Working with Core Professional Protocols and Techniques
A growing spa-savvy general public expects availability and high quality execution of spa treatments. As a massage therapist, manager or spa technician you are well advised to learn how to perform them well, especially since they are a path to finding more clients as well as generating more revenue by adding them to your menu of services and promoting them to your clientele. Depending on your ambition and goals, this might mean becoming a successful spa and body technician in addition to your existing training as a massage therapist or esthetician by learning proven and creative techniques to add to your repertoire or this might mean becoming a thoroughly informed manager or owner in order to make informed decisions about service programs and implementation.
As an esthetician or cosmetologist it is good to know the ins and outs of spa treatments whether you perform them or not, so you can refer your clients to other complementary treatments, or answer questions posed by clients, as well as understand how spa treatments can work together with your practice. Finally you can become more flexible in your with the jobs you apply for and at the same time make it more interesting.
Even if you never apply the techniques personally because you are involved in management or another role in the spa business, it makes sense to know as much about these processes as possible as they form one of the core components of the spa business and become instrumental in distinguishing your facility in most people's minds as a spa.
It is recommended that you build a foundation of knowledge and general understanding of spa treatments and hopefully it will complement and expand your interest in areas of natural health and beauty care that you previously did not consider.
Whether you are a novice or a seasoned professional, you know that spas are not a new invention, but that they are becoming increasingly popular and new adaptations are forming all the time. Spas are becoming an integral part of many healthcare and hospitality operations ranging from resorts to hospitals, and spa services are penetrating new areas of our lives all the time. They are building a bridge between lifestyle choices and health.
Spas have been in business since ancient times with waxing and waning presence in culture and society. All ancient civilizations developed treatments to cure ailments and increase wellbeing - all using the natural products and resources they found in their environment. Hundreds of years of protracted observation, trial and error and spontaneous discovery refined products and treatments that we are now rediscovering.
A large part of our Western spa culture today evolved from "taking the waters" at mineral baths throughout Europe and Eurasia. These waters had a combination of beneficial minerals and trace elements as well as thermal qualities that occurred naturally.
Healers, doctors and health practitioners were knew about these sources and collected their patients around them. Massage and scrubs were an integral part of the process. Spending time in one of the Roman baths, such as those in Baden-Baden, Germany, or Vichy, France one can still feel the spirit of ancient times, oftentimes little has changed in the architecture, method and ambience. With growing consciousness around body, mind and spirit, there has also been an increased interest in alternative health starting in the 60's and 70's that continues to grow strongly until today.
One theory suggests that the word "spa" came from an old town in Belgium by the name of "Spa" famous for its mineral baths. Resident doctors developed methods and techniques to improve results introducing products such as Fango, a volcanic mud from Italy, hydrotherapy, Kneipp therapy, body brushing to exfoliate, and hosing down with cold and hot water to activate blood circulation and detoxification.
Ancient cultures integrated their own philosophies of healing such as Ayurveda in India, Jamu in Indonesia, Huna in Hawaii and the Polynesian Islands, Tibetan Medicine and others, to structure and inform the healing procedures around the natural healing properties of spa waters. Today we are reconnecting and reactivating not only traditions from cultures we encounter where we live, but also those of our ancestors from all over the world, as well as embracing age-old traditions that are very alive and well in their originating cultures and taking them to new places with new availability.
Back to the present: Whether you are a new therapist, recent graduate, seasoned spa professional, or exploring options in a new skill or career, I would like to inspire you to become adept at practicing spa therapy as well as creating your own body therapies and increasing your spa/practice client satisfaction not to mention increasing your own joy at providing these services.
New clients will often be overwhelmed and confused when presented with a standard spa menu that typically features a long list of services with little explanation. Before embarrassing themselves by displaying a lack of knowledge, many will resort to the one thing on the menu they recognize, which is in most cases a Swedish massage, missing the opportunity to experience the many additional beneficial spa treatments.
This is a shame because spa treatments have many advantages when delivered professionally including substantial health benefits as well as the opportunity to offer alternative treatment forms that are gentle or which appeal to niche markets. On top of that, they are ideal complimentary treatments to every other service available and can top off revenue and profit very nicely. And so spa treatments do not have to lead an unpopular life at all. In fact they can be the power and the glory of your spa.
To some spa mangers and owners, it might seem appealing to go straight to the exotic, unusual and rare spa treatments following a line of thought that the client always wants something new, better and different, but for many new and also regular clients, results, quality of delivery and understanding of value are higher on the scale of desirable attributes than fancy.
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