Spas employ many thousands of massage therapists worldwide. Day spas, destination and resort spas, and cruise-ship spas each offer a practice locale where a massage therapist can learn new techniques and work toward advanced spa positions. MASSAGE Magazine presents information on spa products, customer service, techniques and spa environment for spa-employee success.
6 Essential Oils for Lymphatic Drainage Massage
If you specialize in lymphatic drainage massage, you can enhance the effectiveness of your sessions by adding essential oils. By using certain essential oils to help address lymphatic stagnancy and lymphedema, you may find clients will experience less swelling in tissues, decreased body bloat, and reduced glandular or joint swelling, followed by decreased pain.Quick Takeaways:Enhancing Lymphatic […]
Get Merry—and Make Money—with Holiday Spa Treatments
The holiday season is here. Department stores have replaced back-to-school displays with cozy sweaters and warm woolen mittens. Supermarkets advertise specials on turkeys and stuffing. Roadside stands overflow with pumpkins and apples. Along with the good feelings and celebrations comes a dose of stress. Travel, family get-togethers, shopping for presents and social gatherings can […]
Create a Brand and Gain Clients with Private-Label Products
For years, Karen Sollman, owner of Absolute Beauty Day Spa and Boutique in Evansville, Illinois, searched for the perfect sugar scrub—but each one she tried fell short of expectations. The solution would bubble up in water or dissolve too easily, or the salt was too hard. Sollman realized to achieve the perfect formulation, she would […]
Expand Your Practice with These Spa Therapies
Many studies indicate various spa therapies benefit the human body on a physiological level, far beyond the relaxation engendered by visiting a spa. By developing a deeper understanding of the health benefits and applications of spa therapies, a massage therapist can choose to offer spa-type services to clients in order to improve both outcomes and […]
Your Signature Services: Create a Menu to Increase Clientele
Regardless of clientele, geographic location or technique, every massage therapist can create a signature-services menu that makes her practice stand out. As a massage therapist who is passionate about natural healing and restoration of the body, Naomi Thompson, owner of Healing Palms Spa in Austin, Minnesota, has created a brand that incorporates her personal philosophy […]
Provide Wet-Room Spa Techniques in a Dry Room
When she opened her massage practice in 2003, Laura Allen didn’t have any intention of offering spa services. “However, almost as soon as we opened, people started calling and wanted to know if we did spa treatments,” Allen recalls. “I thought, well, if I don’t offer them, they’ll go somewhere else, and it will probably be more convenient for them to get their […]
Natural Facelift Massage: Client Rejuvenation
Your client’s face is one of the most important parts of her body. It is also one of the most exposed, leaving it vulnerable to outside influences. Skin is at constant risk from environmental factors such as weather, pollutants and free radicals. These sources can reach skin on a deeper cellular level. We as […]
Thalassotherapy: Bring the Sea to Your Clients
Since the formation of ancient civilizations, every culture has created some myth or folktale to explain the mystique of the ocean, and to this day humankind returns to the ocean for balance and well-being. Ancient Egyptians understood the healing powers of long soaks in seawater. Greek philosophers, including Euripides, Hippocrates, Plato and Herodotus, praised the ocean’s therapeutic value for physical and mental health. […]
5 Essential Oils to Help Your Highly Sensitive Clients
As a massage therapist, you likely know that essential oils are wonderful tools for creating a soothing, therapeutic massage experience. Maybe you are already using essential oils—I hope so. I love to see essential oils as an add-on option when I check in for my monthly massage. I think most massage clients feel the same […]
5 Secrets of Selling More Spa Services
If you are anything like me, providing your clients spa services is a welcome change from doing massages day after day. Spa treatments can give you a fun break in your routine, save your hands and bring in extra money—adding just two spa services to your practice each week at $75 apiece can add $7,800 […]
How to Super-Charge Your Spring Spa Marketing
Along with daffodils and daisies and singing robins, the perfect season for massage and spa marketing promotions has arrived. Take advantage of this special season by preparing a place for your clients to relax and rejuvenate themselves for their special moments or escape from the stresses of life. Here are fresh spa marketing ideas for […]
Elevate Customer Service
To complement “Add a Touch of Spa to Your Sessions: Muds, Scrubs & Wraps” in the April 2016 issue of MASSAGE Magazine. We have all experienced customer service nightmares, such as being ignored at a restaurant or waiting in a checkout line while the cashier finished a personal conversation. We have also experienced excellent […]
Cupping Therapy: Relief for the Face, Head and Neck
Cupping therapy, or vacuum therapy, can be used for a variety of applications, from head to toe. One special focus is the head, neck and face, as these are often areas of pain and dysfunction. Headaches, sinusitis, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, lymphatic issues, chronic inflammation, and surgical preparation and recovery are common concerns for many […]
5 Tips for Creating Unforgettable Customer Service
Providing stellar customer service by nurturing client relationships is one of the most important aspects of building and sustaining a successful business, especially when your business is dedicated to soothing and pampering those customers. From the very first stages of booking appointments to the moments their sessions come to a close, you want to provide […]
Might Essential Oils Assist Memory and Cognition?
To complement “9 Essential Rules for Safe Oil Application” in the February 2016 issue of MASSAGE Magazine. Summary: Several recent research studies suggest that essential oils may have positive effects on memory and cognition. Over the past decade, the human brain remains one of our most undiscovered territories. Science knows more about landing on […]
Is Aromatherapy Safe During Pregnancy Massage?
Aromatherapy can be a tool that works for many pregnant women to help relieve pain, stress and anxiety. Knowing how to use these tools appropriately lets you offer added value during pregnancy massage sessions—and that means learning vital essential-oil safety information before working with pregnant clients. Oils Unsafe for General Use Many essential oils […]
10 Ways to Add $10 to a Massage Session
To complement the Buyers Guide spa treatment supplies category in the January 2016 issue of MASSAGE Magazine. Summary: Spa add-ons can increase the value of your massage sessions, enhance client satisfaction and boost your income. Who couldn’t use $10 more per hour? Here are 10 easy ways to add $10 to a massage session, contributed […]
Does Massage with Arnica Improve Circulation?
Poor circulation can have detrimental effects on the body, according to healthline.com. Tingling, numbness, throbbing or stinging pain or muscle cramps, primarily in the extremities, can signal sluggish circulation. Left unchecked, reduced blood flow may cause blood clots, varicose veins, peripheral artery disease, atherosclerosis or diabetes, the site notes. Some research studies and massage experts […]
No Spa? No Problem! Spa Add-Ons for Any Practice
If you’ve ever experienced a potential client calling to ask if you offer services such as body scrubs, muds or other spa treatments, and had to reply “no,” consider this: If a client goes to a spa to get a treatment she’s seeking, she may get her massage there, too—even if only for the sake […]
Help Clients Get Better Sleep by Adding Aromatherapy
Falling and staying asleep each night seems to be increasingly difficult in our modern world. According to the 2014 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, 26 percent of U.S. adults get less than eight hours of sleep per night—and 42 percent get less than seven hours, the minimum amount recommended by the National Sleep Foundation for people ages […]
Offer Clients a Fall-Inspired Essential Oil Blend
As summer days release their steam and fragrant blooms begin to fade, fall welcomes the cool breeze of change—but as the wind sets free a blend of ragweed and pollen, millions of people who suffer from fall allergies face sinus pressure, headaches and irritable emotions. Fall is a perfect time to switch up your essential […]
8 Ways to Make Massage Clients More Comfortable
As massage therapists, we are always thinking about new ways to provide a high-quality experience that is unique and exceptional every time. Taking extra steps to enhance your clients’ comfort can be one way to make your massage treatments stand out. Although a massage is meant to be relaxing, the process, especially the part of […]
Best Application Methods for Essential Oils
To complement “Help in a Bottle: Anti-Inflammatory & Pain-Relieving Essential Oils” in the September 2015 issue of MASSAGE Magazine. Summary: Essential oils may be applied via inhalation, topically or internally; all methods provide support for many health conditions. There are several ways to reap the benefits of essential oils. Here are the basics to consider […]
The Secret to Outstanding Spa Customer Service
It took me years of being in the spa business to really understand what great customer service means. I thought I knew how to take care of my customers, but it took my being a spa director and having the experience of training staff to open my eyes to what the customer is really seeking. […]
Cool Off Your Summer with Cold Stone Massage
Give your clients the benefit of stone massage therapy in the summer. Working with cold marble stones can be refreshing and relaxing for both you and your client. Why cold stones? It is amazing how the body embraces cold from marble. The intense cold of marble stones only lasts about 17 seconds, because marble […]