Industry news

Salon & spa sector optimistic about coming months sales and voucher sales, renting are willing to Photo by Raphael Lovaski from Unsplash venture out to salons.” Growth After considering not opening its spa until early 2021, management at The Westin in Cape Town opened the spa on a trial basis on 1 Several South African spas and Says spa manager Nicola van salons have reported an increase Huyssteen: “By that time we already in business in recent months and had a hundred treatments preare positive about the remaining booked online and our expectations summer season. of market demand were completely

Sherbet Angel Boutique Salon exceeded. At first we only opened in Linden, Johannesburg, has four days a week (Thursday to experienced a surge of business and Sunday) and then in November is in the process of expanding to added an extra day. From December meet demand. we will be open seven days a week.

Says Nicole Blazevic, who co- “We compared our turnover for owns Sherbet Angel along with Lisa four days a week to the same time Rautenbauch and Mareli Gardner: last year (which was seven days a “We are adding a hair salon to our week) and discovered that we’ve business and breaking through walls experienced a growth in business. as I speak. While we’re delighted I’m ecstatic about this. that business has picked up, it’s been “Ninety-five-percent of our the result of a lot of hard work that clients post lockdown have been we did throughout the COVID-19 from outside the hotel and spa lockdown and continue to this day. memberships have picked up. We Every day we focus on business are so grateful to our amazing planning and motivating our staff. guests for coming back to us and

“During lockdown we pivoted for being aware of how seriously we our business by introducing online take hygiene and safety.” October. out equipment and creating DIY Fully booked kits for clients to use at home. We Kym Stafford of Dolce Vita Beauty thought it was absolutely essential Centre reports that business has to keep personal contact with clients picked up a lot since reopening post going, as out of sight, out of mind. lockdown. In addition, we invested in a strong “The aesthetics side of the online presence to make sure we business is fully booked and we have were visible on every single social three therapists performing these media platform.” treatments. Permanent make-up is

Blazevic notes that business also fully booked, with lashes as well. soared straight after lockdown was Nails are getting there, slowly but lifted in late June, but then dipped. surely, and massage is also growing. “Business has now stabilised,” she So, we’re definitely much busier than continues, “and we’ve noticed that before. in the summer months, more people “I’m feeling positive about the next few months to the extent that I’ve invested in a new laser machine,” comments Stafford.

Lourette Du Toit of Dermology in Sandton says that while she and her team were very uncertain of what was lying ahead post hard lockdown, they have been pleasantly surprised with the numerous bookings that continued to come through and increase.

“I found that it was up and down in the beginning; whenever government made a COVID-related announcement regarding infection spikes and risks, we experienced cancellations or rescheduled appointments. However, from about September, enquiries and bookings have increased again and are relatively stable. With the festive season coming up, we normally enter our ‘busy season’, and I can definitely say this year is the same, if not more,” comments Du Toit.

Spa & salon software company, ESP, which provides a complimentary business intelligence analysis and consultation service for its clients, is continually processing data to generate a meaningful trend analysis for the industry.

Says ESP’s Arno Steijn: “Based on the current trend and with international travel being opened up, we are expecting a bumper festive season, and even growth in the industry as a whole by the end of the first quarter 2021.

“Having tracked and processed total turnover data each month from July 2020 to October 2020 and compared it to the same months last year, it’s clear that the beauty salon and spa business is definitely picking up. In July 2020, businesses experienced a 41% drop in total turnover compared to July 2019. The following month saw a 34% drop compared to the same time last year. September 2020 was only 28% lower than September 2019, while October 2020 was 24% down on 2019.”

Steijn notes that retail performed far better than treatment services during the above-mentioned months.

South African-founded skincare brand, Environ, has launched a six-month long campaign to boost the daily nutrition of vulnerable preschoolers.

The #EnvironCares campaign has joined hands with stockists, beauty therapists and consumers and pledged R500,000 to support a vital children’s nutrition programme in the GROW Educare Centres. This donation has been linked to the sales of the Environ Original range and the public can also donate to the programme online, on the GivenGain platform (https://www.givengain.com/cc/ environ-cares-feed-our-future/).

Say Val Carstens, Environ Skin Care Group chairperson,

CEO and director: “The #EnvironCares campaign has partnered with GROW Educare Centres because they have an effective child nutrition programme infrastructure already in place, which ensures that the donation reaches the children who are at risk of malnutrition. We’re concerned at the current hunger-situation in South Africa and Environ wants to support to make a difference.”

The campaign will enable GROW Educare Centres situated in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban communities to provide a power porridge meal to 1, 800 children, for five days a week over the sixmonth campaign period, resulting in a total of 238,000 meals.

Ché Richardson is the new owner of the RalphChenelle salon in Bryanston, Johannesburg, taking over from founder, Rozanne Pelser, who had the salon for 13 years.

This is Richardson’s first venture into the beauty business. “I have always had a love for skincare and the science behind it,” she explains, “so when the RalphChenelle opportunity came along, I grabbed it with both hands. For the past 13 years I worked in marketing and advertising, and prior to that, in conveyancing and property law. Merging my business and client service skills with my passion for beauty is extremely exciting.

“I was previously a client at the salon but had been friends with Rozanne Pelser before that. What appealed to me about RalphChenelle is that it offers a turnkey luxury experience. It is bespoke and this is something that you don’t often find these days. I believe in maintaining that personal touch with each and every client and look forward to elevating the business to new heights.”

Pelser, who now lives in New Zealand, adds: “I know that Ché Richardson is the perfect fit to continue the RalphChenelle legacy and create even more incredible memories moving forward.”

Richardson will be retaining the RalphChenelle name but is looking at a design rebrand in the near future and showcasing a fresh new look. She will soon be integrating a new organic brand into the existing ranges of professional skincare products and treatments.

The Imbalie Beauty Group, owner of the Placecol, Perfect 10 and Dream Nails salons, has officially launched its new iBLOOM Beauty & Wellness Academy.

Says Imbalie Beauty CEO, Esna Colyn: “Whilst interacting with salon franchise and independent partners and beauty therapists during lockdown, it became apparent that not only is there a need for continuous professional development and training, but even more so, that there was no single, unique platform which enabled qualified practitioners within the beauty and wellness industry to continue their personal professional growth and transformation, at their own pace and during timeslots that suited them.

Founder of the UniQBrows franchise, Unaiza Suliman, has opened her latest store, in the Sandton City Shopping Mall.

This new store will remain under Suliman’s ownership and is where she performs microblading treatments.

In the meantime, Suliman, who is known as ‘SA’s Brow Queen’, is promoting the UniQBrows’ micro-franchise option where, instead of franchising an entire store, business owners can set up a UniQBrows station (complete with a UniQBrows trained brow & lash technician) in their salon or spa. This micro-franchise option is known as the UniQBrows Brow & Lash Express.

At the time that this magazine

“This led to the establishment of iBLOOM, a premium professional development organisation, focusing on refinement, prestige and leadership. Through a combination of online and physical training (as required), the academy will provide on-going professional beauty education and transformation for was published, Suliman was looking forward to the opening of micro-franchises within three Foschini stores (i.e. Sandton City, Fourways and Mall of Africa).

Suliman’s brow journey began with a simple brow kiosk in 2011. There are now seven stores in the UniQBrows franchise.

The Sandton City branch includes five treatment rooms – one is for microblading treatments, another for IV drip injections (under the auspices of Dr Nadine Cajee and a resident nurse), and a laser hair removal room (complete with an Alma Lasers machine), as well as two lash extension rooms for treatments (using 3D art volume lashes imported from the USA).

Photo by Moose Photos from Pexels

professionals within our country. However, it also puts South Africa on the map, as the beauty and wellness training is available to professionals globally, via this digital platform.”

All training is headed up by the academy’s director and principal,

Lisa Leibov.

Unaiza Suliman

Threading, lash lifts, tinting, henna tints, sugaring for the upper lip and brow lamination treatments take place at stations at the front of the store.

All UniQBrows staff members have gone through Suliman’s own skills development programme and had no prior experience in brow or lash treatments. In addition, they have all completed CIDESCO Occupational & Safety Training Courses.

Positive attitudes towards touch are linked with greater well-being and lower levels of loneliness, according to a huge new global study from BBC Radio 4’s All In The Mind and Wellcome Collection, which investigated public attitudes and experiences of touch.

Primarily conducted before the UK was in lockdown, the Touch Test demonstrated that most people view interpersonal touch positively and that nearly half of typical adults felt that society does not enable us to touch enough, even before the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the BBC, this study provides one of the most detailed sources of insight that we have on contemporary attitudes towards touch – at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has brought the subject of touch into the heart of everyone’s lives. The Touch Test garnered responses from almost 40,000 people across 112 different countries and ran from 21 January to 30 March 2020.

The top two findings of the study were that 72% of people reported

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels a positive attitude towards touch, while 43% of typical adults feel that society does not enable us to touch enough.

For more information about the study go to https://www.bbc.co.uk/ mediacentre/latestnews/2020/thetouch-test-results) (Source: BBC Media Centre)

Luxury British spa brand, Elemis, has appointed Noella Gabriel to the position of global president and Oriele Frank to chief product and sustainability officer.

The brand’s CEO, Sean Harrignton, has joined the board of L’Occitane International, which acquired Elemis last year. All three of the above executives are the co-founders of Elemis.

Gabriel previously headed up Elemis USA. In her new position, Gabriel will oversee the USA, UK and EMEA regions and contribute strategically and operationally to business performance across Asia-Pacific.

Frank will focus on products, developing sustainable packaging and reducing carbon emissions across the whole country. Liz McKeon awarded coveted “It is very empowering accreditation signifies that McKeon’s business meets the highest standards of to receive recognition

Professional Beauty contributor service and trust. within and internationally renowned Says McKeon: “My accreditation my own salon business expert, author makes me feel very acknowledged industry and and coach, Liz McKeon, has and happy to see that female recognition been awarded Business All-Star entrepreneurship is being so in relation Thought Leader in Empowering highly recognised and it’s good to to the Female Entrepreneurs know that I’ve played a small role importance of female accreditation. in that. I feel this award is almost entrepreneurship in general. I

This independently verified like a lifetime achievement and I would like to use this award to standard mark is based on like the fact that it’s on my own continue my work in assisting rigorous selection criteria and merit. women in business.”