DS Minutes October 2008 — What's your most popular service?

Sustainable Sincerity

Our upcoming Green Scene ("Mayan Marvel," September 2010) contains helpful tips on how to detect greenwashing when perusing "organic" product labels. That's when companies try to unjustifiably tout a product's environmental virtues.

As John Vater, co-ower of Spa Adriana in Huntington, New York, warns, "The big print giveth and the small print taketh away."

Here's some information about avoiding this pitfall:

Read labels with a discriminating eye.
John and his wife, co-owner Adriana Vater, caution spa professionals against taking a product label at face value. "If the packaging claims it doesn't contain something, you should ask yourself what's there to do that ingredient's job," Adriana says. "Every component of a product has a purpose, and sometimes a so-called 'green' ingredient is just as offensive as the original."
Educate yourself.
The Vaters say it's important to develop an understanding of how product ingredients work. "With today's Internet access, you can quickly look up the chemical composition of any item," John says.

It's not always easy going green. How do you ensure that your spa's environmental initiatives result in real, positive change? Send your ideas to Katie O'Reilly, associate editor, at koreilly@creativeage.com.

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Question of the Month: What's your most popular service?

Many spas have bread-and-butter services that keep clients booking their next appointments. Whether it's a specific massage technique or waxing services, we asked spa owners and managers to reveal their most popular services.

"We do 'quickie' peels that are popular. They’re all 30 minutes and are ideal for our busy, working clientele."—Rene Rutledge, spa manager, Body Bar Urban Spa (www.bodybarspa.com), Los Angeles

"Our No.1 treatment is our Japanese Gemstone Facial (90 min./$155). We use the Ko Bi Do massage technique. It focuses on the cells' understructure and circulation."—Rosemary Weiner, owner, Brass Rose Spa and Salon (www.brassrose.com), Blairstown, New Jersey

"The Aloha Package (120 min./$225) is a mud therapy body treatment, hot rock massage, aromatherapy facial and foot reflexology. In the summer, we take out the hot rocks and extend the mud therapy treatment into the massage."—Selena Belisle, owner, Spa Newbury (www.spanewbury.com), Boston

"We have three amazing, three-hour ayurvedic body treatments that include a wrap, steam, and body, foot and scalp massage. They're based on the person's dosha, an ayurvedic mind-body type."—Molly Young, spa director, Aequis Spa Retreat (www.aequisspa.com), Portland, Oregon

"Our most popular services are full bikini waxes, Playboy waxing and massage. Our medspa isn't doing so bad, either."—Deborah Woods, founder, Skin Deep the Body Spa (www.eskindeep.com), Huntington Beach, California

Coming next month: What services are you adding or cutting to boost business? Let us know what's going on at your spa, and your answer may appear in our next newsletter. Submit your response to executive editor Rhonda J. Wilson at rwilson@creativeage.com.

Question of the Month: What's your most popular service?

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