by Greg Willis | DSA Blog, Spa and Wellness
spafinder.com – Spa-goers who seek to improve their overall well being will certainly be fans of manual lymph drainage (usually referred to as MLD or lymphatic drainage). It decreases facial puffiness, boosts the immune system, smooths cellulite and soothes sore muscles. Lymphatic drainage massage helps deliver cellular waste to the lymph nodes. Drainage is essential because the lymphatic system lacks a pump of its own to transport lymph through the body and must rely on movement and massage to flush the fluid. Blocked lymphatic systems contribute to acne, constipation and even cellulite. This type of massage is known to reduce swelling, heal acne, relieve fatigue, and help the body detox.
What are habits that contribute to a poor performing lymphatic system?
- Movement is essential. People who practice little movement, walking or exercise often suffer from a clogged lymphatic system. Proper flow requires movement. It’s suggested to practice exercises just like simple walking in the morning or jumping jacks to stimulate the lymphatic system.
- Dehydration, the mother of all illness. Drink Water. Unlike wine, people tend to have trouble drinking bottles of water. Hydration is critical to stimulate movement in your intestines. Drink water often.
- Stress which creates elevated cortisol, sleepless nights and high irritability also creates acidity which leads to lymph congestion.
- Processed foods introduced in the last century have further created an imbalance in our bodies. Foods that the body does not normally absorb genetically create a sluggish lymphatic system.
While imperative to circulation, the lymphatic system is not commonly discussed. A critical part of the body, twice as much lymph fluid exists in the body as blood. This network of tissues and organs has a sole purpose to rid the body of toxins, waste, and other unwanted materials. People who suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and other digestive issues will benefit from a visit as part of the goal is to unblock the natural sewage treatment system.
What can you expect during a lymphatic massage?
- Interview with the masseuse. An experienced masseuse will ask you about your diet, about your circulation and about your digestive system.
- Lymph nodes are located throughout the body, beneath the breasts, close to the underarms, near the belly, throughout the leg. Lymphatic drainage occurs via perspiration in the armpits or urination. An experienced masseuse will try to move the fluids towards the pelvic area and towards the underarms.
- Depending on the machine used, the masseuse may hold glass vials with a rounded point to move the fluids in the lymphatic system. Movement in the lower body will steer fluid towards the pelvis. Movement in the upper body will steer fluid towards the underarms.
- During the massage, you will only feel the light touch of the vials. Slight ringing sound happens where a build up of lymphatic fluid exists but overall this would be considered a light touch massage.
- The purpose of Lymphatic drainage is to optimize fluid circulation throughout the body. Persist in this practice as it does take more than one massage to see results.
After the massage, drink plenty of water. Dehydration is often discussed during this treatment. Incorporate green foods, especially superfoods, to improve digestion. While these practices have become a little more mainstream today, it is still important to understand that the foods one consumes do reflect on the skin and in the body.
Post-lymphatic results:
- Improved elimination
- Improved skin texture
- Weight reduction
- Decrease in cellulite
In addition, to keep and maintain a fluid lymphatic system, here are a few tips.
- Continue with lymphatic massage once a month or more depending on fluidity. Ask your masseuse about methods you can include lymphatic drainage at home with dry scrubbing also.
- Drink a lot of water. Begin with a gallon a day and increase accordingly.
- Incorporate green foods into your diet, preferably organic. This will hopefully decrease the amount of processed foods you ingest.
See more from spafinder here
by Greg Willis | DSA Blog, Spa and Wellness
August is officially upon us. I know that no one ever likes to say it aloud, but… we only have one more full month of summer left. Now, for local beauty businesses like spas, this news can be a little harder to swallow. With the summer comes one of the most profitable times for spas — wedding season. So, the fact that the number of weddings will start to slow down a bit after September can be a little depressing.
However, there is no reason for local spa owners to despair. Even though summer and subsequently wedding season may be only temporary, that doesn’t mean your success has to be. All you need to do is plan ahead with a little bit of marketing. For many small business owners “marketing” can be a daunting term. You don’t have time for it, you don’t really want to do it — we get that. Well, we’re going to make marketing your spa as easy as possible. There are actually tons of spa marketing ideas out there that take minimal time and effort to get off the ground which can actually help yield big time results.
So, let’s get to it! Here are 4 spa marketing tips for local spa owners to use for keeping profits all the way up well after summer has ended.
Spa Marketing Tip #1: Themed Specials / Promotions
What do you think is more compelling? A bland generic promotion or a colorful summer-themed one? Themed promotions are a great way for your specials to stand-out from other boring promotions, and work to really catch a client’s eye. Infusing your promotional ideas with a fun seasonal theme works to make specials you create better resonate with your clients.
Luckily, August presents local spas with a perfect opportunity to give their promotions a fun, compelling theme. There are essentially two directions you can take when creating your theme.
a) Summer Themed: Summer may be halfway over, but that doesn’t mean we still can’t look at the glass half full. Consider giving your specials and discounts summer infused twist. Think bright and radiant colors, “fun in the sun” sort of names, and tons of caricatures that are everything sun, shades, and sand.
b) Back-to-School Theme: Another equally relatable, fun theme you can use with your promotions are a back-to-school theme. Think red/orange fall colors, “back to school” sort of names, and tons of caricatures that are everything notebooks, pencils, and apples.
Spa Marketing Tip #2: Create and Promote Summer Packages
You can’t always reinvent the wheel. Maybe you don’t have any new treatments or services to add to your spa menu this summer – that’s okay! Work with what you have and make something new from that. Think summertime packages.
Consider pairing a service that typically performs well during your summer months with one that might not be as popular. It will help you to drive sales to all your services. Or if you’re looking for an easy slam dunk, pair up all your most popular summer services in one package to generate a lot hype. Hopefully you’ve been keeping organized records so you know what your most popular services and treats are…
Just as with your specials and discounts make your packages summer oriented. Get creative, highlight the beauty of the season, and just have fun with it. An enticing name can sometimes make all the difference when it comes to drawing attention. Additionally, emphasizing that these packages only last for the summer are a great way to bring about a sense of urgency and cause clients to act.
Spa Marketing Tip #3: Implement a Membership Program
During the month of August you should have one goal in mind — implementing a membership program. Membership programs are an easy, effective tool small businesses use all the time to generate repeat business. Setting up your membership program is easy. You can either choose to have one general membership program or separate tiered ones. All you do is set either a certain action, spending amount, or frequency of visits to determine who is eligible to be a member. Then you assign certain perks to your program for motivating clients to complete the necessary requirements for becoming a member.
The more clients you can get to be members the more loyal customers you have acquired. Once a member, those clients will continue to return to your spa in order to continuously reap the rewards of their membership. So, membership programs are a great tactic to keep that wedding season, summertime surge lasting well into the fall.
Spa Marketing Tip #4: Optimized Business Website
If you want to end summer strong then your spa’s website should be equally strong. Apart from occasional walk-ins, your website is the first thing potential clients will see, and a boring one will not entice them. Again, your website presents you with the perfect opportunity to highlight your summer theme in order to grab searchers attention.
However, you’re going to need more than just looks here. You’re going to need some meat to your website. Important things to always include on your website if you’re trying to attract more clients are:
- Main telephone number
- Business address – connected to google maps for easy directions
- Ongoing and upcoming promotions
- Calendar/Availability
- Online booking option
When a new, potential customer lands on your website you want it to be as easy as possible for them to find any and all necessary information needed for persuading them into booking an appointment at your spa. Eliminate as many barriers as you can. Make things easy and seamless.
From the Booker blog
by Greg Willis | DSA Blog, Spa and Wellness
As medical spas and aesthetic practices continue to add new technology and services to provide the best possible results, it will become even more important for their clients to have a way to fit these new options into their budgets. Clients may be more likely to move forward with prescribed treatments if they know that an easy payment option is available.
The CareCredit offering means spa guests can get relaxation and wellness services they want, whenever they want, without having to worry about cost being a barrier. With CareCredit, spa clients can have greater access to services while spa owners have another tool to help grow and simplify their processing. Spa clients are increasingly seeking solutions for beauty, anti-aging, stress management and genuine self-care. According to the Global Wellness Institute Global Economy Monitor, wellness is a growing trend showing no sign of slowing down.
Reach out to CareCredit here
by Greg Willis | DSA Blog, Spa and Wellness
Check out this recent post from wellandgood.com about the experience of the author and jane iredale’s skin-boosting supplements!
Here is an excerpt: “As someone with particularly blemish-prone skin, breakouts are a rude reminder that despite my total obsession with wellness, my complexion is the one thing not reaping the benefits from my spinach salad with ACV dressing. Insert record scratch here.
Here’s the gist: I’ve dealt with pretty embarrassing acne since middle school, and though it tapered off a bit with age, I was still dealing with annoyingly lingering blemishes into my mid-20s.
After moving to New York and beginning my love affair with wellness, I tried eating solely organic foods, eliminating entire food groups, and switching to vegan skin-care products in the name of clearing up my skin—but nothing really made a difference. I would still consistently break out on my chin and cheeks, especially around my period.
Naturally, I’m always looking for the newest methods promising clearer skin and tinier pores, so when I heard about jane iredale‘s line of skin-boosting supplements I was intrigued (the before and after photoson their website are pretty stunning).
read more>
by Greg Willis | DSA Blog, Spa and Wellness
spafinder.com –
The Facts, Please
A study conducted by Brown University demonstrates that women who meditate three times a week show greater decreases in emotions like guilt or irritability than men. Moreover, women had greater increases in mindfulness and self-compassion. In addition, meditation kept women from blowing negative feelings out of proportion.[1] One of the study’s authors, Rahil Rojiani, points out that women are more apt to go down a rabbit hole and fixate in response to stress, while men find ways to be distracted. This may be why women have more anxiety and depression. Rojaini believes meditation can help women decrease negative emotions.
Spoiler Alert: Women are Stressed!
Medical and wellness experts agree that chronic stress can cause your body to release cortisol, also known as the stress hormone. Unfortunately, cortisol can cause serious health problems ranging from high blood pressure to decreased immunity and cognitive function. Because women are often more stressed than men, they can experience greater results from meditation. It’s as simple as saying, “Ohm!”
It’s All about Focus
Here’s another spoiler alert–ha! Women have a lot of distractions and responsibilities. We may work and care for children at the same time. Or we may care for an aging relative or parent. And if we are stay-at-home-moms, we’re charged with being a full-time parent, chauffeur, camp counselor, chef and overall domestic goddess. According to a study in the Journal of Neuroscience[2], people who consistently practice meditation can improve mental focus and quiet brain activity.
read more>
by Greg Willis | DSA Blog, Spa and Wellness
“People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories, and magic” – Seth Godin.
In other words, selling is more than the bottom line. Sales are about relationship building, understanding it takes time and effort to establish trusting relationship for a business owner to invest in a product.
I had the opportunity to attend several major Spa Shows this year. I love seeing the new trends, taking the educational courses offered, connecting with old friends and expanding my network. My experience this past year left me disappointed in the lack of customer service exhibited by many of the vendors at the events. At one table, the company was selling a piece of equipment for $1500. This is a major financial investment for Day Spa owners, which is almost 80% of the twenty-one thousand spas in the US, according to ISPA (International Spa Association). Yet as I watched the interaction, the sales rep sat down the entire interaction, barely making eye contact with the Spa owners, and looking like she wanted to be someplace else. Another booth, when I asked about the active ingredients the rep stated, “lots of good stuff some of which is organic”. I was dumbfounded, the response indicates a true lack of knowledge regarding the products being sold. It would behoove (from my favorite teacher) vendors to learn the art of “small talk”. It starts with seeking to know more about the consumer – asking probing questions – Where is your location?What are you currently using? What are your goals for the next 1, 3, and five years?
In getting to know the consumers and assist in developing ways for vendors to determine ways to help owners solve problems, getting to the desired goal, and increasing revenue for both parties. If Spa Show organizers want spa decision makers to attend their events, the interaction with the vendors needs to be enhanced. It requires basic customer service – standing when someone approaches the booth, making eye contact, acknowledging attendees and putting effort into the interaction. With so many Spa Shows and vendors, spas owners and manager want a memorable and enjoyable interaction at the events and that starts with providing basic customer service.
Sherrie Tennessee, CHE, Doctoral Candidate
Director of Education, SpaSOS
www.spasos.com
Author, How to Open a Day Spa:31-Day Guide
