As a massage student, it's good to start brainstorming ways to make your massage business stand out once you graduate and establish your practice. One way to do this is to expand your bodywork menu and make sessions more special—and profitable—by adding spa services.
Today, massage therapists are adding spa services like wraps and scrubs to satisfy a desire among clients for all-over body treatments that both heal and hydrate. Wraps tighten and tone skin, eliminate toxins and improve circulation; scrubs cleanse, tone and exfoliate skin. When used in combination, wraps and scrubs help keep skin fresh and supple.
Determine add-on spa treatments based on client needs and preferences, as well as your own skills. You'll find many ideas for spa treatments online, in industry magazines or by communicating with other professionals via social media and at industry events. Many of these spa treatments are not difficult or expensive to incorporate into your practice. If you would like more hands-on training, check with local massage schools to see if they offer classroom or Web-based training on the use and application of wraps and other spa treatments.
Create Spa Treatments in 3 Steps
Do you want to invigorate or relax the client? Do you want to use products that moisturize, detoxify or firm? Once you know your intent, you can select the best products and essential oils to create that effect. Typically, spa protocols include three steps: preparation, treatment and finish.
1. Preparation. Exfoliation is often used in spa protocols to prepare the skin. Preparing clients' skin properly and clearing away dead skin improves the treatment performance and, in turn, the benefits of the products you use. Exfoliate in a wet room or dry room with a loofah or dry brush, or choose one of the host of products formulated for exfoliation.
2. Treatment. Treatments will depend on your training and resources available at your practice. You can offer everything from Vichy showers to muds and wraps, and can enhance the properties of treatment products by adding essential oils. Whatever the season, holiday or special event, such as a pre-wedding bridal party, there are various detoxifying and hydrating body muds and wraps to meet the needs of each client.
Therapeutic muds such as a Dead Sea mud have anti-inflammatory properties. Similar to a mud wrap, a clay wrap includes aromatherapy oils. Algae wraps help nourish and detoxify skin; a seaweed wrap of concentrated seawater and seaweed helps to hydrate and firm skin. Also, consider an herbal wrap with fresh or dried herbs blended with essential oils and steeped in hot water to remove dead skin cells and nourish skin.
Offering wraps traditionally required the costly investment of a wet room, but new wrap-treatment products offer wet-room treatments in a dry environment. These products are formulated to stay moist and retain their creamy texture. They wipe off easily with a warm, damp cloth in one or two passes, offering a considerable savings in water usage compared to wet-room treatments.
3. Finish. The finish ties the entire treatment together. A finish can take anywhere from five minutes to an hour. If the goal is to close the pores, five minutes will do. A longer finish will amplify the benefits of the treatment step. For example, if you treat a client with a detoxifying mud wrap, you may want to finish with a 45-minute lymph massage.
Market Spa Services
Leverage your social media channels—Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and a blog, if you have one—to let clients know about new offers. Include photos as much as possible, since visual messages are becoming the most powerful way to engage clients and prospects.
Drive followers to a special landing page on your website where they can find more information about your spa services and an eye-catching call to action to book an appointment. Train your staff on how to promote these new services when clients call. Training should include preparing your team to answer any questions that might come up about the treatment process and benefits.
Vary treatments based on the season or holiday to give clients even more spa opportunities, opening the door for repeat business. If a client loves your summer mango treatment, she will be incentivized to try a wrap with sugar and spice in the fall.
It doesn't take much to add spa services to a bodywork menu. To get started, select a few based on the needs and preferences of your clientele and what you enjoy doing. Spa services benefit client health and beauty while creating an additional income stream for your practice.
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