Tag Archives: NYSPA

LA Spa Conference: A Medical Spa Insight, Touching Remarks from “the Godmother of the Spa Industry” and Excitement about Spa Booker

LA Spa Conference: A Medical Spa Insight, Touching Remarks from “The Godmother of the Spa Industry” and Excitement about Spa Booker
by Susie Ellis

Just returned from the Los Angeles Spa & Resort (and Medical Aesthetics) Expo & Conference. Highlights included hearing John Buckingham, the Founder and President of Solana MedSpas speak on “The Evolution & Revolution of the Medical Aesthetics Industry,” hearing Deborah Szekely share some of her life’s journey including the founding of Rancho La Puerta (60+ years ago) and the Golden Door (exactly 50 years ago this year), and seeing the energy surrounding the Spa Booker booth on the trade show floor.

solana logo jpg 743992 LA Spa Conference: A Medical Spa Insight, Touching Remarks from the Godmother of the Spa Industry and Excitement about Spa BookerThe surprising thing I learned from John Buckingham, who has a network of more than 40 locally branded medical spa facilities, is that the real market for these services is NOT the aging baby boomer, but rather Gen X and Gen Y. They have an entirely different attitude toward these procedures – partaking with abandon, reasoning that it is worth the money they spend, and not caring who knows they are having “work” done.

Come to think of it, my husband’s niece (in her 30′s) is a perfect example. She pops in regularly for procedures like Botox®, laser hair removal, endermologie, and IPL, etc. I have to say she looks fantastic, has a lot of confidence and, as a mother of two with her MBA, enjoys “having it all.” Even her husband does a bit of spray tanning now and then.

John said that many baby boomers have become “comfortable couples” meaning that they are happily married and no longer feel the need to iron out every wrinkle, or cover up every bulge. Although there are still plenty of single baby boomers, and people who want to keep a youthful appearance to stay competitive in the labor market, he predicts that the Gen X and Gen Y will be the bread and butter of medical spas in the future.

Deborah Szekely at age 85 looks marvelous, her memory is as sharp as ever and, she is as informed (and opinionated) about today’s political scene as she was during the 17 years she worked in Washington D.C. Clearly…the Rancho La Puerta and Golden Door lifestyle she leads is working.

LA Spa Conference: A Medical Spa Insight, Touching Remarks from the Godmother of the Spa Industry and Excitement about Spa BookerSpa Booker – the new software (that comes with leads) by SpaFinder – had a fun booth on the showroom floor. I loved watching the buzz from afar….so many of our young staff talking to new clients and demonstrating the product. It was an idea in Peter’s mind a few years ago, and now it is a reality. I marvel at how Peter’s mind works….he really is a visionary. With a single purpose – to bring more customers to our partner spas – he leaves no stone unturned. It makes me proud.

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Using Spas To Stop Aging – At All Costs

hair.curlers 760419 Using Spas To Stop Aging At All CostsToday’s New York Times had a huge story in their Style Section entitled “Beauty Regimens Reach for the Gold Standard.” It was an article written about three women in Beverly Hills describing how much they spend – and what they have done – in terms of their beauty regimes each week. Even I was quite shocked. Not only the money spent but also the time taken!

One woman, Ginger, figures that she spends about 10 hours and $1,000 each week on grooming. (And if you count her personal training and exercise coaching, you would add another $500 per week to that.) Another woman spends about $500 per week on grooming although that doesn’t count the $60,000 she spent this year on liposuction and a face lift. The third woman spends about $225 per week which in comparison looked quite reasonable. That’s still almost $12,000 per year!

It is bittersweet to read these stories. Clearly the demand for these services is part of why our spa industry has such robust growth. On the other hand it is kind of sad to think that the desperation to look young forever is so very important to so many of us – and I do include myself. Perhaps the best solution is for other parts of the spa industry – the part concerned with the body/mind/spirit, community and self-acceptance – to become more successful in helping people reach a healthy outlook on aging gracefully.

We can hope.

Feeling Bad About Your Neck?

book neck 724334 Feeling Bad About Your Neck?I learned something remarkable the other day. I learned that Botox is being used to get rid of the strong vertical lines which appear on our necks as we age and that the procedure really works!

These muscles in our neck are called platysma muscles and as we get older a downward pull creates vertical fibrous bands. I know what these bands look like because I see them in the mirror every day. I didn’t even know these were muscles or that anything could be done about the way they age us.

Apparently neither did Nora Ephron who wrote the book (which is still on the NY Times Bestseller list) “I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman.” But thanks to the artistry of Dr. Richard Foxx at the Medical and Skin Spa at the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort and Spa (and his willingness to point out fixable flaws) Nora and I don’t need to feel bad about our necks any longer. Presto…with a series of very small injections along the lines of these cords, they become totally relaxed the next day.

Amazing.

Tap, Tap, Tapping Our Way to Health

Sallie and I are at Chiva-Som to conduct the first Spa Specialist Training Course for Virtuoso travel agents. We are joined by six top-notch travel agents for the few days we are here. (We decided to teach our first course at a spa, since there is no better way to learn about spas than being at one – and in this case, one of the best in the world!) Every day was filled with spa experiences as well as a few hours of training guided by the extensive course we developed in the past six months. If I do say so myself, it was a grand success.

Chiva-Som staff planned some unique experiences for us, as I felt there was no sense in coming all the way to Thailand for a Swedish massage. Our little group was scheduled for one of their most distinctive Thai offerings, Meridian Tapping. Editor-in Chief Gary Walther had written about this in the Jan/Feb issue of Luxury SpaFinder Magazine, although admittedly I didn’t “get it” from reading about it. After experiencing it, I realize how hard it is to describe to someone else.

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The basics: Decide on an area of discomfort in your life (physical or mental). You are asked to think about this area of personal challenge while a therapist taps your meridian points. This is supposed to repattern your body, resulting in an actual noticeable change.

We were given an examphotel500 F02 738250 Tap, Tap, Tapping Our Way to Healthle of how Meridian Tapping has been used with some miraculous results: A woman who for many years had a water phobia where the sight of water brought on extreme anxiety. After going from doctor to doctor for years, she ended up being relieved of the phobia after a ten-minute meridian tapping session. OK, that got my attention.

Our group’s collection of “issues” included a sore knee, a bad back, insomnia, fear of public speaking, jet lag, e-mail addiction, and a few other maladies I can no longer remember. Tap, tap, tap! Each of us had a two-minute session, and then we learned to do “self-tapping” for follow-up. Hard to gauge the results at the moment, but I want to be open-minded.

Should my list of 700+ emails that I need to answer suddenly be of no concern to me, I’ll make sure to keep tap dancing.

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Giving Traditional Chinese Medicine a Try

Traveling in Asia with our COO, Sallie Fraenkel, has been a delight. We share many interests, but adventuresome eating is not one of them. Sallie will try every fish ball and oddly named indigenous delicacy with great enthusiasm, while I stick to basics when traveling (spaghetti and Caesar salads all through Asia is fine with me). But when it comes to spa experiences we are both very adventurous. So when Joy Menzies, the managing director of Chiva-Som, suggests that we each have a session with their new Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) doctor, Ken Rosen, we are “in”. When it comes to spa treatments I am always game. Bring on the TCM; sure, I’ll try Meridian Tapping, iridology, colonics, stomach massage, acupuncture in my ears – whatever. And there is no better place than Chiva-Som to sample something unique from all over the world. KENROSENpodiu5B15D 718948 Giving Traditional Chinese Medicine a Try

Ken (pictured at right) has a 90-minute TCM session with me where he diagnoses weaknesses through taking my pulse (it is “wirey” but otherwise strong) and then looks at the color of my tongue, etc. The last part of the session consists of an acupuncture treatment in which he endeavors to strengthen my immune system and to help me relax. Not sure about specific results, but I do feel like it is a great thing to be able to go to a spa and try a large variety of health-enhancing modalities. Chiva-Som must have one of the most extensive spa and holistic therapy menus in the world. I would probably have to be here a month to try them all. Guess it’s a good reason to come back.

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