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Name Dropping

Are hyped-up product lines just as important as the person doing the work?

spa productsWith so many spas today touting their product lines even more extensively than their menus, it’s easy to wonder what they hold in higher regard: the bottled “European-imported,” “organic,” and “exclusive” cosmetics that grace their shelves and the skin of their clients, or the skilled hands of their estheticians? It seems the answer may be both. When Abby Backlund opened her spa, Facing Thayer, in 2006, she did extensive market research before settling on a product line—Dermalogica—that she knew she would be confident using on her clients. Impressed by the company’s ongoing development, training opportunities and customer service, she felt that a quality product line was key to the effectiveness of her treatments. “A lot of lines today make claims that they don’t actually do,” Backlund says.

Studio 505 owner Mary Dee Housley, who’s been in the business of facials for fifteen years, stands behind the line of Paris-based Yonka skincare products that she uses, but also believes that a treatment is only as good as the person doing the work. “It is possible to give a great facial with anything if the technician is exceptional and understands skin and its sensitivities.” 

Still, both women recommend considering the line a spa carries before booking your appointment. Chances are the more research the spa has done on product lines, the more knowledgeable technicians will be of the one that they carry and the more capable they will be of using it in the proper way. Quality product lines also allow the spa to provide better customer service; at Facing Thayer, any returned Dermalogica product goes straight back to the company, even if it’s already been opened, no questions asked. 

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- October, 2008

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