Spa Treatments

Cheryl Reid, founder of Spa Week and owner of SPA MEDIA LLC, launched the first Spa Week in October 2004 as a way to educate New Yorkers about the benefits of spa services while providing an affordable way to enjoy them. Spa Week gained such industry hype it quickly expanded nationally and caught the attention of major corporate sponsors. (Saab, Allure, etc.) Now Cheryl aims to introduce a new generation of spa goers to wellness benefits they can take part in, at least bi-annually. Maybe it’s for “wellness benefits” or maybe Spa Week is just a genius marketing idea. After all, Reid formerly owned a New York City public relations firm. Either way, Spa Week allows the average Josephine great treatments for just half a hundo – AKA $50.
How to participate? Visit http://www.spaweek.com. Register your name, email and other optional information. Then click on your respective territory. An index of results will appear with – at least for New Yorkers – an overwhelming amount of spa participants. Here it helps to have a specific spa in mind. Ask rich friends which spas they frequent. Each spa lists the Spa Week services they are offering. For instance, Completely Bare offers laser hair removal for bikini or underarm, Fresh in Soho offers a 60 minute Balance and Nourish Face Treatment, and the Salon & Spa at Saks Fifth Avenue offers a 60 minute Therapeutic Massage amongst other services.

How to book? Fall Spa Week runs October 12-18th – as in next week. Make a list the spa/services you intend to book complete with back ups as services do fill up during Spa Week. Try for days when your schedule is more flexible as you want to maximize the benefits of your relaxing services by pairing them with a relaxing day.  Call individual spas to book. Spa Week does not book through their website, but if you sign up on their email list, they do provide spa specials throughout the year.
Emma Dinzebach

A short train or bus or car ride, you’ll find a smorgasbord of area spas…and spa deals. You’re staycation didn’t really do it for you, then an autumn spa trip, a luxury normally reserved for the upper middle class, may be a getaway you can actually manage. What with the leaves changing and wallet friendly deals the sky – or rail – is your limit. Relaxation is calling your name. But before you get those typing fingers flying to websites like Spa Index, Travel Muse and even CitySearch, there are some important things to consider that will make your search much more pleasurable.

First and foremost, consider your needs. Are you in desperate need of an extracting signature facial or are looking for full service serenity? Do you want a spa where you can relax rather than a wam-bam-thankyoumam run of the mill massage. It’s your trip of the year, so you may as well squeeze the most out of it. What other attractions are important to you? Restaurants, horseback riding, lakefront rooms, hiking trails, HBO, wineries… Name your pleasure. On your commute to work you can even list in order of importance. This will tailor your search allowing for a more relaxing overall experience. And that’s the point, right?

Next, speak with people you know. The best spas are found via word of mouth. Having a recommendation can help you on the booking end as well. Destination spa guests constitute over half repeat customers, so if you mention that your friend has been there or that several people have been raving about the XYZ Facial or their classic Thai massage, you may even get a discount. If you butter them up, they’ll, er, butter you up to. Again, that’s the point, right?

Sleep and eat. Some spas even allow you to stay in the room of your service and sleep immediately after your facials and massages as sleep is a very important part to maximizing your experience. Make sure that the spa and surrounding relaxation period are well scheduled. (Former prioritizing will help this as well.) A facial followed by a dirty hike may not be the most peaceful experience for your skin.  Proper hydration and nutrition are also important, so take advantage of the light lunches and fruity breakfasts offered at most spa-savvy destinations.

Embrace spontaneity. Spa destinations often have cancellations and last minute deals are often easily booked. Have three or four places at the top of your list to call on available weekends. Don’t be shy about asking for last minute specials or deals on the services you were hoping for. Remember, it’s barely post-recession and these resorts will be hurting for a while. Use that to your advantage…and relax.
Emma Dinzebach

If you really want to impress your treatment-crazed friends, drop a stat from the SSPI. Oh, what’s that? Go ahead, Wikipedia all you want; you won’t find the SSPI. Why? Because it’s brand spanking new.  The SSPI or for long, Salon/Spa Performance Index, is a quarterly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. salon and spa industry created by the Professional Beauty Association (PBA).

Here is how it works, the PBA makes a survey and salon and spa owners respond according to how they are doing in areas like customer traffic, retail sales, service sales, employee hours and capital expenditures. Then they, meaning some statistical analysis program, measure the responses, which consist of two components: the Current Situation and the Expectations Index. (i.e. How salons and spas are faring and how they are expecting to fare in the fiscal year.)

What does this mean for spa special suckers like us? It means that we have a means to predict what to expect from our favorite salons and spas. If they are expecting to struggle through, we can savor spa specials. When the numbers predict profitability, we know to hurry up and book that long overdue Swedish/mani/pedi/facial combo before spa bargains vanish.

The verdict? At the end of the first half of FY09 spa owners, like other industries, were reporting improvement from the first half of last year. They were decidedly upbeat about the economy and hovered just below 100 – the magic index number – on the Current Situation Index. Regarding expectation, they predict retail sales will rise. Only 6% of owner respondents had a sour outlook on the future. So, while you still have time for facials and heavenly massages at reduced prices, don’t relax too much. They’ll creep back to pre-recession prices before you know it. Let’s just hope by then you have a job.

For more information on the Professional Beauty Associations SSPI, visit www.probeauty.org.

Emma Dinzebach

Think it can’t get any better, refer a friend to any of their services through August 31st and receive a free lactic baby peel. Tres Belle was also voted “Best in Brooklyn” for permanent hair removal and the kind, patient staff provide free consultations, assess your needs and find an option that works for you. The staff are friendly and sweet. They know how you want to start off your week – mellow, serene – and make it their mission to create a truly mellow Monday or Tuesday, or Wednesday…

Tres Belle Petite Medi-Spa 105 Bond Street; 917-763-6143

Emma Dinzebach