shipping and packaging practices eco-friendly, we breathe a sigh of relief. Here are a few examples of earth-friendly packaging we’ve seen in the mail lately:

Bubble wrap—any plastic product, really—is banished from packages from Eminence Organic Skin Care. Instead of typical stuffing, the green-to-the-core company uses pouches made from recycled/recyclable paper. They keep precious products from breaking or leaking and can be recycled yet again. Even if they’re thrown away, they’ll quickly disintegrate in a landfill.


SpaRitual has become a favorite hand-and-foot-care line of green spas around the world. That, of course, means lots of shipping. To offset the environmental impact of all that transport, the company packages its products in paper canisters, tubes, boxes and envelopes made from recycled materials. It even offers handy reuse tips such as repurposing a shipping tube as a flower vase.

Joyful Bath Co. based in Bethesda, Maryland, packages its all-natural mineral salts in recyclable glass jars; and gift sets come in aluminum buckets that can be used to store the products. But the most creative concept is in its packing peanuts. They’re made from cornstarch, which dissolves in water. It also adds a boost to bath treatments. According to the enclosed card that comes with each shipment, “Cornstarch is known to soothe and relieve itchy skin. So guess what? Throw some in the tub with your bath salts!”

Bathing in your packaging material. Now that’s green genius.

Dermalogica kicks up its cool factor with an iPhone application.

It’s hard to get an iPhone devotee to do anything that isn’t programmable from her palm. With so many on-the-go features and applications—from language translators to video games—it’s no wonder the Apple product has become an essential accessory for the new millennium.

Dermalogica has developed such an application for skincare professionals and spa-goers. It’s called Speed Mapping and it allows users to experience an abbreviated version of the company’s signature Face-Mapping process, which provides individual analysis and skincare recommendations for clients. “Technology is ever-changing, and the IT team at Dermalogica is always seeking ways to engage innovations in order to better support its customers,” says Simon Winsall, Dermalogica’s IT manager for global subsidiaries based in the United Kingdom.

The new application is available for download on the iPhone or iPod Touch.

A feature that allows users to locate Dermalogica products via GPS at the nearest retailer is also in the works. For more information, visit the company’s website.

While it may be a winter wonderland outside your spa, you still want to bring some of that seasonal magic inside. It’s an ideal time on the calendar to create themed services and promotions—if you haven’t already—to treat clients weary of holiday shopping and harsh weather. We have some suggestions for both, thanks to the V Spa at Hilton Anatole in Dallas and the International Spa Association, respectively.

Treatments

• Peppermint Chocolate Facial (50 min./$125): The classic yuletide scents join forces to refresh the senses and provide a glow to the skin.

• Spiced Hot Stone Massage (50 or 80 min./$115 or $185): Cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla join the longtime winter favorite for an extra kick.

• Mistletoes Pedicure (50 or 80 min./$50 or $85): A pine- and wintergreen-scented soak preps feet for a cranberry scrub and a Clementine and mistletoe massage.

Promotions

• Complexions Spa for Beauty & Wellness in Albany, New York, offers a $20 spa credit with the purchase of every $200 gift certificate, as well as a home spa gift set that’s valued at $75.

• The spa at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida, is holding a special holiday shopping day on December 14. While clients are there to pick up products and gift certificates, they can also get a Kerstin Florian facial for $40.

• ZenSpa in Calabasas, California, gives guests the chance to earn a free gift card with the purchase of five at the value of $100 or more.

These are just a few suggestions—think outside the box for ways to attract the attention of jaded spa-goers who are already tired of the same old winter specials.