Wrap Up Your Clients This Winter.

After the excesses of the festive season most will tend to detox and get back in shape.  Is your business ready to tap into the growing market of detox treatments this January? 

The market of detox products and treatments peaks in January each year.  This is in contrast to the traditional treatment (manicures, massages, facials, etc.) which slump after the New Year as clients are not going out as much and don’t see them as necessary ‘must dos.’ Discover how body wraps treatments and detox massages can keep your tills ringing this winter.

Body Wraps:

Body wraps are ideal for salon and mobile therapists alike.  They can be easily incorporated alongside existing treatments for beauty therapists and complementary therapists.   Wraps can be used in conjunction with body electrical treatments like galvanic or micro current for optimised results.

Choosing the right product:   

Choice of product is as important as effective training so that therapist can recommend the treatment to the clients with full confidence.  Body masks especially those containing Dead Sea mud and seaweed have a high mineral content.  When applied during a body wrap treatment, these minerals penetrate into the skin and blood stream.  A seaweed mask will have Vitamin A, B Vitamins (B1, B2, and B12), Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamins K, Copper, Iron, Potassium, Zinc, and Iodine.  A Dead Sea mud mask contains Magnesium, Calcium, Potassium, Bromide, Sulphur and Iodine. Many of these minerals help break down the body’s fatty deposits.

How do Body Wraps work?

Our bodies have the capability to self-clean and self-heal.  When we overload them with toxins these processes slow down. Body wrap treatments usually add heat to help clients sweat and expedite detox.    Build-up of toxins in the skin puts pressure on the connective tissue and reduces the effectiveness of the blood capillary system.  With the application of heat and the process of sweating, pressure on the fatty cells in the subcutaneous layer eases, helping the blood and lymph capillaries to function better.  This in turn helps the body eliminate excess fat naturally.

5 Steps to a Luxury Body Wrap treatment:

 1.     First conduct a detailed client consultation, followed by weighing, and body measuring.

 2.     Gentle body brushing.  This is done toward the heart and is excellent for lymphatic drainage. 

 3.     It is followed by more rigorous exfoliation usually with sugar crystals or Dead Sea salt to get rid of any remaining dead skin cells.  If the skin is sensitive, gentle cream base product can be used.

4.     Then the body mask is applied and the body is then wrapped in film.  Heat is introduced in form of an electrical or foil blanket. The client rests for approx. 30-40 minutes.  Therapists can add additional treatments like a facial or foot massage treatment for the client during this time.

5.     The treatment ends with the body mask removal followed by an invigorating percussion based massage using hacking, beating, pounding and cupping strokes.  Percussion helps break up fat deposits in fleshy areas and invigorates the nerves.

Benefits:

The benefits of wraps are felt externally in a well-toned and hydrated skin free from cellulite.  They are also felt internally as the body cools down after this treatment, the metabolic rate increases and stored fuels such as fat are more readily burned for energy.  The effects of this increased metabolism can last for several hours after the treatment.

For therapist the cost of consumables in an average body wrap treatment would be between £10-£12 and an average treatment price could range from £55 to £85.  A typical treatment plan will have at least six treatments to achieve target results. So there is huge amount of profit to be made for the therapist.  However, it is important to manage client expectations and set SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound) objectives with your client in the beginning.  Equally important is the choice of products, correct measuring techniques and wrap application techniques for overall effectiveness of the treatment. 

Detox Massages

If the client is looking for a relaxing low cost option then detox massages will be ideal for them.  Massages that focus on lymphatic drainage and on bowel movement are superb.  Aromatherapy massages with specific blends to regulate appetite or target cellulite are also excellent.

Boost revenue by retail:

It is beneficial for both clients and therapists to have some retail products to hand in order to help clients maintain the effects of the treatment in between appointments.

Body brushing is an excellent way to help with desquamation (shedding skin).  It is absolutely natural and indeed very necessary to help keep skin in good condition.  So I would advise to stock up on some good quality body brushes and retail them to clients with advice on how to use them in between treatments.  

A range of exfoliating products also retail well with body wrap and massage treatments.   Dead Sea salts are packed with the rich minerals from the Dead Sea and are rigorous to give a deep exfoliation.  Exfoliation gets rid of dead skin cells, helps skins breath and aids the body to eliminate toxins naturally.

Essential oils have the ability to penetrate into the blood stream via the skin.  So oils or oil blends which have cinnamon, ginger, bergamot, and patchouli could help client boost their metabolic rate and regulate appetite.

Offering detox treatments opens up a new market and encourages repeat business through the door.   It is ideal for a salon wanting to get into the Day Spa sector and for complementary therapists who want to offer additional treatments to clients.  So plan ahead, choose and stock up on your products, get up-to-date with your training and be ready to offer detox treatments this winter.

Sumita Singh

Principal Tutor Affable Therapy Training Limited

www.affabletherapy.com