Spa therapies are a very effective way to boost revenue per session and a fail-proof way to secure client loyalty. These mini-treatments, or spa add-ons, distinguish your services from other practitioners’.
In massage therapy practice, finding ways to bolster your income per session—such as with spa therapies—is a way to work smarter and has proven to be key to career sustainability and financial stability as an independent practitioner.
Layer Spa Therapies into Massage
Spa therapies can be up-sold for additional fees ranging from $15 to $35 per session. They will help you increase your revenue without taxing your body physically. You’ll sigh with relief when you earn more money with less physical demand.
Here are some examples of popular spa therapies that are relatively easy to implement into a massage practice. They can be layered onto the massage to enhance the therapeutic experience for your clients and extend the healing benefits of the massage.
6 Spa Therapies to Try Now
1. Foot Treatment
Time: 20 to 30 minutes.
Benefits: Further relaxation and release with a foot treatment that includes exfoliation, hot-towel compresses and foot massage. If you are trained in reflexology, you can certainly incorporate those techniques, but otherwise foot massage is still very effective clearing blockages in the energy meridians and releasing tension in the feet, while stimulating reflex points to vital organs and the skeletal structure of the body.
How to: For the foot exfoliation, mix together 1 tablespoon mineral salts and 1 tablespoon unscented massage oil, 1/2 tablespoon water and 2 drops each of tea tree, peppermint or lavender essential oils. Apply to feet in circular movement and massage strokes, being careful about sensitive skin on the dorsum. Compress the feet with two hot, moist towels and remove the foot-scrub salts. Massage the feet with cream, lotion or oil. (Add 2 to 4 drops of essential oil to the lubricant first.) You can also incorporate wooden reflexology tools into the foot massage.
2. Scalp-and-Head Massage
Time: 15 minutes.
Benefits: Increases clients’ relaxation and releases stress and tension.
How to: Combine 1 teaspoon unscented massage oil with 2 to 3 drops of rosemary essential oil. (Rosemary is known for stimulating the scalp, nourishing the hair roots and benefiting mental clarity.) Apply with gentle, kneading strokes.
3. Aromatherapy Massage
Time: Aromatherapy may be incorporated into the time of the massage treatment.
Benefits: Benefits will vary depending on the type of essential oil used. Use lavender and cedarwood for relaxation; eucalyptus, rosemary and lemongrass for pain relief; and orange, grapefruit or peppermint to refresh and recover from fatigue and low energy. You might choose to use a concentrate blend of different wellness formulas that can be blended into unscented massage oil, or you can choose single-note essential oils.
How to: Add 10 to 15 drops per 1 ounce of unscented plant-based massage oil.
4. Facial Massage
Time: Incorporate this spa therapy into the massage time frame or up-sell it as an additional 15- to 20-minute add-on.
Benefits: Offering facial massage as an enhancement to your treatment will calm the client by releasing tension held in the face, especially around the eyes and the temporomandibular joint. It also opens the energy meridians that flow between face and body. Add facial massage to any massage and use pure, organic oils with essential oils to soothe the senses to deepen relaxation and recovery.
How to: Add 2 to 3 drops of organic lavender essential oil to a bowl of warm water and soak a soft cloth, then apply warm compresses to the face three times. Add 2 to 3 drops of the essential oil into an organic base oil, then ask the client to inhale and exhale deeply three times. Using a small amount of the blend, massage the face, neck and shoulders.
5. Energy Balancing
Time: 15 to 30 minutes.
Benefits: Deepen the massage experience with energy-balancing work in your session opening and closing. Polarity therapy, Reiki and chakra healing work can be incorporated as an enhancement to the massage treatment.
How to: These techniques require special training and will enrich the massage experience by balancing the physical, emotional and energetic layers of the whole being.
6. Light Therapy
Time: 10 to 20 minutes.
Benefits: Reduced inflammation and increased anti-aging and cellular rejuvenation.
How to: There is new LED light-technology equipment to research and consider incorporating into your massage treatment. While you have an initial investment in handheld devices, they are relatively affordable. With the upcharge to your treatment, if promoted consistently, you will get your return on investment quickly. Incorporate this kind of enhancement and your clients will be impressed by your high-tech, high-touch approach to wellness.
Spa Therapies Provide a Competitive Advantage
For both massage therapists who have been in private practice for years and new practitioners just getting established, you’ll find a huge competitive advantage when you embrace the spa-therapies business model. It’s a win-win for all. You provide greater value, wellness therapies and new treatment options to your clientele, and in turn, you increase your earning potential per session while managing the physical demands of the profession.
Making home-care recommendations is the next level of increasing your income per session, as you can sell the products you use in spa therapies. The more you can extend your massage therapy through other treatment modalities and products for self-care at home, the more you have provided greater service to your clients.
About the Author:
Tara Donna Grodjesk, VP Earthlite Spa and Wellness Products, Founder of Tara Spa Therapy and Visionary of the Year award winner for Women in Wellness, has devoted her years of experience in wellness to refining bodywork techniques, creating innovative body treatments and offering a careful selection of holistic therapeutic products for the wellness market today. Grodjesk has been training massage therapists internationally and developing treatment programs for world-class hotel resorts, destination and day spas. Her articles for MASSAGE Magazine include “This is How CBD Products Can Help You and Your Clients” and “Use Essential Oils for Your Own Balance, Resilience & Well-Being.”