Exfoliate Your Way to Healthier Skin

By now, the cold winter air has taken it's toll on your skin leaving in dull and lifeless. Here's a great skin treat get your glow back on until you can find the time and money to head out for that Spring Break Vacation on the beach!;)

Scandle Get Your Glow on Treatment: This is a simple, luxurious treatment that can be done at home or at one of our massage/spa service providers using The Scandle Body Lotion Candle/Scandle Shimmering Lotion Candle and Scandle's Turbinato Sugar Scrub or Scandle's Dead Sea Salt Scrub.

•  Light your Scandle Body Candle and allow to burn until oil pool reaches edge of refillable ceramic canister with pour spout.

•  Sprinkle  the salt/sugar on desired body area to be exfoliated and then pour the warm soothing melted Scandle oil on top of that in small amounts

• Massage in circular motions on the skin.

•  The other alternative is to place a small amt of salt or scrub in the palm of your hand and pour a small amount of Scandle oil either in your hand or on the desired body area and massage in.

•  When done either rinse off or take a warm, damp towel and removing any excess salt or sugar from the skin.

•  Follow with application of Scandle Body Candle or Scandle Shimmering Lotion Candle for extra moisturizing.  If you want a beautiful, sun kissed look you can also follow up with your favorite bronzer or sunless tanner.

If you own a spa or massage clinic, watch our Demos for this and other treatment ideas using The Scandle Body Candle!

Need More Sales? Add A Little Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is the easiest way to offer your clients the opportunity to enhance their face and body massage services. By selecting an aromatic product, spa & massage practice owners can incorporate them into specific treatments that answer specific needs (relaxation, detoxification, rejuvination, etc.) and be able to charge more for the service, which ultimately leads to additional revenue.

The most affordable way to incorporate aromatherapy into your sessions is through the use of Aromatherapy Massage Candles like our Scandle Essentials in your treatment rooms and retail area.

We suggest you read up on Essential Oils and their benefits to be able to offer their positive attributes to your clients.

Used wisely aromatherapy products and essential oils are some of the most cost-effective and theraputic ways to wellness and aromatherapy-blended retail can help aid in producing retail revenue.

Check out our entire line of Scandle Essentials Aromatherapy Body Candles and Products.

Scandle Friday Spa Treatment Feature - Mani/Pedi While You Work

Do you provide on-site services to your customers either at the office or at home? Here's another interesting idea besides the basic chair massage service for corporate clients....Mani/Pedi services in their cubicles or conference room!:)

For clients that are too tired, busy, or (gulp) lazy...you can offer to come to them at work instead of them come to you.

By providing a convenient spa services you can meet the beauty needs of working women with little or no time while boosting profits!  Sounds like a win - win to me!;)

Any other services that you can recommend on-site?  Please share!:)

Scandle's Friday Treatment Feature - Hot Sticks

Offered by the Okura Spa in the heart of Bangkok's downtown, the "Hot Bamboo" massage may be new to Bangkok but is in fact an ancient treatment common to both Chinese and Japanese traditional medicine. In Japan, it's called "Take" massage and it remains popular with both men and women.

The sticks themselves are about 30 centimeters in length and made from a golden species of Japanese bamboo only found in deep forest.

Once heated, the therapist uses the sticks to apply deep tissue pressure without physical exertion. The temperature of the sticks is not too hot but warm enough to penetrate and soothe. That's similar to the hot stone treatment but while the stone can burn the skin if the therapist isn't skilled, the sticks tend to quickly cool off.

When the bamboo sticks are rolled on the back or shoulders, they are quite rigid. Applied with essential oil, they become slippery cylinders and it's essential that the therapist is trained in controlling their motions.  The focus is more on a full body massage than one specific tension area, since the stick allows for a greater surface area.

Source:  "Sticks that Heal" The Nation/News Network Oct 28, 2012

Enhance Nail Profits with Add-ons

With the changing of the seasons...dry hands, brittle nails, and hang-nails can be a real problem for your clients.  If you're looking for a way to lend a helping hand to your spa profits, try adding these top manicure services to your lineup!

 

 

1) Massage by the Minute:  Offer a relaxing massage for the arms and hands.  Check out our blog post on "Helping Hands for Manicure Profits" for ways to incorporate a warm, soothing Scandle Lotion Candle massage to your nail services along with hand massage techniques!

2) Nail Design/Bling Fingers: Add to either a specific finger or to every nail. Charge either per nail or $1.00 per minute for more time consuming art.

3) Hand Facial: The face isn’t the only skin that should get a facial, enhance any service with a hydrating or anti-aging mask for extremely dry hands.

4) Anti-Aging Hand Treatments: Invest in a serum to fight brown spots, wrinkles, or even a vitamin C bleaching serum—the hands on a woman show their age more.

5)  Paraffin Dip

6) Nail Whitening Treatments: Offer a nail soak in whitening solutions to get rid of yellow nails such as polident, or water mixed with baking soda and scrub with a nail brush.

7) French Manicures: Offer this manicure in a different way by reversing the smile line and creating a white moon at the cuticle area.

8) Waxing: Offer to remove extra hair on your client’s hands and/or knuckles.

9) Custom Blend a Nail Polish Color: Invest in empty polish bottles and blend a couple colors to warm or cool a polish to match their skin tone. Just by adding a drop of blue will cool or yellow will warm.

10) Mini Spa Treatment Service for the Client On-The-Go: Massage in an intense moisturizer treatment and place the hands in heated mits. Massage the clients’ shoulders while their hands are being treated.  Many of our spas use our Scandle Massage Lotion Candle in Warm Vanilla Sugar to create a fall themed spa mani/pedi treatment with other complimentary products like our Scandle Dead Sea Salt Soak and Scrub or Scandle Turbinato Sugar Scrub.

Source: "Top Ten Nail Upgrades!"  by Lauren Salapatek

 

Scandle Business Mentor - Creating Effective Spa Promos

Putting together a successful promo campaign for a new service or product for your wellness biz can be a challenge if you don't know exactly what will catch a customer's eye. Check out this awesome promo put together by one of our newest retailers/service providers Cleise Brazilian Day Spa (Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cleisespa) in Chicago, IL. Their promo utilizes The Scandle Lotion Candle (Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/scandle)  in conjunction with several key components to create a spa promotion that has created quite a buzz! Try incorporating some of these elements in your next spa promo for maximum sales and profits:

• Product/service description - Answers what is the new product/service being introduced concisely.


• Product/Service differentiation - Answers what makes this so unique? Why should I buy it?


• Call to Action - Why should I buy now...not later? This is done through special pricing for a limited time and provides a discount to new customers.


• Design - Effective communication of message by highlighting important promotional details and using high quality graphics.

What other key elements have you incorporated in your promos that you have found to be successful?

 

Increasing Spa Revenue with Private Labeling and Branding

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200"] Private label Scandle Lotion Candles can be a unique and theraputic treatment and retail product for new and existing spas.[/caption]

Retailing is a neccessary evil for spa businesses.  But revenues don't always equal profit, and it may be time to look for some margin leverage and some exclusivity in the marketplace via your own private label brand?

Private label products have become more prevalent in the marketplace and requires a well-thought-out strategy.  Your products should be connected to the vision and mission of your spa, perhaps including a signature aroma or using packaging with messaging consistent with your spa's philosophy.

A common misconception about private label is that it will involve research, chemists, long lead times, and a whole lotta money.  However, as with Scandle's Private Label Program, nothing could be farther from the truth!  Sure, you could spend money on developing amazing products, but many companies that offer private label have a wide array of stock formulations or can tweak existing formulas (i.e. if your spa utilizes a signature aroma, those can easily be incorporated into a private label lotion candle).

Here's a list of important questions to ask ask if your thinking about private labeling:

1.)  What are your minimums?

2.)  What are my options for packaging, product, and label customization?

3.)  What kind of customer support is available?

4.)  What kind of marketing support are provided?

5.)  How log have the products been on the market?

6.)  What is the top selling fragrance?

7.)  Can I speak to any active customers?

8.)  Do you offer help/advice on logo and label development/design?

Increasing your spa branding, image, and value are all benefits big benefits of a private label line.  Although many owners hesitate selling a product without instant name recognition, private branding can be equally successful and significantly more profitable in the long run!

Interested in starting your own private label line?  Contact us today for help on developing your own line of private label massage candles and other eco-friendly spa  products.

*Source "To Brand or Not to Brand" American Spa, July 2012

Scandle Friday Treatment Feature - Water Shiatsu

Coccydynia is pain of the coccyx or tailbone – the  lowest bone in the spine.  While it can be damaged in an accident, the  pain can also be caused by childbirth. Symptoms can include an ache when sitting down and rising from a seat.  Talk about a pain in the rear!;) 

The Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, near  Zurich in Switzerland has recently introduced Water Shiatsu to help ease the pain of Coccydynia sufferers.  Water Shiatsu is a stretching and massage treatment  that takes place in a pool. The water  allows the vertebrae to be supported,  with the spine fully relaxed as it’s carrying no weight.

The treatment starts by strapping buoyancy aids to the legs.  The client then gets into the pool with the therapist who instructs them to shut their eyes and lean back. They are then led round the pool, while floating, with their head resting on the therapist's shoulder.  Music is usually played in the background and they are moved in a figure-of-eight shapes to rotate the spine.

After this service, clients report that their back and spine feel lighter and less stiff.   Sounds heavenly doesn't it?:)

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas (Part 3)...

Yup...it's true!  Less than 100 days till Christmas!  If you haven't noticed it already, the leaves are starting to change color and (here in Texas) there is a nip of Fall in the air.  At Scandle, in fact, we've already started our Fall/Holiday selling season (if you haven't seen our new Limited Edition Fragrances and Savings announcement...read about it here)!  For the last few weeks we've been covering ways to start ramping up for the most important selling season of the year...the Holidays!  Part 1 discusses How to Host an October Pre-Holiday Sale and Part 2 talks about Creating Holiday Wish Lists and Shopping Nights.

Now, let's talk about one last thing that you absolutely, positively can not forget...Gift Certificates!  Gift certificate sales in November and December can carry you through the slower months of January and February, as they are being redeemed.  Oddly enough, however, most spas do not put a lot of thought in how to sell more of these for added holiday profits?

First set a goal on how many you want to sell based on previous years and then set up a promotion for gift certificates in your event fliers, etc to motivate clients to purchase the maximum amount.  Here are some promo ideas:

• Offer a free service with purchase.  Try using a service you want to build more business for.


• Offer a free gift with purchase.  Many of our customers use Scandle Travel Sized Body Candles  (which make great stocking stuffers!) or Scandles in our Refillable Ceramic Canisters (the refillable canister will encourage repeat business in the future too!) as an incentive.  When promoting this, make sure to list the regular retail value of the gift in your promotional materials so they know the value of what they're getting for free!:)

Well that's all folks!  Get creative, think out of the box, and have a hap-hap-happy Holiday Season!  Have any other successful holiday promotions at your spa or clinic?  Feel free to share them here!

Friday Feature - Hot New Trends in Wellness & Spa World

The International Spa Association (ISPA) recently held their annual convention in New York. At the convention, several new spa trends and services were spotted including parties at the spa, treatments for stressed and time-pressed consumers, cross-cultural traditions, and a whole lot of purple – from lavender-scented treatments to mauve colored nail polish! Here's a recap of some of the latest and greatest:

Sparty - Growing in popularity are events called 'spartys' that are booked in the spa space – for weddings, corporate events, etc. At a Sparty, invited guests get spa services either in groups or individually, then gathered back for lunch, cocktails, or hor d'ouvres. Definetely a fun and relaxing way to spend time with friends, family, or collegues!

Cross Cultural Techniques - In order to turn off the stress reponse, many massage therapists are turning to techniques acquired from other cultures including Thai Naga Massage, Middle Eastern Bathing & Exfoliating, and Aboriginal Massage that incorporates listening to didgeridoo music while the therapist shakes a rain stick and applies smooth, hot black basalt stones to the body.

Speed Spa - In a hurry? A new facial treatment called Hydra- Facial, available in 2,000 spas nationwide, offers five procedures in 15 minutes. There's also a quick-dry and waterproof nail polish mani and treatment and a experience that teaches insomniacs to relearn how to fall asleep through relaxation, aromatherapy, a soak and massage.

The Power of Purple - Purple is popular not only for color but as a concept. New trends include violet clay masks, massage with violet-infused oil, lavender aromatherapy and "chromatherapy" (color therapy with purple tones), elderberry facial, lavender foot scrub, and mauve colored nail polish with glitter.

All in all, The International Spa Association's annual look at the industry by the numbers found a slight uptick in 2011, with $13.4 billion in revenue and 156 million spa visits, a more than 4 percent increase from 2010, according to an analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers of information provided by 1,000 destination and day spas in the United States.

The number of full-time employees in the industry is up, as well, by 9 percent, though part-time and contract employees declined slightly, as did the number of spa locations.

Good news for all of us in the wellness, massage, spa, industries!:)

*Source "Trends Swirl Up in the Spa World" Beth Harpaz AP

Freaky Friday Spa Treatment - Detoxification with Leeches

Well here's a unique spa treatment that really "SUCKS"!:) Today's featured Scandle Freaky Friday Spa Treatment is a leech treatment where for a mere $600 you can get whatever ails you sucked out.

Who would pay to have something like this done to them?  Well, how about actress Demi Moore who in an interview with David Letterman in 2008 said that her beauty regimen included going to an Austrian spa where she had leeches applied to her body as a detoxification measure.  Moore said, "You watch it swell up on your blood, watching it get fatter and fatter -- then when it's super drunk on your blood it just kind of rolls over like it's stumbling out of the bar."

So, what do you say...yay or nay to this medival method of detoxification?