Les Nouvelles Esthetiques Spa Magazine #92

Spending on Wellness is strongly association with Greater Longevity and Happiness 2 A Fractured Wellness Market: Both Super-Expensive and Free, Simple Wellness Will Rise 4

TheraVine, where Science meets Natural Beauty since 2004 6

Trend: Thermal Bathing Is Hot (And Cold) 8

The Good Food-Mood Connection 10

Les Nouvelles Esthetiques Spa Awards 2022 12 Beauté Pacifique’s New Superfruit LineClean -Vegan –Dermatology 40 Discover How Silent Meditation Can Improve Wellbeing 42

The Rise Of Biohacking Spa Treatments 44

TC Plus Peel - An innovative

Dermo-Epidermal Bio-revitaliser from KSurgery 46

The Wellness Questionnaire With Sally Mueller, Co-Founder & CEO of Womaness 48 Wellbeing: How Living Well Together Works For The CommonGood 50

LIFELONG VITALITY IS HERE from doTERRA 52

BioDermal Skin Tech - Concentrated Corrective & Preventative Skin Care 54

Rising Social Media Trends to Watch in 2023 56 Why Fashion Brands are Opening Stand Alone Gyms 58 The Residential Spa, the Latest Luxury Living Trend 60 Despite Hard Work, My Key Performance Indicators Are Not Moving! Why? 62

Editors Welcome

The focus of this issue of Les Nouvelles Esthetiques Spa Magazine is the annual Les Nouvelles Esthetiques Spa Awards, hosted by Les Nouvelles Esthetiques South Africa and France. Les Nouvelles Esthetiques would like to congratulate all the finalists and winners as they continue to excel in providing the keys to relaxation and wellness. The Spa Awards programme is more than pure recognition of achievement, it sets a benchmark for spas in Southern Africa.

According to New Global Wellness Institute Research, spending on Wellness is strongly associated with Greater Longevity and Happiness, bolstering the Case for a Wellness Policy. Cynics may question whether all this consumer spending on wellness has any real impact on wellbeing, but new research reveals that for every roughly $800 annual increase in wellness expenditures per person, happiness levels increase 7% and life expectancy increases 1.26 years; The GWI’s groundbreaking new report “Defining Wellness Policy,” the first research to define, and argue why, wellness is the missing policy lens so desperately needed now.

Enjoy the read !

Les Nouvelles Esthétiques South African Edition I Max Cafe P. O. Box 81204, Parkhurst Johannesburg, South Africa 2120 I Tel: +27 83 267 2773 e-mail: info@lesnouvelles.co.za www.lesnouvelles.co.za I Publisher/Creative Director: Anthony de Freitas e-mail: tony@maxcaf e.co.za I Managing Editor: Dr. Nadine de Freitas e-mail: nadine@maxcafe.co.za I Editorial Assistant: Sarene Kloren editorial @lesnouvelles.co.za I Ad vertising Enquiries: Dr Nadine de Freitas e-mail: info@lesnouvelles.co.za I Subscription Enquiries: Tel: +27 83 267 2773 e-mail: info@lesnouvelles .co.za or visit: www.lesnouvelles.co.za

Spending on Wellness is strongly association with Greater Longevity and Happiness

By Global Wellness Institute

Spending on Wellness Is Strongly Associated with Greater Longevity and Happiness, Bolstering the Case for Wellness Policy, According to New Global Wellness Institute Research

Cynics may question whether all this consumer spending on wellness has any real impact on wellbeing, but GWI’s new research reveals that for every roughly $800 annual increase in wellness expenditures per person, happiness levels increase 7% and life expectancy increases 1.26 years; The findings bolster the case for wellness policy, the subject of GWI’s groundbreaking new report “Defining Wellness Policy,” the first research to define, and argue why, wellness is the missing policy lens so desperately needed now.

As consumer spending on wellness has exploded into a multi-trillion market, it raises key questions: Is all this spending even improving people’s wellbeing and physical and mental health? Skeptics would guess no, but new research released today by the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) says, quite definitively, yes.

These findings are part of GWI’s historic new report, “Defining Wellness Policy,” the first research to define wellness policy and make a compelling, evidence-backed argument as to why it’s so direly needed. It explains how wellness policy can complement–but also fill the glaring gaps left by–both current public health policy and new happiness and wellbeing policy efforts. It also addresses the serious gaps in the sick-care-focused medical system and in the private sector wellness industry, that clearly cannot bring wellness to all.

The report includes the first-ever quantitative analysis that determines the relationship between wellness spending, health outcomes, and happiness across countries. It demonstrated that spending on wellness is strongly and positively correlated with increased longevity and happiness, not only for the “wealthy well” but across the board.

“As we dived into this research, it quickly became obvious that health and wellness should be embedded in the priorities for all policymaking,” said Katherine Johnston, GWI senior research fellow. “As compared to sustainability – which has been in policy conversations for so long – it is astonishing that no one has talked about wellness as a comprehensive, cross-cutting policy category in government circles. The health of people should be paramount, just like the health of the planet, and really, the two go hand-in-hand. We hope that this study and GWI’s upcoming wellness policy toolkits will kickstart a global conversation and more research in this area.”

The research, unveiled at the Global Wellness Summit now being held in Tel Aviv, sets the stage for a series of Wellness Policy Toolkits to be released in 2023, which will provide governments, non-profits, communities and businesses a roadmap on how to take action in seven domains of wellness policy: physical activity, healthy eating, mental wellness, traditional/complementary medicine, wellness in the built environment, wellness at work, and wellness in tourism.

Wellness Spending = Increased Happiness and Longevity

To identify the relationship between wellness spending, happiness levels, and health outcomes, GWI researchers partnered with Dr. Shun Wang, a key author and statistician of the World Happiness Report. Utilizing data from GWI’s wellness economy reports (measuring wellness spending in more than 200 markets), Gallup’s World Poll (for global happiness measurements), and the World Bank (for national life expectancy and income levels)–and then carefully adjusting for wealth levels and population size–a regression analysis revealed striking findings. Across countries, for every $844 increase in wellness spending per person, the average happiness level increases by nearly 7%.

An increase of $769 in wellness spending per capita is associated with 1.26 years of extra life. While correlation does not necessarily mean causation, these important results clearly signal that there are health and wellbeing benefits from wellness spending.

A forthcoming GWI white paper will expand on these results, analyzing the relationships between spending in each wellness sector–whether physical activity, healthy food, traditional medicine, or mental wellness–and how it’s associated with outcome measures for health and happiness.

“This is the first time that anyone has analyzed wellness economy spending alongside data on happiness and life expectancy, and we found that investment in wellness is definitely linked to positive outcomes in these metrics,” said Ophelia Yeung, GWI senior research fellow. “We believe that wellness policy is crucial for bringing the benefits of wellness to everyone, especially to those who cannot pay for it or who face barriers to living a healthy lifestyle.”

“Defining Wellness Policy”

GWI’s Wellness Policy series aims to build common language, frameworks, and strategies for governments, industry, and communities to work toward the goal of wellness for all. The report released today establishes why wellness is the missing link in policy, and how wellness policy can uniquely address the gaps in the current movements attempting to tackle our cascading health crises.

Wellness Policy – A Definition: GWI defines wellness policy as “a set of cross-cutting actions that encourage healthy lifestyles and create supportive environments for human health and wellbeing.” Wellness policy is specifically focused on prevention, lifestyle changes, and the many environmental factors that affect our wellbeing.

A Desperate Need for New Solutions: If health and wellbeing metrics were precarious before the pandemic, they’re now deteriorating further. We face escalating macro crises: worsening chronic disease, mental unwellness, sedentary lives, environmental destruction, an aging population, and the pressures of technology, all of which impose staggering economic costs. Global health expenditures more than doubled in the last decade, reaching $8.5 trillion annually and it is projected that chronic diseases and mental conditions will cost $47 trillion between 2011 and 2030; physical

inactivity is a $67.5 billion annual burden and employee disengagement at work costs an estimated $7.8 trillion a year.

Wellness Policy Tackles:

Gaps in Healthcare & Public Health Policy: While research shows that 80-90% of our health outcomes are determined by environmental, socioeconomic, and lifestyle factors, healthcare remains primarily a “sick-care” model, while public health systems lack a mandate to address lifestyle and environmental factors. GWI estimates that only about 4% of annual global health expenditures are for prevention, risk reduction, and public health. Wellness policy refocuses public health policy on the lifestyle factors and environmental determinants of health that have the biggest impact on our wellbeing and longevity.

Gaps in the Consumer Wellness Market: The modern consumer wellness movement has accomplished much, including mainstreaming a concept of health that is holistic, destigmatizing mental health, and vastly increasing consumer choice. But it has left glaring gaps in accessibility and affordability, and cannot bring wellness to all. Among the $4.4 trillion of wellness economy spending in 2020, only 6% was in “lower-middle” and “lowincome” countries. Wellness is a powerful concept for policy action because it taps into the language and aspirational desires of consumers, but can ensure that access to wellness is far more equitable and inclusive.

Gaps in Happiness & Wellbeing Policy: Happiness and wellbeing have entered the mainstream lexicon, but their impact on policy remains limited. The conversation is still mostly theoretical and only a few (mostly small and wealthy countries, such as New Zealand, Wales and Scotland) have embedded happiness and wellbeing into their national budgeting priorities. The problem is that happiness and wellbeing policy takes a topdown approach that requires long-term, monumental change in how governments set priorities and allocate resources. In contrast, a wellness policy approach focuses on making incremental, immediate, bottom-up changes within existing policy structures, and changes that have a deeper impact on human health than merely improving subjective wellbeing.

This research was generously sponsored by these companies: Art of Cryo, Biologique Recherche, Blue Zones Center, Canyon Ranch, Carillon Miami Wellness Resort, Fountain Life, HB Reavis, The John W. Brick Foundation, Magleby Development, MindBody, Natura Bissé, Rancho La Puerta, Rancho Mission Viejo, Six Senses, Technogym and Universal Companies.

About the Global Wellness Institute: The Global Wellness Institute (GWI), a nonprofit 501(c)(3), is considered the leading global research and educational resource for the global wellness industry and is known for introducing major industry initiatives and regional events that bring together leaders to chart the future. GWI positively impacts global health and wellness by educating public institutions, businesses and individuals on how they can work to prevent disease, reduce stress and enhance the overall quality of life. Its mission is to empower wellness worldwide.

igh-end Wellness: Where Will It End? The most recent Trendium from the GWI’s sister organization, the Global Wellness Summit, is about the postpandemic surge in “super-expensive wellness”: the seemingly never-ending expansion of very highpriced wellness products and services that benefit the upper decile in terms of income and wealth. For some in the upper decile of the upper decile (the 0.1%), nothing seems too much, with ergonomic treadmills co-branded with luxury brands like Dior (price tag: slightly below $10K) or monogrammed dumbbells becoming standard products, though it’s difficult to argue what their contribution in improving physical performance or wellness could actually be.

As the world’s ultra-high-net-worth population (those with more than $30 million in assets) rose by 24% in the first year of the pandemic (according to Credit Suisse’ Global Wealth report) and the number of millionaires expanded to reach almost 60 million, high- and top-end wellness consumption are destined to increase even further.

Why does this matter? For two reasons. (1) Investing in positional goods that deliver little

apparent value (apart from status signalling) can be perceived as a sign that the degree of inequality has gone badly wrong. This gives credence to those who’ve been arguing for a while that severe inequalities could threaten the legitimacy of our society’s’ institutional structures, which in turn demands nothing short of a redefinition of our social contract. (2) It gives a bad name to the wellness industry at large. While many wellness companies do simultaneously well (for themselves) and good (for their customers and other stakeholders), a few that benefit from severe “consumer excess” become the focus of the rising cynicism about the industry.

Wellness Fads Vs. Wellness Simplicity

Wellness is such an expansive industry with such attraction power that it inevitably creates fads, popular trends which, like in fashion, come and go. In essence, wellness is not a consumer endeavour, but many companies frame it as such, well aware that in a very crowded market, the monetization of offerings often depends on good marketing and a seductive narrative. This is the source of the endless fads in food, fitness, self-care, and other wellness segments and intersects with the issues of “super-

By Thierry Malleret, Economist

expensive wellness” and “wellness inequality” highlighted above.

Many “formulas” for wellbeing are straightforward, highly effective but hardly monetizable, and thus often take a back seat with wellness companies.

The reason is simple: there is no money to be made in telling people to eat fruits and vegetables, to sleep enough, or to simply go for a walk. But during the pandemic, people globally rushed to free or very affordable wellness–whether hiking, camping, wild swimming, or starting a home garden–and as we emerge from the pandemic, nature and back-tobasic, beautifully simple wellness approaches are becoming more aspirational than expensive and trendy products.

It’s time to think harder about the respective wellbeing effects of non-monetizable activities (like walking for physical wellbeing and small acts of kindness for mental wellbeing) versus fads that purport to deliver wellbeing benefits, but do not in a manner commensurate with the investment required. A costbenefit analysis for wellness is due!

TheraVine, where Science meets Natural Beauty since 2004

OUR PHILOSOPHY:

Quality - Research - Innovation

TheraVine™ is a uniquely crafted, result-driven and scientifically formulated product range fusing the highest recommended percentage cutting edge active ingredients with super anti-oxidants derived from grape cultivars. Extensive research and experimenting with formulations and ingredients was how TheraVine™ was founded in 2004 but as an award-winning range, we base our growing success on the latest international scientific research and advanced technological active ingredients which ensures superlative product quality and innovation. Because we believe in developing products that achieve desirable results, we have made it our mission to design, develop and produce a comprehensive skin and body care range of the highest quality that will take you on an adventure of scientific skin transformation and sensory pleasure.

OUR PRIDE AND PROMISE

We are driven by a passion for extra-ordinary skin care and believe beauty is more than skin deep. It is our mission to provide the highest quality, 'scientific and sensory' professional and retail products in the health and skincare industry.

• We run an eco-conscious operation through using up-cycled ingredients of all grape extracts and walnut shell powders

• We use the latest advanced technology cosmeceutical ingredients at highest percentages

• Only the best is good enough with our grape technology oligomeric proanthocyanidins providing antioxidant protection of 50 times the strength of Vitamin E and 20 times the strength of Vitamin C

• Our extensive home-care product options provide specific solutions for all skin types, conditions and concerns

• A team of highly skilled, knowledgeable industry professionals are responsible for developing the diverse selection of result-driven professional treatments to compliment and maximise your home-care regimen and skin care goals

“When I started this journey all those years ago, I never

began to think this is where we will be today. One does not start something like this for recognition. To me, it was about changing the perception that local can't be good enough. I wanted quality, excellence and most of all to be unique.” Lisa Smit MD of L.S. Enterprises and Founder of TheraVine™.

Having grown up in a strong entrepreneurial family, Lisa knew that, in order for her products to be successful, she needed a 'point of difference' from other product brands across the world. Growing up amongst the vineyards of Stellenbosch, she investigated the addition of grapes and their by-products into her line of products to form her marketing' point of difference. She met with various viticulturists, Professors from Stellenbosch University, major wine making companies, Farmers, botanists as well as scientists from the CSIR. The discovery that oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs) are 50 times the strength of Vitamin E and 20 times the strength of Vitamin C with regards to their levels of anti-oxidants, was the inspiration to use these gems from nature and this is where her journey began in developing what would later be branded as TheraVine™. Containing such powerful anti-oxidants, TheraVineTM was destined to become a world class health and skincare range exceeding all expectations in the health and skincare industry.

When it launched in 2004, TheraVine™ was the biggest South African professional cosmetic product launch to date.

We are proud to have been honoured with multiple industry awards celebrating our product quality and service expertise and promise to continue our passion of transforming nature's hidden treasures into scientific excellence.

Some of the most recent awards are:

2019: African Business Excellence Award: Best Health & Skincare Products Company and Award for Excellence in Cruelty Free Personal Care Products.

2019: Woman & Home Beauty Awards: Best Radiance Enhancing Mask

2020: African Excellence Awards: Best Scientifically Advanced Skincare Products

2020: CEO Global Awards: Best Skincare Brand.

2020: Woman & Home Beauty Awards: Best Face Mask Anti-Ageing Innovation

2020: Global Excellence Awards: Best in Natural Skincare Products and Treatments - South Africa

2021: CEO Global Awards: Skincare Brand of the Year - South Africa

2021

: Luxury Lifestyle Awards: Best Luxury Spa Skin Care Range

2021 : MEA African Excellence Awards: Most Innovative Skin Care Brand

2021/2022: Corporate Live Wire Global Awards

- Skin Care Brand of the year South Africa

2022: MEA African Excellence Awards: Skin Care Brand of the year

Trend: Thermal Bathing Is Hot (And Cold)

By Cassandra Cavanah

There’s a plethora of amazing, often ritualistic, ways to cleanse and purify the body through sweat bathing, water and cold temperatures—and today people seem to want to discover them all. We’ve witnessed an amazing amount of growth and exploration in hydrothermal bathing in recent years—from Finnish saunas and Russian banyas to Turkish Hammams and Korean bath houses to mud bathing and thalassotherapy to Japanese onsens and Mayan temazcals, and so much more.

It’s easy to understand the increased appeal and popularity of hydrothermal bathing in this moment in history. First, there’s a growing body of evidence that hydrothermal bathing is something post-pandemic wellness consumers want more of. Medical studies suggest that different hydrothermal therapies can protect against respiratory and cardiovascular disease; improve immune system function, muscle recovery, and sleep; and help with chronic pain. Second, it’s a self-administered, touchless wellness experience, which means it’s great for those who are not yet ready for a hands-on treatment. Third, when done right, hydrothermal bathing is a communal, soul-rejoicing experience—something we all need a bit more of right now!

“In the post-COVID landscape, we’re seeing an amazing amount of creativity—whether it’s new floating saunas, new roadside saunas serving cold water swimmers and surfers or new cold rooms with real snowfall, there’s no end to the imaginative ways hot/cold contrast therapy is being celebrated all around the world,” said Don Genders, chair of the Global Wellness Institute’s Hydrothermal Initiative.

The Good Food-Mood Connection

By Liz Robins

A balanced, whole-food diet may help prevent—and even play a role in treating—depression, recent research suggests. Food Mood.

It’s common knowledge that diet affects physical health, but its link to mental health hasn’t been as clear—or even widely considered until recently, for that matter. Thanks to the burgeoning field of nutritional psychiatry, that’s starting to change.

This relatively new discipline explores the relationship between diet and mental health. At the forefront of research in the field is Felice Jacka, professor of Nutritional and Epidemiological Psychiatry and director of the Food & Mood Centre at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia. Jacka is also the founder and president of the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research and the author of Brain Changer, which covers the latest science on how diet affects anxiety and depression risk as well as brain health.

Through their research, Professor Jacka, and others in the field have discovered an association between quality of diet and the risk of depression and anxiety disorders, some of the most prevalent and pressing health conditions of our time.

Depression Defined

Depression is a serious mental health condition that causes extended periods of sadness and loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed. The suffering that results can limit a depressed person’s ability to enjoy life and hinder his or her performance at work, home and beyond.

Globally, this mood disorder affects more than 300

million people of all ages and it’s the leading cause of disability worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Various forms of therapy and antidepressant medications are effective for some, but not all, depressed patients.

Encouraging Research

Considering the magnitude of the problem and the limitations of current treatments, the growing interest in food’s potential to combat depression comes as no surprise. The findings thus far are encouraging, although more large-scale intervention trials are needed to determine whether a specific diet actually causes changes in mood or is simply correlated with these changes.

Worldwide, healthier diets (rich in plant foods, fish and healthy oils) are associated with lower levels of depression, and unhealthy diets (higher in processed foods with added salt, sugar and fats) are associated with increased depression. Professor Jacka’s PhD study, published in The American Journal of Psychiatry in 2010, showed that women eating diets rich in vegetables, fruit, unprocessed red meats, fish and whole grains were less likely to have depressive or anxiety disorders.

Subsequent studies have also shown a correlation between a close-to-traditional Mediterranean diet and decreased risk of depression. The nutrient-dense Mediterranean diet is rich in olive oil, vegetables, fresh fruit, whole grains, nuts and legumes, but low in red meat, pasta and sugar. It also includes moderate amounts of fish, poultry, dairy products and red wine. Other recent research suggests that a Mediterranean diet including nuts might have the ability to actually prevent depression from developing

in older adults (specifically, among those with diabetes).

Results from a 12-week Deakin University study conducted by Professor Jacka and her team suggest that improving diet may even be effective in treating clinical depression. Participants included adults with moderate to severe depression who had been eating an unhealthy diet. Those who switched to a highquality Mediterranean diet, along with eating small servings of unprocessed red meat and receiving support from a clinical dietitian, experienced higher rates of remission than those who received social support but didn’t change their diet.

Future research should help clarify how the Mediterranean diet and other traditional wholefood diets affect mood. A few potential factors include high fiber content (which feeds “good” gut bacteria, some of which appear to impact mood via the gut-brain axis), healthy fats (linked to brainhealth benefits) and antioxidant polyphenols (associated with decreased risk of depression and potential to alleviate depression in some studies).

Bonus Benefits

Specifics aside, there are plenty of reasons to adopt a Mediterranean diet for both mental and physical well-being. Beyond the potential mood-boosting effects, it has been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, heart disease, cancer incidence, type 2 diabetes, neurodegenerative disease and overall mortality, notes Jacka in Brain Changer. This time-tested, whole-food diet is also delicious, affordable, and even better enjoyed in the company of family and friends—a bonus sure to boost anyone’s mood.

Winners Finalists

Les Nouvelles Esthetiques

Jiva Spa at TAJ, Cape Town

Drawing on the fabled lifestyle and culture of Indian royalty through the centuries, along with 6000-year-old Eastern wellness philosophies devised to align body, soul and mind, Jiva Spa is a special space.

At its essence, it encapsulates the 'science of longevity' with the wisdom of the ages behind its offerings. Here 'Atithi Devo Bhava' meaning 'the guest is god' is an adage to be adhered to, and holistic treatments are enlivened with meaningful ceremonies and rituals, such as Vishrama, Pehlwan Malish, Pada Mardana, Sukha, Aksha, Tulsi Facial, to name but a few signature treatments that encourage total relaxation.

Taj Cape Town boasts the only Jiva Spa in Africa and the spa's global principles apply: everything that touches the body is completely natural, with materials like organic cotton, sun-bleached fabric, oven-baked pottery and soy cotton.

Spa Awards

Hotel Spa 2022 Category Winner

Finalists: Spa Awards 2022

@Sandton Hotel Spa

TThe new @Sandton Hotel Spa, is a brandnew luxury hotel conveniently located on Benmore Road in Sandton, Johannesburg. The @Sandton Hotel Spa is a cool, contemporary space where all your wellness needs will be met.

The four single private treatment rooms and one private treatment room for a couple are fitted with atmospheric mood lighting that sets the tone for complete relaxation. Gorgeous manicure and pedicure stations are set up for individual treatments, or for a group of friends to have their nails done at the same time.

Mangwanani Signature Spa at The

Hotel, Zimbali Coast Estate

Huge bamboo palms and lush tropical gardens surround you, while you enjoy Mangwanani Dream Spa Signature Therapies in one of our four therapy rooms or on our Spa Forest Deck. You can also enjoy your treatments on our Spa Pool Deck, Poolside or at our Pool Cabana, with the view of the magnificent azure Indian Ocean.

Mangwanani - the African Spa - came into existence in 2002, when Erin Limbert, Mangwanani's dynamic CEO, first set in motion her dream of creating a retreat where people could experience true indulgence, coupling the ethos of African inspired revitalization.

Mangwanani Signature Spa at The Capital Hotel, Zimbali Coast Estate, offers guests the perfect escape for the ultimate in rest & relaxation.

Capital

he 700sqm two-floor Saxon Spa is an oasis of wellness, taking guests on a holistic journey incorporating sound, touch and sight, blending modern understanding with ancient techniques to balance energies and restore wellbeing.

The Saxon Spa incorporates dark wood, copper, linen and water throughout, in addition to the healing properties of Himalayan salt incorporated into the design as well as therapies. The Spa incorporates a total of eleven treatment rooms; including an all-glass couple's treatment room, manicure and pedicure areas, hair spa, sleep zone, spa dining area, steam room, heated hydro pool, wet treatment zone, hammam centre, heated outdoor plunge pool, sauna and an outdoor treatment zone.

Les Nouvelles Esthetiques

Asher Spa & Hair

Asher Spa & Aesthetics and Hair Salon, an award-winning spa, is located on the lower level of the Eagle Canyon Country Club, Eagle Canyon Golf Estate.

Estate Residents and dynamic mother and daughter duo, Tracy Pereira, and Kym Quincey are the brains behind this new venture. Asher Spa & Aesthetics and Hair Salon is an elegant, tranquil haven of peace where you can have all your beauty, aesthetic, wellness, and hair treatments under one roof carried out by trained professionals and doctors.

From friendly faces greeting you on entry to facials and skin rejuvenation, relaxing massages, mani’s and pedis, Ozone therapy, Spray tanning and Collagen stand up tanning in a can to Botox, fillers and more – all on offer in a serene surrounding. Hairstylists, aesthetic doctors and somotologists have been personally selected as a cohesive unit, a group of dedicated experts who have specialised skills, as well as experience in dealing with all skin and hair types.

Asher offers a welcoming environment for the whole family, from men having haircuts and youngsters experimenting with styles over the holidays, to little ones having manis and pedis. There is even a special couples suite with its own jacuzzi bath and magnificent view of the golf course.

The salon, which has embraced top of the range technology, has been designed with comfort and luxury in mind. From the light interior to the finishes, the product offerings and layout of the treatment rooms themselves, everything has been designed with the client in mind.

Day

Spa Awards

Spa

2022 Category Winner

Finalists: Spa Awards 2022

Vivari Spa is nestled in a leafy valley in Featherbrooke near the Cradle of Humankind, harking back to a time when the world was in perfect harmony and humans lived in and with nature.

Recapture this serenity at Vivari, where we offer a return to all things natural in our tranquil surroundings, where luxury intersects with sustainability and where our holistic wellness concepts marry with rejuvenation.

Vivari Spa

Relax Spa at Protea Hotel Fire & Ice, Cape Town

Relax Spa at Protea Hotel Fire & Ice, Cape Town allowing clients to enjoy spa treatments such as facials, manicures and pedicures, and foot massages. Other services available include back and full body massages, and deep tissue body treatments.

The power-house behind Relax Spas is Noli Mini, with nearly 20 years of experience in the Spa and Beauty Industry and recognised by Entrepreneur Magazine as “The Full Beauty, Wellness And Entrepreneurship Package”

evive Wellness Spa, conveniently located in Highlands North, Johannesburg. All inspired treatments have been created with rejuvenation and relaxation in mind, promising every guest a pure wellness treat.

Revive Wellness Spa caters for all your nail, hair, skin, body and aesthetic needs. They offer ozone therapy and a choice of a state of the art floatation pool or an indoor heated pool experiences, Rasul chamber, steam room and a decompression lounge ensure complete relaxation.

Les Nouvelles Esthetiques

Xigera Safari Lodge & Spa

The story of Xigera Safari Lodge & Spa is one of renewal. Of rebirth and family legacy, and of the pioneering spirit that drives us to seek out Africa's wild spaces. The same spirit that inspired this remarkable reimagining, perhaps a complete reinvention, of an Okavango Delta safari.

This is Xigera (pronounced 'kee-jera'), named for the Pied Kingfisher that makes its home amid the watery channels of Botswana's Moremi Game Reserve. Every aspect is handcrafted to beguile our guests' senses and stir their souls - from the evocative interiors to one-of-akind encounters. Wellness in the wilderness: From the simple serenity of escaping into this untamed wilderness, to the deeply humbling nature of immersing yourself in a vast and ancient landscape, your hours at Xigera will leave you feeling revived, refreshed and rejuvenated. Meticulously designed to frame breathtaking views of the seasonal flood plains and lush riverine forests, in its soothing colour palette and organic textures, the spa exists in perfect harmony with the surrounding landscape.

Fittingly, architect Anton de Kock found inspiration for his design in the eternal cycles of nature, reassuringly repetitive and unyieldingly regular: “They are the perfect continuum of opposites: of life and death, of light and dark. The Sun, the Moon, the entire Universe as well as the 'circle of life', which is synonymous with the wilderness.”

Spa Awards

Safar Spa 2022 Category Winner

Finalists: Spa Awards 2022

ukura Wellness Spa at Kilima Private Game Reserve, deep in the African Bushveld, at the foot of the Murchison Mountain Range. Kilima Private Game Reserve & Spa offers world class standards in luxury accommodation, close wildlife encounters, personal service and delicious cuisine. Kilima's philosophy “COURAGE ABOVE & BEYOND” stems from the Schütte Legacy that has endured against all odds. The Kukura Wellness Spa, is a Shona word that means GROWTH. We chose the word 'growth' for more than the simple definition of the word, we believe in personal development, we cherish the enhancements one makes to her or his self, we believe in our effectiveness of living, and to live - one needs to grow in mind, body and spirit.

The purpose of Kukura Wellness Spa services is to trigger the return of homeostasis in the body, by reducing tension and inducing relaxation. Relaxation being the first step in balance and equilibrium, because when the body is relaxed healing is possible.

Earth Spa at Tzaneen Country Lodge

Kukura Wellness Spa at Kilima Private Game Reserve E

KS

Exclusive and private, the lodge is nestled on 170 hectares of farmland and indigenous forest. The Earth Spa specializes in treatments to pamper guests with the best in relaxing massages as well as face and body treatments. The picturesque setting amidst mango orchards and indigenous forest satisfies all the senses allowing guests to soak up the beautiful scenes of nature whilst pampering body and soul.

arth Spa at Tzaneen Country Lodge is the ultimate destination for relaxation. Situated in the heart of the north-eastern Lowveld of the magical Limpopo Province.

ediko Bush Spa at Palala Boutique Game LodgeGroblersbrug, Limpopo. Hidden away on the banks of the majestic Limpopo river lies the one of a kind Sediko Bush Spa. Here, in the African bush, every experience is dedicated to pure bliss, calmness and serenity.

Aptly named after the Northern Sotho word “circle”, Sediko Bush Spa invites you to immerse in this African oasis offering an idyllic retreat. Recreate the circle of wellbeing with holistic facial and body treatments that will transport you into Sediko Bush Spa's world of reinvigoration and renewal. The carefully selected African and international facial and body treatments, performed by worldclass therapists, will guide you to find your true African wellness Sediko.

The spa offers a wide variety of hydrotherapy spoils such as Hammam, Vichy and Rasul chambers, flotation pools, sensation showers, outdoor natural stone baths, saunas and steam rooms.

Les Nouvelles Esthetiques

Vygenhoek Organic Spa

Vygenhoek Organic Spa was the first dedicated organic spa in this country, set in the serene country setting of the trout village of Dullstroom. Guests are pampered in an extraordinary environment to a holistic, organic wellness experience, an experience that through its organic nature, adds a sense of luxurious inner peace to even the most discerning.

The spa was conceptualised around holistic wellness, using carefully selected, organically products and treatments which guarantee a total absence of chemical preservatives, petroleum by-products, synthetic fragrances and colourants, and forms a central pillar of the Vygenhoek ethos. In planning and constructing the spa it was important, where possible, to integrate this organic approach in all stages of the building process, from concept design, through technical phases, to site management the Spa complex and treatment areas were designed to incorporate traditional building techniques, integrating locally sourced rock from previously disturbed areas, natural paints and unvarnished woods ensuring a minimal environmental footprint.

Spa Awards

Unique Spa Concept 2022 Category Winner

Finalists: Spa Awards 2022

Esse Concept Store

Experience the Koop- designed, Esse Concept Store in Ballito, Kwa-Zulu Natal showcases the brand's biotech skincare range, using and offers unique facial and body treatments in three crafted treatment rooms.

Esse is the award-winning South African biotech skincare range established in 2002 by organic chemist Trevor Steyn on his farm in Richmond, KwaZulu-Natal. This global phenomenon is the first Eco-Cert certified organic brand in SA, with fair-trade, vegan, and carbon-neutral credentials. In 2015 Esse became the first in the world to introduce a live probiotic product, reformulating products to account for the skin microbiome, which is critical for skin health. The store offers The Esse Experience treatments - which are broken into an Esse Express, Esse Experience, and Esse Live Probiotic Experience.

From the warm welcome you receive, candles are lit and the sound of beautiful music surrounds you. The contrasting colours and aromas will send your emotional palette of sensation on a separate journey. The beautiful lighting, priceless antiques and art adoring our walls are a feast for your eyes. Persian carpets and comfortable pillows, scattered across our relaxation lounges, Breath garden and Sun deck are for you to relax and unwind from the tensions of the outside world.

The Hammam also known as the Turkish Hammam or Turkish Bath, is the middle eastern variant of the steam bath. Although the first hammams originated in Arabia and bath culture was a central part of Roman life, Turkey popularised the tradition.

The adjoining A'la Turka restaurant offers guests a true exotic middle-eastern experience with subtle Turkish music and food on offer: meze, shish kebab, falafel, dolmades and other Middle Eastern fare.

Yadah Castle - Hammam Turkish Bath & Spa

oodlands Spa offers bespoke treatments, designed to relax you, heal you, and give you an intrinsic view of yourself. Idyllically set on the banks of the Crocodile River, our approach is holistic, offering a unique blend of traditional spa therapies and energy healing experiences. We are dedicated to providing an unforgettable stay, by offering all services required to effectively heal and energise our guests. Bespoke treatments, workshops, classes and healing retreats are some of the ways in which we deliver of our promise.

Woodlands Spa is not only about relaxation, but about healing and because of this, we have a medical doctor available to oversee our more intensive workshops. Feed your body as well as your soul, with our inviting menu of organic options.

Les Nouvelles Esthetiques

Delaire Graff Estate Spa

Ahidden paradise in Stellenbosch nestled between majestic mountains, I invite you to discover the many facets of Delaire Graff that bring me so much joy each time I visit.” Laurence Graff. With a global reputation for excellence, Delaire Graff Estate is an essential South African destination set in acres of fragrant gardens, with exclusive boutiques, breathtaking art around every corner and sustainability at its heart.

The Spa at Delaire Graff, indulges guests in specialised rituals and therapies inspired by the 5 elements at Delaire Graff Estate Spa. All treatment rooms enjoy a view of our beautiful gardens, while the guests enjoy exclusive use of our sunny terrace with infinity pool and Jacuzzi. The Treatment Rooms are dressed in ivory tones with delicate African details, with a dedicated room to facials and other forms of skin renewal. Each has an en-suite bathroom and dressing area.

Spa Awards

Boutique Hotel Spa 2022 Category Winner

Finalists: Spa Awards 2022

Fordoun Boutique Hotel & Spa

Fordoun Boutique Hotel & SpaNottingham Road, Kwa-Zulu Natal Midlands. The gracious fusion of state-of-the-art leisure and spa facilities with the timeless tranquillity of by-gone days, boasting an oasis of relaxation and sensory bliss.

Facilities include a floatation pool, a heated swimming pool, sauna, steam room, Vichy shower, and a couples' treatment suite with hydrotherapy bath. In addition to spa activities, guests can enjoy gentle walks, visit the herb garden, or explore the surroundings on horse-back.

The Fordoun Spa boasts a team of experts that include skilled masseurs, Reiki and Bio-energy specialists, a traditional African Healer and highly trained aestheticians.

Offering a refined experience and an escape from the ordinary, guests are embraced by the nurturing effect of being surrounded in nature, succumbing to the peace of the surroundings. The Day Spa, offer a comprehensive array of treatments, complemented by use of the exceptional Thermal Suite.

Silver Forest Spa is a luxurious and tranquil private Boutique Lodge and Day Spa, located on the slopes of the magical Helderberg Mountain in the Cape Winelands.

Silver Forest Spa

estled between ocean and towering mountains, this ecological gem is a splendid wilderness filled with unique birds and plants; beach, water and land adventures; creative food; rejuvenating spa and friendly caring service. On the Cape Whale Coast, Mosaic is centrally located to whale watching, marine tours and exploring the Overberg Wine Region.

The Milkwood Spa proudly offers guests pampering treatments in the double and single treatment room. Thanks to mother nature, the setting provides a tranquil, and soothing backdrop for all treatments. It's an experience worth indulging in.

Wembley Square, Cape Town: An Award Winning, exclusively upmarket, and contemporary, the SCINMed day cosmetic centre is operated entirely by professionally qualified medical doctors and aestheticians. They offer clients not only an opportunity to receive the most advanced medical and aesthetic treatments, but invite them to do so within a serene environment, surrounded by sophistication and luxury. This world-class facility offers highend anti-ageing measures, partnered with preventative medicine and wellness expertise to provide clients with ground-breaking aesthetic solutions. Each guest is set on a bespoke and personal journey towards complete rejuvenation with professionalism, kindness and care. It is this holistic approach that has cemented our reputation as pioneers within the industry.

CINMed

Finalists: Spa Awards 2022

JUST SKIN Aesthetic Clinic

JUST SKIN Aesthetic Clinic, is an established Medical Aesthetic Clinic and Online Skin Care Store based in Cape Town. Founded by Carol Maccallum and partnered with Doctor Mignon Laub, in March 2010. This modern, welcoming and personal clinic is recognised as one of the top clinics, offering a variety of skin care treatments as well as medical aesthetics, tailored to your needs, thus ensuring you get the results you want. All treatments are complimented by offering the perfect skin care regime. Just Skin Online aims to help you find the ideal products for your skin, stocking a variety of international and local skin care brands and health supplements, that work together to ensure you have healthy, glowing skin. JUST SKIN Aesthetic Clinic ethos is “We believe in investing in your skin and therefore strive to bring you the latest and most effective skin care treatments and products the world has to offer.”

Skinlogic Smart Skin Centre

Skinlogic Smart Skin Centre has been the trusted medical and aesthetic centre of excellence in George since 2014. Consistently delivering outstanding service and results, wthey pride themselves in creating a warm, friendly atmosphere for every patient. From medical aesthetics, to facials and laser treatments - they do not do 'make-overs'. They prefer to enhance our patients' innate beauty with precision and expertise in order to get real, yet natural-looking results. Rest assured, everyone will notice - but no one will know. The team is lead by Dr Herman van Rooyen, who has been a medical practitioner for over 32 years. He has extensive experience with sports injuries, burns, neuro-rehabilitation and aesthetic medicine. Dr van Rooyen is an internationally acclaimed aesthetic practitioner and is often asked to speak at aesthetic conventions as well as conduct training for leading aesthetic brands.

Category: Aesthetic Institute

Fabu-Health Aesthetics F

abu-Health Aesthetics, in Brooklyn Pretoria, founded by Tebogo Thoka, a qualified Aesthetic Therapist of over 13 years. Fabu-Health Aesthetics provides advanced dermal aesthetic treatments using medical grade products and advanced, cutting edge technology. The aesthetic treatments offerings include radiofrequency wrinkle reduction, , acne and scar treatments, laser treatments, chemical peels, pigmentation treatments and hair removal, enabling customers to get quality aesthetic and cosmetic treatments as per requirement. Tebogo Thoka's main goal is for clients to enjoy the experience in the clinic and leaving feeling completely satisfied and revitalised.

Amelioré Wellness & Aesthetics

Amelioré

Wellness & Aesthetics, a French word meaning improve, enhance or make better, is a clinic which focuses creating an oasis: “A cocoon for Cosmetic Butterflies”. A space created for our patients to relax, unwind and escape whilst having all their wellness, aesthetic and beauty needs taken care of in one convenient location, centrally located in the upmarket Hyde Square Cente, in Dunkeld West, Johannesburg. Under the guidance of Dr Nadia Jabaar, a General Practitioner with a special intertest in Holistic Healthcare and Aesthetic Medicine and Dr Saffia Jacobs, certified by the American Academy of Aesthetic Medicine and training to carry out a wide range of aesthetic procedures and specialises in Lip Fillers and Medical Weight Loss. Amelioré Wellness & Aesthetics, is a clinic focused on the latest technologies and treatments on offer in this ever-evolving industry.

Beauté Pacifique is a leading Danish Pharmaceutical company dedicated to developing clean skin care to visibly improve all skin types.

With 40 years of medical heritage driving Beauté Pacifique Dermatology, supported by published Dermatology Journal publications and medical ultrasound trial studies proving its efficacy on skin, it's no wonder this skin care line is the choice of discerning Aesthetic Doctors and skin care users around the world.

The Superfruit skin care line has been developed specifically for clean skin care users wishing to preserve their skin naturally, for as long as possible. The line is ideal for even the most sensitive skin. The products are based on effective dermatologically proven ingredients that add extra moisture to the skin with extracts from a wide range of highly nutritious and Nordic superfruits.

These "Superfruits" reduce impurities and redness and have a high content of natural anti-aging antioxidants that enhance the skin's own defence against the signs and causes of aging.

The SUPERFRUIT SKIN ENFORCEMENT line offers indulgent skin care with a healthy, fresh, and exquisite feeling.

The line includes: Superfruit Skin Enforcement Micellar Water, Superfruit Day Creme Dry, Superfruit Day Creme All, Superfruit Night Creme, Superfruit Serum, Superfruit Hydration Mist

A few of powerful superfruit ingredients, included in the line:

Betula Alba Juice / Juice from Nordic Birch Trees was already known in the Viking Age as a health product. Modern science has shown positive and active ingredients in the juice, which can bind extra moisture to the skin and having a firming effect.

Beta Vulgaris (Beet) Root Extract. Enhances the natural moisture-binders in the skin and provides extra moisture - both immediate and in the long term.

Vaccinium Vitis-Idaea Fruit Extract (Lingostem) This brand-new ingredient is derived from the stemcells of Lingonberries. The stem cell ingredient has three basic main mechanisms: Antioxidant with high content of polyphenols. Antioxidant that enhances cells' own antioxidative defence. Fights UV sunlight damage before light-induced inflammatory damage occurs in the skin. Lingostem also has been shown to improve skin's moisture retention, but most remarkably: Amplifies the skin's collagen network, corresponding to the effect of vitamin A Esters, thus improving the skin's elastic properties throughout the thickness of the skin - equalling a younger skin!

Rubus Chamaemorus Seed Extract / Cloudberry is a Nordic berry that studies have shown is able to delay loss of skin elasticity caused by age degeneration. This extract impedes the enzyme Elastase, which decomposes skin's Elastic fibres over time.

Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract / Buckthorn is a Nordic berry with countless active ingredients, which is health promotive in the diet. As an extract, it can even out the skin's pigmentation and make the skin more resistant and robust.

Acetyl Decapeptide-3, Oligopeptide-24, Oligopeptide-34. These mimetic peptides are highly

active molecules, encapsulated in a liposomes. The Beaute Pacifique cocktail of three such peptides, chosen so that the combined (symbiotic) effect on the skin corresponds to: More hyaluronic acid is formed, so retaining a youthful skin's water-binding ability. There is growth in the generation of cells corresponding to the level of elasticity and firmness of youthful skin, and lines are prevented and reduced.

Phloretin. A natural extract obtained from the leaves of apple trees - Apples are another SuperFruit. Phloretin has two main effects: Reduces redness of blemished skin and provides an anti-septic function.

Vitis Vinifera/Grape Seed Oil: This special Chilean oil contains a dermatologically effective dosage of Resveratrol & Procyanidin, which delays aging and prolong the cells' lifespan.

Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract is well known as a wound healing extract, helping to reduce irritation within the skin and providing comfort to sensitive skin. It enables the skin to accept strongly reacting ingredients with fewer side effects, enabling more effective ingredients to be tolerated by sensitive skin.

Argania Spinosa Kernel Extract, Serenoa Serrulata Fruit Extract is a special blend of natural extracts that significantly reduce skin's oil production.

Aspalathus Linearis Leaf Extract a unique herb found in South Africa that is rich in antioxidants including Aspalathin found only in Rooibos. It is known as the most popular natural product for the care of dry and irritated skin. Numerous scientific publications describe the many benefits of Rooibos and it is known as a valuable natural medicine all over the world.

www.beaute-pacifique.comUshering in the new Era of Anti-Aging Technology - Cruelty Free - Vegan

Discover How Silent Meditation Can Improve Wellbeing

With modern life being stressful and exhausting for many, it’s imperative for people everywhere to press pause and take a moment to reboot. Improve your health and happiness by slowing down a bit and focusing on yourself. Meditation is widely applauded for its health benefits and its ability to reduce stress and improve brain function and overall wellbeing. I highly recommend silent meditation. Here are a few things you need to know:

1. Understanding Silent Meditation

Silent meditation is one of the earliest forms of introspection, dating back to at least 2,500 years ago. Also known as Vipassana, this ancient form of meditation follows the “life pulse” through focus on the breath. Found in all of nature, this life pulse moves in waves of expansion, contraction, and stasis within us through the breath. When we invite this continuum of life to flow within our breath, we can expand our awareness to see and comprehend the perfect imperfection in all life, including our own.

The expansive nature of our inhalation gathers the prana, the cosmic life force intertwining with the oxygen molecules from the cosmic and earthly realms. The contraction of our exhalation invites us to let go of what we no longer need to carry in life. The exhalation invites us to flow with greater alignment and peace and to ground and connect these molecules of life into our cells, our core, and to the earth. In the contraction, we are diving back into the depths of our being.

2. The Main Benefits

This practice is said to have originated over 2,500 years ago by Gotama Buddha and has been passed down in its purest form from teacher to teacher in India since then. It is designed to cleanse all mental impurities and to deepen harmony between mind and body. This universal, non-dogmatic teaching offers a spiritual approach to understand and accept all facets of our humanity and foster a balanced life focused on the tenets of love and compassion. It is

through this practice we liberate our souls and cultivate a new calmness of mind and balanced emotions.

Current studies show a magnitude of health benefits ranging from bolstering immunity tosupporting brain health, cognitive function, and neuroplasticity. Meditation increases emotional resilience and increases focus and prolonged concentration.It allows us to explore our emotional triggers and habitual responses. It is through this practice we can visualize healthier ways of thinking, feeling, and increased emotional resilience. When we allow our body and mind to quiet, we can untangle our thought patterns and renew mental clarity.

Spiritually, meditation allows our energy and auric field to easily align and ground with the Earth. It’s here that we can find stillness in the chaotic world around us. Physical and emotional benefits are plentiful. Meditation calms the mind and offers greater mental clarity. Harnessing our thoughts and emotions creates empowered decisions.

3. How This Practice Differs from Other Forms of Practice

Although all meditation is silent to a degree, in Vipassana there is no guide, no music, no external sound. It means to “see things as they are.” It invites a deeper understanding and acceptance of life and allows us to focus onlistening. The consistent cultivation of this practice invites us to explore and re-establish a deep sense of connection with ourselves to listen more attentively to our bodies, balance our emotional responses, and calm our overactive minds.The approach differs and yet the end goal and results will be similar. Your breath is your only guide. There is also a very clear lineage of this tradition, which lends a purity and energetic momentum to this meditation form.

4. Is Silent Meditation a Good Fit for Everyone?

Everyone must find the type of meditation that suits them. Just like we all enjoy different types of cuisine,

By Adora Winquist

music and attire, there is a form of meditation that works for you. Be patient until you find what sets your mind and soul free.For those who are easily distracted, guided meditation can be a favorable choice, allowing the practitioner’s mind to follow the guide until they sink into deeper relaxation. If this is the case for you, starting with a consistent guided meditation practice and then peppering in some silent meditation could be the winning combination.

5. A Step-by-step Guide

Having a sacred space in which to consistently meditate creates a supportive structure for your practice. You can start by lighting a little incense or inhaling a pure essential oil to open your mind-body connection. Then start with five minutes daily of silent meditation. Invite in acalm and clear mind and focus on inhaling for 10 seconds, pause in stillness, and then exhale for 10 seconds. When a thought enters your mind, allow it to be as it is without changing it. Just as each phase of your breath changes, every circumstance and experience in life is impermanent. Bring your awareness back to your breath. Continue to work up to 20 minutes a day or longer up to 45 minutes.

Remember, be gentle with yourself. Don’t expect to comprehend the entire universe in the first week. Take enough time to create or break a habit before you decide if this works for you. Over several weeks, keep a daily journal of your impressions after meditation and in the evening before bed. Notice if you are responding to experiences differently from an emotional perspective. Do you feel more clear and calm?

6. Advice On Meditation Coaches & Guides

A meditation coach, or even practicing meditation in a group setting, can create the conditions for your practice, with confirmations on both the practical aspects of meditating and also some of the challenges that everyone faces in the beginning. Cultivating a consistent practice takes time; patience; and a deep commitment to yourself, care, and greater wellbeing.

innovation

The Rise Of Biohacking Spa Treatments

By Anna Haines

Over the past decade, biohacking has gone mainstream, transforming from a small experimental initiative.

With biohacking having its roots in Silicon Valley, it’s no surprise California remains a leader in the latest innovations in the field. Over the past decade, do-it-yourself biology has gone mainstream, transforming from a small experimental initiative to a worldwide movement. And while many of its practices, like intermittent fasting, remain disputable, biohacking continues to appeal to those seeking to streamline their health and add efficiency to their wellness routines. With the pandemic altering our relationship to touch, the latest biohacking inventions look like touchless technology—machines that claim to deliver benefits without the intervention of another human.

Writer Anna Haines trying out the biohacking services at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles.

“This past February, the Fairmont Spa Century Plaza set in the newly renovated Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles, launched their first biohacking program. “After 40 years in the wellness industry studying and sharing the benefits of biohacking, I’m excited to introduce this new innovation at the Fairmont Spa Century Plaza,” says Dr. Oz Garcia, the biohacker who created the program with Magdaleena Nikolov, the general manager of spa, wellness and retail for Fairmont Century Plaza. “By combining ancient modalities with light therapy, sound therapy and new technology, Magdalena and I are pleased to offer guests and locals a solution for better sleep, relieving stress and regaining mindfulness.”

Each biohacking treatment is experienced in the Oakworks Curva Lounger, an anti-gravity chair featuring a NASA-inspired curve that is said to help the guest slip into a meditative state. Meditation is also encouraged via a neuro-acoustic headset, NuCalm, which plays meditations and relaxing music throughout the treatment. A PEMF mat is placed over the body, promoting relaxation through its infrared technology, while Normatec by Hyperice compression boots increase circulation and reduce inflammation.

The space-like get-up is completed with a LED Face Visor placed over the face, which claims to boost collagen and improve cellular turnover through its combination of red, blue and amber light.

Experiential rain showers, aromatherapy steam rooms, a Himalayan salt room and hammam complete the experience.

TC Plus Peel - An innovative

Dermo-Epidermal Bio-revitaliser from KSurgery

Dermo-Epidermal bio-revitalisation is a broad term generally referring to aesthetic techniques such as mesotherapy, hyaluronic acid injecting and chemical peels, with the purpose of revitalising and rejuvenating the skin. The innovative TC Plus chemical peel from KSurgery falls squarely into this aesthetic treatment category.

What is TC Plus?

TC Plus is a chemical peel developed by the Italian based KSurgery Laboratories, which contains the cornerstone ingredient of Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA) which has been enhanced by the addition of two alpha-hydroxy acids namely, Mandelic acid and Kojic acid. The innovative gel formula stabilises TCA thanks to the combination of strong and weak acids mixed in such a way as to make the peel treatment Safe, Stable and Effective.

TC Plus exhibits the following key functions:

• Chemical peeling - treatment to visibly improve skin structure mostly by cell exfoliation

•Regeneration - the peel can reach the dermis and stimulate the organised regeneration of tissue matrix

•By so doing, becomes more of a bio-revitalisation and not just a surface peel

• Reactivates certain cell chemical pathways which promote overall skin physiological conditions leading to improved skin tone, firmness, pore size and fine lines.

In particular TC Plus is indicated to treat:

• Photoaging (Glogau type II to type III)

• Melasma

• Shallow acne scars

•Zones of deeper hyperpigmentation

What do the key ingredients in TC Plus do?

As mentioned earlier, Trichloroacetic acid is the cornerstone ingredient and forms the basis of the formulation. TCA is a carboxylic acid which has the primary function of peeling the skin through the action of chemical exfolition. During the exfolition process, the Skin Stress Response System (SSRS) is activated and pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) is produced by

keratinocytes. POMC is then split by an enzymatic reaction at an acid pH. The reaction produces a range of peptide hormones, including beta-endorphins. The beta-endorphins act as skin stimulators for the fibroblasts, and keratinocytes and thereby increase cell turnover.

TCA also assists skin growth and repair by promoting growth factors which are fundamental to proper epidermis cell functioning. The following growth factors are directly affected by the presence of TCA:

• Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)

• Transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-_), which plays a key role in the functioning of keratinocytes

• Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-_) which is vital for cell proliferation

•and Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).

Kojic Acid is the second key ingredient and is best known for its ability to inhibit melanin formation. The mechanism is as follows: Kojic acid limits formation of tyrosine , an amino acid required for melanin production, by binding the copper in the active part of the tyrosinase (an enzyme which helps to produce tyrosine), thereby inhibiting the enzyme's action.

Kojic acid is routinely used in the treatment of:

• Melasmas and chloasmas

• Senile lentigo and solar lentigo

• Dark circles under the eye

• Lightening of sun damage, age spots, or scars

• Skin-lightening / brightening effect

• Antimicrobial properties: reduces acne caused by bacteria in the skin.

The final key ingredient in TC Plus is Mandelic Acid

Mandelic acid is the largest of the alpha-hydroxy molecules and, because of its size, penetrates the skin slowly thus ensuring slow and safe absorption of TCA and other molecules. It also reduces proliferation of Propionibacterium acnes and is thus a great anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory agent. The final important function it serves is to stimulate skin regeneration by reducing corneocyte adhesion.

What is the overall mechanism of TC Plus?

1. TCA causes the coagulation of proteins which leads to the destruction of the living cells of the

epidermis and possibly dermis (dependant on duration and concentration of treatment). The depth of the skin necrosis is directly proportional to the concentration of TCA.

2.Abnormal keratinocytes are replaced by deep surviving islets of keratinocytes, pilosebaceous units and sweat glands.

3.As the skin re-epithelialises, new collagen is formed which leads to a stimulated healing cascade. Dermal collagen starts forming within 2-3 weeks. Increased papillary dermal collagen and elastin fibre production continues for up to 6 months.

4. Remodelling of elastic fibres takes place over time, resulting in a stronger dermis.

5. Most importantly, a good TCA peel not only causes cell destruction, but stimulation as well resulting in a double aesthetic end point. In general, it is better to do less harsh peels but more often, as this eliminates complications of deeper TCA peels. One of the advantages of TC Plus is that one can easily manage the depth of peel.

TC Plus is available in two concentrations of TCA depending on the needs and end goals required for the patient: TC Plus Soft - 12% TCA and TC Plus Strong - 20% TCA.

Whereas TC Plus Soft is a milder peel focussed on the corneal and granular layer of the epidermis, TC Plus Strong targets the entire thickness of the epidermis. TC Plus Strong provides a much deeper exfoliation and can be used to treat medium-superficial scars, papules, pustules, nodules, cysts, deep acneic lesions and skin blemishes. It is ideally more suitable for middle aged patients, whilst Soft is recommended for younger patients and darker skin phototypes.

Should you wish to know more about TC Plus or would like to arrange for a demonstration, please contact Amo on 062 848 1749 or Grant on 082 809 8954

The Wellness Questionnaire With Sally Mueller, Co-Founder & CEO of Womaness

By Julie Keller Callaghan - Well Defined

As the co-founder and CEO of Womaness, Sally Mueller is a consummate business builder specializing in retail and brand innovation. Recognized as an industry leader, she is renowned for her business acumen in the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle sectors. Her trend-forecasting Midas touch has personally crafted the vision of some of the most world’s most compelling brands for companies such as Target, Who What Wear, and Versed skincare.

Mueller’s encore is creating a revolutionary consumer hit with Womaness, a brand that is changing the conversation around menopause through innovative products that offer solutions from head to toe (and everything in-between).Womaness provides trusted advice on symptoms from hot flashes to sleep issues to fine lines, and support from an inspired community of women who exude menopositivity—a dynamic, joyful outlook that embraces who we are today.

Here, she shares her secrets for maintaining her wellness.

What does wellness mean to you?

I look at it simply: Wellness is about having a wellrounded life and finding an everyday grace to achieve your best, whatever “best” personally means to you.

What are your favorite things to do to maintain your personal wellbeing?

A perfect, well-balanced day for me is finding time to make a favorite recipe that results in a great dinner, practicing Pilates or playing tennis, and being able to (really, meaningfully) connect with my family or friends. I also believe in getting myofascial massages every month like clockwork. It really helps me calm my nerves and work out any pressure-point issues that creep up in my back.

Is there a fitness activity that you love and why?

Tennis! I grew up playing competitively. I love watching it. I love being around tennis players. I even love the clothes. I am all about the lifestyle of the sport—it’s physical, social, and mental, and it truly forces you to be in the moment. The tennis court is my happy place.

What is your favorite healthy food, and do you have a favorite way of preparing it?

We have a big garden in the summer, and when it’s at its peak, I love to get my fill of eggplants (we grow several dozen—it’s heaven). I have a few recipes I’ll whip out here and there, but my favorite is a dish I learned to cook in Italy: Eggplant with basil, burrata cheese, and tomato sauce. The eggplant really shines, and it tastes like summer on a plate to me.

What is your favorite healthy beverage, and do you have any insider tips for preparing it? Once in a while, I treat myself to a classic mojito. I’m a big fan of having a lot of muddled fresh mint and crushed ice, which you can crush quickly and easily in a food processor.

What is your greatest wellness achievement? Playing competitive tennis into my fifties. And I’ll keep going at it for as long as I can!

What is the best piece of wellness advice you have ever received and from whom? Make quality sleep more of a priority. I used to burn the midnight oil and operate on six hours or less of sleep a night. I found myself dragging through the day and not feeling sharp in meetings. Now, I try to get eight hours of sleep a night by focusing on going to bed at the same time every night, refraining from using my phone at least an hour before bedtime, and drinking plenty of water throughout the day. I feel so much better now that I’ve been able to find my groove with a better sleep routine. It’s been a life-changer.

What do you think is the most exciting wellness innovation you have recently discovered? I love the simplicity of Theraband resistance bands. They’re easily portable and take up such little space that you can pop them in a bag and bring them anywhere, which means no excuses to skip exercise when I’m traveling. Plus, they’re great for building arm muscle, working on my traps, and strengthening my mid-back.

Do you have a secret health or wellness tip you would like to share?

Start regular strength-training in your thirties. I wish someone had told me this! That’s not to downplay the importance of cardio, too, but strength-training is crucial to have strong bones and muscles when you go through perimenopause and your estrogen drops. Take it from someone who learned the hard way.

What is your favorite place for a healthy vacation or escape?

Moab, UT. It has breathtaking rock formations, and the dry heat feels really good on my body.

What is your go-to for de-stressing? To be honest, I am on a daily mission to find time to de-stress. It’s become a priority. My go-to activities for unwinding are taking walks (without my phone), cooking a recipe from one of my prized Julia Child cookbooks, and, in the winter, knitting. I do quite a bit of it. It’s a surprisingly great de-stressor once you get the basic stitches down.

What aspect of your wellbeing do you struggle with the most, or would most like to improve? Taking time during the day to stretch or go for a walk. I’m constantly on Zoom calls (even though we all know not all calls need to be on video). It’s easy to find yourself sitting inside, hunched over your desk for half the day without getting up. It’s perhaps part of running a startup business, but I’d like to improve that part of my workday. Getting out and about and feeling the fresh air on my face, even if only for 15 minutes, makes a world of difference.

About Julie Keller Callaghan: Julie is the co-founder of Well Defined and a longtime influencer and advocate in the wellness world. Along with her work at Well Defined, she is an executive recruiter and marketing specialist for Hutchinson Consulting. She is the former editor-in-chief and publisher ofAmericanSpa and was named a 2019 Folio Top Woman in Media in the Industry Trailblazers category and a 2018 winner of ISPA’s Innovate Award. She is also a seasoned journalist, specializing in spa, travel, health, fitness, wellness, sustainability, and beauty.

Wellbeing: How Living Well Together Works For The CommonGood

The World Health Organization (WHO) describes mental health as “a state of wellbeing in which an individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community”.

In its definition, the WHO emphasises the importance of environment and community for mental health and wellbeing, and that they should be promoted and protected. But the fact remains that mental health and wellbeing are mostly seen as states of individuals.

A different view might start from a sense that wellbeing is social: people need social connections to thrive. But it also means recognising that social institutions and organisations systemically affect health and suffering. Institutional racism and sexism, for example, contribute to suffering in both direct and indirect ways.

Health and illness are at once deeply personal and affected by the social situation of the sufferer. In other words, depending on their circumstances or their place within the society, some people are distinctly at a disadvantage.

My work explores the concept of wellbeing in different cultural settings across the world. In my latest research, I reviewed work by anthropologists who consider the importance of conviviality and care in the communities they study.

Community and Conviviality

Conviviality refers to the art of living well together. Researchers see it as particularly important for understanding how people in certain small

communities strive to live well when state institutions and other organisations are a relatively remote presence in their lives.

Many Amazonian peoples, for example, strive to live well by caring for others in their community, by sharing resources and cultivating particular emotional conditions such as tranquillity. Close and intimate bonds are created through sharing food; one becomes kin by eating together, or estranged by eating apart.

Until a few decades ago, when many Japanese houses did not have a bathroom, neighbourhood communal baths were abundant. Even now, bathing with friends or family members is not unusual, with the communal bathhouse offering a much-needed space for socialising and reconnecting.

Living well with others requires skilful effort in modern cities, especially, perhaps, where neighbourhoods are made up of people of different backgrounds. It also entails figuring out how to live with other species – from animals and plants to even the microbes living in our gut.

Care Makes Us Who We Are

In my own research with older Japanese people in the city of Osaka, I observed that although caring for ageing relatives is still a strong family value, many older people were worried about growing increasingly dependent and a burden on their children.

They were active in providing care themselves, and looking out for one other in all kinds of ways, from arranging a visit to the dentist to recommending a

By Iza Kavedzija

hairdresser. It became clear that various forms of care worked in interconnected ways: looking after elders and children required looking after mothers, who were often the carers for both. Care, I concluded, is at its best in circulation, continually being “paid forward” between people in numerous ongoing relationships.

Conviviality and care draw our attention to the fact that wellbeing is not only social, but deeply relational. It is not simply what an individual feels about their life, somehow enclosed within a body. It plays out in the relationship with one’s surrounding environment: with materials, with tools and technologies, with human and non-human beings.

The way we think about these relationships affects others and their wellbeing and health, which in turn reflects on us. Witnessing the suffering of others, for instance, or living in a deteriorating environment, is likely to affect us negatively.

It is not inconceivable that our current mental health crisis is intertwined with our witnessing of large-scale suffering and neglect of humans, nonhumans and the natural world. Treating mental health as internal, or as pertaining only to the individual, may be inadequate for addressing these kinds of issues.

We not I

How then to think about wellbeing in the context of environmental crisis and rising inequalities? We need to start treating wellbeing as a process of connecting with others – or even a form of “commons”.

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Rising Social Media Trends to Watch in 2023

As the dust continues to settle from the far-reaching impacts of the past three years that saw work, travel and daily life turned on their heads, we are beginning to see a widespread theme of returning to the prepandemic status quo. Executives are catalyzing a return to the office; travelers are returning to airports and resorts; live music lovers are returning (in droves) to concerts and events; the list goes on. However, one phenomenon is not going to return to the way it was before the madness began in March of 2020, and that is the now overwhelming prevalence of the online consumer.

According to HubSpot’s 2022 Social Media Trends report, over half a billion more people are using social media worldwide now than at the same time in 2021. That is a nearly 14 percent year-over-year increase, the likes of which have never been seen before in such a short amount of time. Business owners and operators must now pay more attention than ever to how people are engaging online and what influence their habits, tendencies and preferences ought to have on marketing strategy moving forward.

The TikTok Takeover

When it comes to record-breakers, few athletes, businesses or social media platforms can compete with the astounding rise and continued domination of TikTok. HubSpot cites TikTok’s highly personalized content recommendation system as a premier tool for brands to wield as they seek to gain exposure and connect with an engaged audience. In 2023, the app is looking to introduce an e-commerce aspect and monetization model, making TikTok literacy a valuable commodity for consumer-facing brands.

Data from Talkwalker’s August 2016—July 2021 Consumer Intelligence Acceleration Platform showed that conversations around TikTok online have been growing since the end of 2017 and really began to pick up serious traction during the first half of 2020—naturally coinciding with the mass global migration of consumers to their bedrooms and living rooms during the height of pandemic-related isolation and lockdown policies.

Talkwalker’s report noted that these conversations peaked in July 2021, showing a 61 percent increase in mentions year-over-year during the first half of 2021. This “TikTalk” (pardon the pun) converted into new users, making it the first non-Facebook app to reach three billion global downloads, according to HubSpot.

Spa owners and operators, as well as direct-toconsumer resource partners, need to ask themselves, “Do our customers use TikTok?” And if the answer is yes, “How can we present our offerings or highlight our partners in a way that will make them share our TikTok with friends or bring it up in a conversation?” HubSpot’s data shows that “TikTalk” is a real thing— in other words, theTikToks that gain the most traction with users are the TikToks that stir up the most conversations on and off the platform. Using TikTok as a means to enter your customers’ conversations is the secret code to capitalizing on this platform.

How can your spa or product company present

itself on TikTok in a way that will make people talk? Those conversations will convert into customers, and exponential growth in online engagement awaits any brand that markets in a way that incites conversations.

Another integration of TikTok and the spa industry that is particularly encouraging for those on the job market is the growing prevalence of conversations around #TikTokResumes. This began in July 2022, when TikTok announced this new feature that allows users to post their resumes and apply to jobs directly through the platform.

HubSpot says that with over 3,400 online conversations and over 300 million views on TikTok, the #TikTokResumes hashtag has been gaining traction among younger generations who want to express their creativity when applying to jobs. This may be worth a look for locations with creative marketing leads actively engaged in finding new ways to attract young talent.

The Growing Influence Of Influencers

The incredible growth of TikTok and unscripted content and the rise of everyday influencers have all witnessed huge breakthroughs in a short amount of time. The Influencer Marketing Hub’s 2021 survey reported 67 percent of respondents are using Instagram for influencer marketing, making an already impressive shopping presence on the platform even more robust.

According to Instagram, 70 percent of shopping enthusiasts turn to the platform to discover products, illuminating the maturation of influencer marketing as a dominant marketing methodology. Furthermore, the Digital Marketing Institute released data that showed 86 percent of women use social media for purchasing advice—an important statistic for any brand that has women as its primary target audience.

Traditionally, ISPA members have been hesitant to invest in influencer marketing due to the lack of responsibility and regulation around the practice.

Before the pandemic, the November 2019 ISPA Snapshot Survey noted that nearly half (47 percent) of all spas did not have any paid influencers promoting their company, and they did not plan to in the future. Likewise, over half (53 percent) of resource partners did not have plans to begin tapping into influencer marketing at that time. Now, industry leaders may be well advised to reexamine their stance on this prevalent aspect of social media marketing.

As the impact of social media continues to grow, so too does the weight and influence of influencers. According to HubSpot, new rules have resulted in increased influencer regulation, while many influencers have thrived with drastic audience and engagement growth over the past three years. Brands have found tremendous value in collaborating with content creators and developing relationships with both the influencers and the audience, many of whom are on Instagram looking to engage with brands.

This unique form of marketingaptly dubbed “info-

tainment” by HubSpot led many pandemic-bound consumers toward influencer communities when live entertainment was off limits. Though it may have sounded unrealistic before the pandemic, the Digital Marketing Institute has shown that 49 percent of consumers now depend on influencer recommendations when making purchasing decisions.

This proves that if consumers feel confident about an influencer’s recommendation, they are much more likely to make a purchase or try out a new experience.

In this way, spas can piggyback on the trust of influencers.

When selecting the right influencer for your brand, professionals should not feel pressure to land a partnership with a giant content creator or celebrity. HubSpot demonstrates how different influencers can help you achieve different goals, and while a big name might have a largerreach, a micro influencer’s audience may feel closer to home for your audience and provide you with a higher conversion rate. Again, authenticity is king here—an influencer should already be in line with your brand so that their audience seamlessly relates to you and, in turn, seeks out more information on what sets you apart in the market and why you offer the perfect experience for them.

Community Leads To Conversion

At the root of effective social media marketing, whether it manifests itself on TikTok or through influencers, is community. HubSpot’s 2022 Social Media Trends Report stresses the importance of brands being strategic in shaping content around the consumer first and foremost, with the end goal of establishing loyal and engaged communities. Keep in mind that these communities don’t always have to be under your control—in fact, it can sometimes be better for your brand if the communities develop outside your brand bubble and make it their own as long as the community displays a positive and inclusive spirit.

Online communities will continue to be strengthened into 2023 and lead to countless conversions and conversations that will all contribute to the success of your brand if you take the time to cultivate a consistent digital presence across all social media platforms.Be transparent, be persistent and be persuasive in a way that gets people talking, and your brand will be well on its way to a massively successful year ahead.

spa business

By Alexandra Ilyashov

Why Fashion Brands are Opening Stand Alone Gyms

As the fashion-meets-fitness wave gains steam, brands are going beyond dressing customers for the fitness studio by becoming gyms themselves.

Activewear brands Lululemon, Sweaty Betty and Athleta have long offered on-site workouts as part of the retail experience, but they have yet to go so far as to open a standalone fitness space. Meanwhile, and Alo Yoga are doubling down on the fitness concept by offering workout classes, dedicated popups and even full-fledged standalone studios.

Following a socially isolating, challenging pandemic, selling sweat sessions hand in hand with sweatpants makes good sense, according to those going there. “The world is hungry for real-life experiences,” said Paige Mycoskie, founder of L.A.-based, ’70s-inspired athleisure brand Aviator Nation.

In April 2022, Mycoskie opened RIDE, a standalone yoga and spin studio in Santa Monica, California. RIDE charges $30 for a single ride. There’s also a three-class intro offer for $60 and packages for frequent customers. RIDE sells Aviator Nation’s activewear and RIDE-branded merch. Apparel sales across both brands at the studio range from $3,000$10,000 per day, said Mycoskie, who expects retail revenue “will continue to grow as classes fill up and new classes are added.” RIDE’s instructors all wear Aviator Nation activewear, while employees at Aviator Nation boutiques take RIDE classes for free.

“I didn’t launch [RIDE] to expand the brand or do something trendy,” she said. “It was conceived to promote wellness and mental health.”

Aviator Nation sales driven through past IRL activations were also a motivator. “Anytime we do a special event-specific or location-specific collection, it flies off the shelves,” Mycoskie said. That’s included collections tied to Vail, Venice and Miami, as well as limited-collection styles sold at events including SXSW and even the Malibu Chili Cook-Off.

Overall, Mycoskie sees RIDE as a hybrid “showroom, retail space and fitness studio” for both Aviator Nation and RIDE brands.

So far, RIDE’s demo is a mix of existing and new Aviator Nation customers. “The studio itself is on a busy street in Santa Monica, so even on a slow day, we’ll have 200-400 completely random people walking into our space and seeing our new gear,” Mycoskie said. “The customer acquisition will no doubt be positive.”

Aviator Nation, which launched in Mycoskie’s Venice, Calif. garage in 2006, sells super-soft sweats for $150-$200 per piece. It reported $110 million in sales in 2021, up from $70 million in 2020, and is projecting to double its 2021 revenue by 2023. Aviator Nation has 16 U.S. stores and multiple L.A. outposts, but RIDE marks Mycoskie’s first Santa Monica location of any kind.

Meanwhile, Alo Yoga has incorporated fitness classes into its retail experience since its first brickand-mortar store opened in Beverly Hills in 2016 with a “yoga sanctuary” studio and cafe, said Angelic Vendette, Alo’s vp and global head of marketing.

“Our flagship sanctuary stores integrate retail and yoga studios because spreading mindful movement, inspiring wellness and creating community are at the core of everything we do,” she said. At five of Alo’s 17 store locations, 2-3 classes — like Yoga Flow, Yoga Sculpt and Meditation — are offered daily, while the other 12 stores hold monthly wellness programming. Pricing is in line with boutique fitness studios in major bicoastal cities: $32 per class, with an intro package of three classes for $3. In 2018, the brand also launched its fitness app, Alo Moves, which currently offers over 100 new classes per month.

In April, the first Alo Wellness Club opened in Los Angeles. The wellness and fitness facility includes a yoga studio, a state-of-the-art Alo gym with personal trainers, facials, massages and a green juice bar. A second Alo Wellness Club opened in NYC’s Soho neighborhood in the fall. “Fashion and fitness have long been intertwined, and it only makes sense; when you feel good, you look good,” Vendetta said.

There’s also Hamptons-born Bandier, which has focused on selling sleek activewear and offering trendy workouts since opening its first store in Flatiron, NYC in 2016.

The industries’ cross-pollination isn’t new, though it’s typically happened in reverse. Fitness studios, from Barry’s Bootcamp and Peloton to more niche names like New York Pilates and Rumble, have bet big on apparel collections, with many emblazoning their recognizable logos onto leggings, bras and hoodies by Lululemon, Ultracor, Varley and Alala.

SoulCycle took its retail ambitions a step further: It set out to become a full-fledged DTC consumer

fashion brand with the 2017 hire of Caroline Gogolak, co-founder of swanky athleisure retailer Carbon38, to be its vp of retail. For around three years, Gogolak led its e-commerce launch and expansion . She also guided its transition from screenprinting its logos onto workout wear by other brands to designing and producing its own apparel via an in-house product team, including Barneys New York and Victoria’s Secret design alums. In-house apparel brand Soul by SoulCycle also launched at Nordstrom.

When Revolve re-launched its Revolve Social Club in March 2022, it opted for a consumer-facing sixweek pop-up, a change from its members-only Social Club that operated from 2016-2019. Instagrammable photo opps and, of course, plentiful shopping abounded in both Social Club iterations. But this time around, the initiative included a wellness center gym with workout classes offered four days a week by boutique fitness studios like Cityrow, and local fitness experts and trainers.

“The physical lifestyle aspect is just as important as the product, so where our customers go, we go,” Revolve co-founder and co-CEO Michael Mente said in a press release about the Social Club’s relaunch.

As for the investment Aviator Nation is making with RIDE, “I’ve always believed in quality above financial return,” Mycoskie said. She plans to open more fitness studios, remote fitness classes and pop-up events — with retail undoubtedly along for RIDE’s ride.

“A standalone fitness studio is not going to make a lot of money off of fitness classes alone,” she said. “The money is in the merchandise, which is why this concept works for us, from a financial perspective.”

And though Aviator Nation’s activewear has historically been “a small part of our overall collection,” Mycoskie said the brand is “ramping up” its activewear selection as RIDE evolves.

“It’s important people can see that we are taking this type of apparel seriously,” Mycoskie said. “By having a fitness studio, we’re not only showing that we’re the real deal, with a vested interest in activewear and the lifestyle that surrounds it, but we’re also bringing in people that work out daily to show them our new products.”

The Residential Spa, the Latest Luxury Living Trend

By Alexandra Ilyashov

“Residents of luxury buildings want tools for healthy living at their fingertips. They...want to live in a place where they don’t have to leave home to maintain a healthy lifestyle.”

In less than three decades, the spa industry has grown from 50 spas to more than 22,000 across the U.S. While the traditional spa categories defined by ISPA stand the test of time, a new category is taking the spa industry by storm—the residential spa.

From hybrids with a hotel component or local membership to exclusive private spas operated as loss leaders, luxury residences are upping the ante for wellness amenities—catering to a new type of spa-goer focused on individualized programming and a healthy lifestyle.

“Owners and developers are asking us to push the envelope in terms of wellness experiences,” says Jeremy McCarthy, group director of spa & wellness at Mandarin Oriental. “Over the past decade, our owners understand this important part of a residential development because it is about the lifestyle. Exclusive access to unique experiences drives the sales of these residential developments.

Defining the Residential Spa

Residential spas are spa facilities located in the building where one lives. Located primarily in big city luxury high-rises, they run the gamut from a treatment room or two, to full-service spas. The majority are exclusive for resident use and managed by the homeowner’s association, HOA (loss leader), whereas a few are open to hotel guests and the local community (profit center).

Residential spas that cater exclusively to residents traditionally pay a management company to operate the spa—a cost covered by the HOA fees. “Some of our luxury places in Miami have 12 residents in the dead of summer, but there still must be a director there,” says Catherine Warren, vice president of strategic partnerships for Arch Amenities, which manages 70 spas and 260 other wellness, recreation and amenities spaces.

Mandarin Oriental is an example of a mixed-use development that integrates hotel guests, residents and local members. “Many of our new hotels have a residential component, and they all have world class wellness amenities,” says McCarthy. “We don’t just want a hotel with a spa and fitness center—we

want the hotel to be a hub of the local community, with a thriving membership and a full-fledged sports club.”

Another example of a hybrid concept is Auberge Beach Residences in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a residence with a standalone spa on the first floor. One wing is devoted to a BioStation center, where residents and the local community can get Botox and fillers, blood work, IV infusions, PRP and hormone therapy to optimize wellness. “The spa operates as a revenue center and is open to the public. It is a free-standing entity because the HOA does not do the assessments and are not contributing to anything with the spa. The Spa at Auberge Beach caters to 20 percent residents and 80 percent from outside the building,” says Spa Director Linda Higgs.

Big City Wellness

New York and Miami are the indisputable hubs for residential spas—with activity in secondary markets like Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco and Charleston. Wendy Bosalavage, president and chief revenue officer of LIVunLtd, manages wellness amenities in 60 luxury residences in New York City. “Almost every property we manage has at least one treatment room and extensive wellness services and amenities.

Developers recognize how important it is to have the amenities that increase the value of what they can get per square foot in either a rental or condominium environment.”

Arch Amenities manages 15 spas in luxury residences in Miami. “Developers started telling us back in 2017 that wellness was the direction to be competitive. Miami has become a hotbed for New Yorkers that are coming down from their luxury penthouse apartments and they expect the same amenities that they would have in the Northeast. We are working with a lot of new units being built and pretty much all of them have a spa and fitness component,” says Warren.

Discerning Dwellers

Residents of luxury buildings want tools for healthy living at their fingertips. They want to be educated and have new experiences. People want to live in a place where they don’t have to leave home to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

In contrast to resort spa-goers, residents choose

privacy over socialization. “The upper echelon is looking for privacy and discretion—especially our units that have celebrities, sports stars and international aristocrats,” says Warren. According to our experts, residential spa-goers and transient spa guests are like apples and oranges.

“They are very different audiences looking for different experiences,” says McCarthy. “The biggest difference, at least for us, is our residents are looking for high levels of privacy and services exclusively tailored to their needs. It is much more individualized, much more bespoke than a hotel guest who is just visiting and doesn’t necessarily know what they want. They want to browse the menu. They want to meet with the people. It’s a much more social and exploratory experience.”

So, what services are these discerning dwellers digging into? Like any spa, massage is far and away the most-re-quested, most-offered service. “Massage is popular with all ages, from as young as 16 to people in their 70s,” says Warren. “LIVunLtd has tripled our massage business in the past four months,” says Bosalavage. “Our clients understand all the positive benefits of massage and it is their ‘goto’ treatment on a regular basis.”

Beauty services like hair and makeup are also popular, as Residents love their “glam squad.” “Our salons have done very well. Residents like to get their hair blown out in the privacy of their own home before they go out,” says Warren. Both Arch Amenities and LIVunLtd are adding unstaffed salon spaces for personal stylists and guest celebrity hairdressers.

The salon at Auberge Beach Spa rents space to celebrity stylist Eric Allen Davis. “He sets his own pricing and has his own clientele,” says Higgs. “Now these clients are buying retail, having their nails done here and getting facials and massages. So it was the best thing ever.”

Jeremy McCarthy stresses that each project is unique and must bring experiences that are location specific. “People live in a particular area because there’s a certain lifestyle associated with that area. You can’t just think about residences in terms of the residents themselves or the accommodations, it’s more about how does living in that building help people create the kind of lifestyle they want. They want convenient access to fitness facilities and wellbeing experiences that help them live their best life whether they are living in that city year-round or visiting a second or third home.

We've got a pickle. Tonya Dunn, a spa professional, wants to know why her Customer Experience efforts aren't moving the numbers. I am sharing her pickle, because I am sure some of you have the same problem. We all need to move the numbers, as it were, so it's a familiar business problem, and the advice will be widely applicable.

Let's Start With Reference Points

Reference Points describe what we use to compare one thing to another. This theory is helpful because we always evaluate things by comparing them to something else. That's how our mind works for everything, including Customer Experiences.

No experience is good or bad unless you compare it to something else? So, suppose we want to know why our Customer Experience scores are not improving and why our customers are responding positively to objective improvements that we've made. In that case, part of the problem might be that we don't know their reference point.

It is essential to know what customers use for comparison. It could be our previous performance or our direct competitors. It might be some experience they had in a completely different industry. So we need to know what that Reference Point is. Moreover, there are two Reference Points here, the customers' and Tonya's companies.

These are not right or wrong. Each entity uses different perspectives to evaluate an experience. Most organizations, don't look at competition from a customer satisfaction perspective. Most don't know how their Net Promoter Score® (NPS) stacks up against their nearest three competitors.

However, comparing the competition's NPS is essential because your customers might be doing that. So, even if you have performed better than you did last month and score way lower than the competition regularly, customers might not be ready to up their evaluation of you yet.

However, this comparison to the competition works the other way, too. For example, if someone moved to my area and wanted my advice about a WiFi company, I would tell them to choose one over the other. My NPS score for the WiFi company I recommended would still be low; they are not great. However, I would, in reality, recommend them because

they were marginally better than the other one, which was loads worse.

Making Experiences Easy to Evaluate

The mention of politics reminds me of another theory, it's the Evaluability Heuristic. You'll remember that heuristic means a shortcut for decision-making. With the Evaluability Heuristic, we view a complex decision and make it simpler by using a metric that is easy to evaluate. So, for example, with politicians, people sometimes vote for the candidate that would be more fun to have a glass of wine with rather than examining their stand on social and economic issues or, their voting record for the past ten years. In this case, the candidate's likability matters more than all that, and it's because it's easier to judge.

In Tonya's case, they might have made improvements in the areas of the spa experience that regular people can't evaluate. So, those improvements have yet to affect their NPS. But, finding a way to make it straight forward for customers to assess the experience might help.

Other Factors Affecting Tonya's Pickle

Some other factors might affect Tonya's results. It could be that they are measuring the wrong things. If you are familiar with the model for customercentricity, Naïve to Natural, then I would describe them as Transactional, which isn't the least customercentric. Still, it is only the next level up from it. The company is very process and quality driven, which is fine but doesn't consider the emotions of the business. Getting into emotions would move them to the next level of customer centricity, Enlightened.

One of the impediments to progress was their current scores were very high in the metrics they used to measure performance. They couldn't see that they needed to change anything else because they were getting nearly 100 percent on these metrics, so it didn't seem worth spending resources to improve. However, they weren't measuring customer emotions. If they had been, they would have seen they had enormous potential for improvement.

My point with this story is that there are different levels. It could be that Tonya's company is measuring its performance on metrics that are too basic to see an NPS move. For example, if a hotel asks you if they provided a bed or if the room was clean, you might

say yes, but not change your NPS evaluation of them. Why? You expect a room you pay for to be clean and have a bed. However, you might not expect a cocktail hour, free high-speed internet, a way to use your Netflix on the TV, etc.These are next-level hotel experiences that matter to you. Getting those things might change your score.

In Tonya's pickle, it could be that things are not moving because they are measuring things that don't move that needle for customers. Going for improvement there might also be a waste of time because it's already great. Getting it perfect will probably not be worth the time and resources needed for such a marginal improvement.

Another factor might be that Tonya's company is measuring the right thing in its self-evaluation of improvement, but the methodology is flawed. For example, the company might be using the wrong idea or aspect of the experience to track progress. That idea or part might not drive value for customers. Or it could be getting the number wrong, so you don't have an accurate assessment.

If you don't measure what moves the NPS needle, you have a problem with your methodology. The improvement you make should be in areas that customers value the most. Providing those things will show in any metric you measure, from NPS to revenue to customer emotions. Finding what those things are is always tied to emotions.

So, What Should Tonya Do about Her Pickle?

To answer Tanya's question about her pickle, what should she do? We have a few things: Determine what improves your experience from the customer's perspective: This requires understanding customers' reference points.

• If you don't know what they use to compare you, you can't identify where your opportunities are.

• Ensure you measure the right things: Do the metrics you use to drive the outcomes you want in the marketplace? If not, change the measurement to get an accurate read of where you are.

• Provide what customers really want: If you improve areas that don't matter (or don't matter enough) to customers, then you spend valuable resources where you shouldn't. Make sure that the improvement area you identified is something that matters to customers and would change their perception of your organization.