In this day in age, everyone is running around with barely anytime to relax. Going to the spa is a perfect way for someone who is on the go to finally stop and relax. Relaxation should be a part of the client experience from beginning to end.

 {mprestriction ids="3,4,26,18,6,7,8,9,14,18"}

LIGHTING 

Lighting is a big part of creating a relaxing environment. Choosing the right light bulb is just as important as the warmth of the lighting. Fluorescent lights are the worst thing any spa can have. Fluorescent lights flicker at a rate that stresses out the brain and will zap employees’ energies. Never use those spiral, compact fluorescent bulbs because they are filled with mercury, and if they break, mercury dust is in the air for days, wreaking havoc on all the lungs that pass through. The best lighting for the brain and health is incandescent. LED is also a way to go, especially when the brightness and warmth can be controlled. The biggest mistake to make is using the whitest light possible. Yes, it makes an all-white spa look pretty, but it’s the blue spectrum of light that makes the light so white. Constant blue light hurts the brain and will force the eye to elongate to diminish the blue light coming in, causing changes in vision. 4,000 Kelvin is the perfect setting to have white light set at to make the spa look beautiful. The treatment room is meant to have less brightness, creating a relaxing warm sunset light. This should be done with a warm, halogen bulb around 3,000 Kelvin.

ESSENTIAL OILS 

Essential oils are a powerful tool to help with mood. Lavender in the treatment room is great for relaxation. You can diffuse this oil or apply topically to the chest and back of the neck. Orange is energizing and creates happiness. Orange essential oil is great to diffuse at the front desk or apply to the temples at the end of a treatment. 

GEMSTONES 

 Having gemstones in the treatment rooms provides a gentle, non-invasive form of healing that cooperates with the body’s inner healer – a repair mechanism that brings things back into balance. Working through vibration, crystals are electromagnetic energies that realign the bio-magnetic sheath or aura that surrounds the physical body and chakras. 

Aquamarine brings a calm, quiet clarity to an overactive mental body. Malachite is grounding, while smokey quartz is calming and grounding. A spa water hack is to put gemstones with frequencies of relaxation in the water given to clients. Amethyst gives the frequency for relaxing. When the body is relaxed, it can repair. That’s one reason why amethyst is known as the healing stone. Rose quartz is used for healing to support healthy, radiant skin. 

MEDITATION 

Meditation is all about breath and being present in the moment. It helps draw awareness to areas that a client is holding tension to release. Breath has power and is often underutilized. Guided meditation is perfect while the client is masking. Adding a massage is a perfect way to put the client in a calm relaxed state. You can perform the mediation, or there are apps with pre-recorded mediation.

ENERGY VIBES 

Have you ever walked into a room and felt tension? If so, you are feeling the energy and vibrations felt by everyone on some level. People can take on that energy. If a client walks in and the spa is running around panicked, the client will feel panic too. If the front desk or service provider is upset for whatever reason, the client will feel the disturbance too. The same thing goes for if the staff is happy and calm – clients will leave happy and calm. Having the right energy in the spa is vital.

MUSIC

The right music is very important for the atmosphere of the spa. Two things to consider are what clients like to hear and the speed of the tempo. Let’s talk about tempo first; obviously, spas don’t want the music in their treatment rooms to be the same as when they are in the lobby making a purchase. Don’t make clients too relaxed that they don’t want to think about adding to their skin care regimen. So, rooms should have melodious music at 60-beats-per-minute. Research confirms that music at this beat will cause the brain to synchronize to the rhythm causing alpha brainwaves. This alpha brainwave puts the client into a relaxed yet conscious state.

 Second, the lobby atmosphere is where clients will start the process of getting away from this crazy 2020 reality so give them an escape. One option is to play throwback hits of the past. Studies show that when someone listens to music they heard when they were younger, it increased their energy, zest for life, and reduced the symptoms of health conditions. It was like their bodies became younger. This will create an environment that will make any Gen Xer experience nostalgia and look forward to their next appointment because they just love coming to the spa. A relaxed world is a happier world.

  {/mprestriction}

Holly Tanella is an international award-winning aesthetician and business owner with over 10 years of experience in the aesthetics industry. She was named the 2019 Top International Holistic Esthetician at the Skin Games and has owned BOHO Alternative Med Spa in Allen, Texas since 2015. Tanella is a wife, mother of five, and a skin fanatic whose personal mission is to help her clients create healthy, glowing skin through alternative methods.