You put in the hours, you passed your exams, and you can now say with pride that you’re a licensed spa or esthetics professional.
With a professional title comes professional responsibilities, and now is the time to establish and uphold the standards and ethics you want for your business and services. It comes down to this: don’t risk your hard work and reputation to save a quick buck by making your own skincare.
The Search for the Perfect Products
We have all been there; the endless hours spent searching for the “perfect” product line to bring into the spa that will have curb appeal with notable results.
With DIY blogs and video tutorials on every digital corner, I’d be surprised if you didn’t try making your own beauty products. After all, as spa professionals, we know which ingredients yield desired results.
The DIY skincare trend continues to flood the professional spa setting, and you may wonder, “Are there pros and cons of DIY skincare products within the spa?”
DIY In the Spa?
Let’s face it, DIY is here to stay. Not only is it a fun, creative outlet, but it can also be cost-effective.
Makers love to show their handmade wares at local events and pop-up shops; however, do DIY products also belong in the professional spa setting? Is using a DIY product a smart choice for licensed businesses? As with any business, decisions must be weighed carefully.
One of the main considerations should always be liability. It's not worth the risk to the integrity of your reputation trying to save a buck on product; instead, focus on providing the safest, most professional experience for your clients.
Leave the Product to the Professional
A lawsuit is never a welcome thought. As a product manufacturer, this is something we consider daily. Safety of the consumer and your staff must be our top priority. Because of this, we adhere to strict guidelines that have been established through Health Canada and The Food and Drugs Act as well as The Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act.
A few of our best practices include ingredient tracking during the manufacturing process by using lot numbers (in case of an ingredient or product recall) and adhering to Health Canada cosmetic label guidelines.
These guidelines include listing ingredients in descending order of predominance and are identified by the names established by the International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients (INCI), a mandatory nomenclature on cosmetics that aims to standardize the ingredients present in a cosmetic product.
If this information isn’t readily available, consumers have no idea what makes up the product they’re using or being used on them. Not knowing the exact ingredients in a product can lead to severe allergic reactions that require medical attention and can open you and your business to legal action.
A few other things to consider are:
1. Are you following Health Canada legislation to manufacture cosmetics in your business?
2. What percentage of essential oils or fragrance oils are you using and are the scents approved for body and lip?
3. Do you have liability insurance to cover you and your business, if an incident happens and legal action occurs?
4. Do you have a way of recalling a product if there is a quality issue?
Without these practices in place, you could open yourself and your business to various legal headaches.
Just like any other licensed profession, take what you do seriously, always err on the side of caution, and source your products from a reputable brand. Safety Data Sheets from Makes Scents Natural Spa Line are always available from L’Moor on request.
Are Spa Scrubs Worth It?
Picture this:
Before a treatment, your client sits in a dimly lit, quiet area sipping on warm tea or cool cucumber water in a carefully curated plush robe and slippers. Water trickles over stones in a nearby fountain while the warm light of lavender vanilla candles illuminates the space.
As a spa professional, you put in the time and work to create this serene atmosphere, why skimp out at the last minute with the product you put on skin?
You provide a high-end luxury every step of the way, so of course a spa scrub treatment from Makes Scents is worth it!
About Heather Kreider:
Heather is co-owner of Make Scents Natural Spa Line. She has 19 years of experience in the spa industry and specialized in European skincare as an esthetician. Her educational background includes a post-graduate certification in Advanced Skincare. She’s also an RN (rehabilitation and orthopedic trauma) with a National Personal Trainers Certification.
Among Heather’s favorite activities are snuggling with her husband Nathan and their furbabies, Emma (Boxer) and BeeBee (Boston Terrier). She LOVES to garden, rock climb, and spend time on the water in her kayak. She can even roll that baby!
Heather’s passion for the environment and animals extends to her lifestyle as a plant-based diet enthusiast. She is hopelessly obsessed with British Crime Dramas, especially “Peaky Blinders.” (Yes, she is indeed a sucker for English accents!)