News Alert

Live-Streaming Beauty School

Creative Age Publications is introducing live-streaming educational classes for spa and salon professionals. Pioneers in the hair, beauty, makeup, spa and retail industries will teach courses via live-streaming video, which you can view in the comfort of your own business or home.

Registration is now open for the following:

November 17: Haircolor Tips, Tricks & Applications

• Simple techniques for spectacular results
• A realistic, salon-friendly approach to haircolor excellence
• Staying green
• Color challenges, quick-blonde techniques, brilliant transparent reds, avoiding "brown-outs" and more

Instructor: Gina Khan, owner of Gina Khan Salons in San Francisco and Walnut Creek, California, and creative director of the Hair Color Council of Intercoiffure America/Canada. She is an award-winning colorist, named Colorist of the Year by L'Oreal Logics.

December 8: Special Occasion Hair

• 10-minute upstyles
• Fabulous finishes for short and medium hair
• Tips and tricks for fantastic hair design
• Pinning, spraying and teasing
• Adding unique details to upstyles

Instructor: Martin Parsons, regarded as one of the top long-hair stylists in the world. He received the prestigious North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA) Lifetime Achievement honor for his more than 30 years as an artist, educator and presenter. His educational DVDs, books and other products are available at martinparsons.com.

January 12, 2010, The Marriage of Cut & Color

• Consultation skills
• Making color choices
• Color placement options to complement haircuts
• Ideas for encouraging clients to return to the salon
• Plus: tips on add-on services and maintaining great-looking color

Instructors: Christopher and Sonya Dove, known in the industry as The Doves, creative directors for Wella, North America, and owners of The Doves Studio in Santa Monica, California. They were honored with the Master Stylist Award by NAHA in 2001, as well as the Haircolor Award in 1999, 2000 and 2002. HairColor USA named them Most Inspiring Haircolorists in 2003.
Classes are $95 per viewer and run 60 minutes, plus a 15-minute Q&A session with the instructor. Following the initial webcast, each event will be available on demand for registered users. For more information, email info@beautylaunchpad.com or call 800.442.5667, ext. 302.

Beauty Buzz

Jane Iredale's Zap&Hide was named the best color cosmetic product at the 2009 CITY (Cosmetic Innovators of The Year) awards. The two-sided blemish/concealer stick contains anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial ingredients on its "zap" side, while the creamy concealer is formulated with mineral pigments and soothing lavender oil. For product information, visit www.janeiredale.com or call 800.762.1132.

Matte is the new shiny, or so says Zoya. The polish company recently introduced the MatteVelvet collection, a limited-edition trio of colors that are more goth than glam. Loredana (a gunmetal gray), Dovima (black shimmer) and Posh (wine shimmer) are high-pigment polishes that deliver deep color without a glossy finish. And like all Zoya products, they're free of toluene, camphor, formaldehyde and dibutyl phthalate.
For more information and to browse all 300 shades of Zoya polish, visit www.zoya.com

Cool Charities

Loving animals is hard work. When the Chicago-area Anti Cruelty Society threw its 15th Annual Bark in the Park last May, nearby Juvenesse Spa and Skincare stepped in to give the humans a little TLC too.
More than 3,200 people and 3,000 dogs participated in the 5K run/walk, which raised $220,000 for the organization that cares for abused or abandoned animals. As a reward, Juvenesse provided free massages to the people, while dogs received canine rubdowns—a regular perk at each year's event. For more information (and adorable doggie pics), visit www.barkinthepark.org.


Daired and Carey Ogle, owners of Daireds Salon and Spa Pangéa in Arlington, Texas, were recently recognized for their support of breast cancer and domestic violence charities.
The duo received the Altruism Award presented by the Kupferle Health Board of the Texas Health Harris Methodist Foundation during the annual Puttin' On the Pink charity luncheon and fashion show. The event, to which the Daireds contribute each year, raises funds for women's health screenings, breast diagnostics and cancer-prevention education.
For more than 15 years, the spa has raised money and awareness for the causes with regular charity events. For example, it donates free spa services to cancer patients and women living at local shelters. "This award is an honor, and it speaks to the efforts of our staff and guests who've joined our cause," says Daired Ogle. "Helping women in the community is vital, and we will continue to support the fight against breast cancer and encourage others to do the same."
For more information, visit www.daireds.com or call 817.465.9797.

VB Cosmetics donated gift sets from its Dazzle Dry nail polish line to Celebrity Chitt, an entertainment and marketing firm that supports the Vista Maria Shelter in Dearborn Heights, Michigan. Glossy, glittery and bright shades of the polish were added to the gift bags—valued at more than $500—given to young women ages 16-22 living in the shelter, which provides treatment, education, therapy, spiritual support and housing to youth and their families experiencing abuse, neglect and other trauma. Recipients were presented with their swag during a charity cooking celebration last June, which kicked off a week of makeover treats for the girls—including new jewelry, makeup, hair care and makeovers for their shelter dorm rooms. For more information or to make a contribution to Vista Maria, visit www.vistamaria.org.

Going Global

El Segundo, California-based skincare company Murad, founded by Howard Murad, M.D., has promoted two top-level executives to oversee international education and business acquisitions. Elisse Edery will assume the duty of director of international education. She previously worked as an independent consultant with Murad, focusing on growing the company's European and Middle Eastern business ventures. In her new role, Edery will lead advanced skincare education seminars for pharmacists, dermatologists, sales executives and certified estheticians throughout Europe.She'll also help develop new curriculum, train field members and collaborate with the retail and sales divisions.

As the new senior director of global acquisitions and new business, Danny Guez will be responsible for expanding Murad's business globally. He'll focus on areas such as South America, India and Russia. The former European director of sales will also be in charge of global distribution and help open new Murad schools for skincare education and Murad Inclusive Health Centers around the world. Speaking of international outreach, Murad recently inked a deal with Kuwait Gulf Express to distribute its products to Kuwait and the Persian Gulf region. "KGE provides a range of experience and philosophy on innovative and effective beauty products considered a step beyond those products already available in the region," says Richard Murad, chief operating officer and general counsel for Murad.

Success Stories

Cuccio Naturalé reports that with its 2009 sales positions the company to be the No.1-selling brand of spa-quality hand, foot and nail care around the world. "We're halfway through the year and we've hit groundbreaking numbers around the world. I'm happy with the progress of this line, and I'm excited to see what the future holds," says Tony Cuccio, founder and CEO.
To receive a free business-building DVD, visit www.cuccio.com or call 800.762.6245.

Another business seeing success in these tough economic times is NeoCell. The Newport Beach, California-based business distributes natural supplements and collagen-based skin care to the spa industry. It reported sales growth of 175% from March 2008 to March 2009.
Darren Rude, vice president of sales, credits the recession for the company's boon. "I think a lot of people are turning to alternative therapies as a way of saving money," he says. "When they find out how well our products work, they stick with them and we build a loyal customer base." Top-selling items include NeoCell's Super Collagen Powder, Super Collagen+C Tablets and Collagen+C Pomegranate Liquid, which work on the cellular level to improve the health of skin, hair and nails. For more information on NeoCell's full line of nutritional supplements, visit www.neocell.com or call 800.346.2922.

Going Green Gets the Gold

Complexions Spa for Beauty & Wellness in Albany, New York, is the first day spa in the United States to earn Gold certification under the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED ratings system for new construction. In May 2008, Complexions opened its eco-friendly facility, which features state-of-the-art green design. It's made of recyclable, renewable and sustainable materials, including low-VOC paint and wallpaper, cork flooring and energy-efficient appliances. Plus, it's powered by wind and water sources in the Adirondacks."We're delighted as a small business to receive this honor," says owner Denise Dubois. "Our team worked very hard, and we hope to set an example for all small businesses across the nation."For more information on Complexions Spa, visit www.complexions.com.

Tune-In to Technology

With the viral growth of websites like Twitter and Facebook, businesses can't afford not to be online. SalonGalaxy.com, a new social networking site for the beauty and spa industries, was created to help ease the tech-averse into the Web-2.0 world. The site provides industry news and surveys, Q&As with experts, educational seminars, special events listings, business profiles and a forum where spa owners, manufacturers and educators can connect.
With every registration, day spas and salons will receive a free business profile page on the SalonGalaxy's social website and tools to publish photo galleries of their business, services or products. Plus, companies can post special events, seminars and classes.
Registration is free and available to all industry professionals. Visit salongalaxy.com for more information or contact Arthur J. DiGiacomo at 610.506.8159 or Art@SalonGalaxy.com.

BestMassage.com also known as TAO Trading, celebrated 10 years as a leading massage-table supplier last July. Starting out as a small business in 2000, the Chicago-based company began selling a few massage tables to neighborhood spas. When owner Jeffrey Tippman turned the brick-and-mortar store into an online massage warehouse, the customer base went global. "We consider ourselves not only selling products, but also developing and supporting well-being and a better lifestyle," Tippman says.

To celebrate a decade in the business, BestMassage.com is rewarding customers with discounts of up to 60% off select merchandise. "We understand our customers' financial concerns during our faltering economy," says marketing director Peter Wang. "Our goal is to make our customers aware that they can shop smarter and pay less for the same quality—or better—massage products when they come to us."

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