Safety and Health Inspections Planned for Spas

Canada’s leading spa association will introduce a national inspection program next year to ensure its members comply with quality assurance and safety standards.

“It will help consumers and raise standards in the industry across the board,” Leading Spas of Canada representative Kathryn Stolle said in an interview. “Consumers are saying: ‘Give us some assurances here’ and that’s what this will do.”

The association is working with inspection agency Canada Select to develop a program that will begin with 30 spas next year before involving all 175 member spas by 2010.

The association already has standards and practices that members are expected to meet but compliance is only based upon members saying in writing they comply. Under the new program, spas will be audited by appointment every two years.

The standards and practices cover six primary areas – hygiene and safety, operation and function, customer service, education and training, legal compliance and ethical practice.

Examples include provisions that spas ensure their instruments and tools are properly sterilized, that therapists’ certifications comply with provincial regulations, that spa staff provide respectful customer service and that businesses have up-to-date insurance.

Read the Full Story HERE.

Pamela Hill Advanced Skincare Products: Perhaps the Right Choice for your Spa Clients

Pamela Hill is world renowned as an expert in skin care, and the light of advanced skin care products that carry the Pamela Hill name are a safe bet for quality skin care for your clients. Pamela Hill Advanced Skincare Products include a variety of skin care products to choose from. In order to purchase the products, a clinician must first become an approved wholesaler. When this process is complete, a whole new world opens up of top flight products for your clients, including:

Papaya Cleanser with Salicylic Acid: This product is for morning and night. Apply with clean fingertips or facial cleansing sponge. Massage into the skin for sixty seconds, rinse with warm water and pat dry with clean towel. Avoid eyes.
Papaya Facial Scrub with Grains: With this product apply a small amount of scrub to fingertips. In a circular motion, gently scrub the face. Then rinse with warm water and avoid eye area. For external use only.

Daily Moisturizer with Green Tea: This is an anti-oxidant moisturizer for all skin types. Apply daily for hydration to the face and neck.

Moisturizer Plus with Vitamin E: With this product lift a small amount of product from the jar. Using fingertips apply liberally to face and neck. Do not apply to eyelids. Avoid eyes. For external use only.
12% Glycolic Gel: With this product apply two to three drops to the back of the hand. Lift a small amount with the opposite fingertips and apply evenly to the face and neck. Avoid the eye area. For external use only.

8% Lactic Acid Gel: Apply 2-3 drops to the back of the hand. Lift a small amount with the opposite fingertips and apply evenly to the face and neck. Avoid eye area. For External use only.
Enzyme Exfoliation Mask with Papaya Enzymes: This product should be applied to wet skin. Use a generous layer over the entire face and neck and let it set for 3-5 minutes. Avoid eyes. For external use only.

Hydrating Body Lotion with Lactic Acid: Apply this product to legs, arms and body to lubricate and soften the skin’ avoid the face. For external use only.

Retinol Serum with Replenishing Vitamins: apply one “pump” to the back of the hand. Using clean fingertips of the opposite hand, apply evenly to the face and neck. Rub any residual product onto the back of the hands. DO NOT use Retin A at the same application . Avoid the eyes. For external use only.
Vita Co Enzyme Complex with Antioxidants: Also apply one “pump” to the back of the hand. Using the opposite fingertip smooth the product over the entire face and neck. Give special attention to the crows, ‘ feet ‘ and lower eyelids. DO NOT use glycolic products at the same application. For external use only.

Become a wholesaler of these products and introduce your clients to them and you’ll not only be improving your bottom line, but helping your clients as well.

Spa Industry News: Prominent Spas Work Hard to Go Green

The spa industry is becoming an important leader in the fight against global warming by making changes to the way spas are run in order to help save the environment.  The idea of going green is one that fits perfectly with the vision that spas around the world have had for centuries.In order to spread the word of green spa living, several prominent spas around the country have formed the Green Spa Network.  This grassroots, not-for-profit trade organization has started out by creating seed spas, ones that are committed to developing and sustaining environmentally friendly business practices.  To date there are nine spas in the seed program and their main focus is to find the greenest ways to run their spas while also remaining profitable and providing their clients with the best services available.

In addition the Green Spa Network is gathering as much information as they can for their Green Spa Toolkit, which will provide other spa owners the tools and information they need to turn their spas green too.  They are also putting together an annual green spa conference that will serve as a networking and information exchange opportunity for those interested in going green.

Going Green: A Few Easy, Low Budget Ways to Make Your Spa More Environmentally Friendly

Going green is one of those things that started out as a fad, but has grown into a movement that has everyone buzzing about how to protect our mother earth.  While the spa environment is typically one that focuses on the health and well being of the human race, it’s also one that uses a lot of the world’s resources.  So, it’s essential that the spa industry becomes a leader in the fight to reduce environmental waste and to raise awareness, while also being able to remain profitable.There are a lot of easy and affordable ways that your spa can start going green one step at a time.

You might want to start out by scheduling an energy audit by a certified expert who will go through your spa and point out areas that could be easily converted into greener methods.

You can also do a few things on your own, such as replacing light bulbs with energy efficient ones, installing low-flow faucet aerators and showerheads to reduce water usage, purchasing unbleached paper towels and toilet papers, using environmentally friendly cleaning products and laundry detergents, and providing receptacles for clients and employees to place their recycling materials.

Snow and Ice – An Insurance Nightmare Waiting to Happen in Your Spa’s Parking Lot

When you own a business where customers are continuously coming and going, you need to always be aware of the many dangers that can present themselves to your customers throughout the year. Not only do you need to keep your customers safe, but you also need to protect yourself from unnecessary lawsuits. The National Safety Council estimates that slips and falls cause over 300,000 injuries and 1,500 deaths every year.Winter weather can pose some of the most dangerous situations for your spa, particularly due to snow and ice accumulation in the parking lot, on pathways, or steps. In order to make your spa as safe as possible, there are several things you can do to protect your customers and your staff from falls.

If possible, when ice is present, have the parking lot salted regularly to melt slippery ice. Consider installing handrails and non-slip surfaces for steps and ramps. You might also want to install additional external lighting, especially if your spa is open after sundown.

Inside the spa’s entrance, you should have water absorbing mats on the floor to keep snow or ice from pooling on the floor and creating additional hazards inside your spa.

Practice What you Preach: Selling Retail Products that are Used in the Spa Treatment Rooms is Good for Business

Selling spa products is something that employees either love or loathe.  Many employees feel as if they are being too pushy or don’t have the proper training to sell successfully.  However, offering clients the spa products used during treatments is something that most clients are interested in and eager to take home once they are educated about the product benefits.

It’s essential that your spa offers these products for sale before, during, and after treatments to give your customers the opportunity to experience a little bit of the spa lifestyle in between spa appointments.  This does not need to be done in an overbearing way, but can instead be presented as more of a suggestion rather than a hard sell.  Therapists should know everything about the products they use so that they can answer any questions the clients might have.  Casually discussing the products during treatments will often result in purchases later on.

Having these products readily available at the front desk before and after treatments gives your staff the opportunity to talk more extensively about them or offer complimentary products.  This will put products directly into clients’ hands and will make it much easier to finalize the sale.

The Fall Weather Leads to Human Hibernation: Great Spa Menu Items to Get Customers to your Spa in the Cold Weather

As we say goodbye to the warm weather and welcome the turning leaves, hot cocoa, and prepare for the holiday season, some special items can be added to your regular spa menu to attract those clients who are cozying up next to the fire rather than coming in for a relaxing spa treatment.

You might want to try featuring some unique spa treatments, such as a hot stone massage or warm mud body wraps to your fall menu.  Heat treatments are usually a hard sell in the hotter months, so take the opportunity of the changing seasons to get people in to indulge in some soothing, heated treatments.

With the colder months comes drier skin too, so focus on some skin treatments that target this unavoidable, yet very treatable condition.  Offer your clients warm paraffin wax manicures, pedicures, or steaming facial.  This is also a great time of year to indulge in exfoliating skin treatments to sooth dry, cracking skin.

You can also offer your clients little extras to warm their cold bones, like preparing hot steaming teas or yummy hot cocoas, freshly baked cookies or muffins, or even warming the towels and robes for a little extra luxurious comfort.

Spas Worldwide are Going Green and it Doesn’t Come Cheap!

Today, “going-green” is all the rage and great for the environment.  This makes great sense for our ever-increasing world population, but it can also be a very expensive venture, especially for a resource-dependent business such as a spa.

Converting to a green spa is a wonderful idea and adds to the industry’s image of harmony and balance with nature, however, you may need to take some small steps at first to make any measurable changes because these economically friendly ideas can be very unfriendly to your wallet.  Things like replacing your spa’s water system with one that recycles and purifies water rather than wasting it cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Using solar energy to power electrical water and heating systems is very green, but also very pricey.  Again, it will be well worth the time and effort over time.

Instead, try replacing your spa’s light bulbs with energy efficient ones a few at a time or start washing towels in larger loads to save water.  You can even replace your washers and driers for energy efficient ones.  Every little bit counts, so focus on the small stuff first and set long-term goals for more expensive green-friendly projects.

Sometimes Less is More: Space Planning in Your Spa

Spa planning is an important element in any spa, especially if space is at a minimum.  However, no matter how large or small your spa is, you can create an open and inviting environment just by planning your spa’s floor plan, flow, and furniture placement.

Clients come to your spa because they want to unwind in a peaceful and relaxing environment that is free from clutter and allows them to move freely from one room to the next without stress or worry.  In order to create this type of environment, consider how your spa flows from room to room.

Is there one door in and one door out of each treatment room?  Do clients go from the reception area, to the dressing room, to the treatment room, and then to the relaxation room without having to walk out into the lobby with their robe and slippers on?  Are the hallways wide enough for people to pass and free of clutter?  Is there too much furniture in each room?

All of these are things you should consider in your space planning.  Keeping your spa organized, clutter-free, and flowing easily will make your spa seem more open, spacious, and inviting.

Spa Management Journal: An Exceptional Periodical for Anyone Involved in the Spa Industry

If you are a spa owner or manager working in the spa industry today, you need to be able to tap into what’s happening in the business by staying informed and up-to-date on the latest spa services and trends.  One of the best ways to do this is to regularly read and subscribe to the top spa periodicals, such as the Spa Management Journal.

The Spa Management Journal was launched in 1991 and is one of the most well respected magazines in the spa industry today.  This journal focuses on the topics and issues that face the spa owner or spa manager and offers valuable industry tips, reviews, and resources to help make your spa better and more successful.

In addition, the Spa Management Journal has a nice online site that allows you to read additional articles on spa business related issues, a buyer’s guide, trade show calendar, and relevant information on what other spas are doing around the world.

The Spa Management Journal is published 10 times per year and subscriptions start out for as little as $39 per year.  Check out their website at www.spamanagement.com and start finding out what the rest of spa world is really up to.