The body polishing treatments at The Woodhouse have become highly anticipated services available four times a year. They coincide with the seasonal offerings by FarmHouse Fresh and always include festive ingredients and scents; the scrub services regularly rotate through different, season-appropriate themes. The spa’s summer
scrub, for example, is the Sea Salt & Sunflower Renewal (50 min./$120). “This is a very decadent service, thanks to the delicious scents and textures of the products, as well as the indulgent Vichy shower hydrotherapy,” says spa owner Kimberly Powell. Featuring FarmHouse Fresh’s shea sugar scrub, organic sunflower body butter and lemongrass mineral bath blend, the treatment is topped off with a Sunflower Honey Butter Serum that’s packed with antioxidants and vitamin A, so clients get an antiaging boost in addition to smoother, more refined skin. Plus, they have the option to add services such as reflexology; a back, neck and shoulder massage; or spray tan.
To ensure Woodhouse employees are truly experts on these seasonal treatments, Powell gives them the protocols in advance; staff are then able to test the service out on each other and become familiar with the products before they’re added to the menu.
Esther’s Hair Haven
DuBois, Pennsylvania
Esther Carr, owner of the full-service salon, prefers the M’lis Buff body exfoliator— infused with detoxifying aloe and papaya fruit extract—as an ideal kick-start to the brand’s popular body wrap service. “It’s offered as a dry service before clients receive a Contour Body Wrap,” she explains. “The scrub is applied starting at the ankles and rubbed in using a circular motion, then brushed off with a clean, dry towel. Because it’s an enzyme-based product, it isn’t as abrasive as a sea salt scrub, which clients really appreciate.”
According to Carr, the exfoliant’s work doesn’t stop there. To prolong the wrap’s results—which include reducing the appearance of cellulite and increasing skin elasticity—guests are encouraged to work the body buffer into their at-home skincare routines. “I strongly recommend that clients purchase the M’lis Cellulite Smoothing Kit, which includes Buff and Maintain, an aloe-based contour cream,” she says. “The Buff
can be used one to three times a week as a dry, pre-shower exfoliant, or during a shower as a wet scrub.”
[Image: Getty Images]
Geomare Wellness Center & Spa
Southampton, New York
As the owner of a spa in one of the country’s prime vacation spots, Geomare Avilés has a specific strategy for touting her scrub-infused services, which feature Yon-Ka Paris products. “During the summer, we get a lot of tourists who are ready to pamper themselves, and they spare no expense when they visit our facility,” she explains.
“Often when someone comes in fora facial or massage, we’ll suggest andrecommend additional treatments like abody scrub. The topic tends to come upwhen discussing clients’ skin concerns, andcan serve as a nice segue into the benefitsof full body exfoliation,” continues Avilés. “Summer is the perfect time to have theseconversations, as it’s highly likely that there’s some level of concern about being seen in a bathing suit. Smooth, glowing, radiant skin is an especially appealing result.”
The spa pro notes that the spa receives mostly local traffic during fall and winter. And because Hamptons residents can sometimes be a bit more conservative when it comes to spending money on skin care, Geomare Wellness Center lures them in with discounted packages. “We’ll combine two separate treatments, like one of our scrubs and a body wrap, and offer a 15 or 20 percent discount,” she says.
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Qua Baths and Spa at Caesars Atlantic City
New Jersey
Although far from the South Pacific Ocean, Qua Spa aims to make clients feel like they’ve been transported to paradise with the Fiji Ritual (75 min./$230). Featuring products from the Pure Fiji line, this deeply hydrating service includes a tropical mix of ingredients that include mango, coconut, pineapple and milk,
plus a sugar scrub exfoliation. Post-polish skin is then slathered in body butter, massaged and cocooned for deep penetration while a scalp massage is performed—all that’s missing is a fruity cocktail.
Qua Spa provides a discounted add-on facial ($225) every Monday, dubbed “Mystic Mondays” to encourage clients to start the week off with some TLC. “We’ll occasionally offer a discount of nearly 30 percent (although this number fluctuates) on select treatments Monday through Thursday; it helps increase business on slower days,” says spa manager Melissa Stuche.
Spa Phoenix
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Despite its sunny seaside locale, Spa Phoenix gives clients a sun-kissed glow sans UV rays in the form of the Body Burnish treatment (60 min./$95). The service includes a solid scrub-down and professionally applied sunless bronzer for a Red Carpet ready glow, in addition to a relaxing, wind- down experience. The massage and exfoliation with a Biotone sugar scrub is followed by a quick rinse from the steam shower. Then, the bronzer is applied in long, soft strokes.
And clients aren’t the only ones enjoying this scrub-infused offering. Medical director Matthew Galumbeck, MD, says he ensures staff can speak with authority on the service by making them fansas well. “I always talk about the benefits of our treatments at our monthly staff meetings,” says Dr. Galumbeck. “We have our employees try everything; that way, they can passionately talk about their experiences firsthand without having to ‘sell’ it.”
–By Angela Melero
