DAYSPA eNewsletter: Star Treatment

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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Cookies Optional

Milk and honey have long been considered nourishing for the soul. But at the exclusive Mondrian Hotel's Agua Spa in Los Angeles, Miami, and Scottsdale, Arizona, the signature massage takes these ingredients to the next level to soothe the body, mind and soul.

The Ayurvedic-based Milk and Honey Body Treatment (60 min./$150) utilizes warm honey, organic sesame oil and gently heated powdered milk. Recommended for any skin type—but especially for dry—the treatment leaves the body rejuvenated and the skin feeling silky soft.

"The hydrating and emollient properties of the sesame oil and honey are enhanced when combined with the milk, which contains lactic acid—a natural exfoliant," says Helen Storer, Mondrian spa director (Los Angeles and Scottsdale). "When the milk is combined with the honey and oil, it provides the perfect consistency for a relaxing massage and a delicious, decadent scent."

Cookies and a good bedtime story may be all that's missing from this body treatment.

The protocol:

Have the client lie face down.

Perform a scalp massage and compression of the client's body on top of the draping to introduce her to your touch.

Undrape the legs and pour warm honey-sesame oil mixture on the right one. Massage thoroughly with long, Ayurvedic-style gliding strokes, and then cover.

Follow this procedure on the left leg, and then the back and arms. Cover.

Wash the right leg with warm milk, and then dry and cover.

Repeat on the left leg, and the back and arms.

Turn the client face up, and massage the honey-sesame oil mixture into the right leg. Cover.

Do the same on the left leg, abdomen, and then the arms and chest.

Wash the right leg with warm milk, and then do the same on the remainder of her body in the same sequence.

Conclude with a facial and scalp massage, and head mobilization.

Cookies Optional

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