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The Booming Business of Beauty
by Karen Reed-Matthee

They haven’t yet reached Starbucks proportions, but almost every Seattle neighborhood has one: the day spa — or some version thereof. Quite a few have been around for more than a decade — since the great spa boom of the mid-nineties — but new ones crop up on a regular basis, and the heightened competition for your time and toenails has spurred these businesses to find a unique niche or some other creative way to lure clients through the door.

“Just in University Village alone, there are three day spas,” says Jessica Campbell of Spa Scotta (one of those in U Village). “It really keeps you on your toes.” An Internet search for day spas in Seattle turns up 336 listings, including those offering medical spa services.

“The market is saturated,” says Hannelore Leavy, founder and executive director of both the Day Spa Association and the International Medical Spa Association, based in Union City, N.J. The first organization, she says, helps spas run a profitable business in the face of fierce competition, especially from the growing medical spa sector. The medical spa industry has exploded over the past five years, with the number of spas growing nationwide from about 450 in 2004 to an estimated 2,500 today, says Leavy. “It started when the FDA approved Botox. Baby boomers want to stay young and vital. And everyone is working longer; they have to have a certain professional look.”

Day spas, as a result, are taking a close look at their services and many are “turning back to their roots, which is wellness, be it weight loss, metabolic testing, nutrition, special workshops — a lot of things,” says Leavy. The skin focus is relatively new, she adds. “The original spa was always for medical treatments. Europeans went on a regular spa vacation paid for by their insurance companies. In the eighties and early nineties it was all about resort spas; there was very little skin.”

KEEPING IT SIMPLE
Nina Ummel of Ummelina International Day Spa downtown confesses she was tempted to incorporate “medi-spa” services. The first day spa in downtown Seattle, Ummelina opened in 1986. “I came very close to going that route,” she says, until her own dermatologist convinced her that laser treatments, skin injections and other specialized services are best left to “skin doctors” after a complete tissue analysis.

Rather than complicate her already successful business with the costly and involved requirements of a medical spa, Ummel chose to keep doing what she does best: focus on relaxation, healthy beauty practices, and education. “I was a school teacher,” she says. “For me it’s all about education … about passing on knowledge of traditional herbalism to clients. They’re learning what they can do to strengthen their skin.”

Ancient healing rituals using natural products from around the globe are blended with current spa technology, says Ummel. For instance, the spa uses a process from Japan for atopic dermatitis in which skin is sprayed with water that has been rendered acidic through electrolysis. “It has a Ph balance that matches the skin,” she enthuses. “It hydrates tissues, kills bacteria, balances out the skin so that the skin heals itself.”

Like Ummelina, another longstanding day spa, Habitude (with locations in Ballard and Fremont), keeps its services straightforward, spicing them up with a rotation of product ingredients and procedures from other countries. Habitude uses the popular Aveda brand of skin care products. “Every six months, we launch a seasonal menu based on a different part of the world,” says Gray. “We just finished Passage to India. Today it’s Gifts from Africa. It keeps the client inspired, and also the staff inspired.”

“Low-tech, high-touch” is the Habitude motto, says Gray. “We’re not using machines to scrub your skin. All we’re using is human-to-human touch, which I believe is in really short supply these days.”

And with the emphasis on human contact, a dependable and highly qualified staff becomes extremely important, acknowledges Gray, who believes her success is due primarily to the business model on which she operates. “There’s no shortage of clients; the hardest part of this industry is the staffing.” In fact, she goes so far as to say Habitude is “changing the nature of the industry” in the way it respects and manages staff.

At Habitude, 30 hours is full time, and employees receive full health benefits, a 401(k) plan, and travel and education stipends. The spa has two shifts — 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. or 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. — “so the young kids can work the 3 to 9 shift and the older stylists, moms and students, can take the 9 to 3 shift.” The spa also offers life skills training to its employees. “A lot of these kids are coming right out of high school and going to beauty school … They need to know how to run a checking account, save money, buy a car…”

Spa Scotta offers its employees a similar benefits package and has even sponsored desirable candidates through training for specific positions. Owner Jessica Campbell agrees that a happy, talented staff is the key to success. Since opening in 1998, Spa Scotta has stuck to basic spa services such as skin care, massage and natural nail treatments. “We offer a fairly comprehensive menu, but at the same time it’s very to the point,” says Campbell.

A free lecture series called “Relax, Recharge and Reconnect” is one thing Spa Scotta is doing to differentiate itself. “It’s a great way to spend time with a girlfriend, have a glass of wine,” Campbell says. “We cater it, bring in a lecturer who will really teach you something, and you get a goody bag.”

THE HIGH-TECH ROUTE
Even though she was ahead of the trend when she opened the first medical spa in the area, JoAnne Mendenhall hasn’t taken that advantage for granted. In 1999, she launched the Center for Skin Science, which became Pelage Spa & Skin Centre in Issaquah. As a nurse, Mendenhall says she takes the inside-out approach seriously and realizes that medical services such as deeper chemical peels, laser hair removal, light therapies and injectible skin enhancers don’t spell success by themselves. In light of competition from other medical spas, it’s especially important to take what she calls a “multi-modalities” approach. For instance, when treating prematurely aged skin, diet is also examined. “We have a dietitian here, and treatment may include everything right down to drinking a protein drink and taking certain vitamins.”

Mendenhall says the growth in the medical spa industry was “out of control,” but that stricter laws are making it difficult for just anyone to hang a medi-spa shingle. “A lot of people have gotten into the industry because they think it’s the new money maker,” she says.

And there is money to be made: Hannelore Leavy says medical spas pulled in more than $1 billion by the end of 2006. “There are a lot of components that feed this,” she says. “Science and product companies are jumping on the bandwagon. Every day there is a new technology.”

But the technology isn’t cheap. A laser machine, for example, can cost $80,000 to $100,000. And then there’s the salary for bringing a physician on staff or hiring a medical director to oversee various services. Starting a medical spa requires a big chunk of cash up front.
Because of the expense and the complexities and her own desire to be “more holistic,” Suzanne Buchanan vacillated before deciding to include medical spa services when she opened Spa Blix in the South Lake Union neighborhood just before Christmas. “It was partly a business decision, to stay competitive,” she admits. Also, she wanted her customers to have everything they desire under one roof. So in addition to offering hair and nail services, facials, massages and body scrubs, among many other relaxing spa amenities, Spa Blix also provides laser hair removal, facial resurfacing and injections to reduce wrinkles.

DOING IT DIFFERENTLY
If you’re starting a spa, you have to have it stand out in some way, emphasizes Nina Ummel. “You need a little niche, mud baths or something.”

Olympus Spa, in Tacoma since 1996 and now also in Lynnwood, has always stood apart. Based on the Korean therapeutic model, Olympus’ emphasis is on “spiritual health,” not just “outside beauty,” says owner Sun Lee. In the homey environment of the Tacoma spa and now in the larger, more luxurious Lynnwood facility, women can come together to enjoy therapeutic whirlpools with hydro jets, radiant energy rooms, massage, cleansing skin scrubs, a mugwort steam sauna, and an herbal dry sauna. Spa services also include Asian food and a traditional Korean tea ceremony.

Because it is affordable — a $30 entrance fee to use all the facilities for an unlimited time — Olympus has drawn a variety of women clients, from college students to executives. Only special services, such as facials, massages, scrubs or body wraps cost extra and require appointments. But even with those services, “we try to keep the cost down,” says Lee. “We try to be not high-end, but middle ground.”

So it appears that with the ongoing success of older day spas and the way new ones are popping up, there are plenty of customers to go around. Are we earthy Seattle gals finally figuring out what European women have known for some time: that we deserve a little pampering, and that it pays to take care of ourselves?

Jessica Campbell of Spa Scotta thinks so. European women, she notes, start their daughters going to spas at a young age. Her spa too is starting to see more young people who want to learn to take care of their skin, to control acne and other problems. In general, Campbell says, we’re finally getting the message that going to a spa is “more about taking care of yourself than treating yourself.”

Karen Reed-Matthee is the editor of this magazine and is way overdue for a spa visit.

ALL AROUND TOWN

UMMELINA INTERNATIONAL DAY SPA
1525 4th Ave
Downtown Seattle
206-624-1370
www.ummelina.com

RED SALON, SPA AND LOUNGE
1925 3rd Ave
Downtown Seattle
206-256-6214
www.redseattle.net

VIRGINIA MASON SKIN CARE CENTER & MEDI SPA
1201 Terry Ave
First Hill
206-223-8889

AZULA STUDIO
3313 W McGraw St
Magnolia
206-352-7205
www.azulastudio.com

HABITUDE SALON, SPA AND GALLERY
2801 NW Market St
Ballard
206-782-2898
513 N 36th
Fremont
206-633-1339
www.habitude.com

SPA BLIX
213 Yale Ave N
South Lake Union
(across from REI)
206-274-5681
www.spablix.com

FRENCHY’S DAY SPA
3131 E Madison St, Suite 103
Madison Valley
206-325-9582
www.frenchysdayspa.com

SPA DEL LAGO
1929 43rd Ave E
Madison Park
206-322-5246
www.spadellago.com

SWOON BOUTIQUE SPA
1422 E Pine St
Capitol Hill
206-323-0106
www.swoonspa.com

CARLIN SALON & DAY SPA
2138 California Ave SW
West Seattle
206-932-5988
www.carlinsalondayspa.com

HERBAN THERAPIES DAY SPA
11000 NE 10th St
Bellevue
425-283-5871
www.herbantherapies.com

EASTSIDE OASIS
14044 NE 8th St
Bellevue
425-614-3037
888-202-8074
www.east-sideoasis.com

THE SANCTUARY SPA & YOGA
8862 161st Ave NE, Suite 107
Redmond
425-895-9900
www.thesanctuaryredmond.com

PELAGE SPA AND SKIN CARE CENTER
Gilman Village
Issaquah
425-837-8710
www.pelagecenter.com

AVIKAI SPA
1180 NW Maple St
Issaquah
425-391-1433
800-988-7705
www.avikai.com

CALIDORA SKIN CLINIC
Downtown Seattle, U Village
Redmond and Bellevue
1-800-750-0772
www.calidora.com

OLYMPUS SPA
3815 196th St SW, Suite 160
Lynnwood
425-697–3000
www.olympusspa.com

©2007 Caliope Publishing Company