Interview: Lee David Stephens
Thai-based management company
MSpa runs 44 spas with 450 staff. The
General Manager talks to Katie Barnes
about a recent deal with Per Aquum
and its rapid expansion
Interview: Kathryn Moore
MSpa’s operations director is creating
a brand new wellness concept and a
fast track spa manager programme
Company Profile Promotion: GOCO Hospitality
After just four years of operation GOCO Hospitality is regarded as a global leader
in wellness hospitality segment of the industry. With 22 projects on its books,
spanning three continents, we look at what underpins the company’s success
Company profile promotion: Comfort Zone
The Comfort Zone spa brand has been newly revamped and revitalised to better communicate its core offerings as a natural, scientific and soul-centred skincare and lifestyle brand
Green: Being green
Ecocert’s new Being label is the first
public-facing green certification for
spa operations, eco-friendly
Promotional Feature: Part 4 - Pre-Opening
Opening a spa successfully is all about planning. Gary
Henkin, president of WTS and Doug Chambers, principal
of Blu Spas, share their experience of pre-opening
Company Profile Promotion: Aromatherapy Associates
Global product company Aromatherapy Associates knows how
to make treatments and retail work in a spa environment and
partners with operators to make a real point of difference
Industry survey: Price to pay
A GSWS report on global therapist pay focuses on differing salary composition, benefit and commission structures. Lisa Starr takes a closer look
Spa Retreat: Running on juice
Juice Master founder Jason Vale tells
Kate Cracknell about its retreats and
how juicing can help prevent disease
Interview: Wee Wei Ling
Neena Dhillon meets the founder of
St Gregory: the spa brand owned by Pan
Pacific that’s just opened a wellness
floor in Singapore’s ‘hotel in a garden’
Research: Moving target
A McKinsey study highlights the fast-changing
spending patterns of China’s
luxury consumers. Leonor Stanton
finds out what this means for spas
Advertisement Promotion: A gift from Ez-Runner...
Vouchers can be used as a stand-alone system integrated into your website or added as a module of Ez-Runner’s leisure management software to control your spa facility
Prescribed Skincare SOTHYS L’Institut Sothys, Paris, offers a free five-minute face and body analysis to provide a beauty prescription for the client. Before facials, a beautician asks the client about their skin routine and allergies, then analyses the skin’s age: its firmness, winkles and elasticity, using their fingertips. A shorter analysis is also offered before all purchases of products after treatments.
Isabelle Villey, the training director at L’Institut Sothys says: “We sell more products after a prescription. The average sale is about three products. It’s also the way to sell a complete course of treatments.”
Sothys also offers a body beauty diagnosis included in the cost of all body treatments, which begins with a questionnaire about their general health and areas of concern to determine the areas to be treated. A slimming beauty diagnosis is carried out before slimming treatments and concentrates on defining the type of cellulite a client has. It involves the beautician looking at the areas of concern and testing the skin using fingertips to determine whether the client has aqueous, adipose or fibrous cellulite. The beautician will then prescribe a course of treatments and the client is given a retail programme for home care.
Spa-kit.net keyword: Sothys
Skin analysis device HYDRATEST UK company BeautyPro manufactures a new skin analysis tool for spas called the HydraTest. The pen-sized device measures oil and hydration levels in four seconds by using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) technology. The electrical currents detect the skin’s conductive moisture levels – if the reading is low, the skin is dehydrated and vice versa.
The device can be used in facial treatments to measure results, in pre-treatment consultations and for skincare prescription. Costing £59 (US$90, €68), it’s affordable for all spa businesses and can be an add-on to treatments or a paid-for extra.
The HydraTest can be co-branded to a spa or product house, as well as being sold as a take home retail device. It’s currently being used by the spa at the Four Seasons Doha and is distributed by Scrip Companies in the US.
Spa-Kit Keyword: BeautyPro
New skin analysis tool
Skin analysis machine & customised skincare BIOLOGIQUE RECHERCHE French company Biologique Recherche’s customised approach to skincare is based on the philosophy that a person’s skin can alter several times a day which it calls a Skin Instant®. It’s much more in-depth than categorising the skin as normal, dry or oily and to accurately measure the skin’s condition, it has developed the Skin Instants Lab machine.
Using five probes, connected to a computer, the machine analyses moisture content, the efficiency of the lipid barrier (which protects the skin from moisture loss), elasticity, melanin levels and sebum content. Following the machine’s diagnosis, along with a visual assessment and questionnaire, the software suggests a selection of Biologique Recherche’s treatments and products. There are more than 100 facecare, 40 bodycare and 15 haircare products, allowing for many different combinations suited to the Skin Instant of the client at the time of their treatment.
Biologique Recherche says the Skin Instant methodology has helped it to achieve equal levels of treatment sales as product sales. In addition, it can keep a client’s Skin Instant history on file to monitor changes and build a long-term treatment programme.
Meanwhile, as part of its Haute Couture Programme, the company can create individually formulated creams and serums for customers over a six-month period.
Spa-Kit Keyword: Biologique
The customised approach takes into account that skin can alter several times a day
Prescribed skincare AROMATHERAPY ASSOCIATES Aromatherapy Associates uses a free consultation plan for facial clients, which it says has increased retail sales by up to 20 per cent. It incorporates a face map (see below)that a client draws on to identify areas of concern as well as a tick diagram to describe how they’re feeling (see above), which is used to determine treatment products. The therapist also analyses the skin using a magnifying lamp and the Skin Scope F-102 machine.
Global head of sales Louise Riby says: “When a client is given time to draw or write down their concerns, we get so much more information than just a verbal consultation. One of the keys to a great facial treatment is pinpointing the concerns and working to resolve them. When you provide a tool that enables the therapist to do this proficiently and confidently, you have happy customers who return. Ultimately retail increases through correct consultation.”
Spa-Kit Keywords: Aromatherapy Associates
Clients mark problem areas on a face map
Customised skincare AW LAKE AW Lake therapists use sight and touch, plus a health questionnaire, to analyse the skin and determine its type and any problems, such as dehydration, acne, rosacea and pigmentation. The therapist will also take note of the guest’s age for treatment and skincare prescription.
AW Lake encourages its spas to have recommended retail product cards, and prescription or post treatment notes as tools for the staff to communicate the benefits of the products they wish the client to buy.
Richard Williams, AW Lake consultant, says: “Prescriptive follow-up is a great tool to boost revenue by building trust, encouraging repeat business and facilitating retail options to better care for the client post treatment with home care.”
The prescriptions are based on the new Pure skincare range, which is comprised of a Basic face cream or gel plus Supercharged serums, containing bio-active ingredients for specific skin concerns. Spa-Kit KeywordS: AW Lake
Pure is a new, customisable product line
Skin analysis machine COURAGE + KHAZAKA ELECTRONIC Germany’s Courage + Khazaka Electronic (C+K) manufactures machines with various probes to measure aspects of the skin including moisture, oil, pigmentation and elasticity. The machines include the computer-based Multi Skin Test Centre MC 1000 and the stand-alone Multi Dermascope MDS 1000. C+K also makes a photo booth for full face photography to determine pores, wrinkles, spots and skin colour. The equipment costs between €200-€4,500 (US$267-US$6,000, £173-£3,900) depending on the machine and number ordered.
Marketing manager Christiane Uhl says: “Beauticians claim their sale of additional care [products] is increased at least threefold when such devices are used. Other clients state even higher turnover of products and treatments.”
The analysis begins with a software-based questionnaire, which can be customised to a company’s product range. Using these answers, combined with the machine’s measurements, the software selects suitable treatments and products.
Spa-Kit Keyword: Courage
Using the machines can increase retail sales three-fold says C+K
Customised skincare BABOR Babor offers a free skin analysis before facial treatments which incorporates its customised skincare range SkinovagePX.
An hour-long treatment begins with a lifestyle consultation with a Babor skin expert who uses a magnifying glass to assess the skin type and its condition. A special gel mask can also be used to check skin vitality – it incorporates nettle extract which causes the skin to turn a darker colour the more nourished it is.
The SkinovagePX system can be tailored to suit five skin types. The range includes Vita Balance for dry skin; Calming Sensitive for sensitive skin; Perfect Combination for oily and combination skin; Advanced Biogen for tired, stressed skin; and Pure for blemished skin. Each has its own set of products, which can be mixed and matched, or boosted using Intensifier serums.
Dr Helmut Drees, head of training at Babor says: “When using customised skincare, you don’t just offer an hour of relaxation, but a visible improvement of the skin and complexion. Customers are amazed and, therefore, willing to pay a higher price.”
Spa-Kit Keyword: Babor
Babor offers a free skin analysis
First-person experience: Kate Corney, product editor, Spa Business
DNA Analysis - GeneOnyx at The Organic Pharmacy
Kate Corney
Kate Corney Product EditorSpa Business
GeneOnyx is a digital DNA-based skin analysis tool, created by professor Chris Tamazou of Imperial College London, which is being piloted by skincare company The Organic Pharmacy in London. The Organic Pharmacy offers it as part of a one-hour £295 (US$452, €345) Anti-Ageing DNA test and consultation at its Kings Road store.
The session starts with a lifestyle questionnaire and a saliva sample DNA test which is processed by the cloud-based geneOnyx machine in 30 minutes. The analysis provides a recommended list of skincare ingredients based on the client’s DNA with a focus on how quickly the body breaks down collagen – the faster collagen degrades, the more prone people are to showing the signs of ageing. The software matches these ingredients with existing products from the Organic Pharmacy range for a skincare prescription. The test is delivered by a homeopath so that lifestyle, nutrition and general health advice can be incorporated.
Margo Marrone, founder and owner of The Organic Pharmacy says: “Young people can use the genetic information for preventative ageing, while older people can use it for corrective measures. It adds value by establishing us as the experts in the market.”
In the future, geneOnyx will be looking to partner with other skincare companies to make this technology available to more customers over the counter.
First-person experience: Kate Corney, product editor, Spa Business
On arrival at The Organic Pharmacy, I was led to a basic consultation room with a desk, chairs and the geneOnyx machine, which is a white electronic box. I filled out a health and lifestyle questionnaire on an iPad, connected to the geneOnyx, which covered my existing skincare routine, general health and any concerns.
As my saliva sample was analysed by the geneOnyx, the homeopath talked to me about my skincare routine and a broad range of questions focused on whole body health. The 30 minutes seemed like a long time for a consultation and could have been enhanced with a mini treatment as an added extra.
Eventually, my results showed a list of 36 ingredients which the geneOnyx identified as suitable to my skin and gave eight recommended Organic Pharmacy products containing these ingredients – with those featuring the highest number of ingredients listed first. The homeopath whittled this down to four products for my skincare prescription, based on our consultation, but not all of these were the geneOnyx’s top suggestions so I gathered that the in-person consultation was equally as important as the machine-based analysis. The prescription was based on cleansing, hydrating, repairing and moisturising products, most of which I felt were appropriately prescribed for my skin when I tried them out back at home.
Compared to The Organic Pharmacy’s free non-technical skin consultations, the DNA testing is certainly expensive, but the cost is in line with its other technical treatments on offer, such as the 125-minute Ultimate Lift & Rejuvenate Facial – an oxygen facial which costs £260 (US$397, €302).
Spa-kit.net keywords: Organic Pharmacy
The geneOnyx machine tests DNA to determine how quickly customers breakdown collagen
Interview: Lee David Stephens
Thai-based management company
MSpa runs 44 spas with 450 staff. The
General Manager talks to Katie Barnes
about a recent deal with Per Aquum
and its rapid expansion
Interview: Kathryn Moore
MSpa’s operations director is creating
a brand new wellness concept and a
fast track spa manager programme
Company Profile Promotion: GOCO Hospitality
After just four years of operation GOCO Hospitality is regarded as a global leader
in wellness hospitality segment of the industry. With 22 projects on its books,
spanning three continents, we look at what underpins the company’s success
Company profile promotion: Comfort Zone
The Comfort Zone spa brand has been newly revamped and revitalised to better communicate its core offerings as a natural, scientific and soul-centred skincare and lifestyle brand
Green: Being green
Ecocert’s new Being label is the first
public-facing green certification for
spa operations, eco-friendly
Promotional Feature: Part 4 - Pre-Opening
Opening a spa successfully is all about planning. Gary
Henkin, president of WTS and Doug Chambers, principal
of Blu Spas, share their experience of pre-opening
Company Profile Promotion: Aromatherapy Associates
Global product company Aromatherapy Associates knows how
to make treatments and retail work in a spa environment and
partners with operators to make a real point of difference
Industry survey: Price to pay
A GSWS report on global therapist pay focuses on differing salary composition, benefit and commission structures. Lisa Starr takes a closer look
Spa Retreat: Running on juice
Juice Master founder Jason Vale tells
Kate Cracknell about its retreats and
how juicing can help prevent disease
Interview: Wee Wei Ling
Neena Dhillon meets the founder of
St Gregory: the spa brand owned by Pan
Pacific that’s just opened a wellness
floor in Singapore’s ‘hotel in a garden’
Research: Moving target
A McKinsey study highlights the fast-changing
spending patterns of China’s
luxury consumers. Leonor Stanton
finds out what this means for spas
Advertisement Promotion: A gift from Ez-Runner...
Vouchers can be used as a stand-alone system integrated into your website or added as a module of Ez-Runner’s leisure management software to control your spa facility
Prescribed Skincare SOTHYS L’Institut Sothys, Paris, offers a free five-minute face and body analysis to provide a beauty prescription for the client. Before facials, a beautician asks the client about their skin routine and allergies, then analyses the skin’s age: its firmness, winkles and elasticity, using their fingertips. A shorter analysis is also offered before all purchases of products after treatments.
Isabelle Villey, the training director at L’Institut Sothys says: “We sell more products after a prescription. The average sale is about three products. It’s also the way to sell a complete course of treatments.”
Sothys also offers a body beauty diagnosis included in the cost of all body treatments, which begins with a questionnaire about their general health and areas of concern to determine the areas to be treated. A slimming beauty diagnosis is carried out before slimming treatments and concentrates on defining the type of cellulite a client has. It involves the beautician looking at the areas of concern and testing the skin using fingertips to determine whether the client has aqueous, adipose or fibrous cellulite. The beautician will then prescribe a course of treatments and the client is given a retail programme for home care.
Spa-kit.net keyword: Sothys
Skin analysis device HYDRATEST UK company BeautyPro manufactures a new skin analysis tool for spas called the HydraTest. The pen-sized device measures oil and hydration levels in four seconds by using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) technology. The electrical currents detect the skin’s conductive moisture levels – if the reading is low, the skin is dehydrated and vice versa.
The device can be used in facial treatments to measure results, in pre-treatment consultations and for skincare prescription. Costing £59 (US$90, €68), it’s affordable for all spa businesses and can be an add-on to treatments or a paid-for extra.
The HydraTest can be co-branded to a spa or product house, as well as being sold as a take home retail device. It’s currently being used by the spa at the Four Seasons Doha and is distributed by Scrip Companies in the US.
Spa-Kit Keyword: BeautyPro
New skin analysis tool
Skin analysis machine & customised skincare BIOLOGIQUE RECHERCHE French company Biologique Recherche’s customised approach to skincare is based on the philosophy that a person’s skin can alter several times a day which it calls a Skin Instant®. It’s much more in-depth than categorising the skin as normal, dry or oily and to accurately measure the skin’s condition, it has developed the Skin Instants Lab machine.
Using five probes, connected to a computer, the machine analyses moisture content, the efficiency of the lipid barrier (which protects the skin from moisture loss), elasticity, melanin levels and sebum content. Following the machine’s diagnosis, along with a visual assessment and questionnaire, the software suggests a selection of Biologique Recherche’s treatments and products. There are more than 100 facecare, 40 bodycare and 15 haircare products, allowing for many different combinations suited to the Skin Instant of the client at the time of their treatment.
Biologique Recherche says the Skin Instant methodology has helped it to achieve equal levels of treatment sales as product sales. In addition, it can keep a client’s Skin Instant history on file to monitor changes and build a long-term treatment programme.
Meanwhile, as part of its Haute Couture Programme, the company can create individually formulated creams and serums for customers over a six-month period.
Spa-Kit Keyword: Biologique
The customised approach takes into account that skin can alter several times a day
Prescribed skincare AROMATHERAPY ASSOCIATES Aromatherapy Associates uses a free consultation plan for facial clients, which it says has increased retail sales by up to 20 per cent. It incorporates a face map (see below)that a client draws on to identify areas of concern as well as a tick diagram to describe how they’re feeling (see above), which is used to determine treatment products. The therapist also analyses the skin using a magnifying lamp and the Skin Scope F-102 machine.
Global head of sales Louise Riby says: “When a client is given time to draw or write down their concerns, we get so much more information than just a verbal consultation. One of the keys to a great facial treatment is pinpointing the concerns and working to resolve them. When you provide a tool that enables the therapist to do this proficiently and confidently, you have happy customers who return. Ultimately retail increases through correct consultation.”
Spa-Kit Keywords: Aromatherapy Associates
Clients mark problem areas on a face map
Customised skincare AW LAKE AW Lake therapists use sight and touch, plus a health questionnaire, to analyse the skin and determine its type and any problems, such as dehydration, acne, rosacea and pigmentation. The therapist will also take note of the guest’s age for treatment and skincare prescription.
AW Lake encourages its spas to have recommended retail product cards, and prescription or post treatment notes as tools for the staff to communicate the benefits of the products they wish the client to buy.
Richard Williams, AW Lake consultant, says: “Prescriptive follow-up is a great tool to boost revenue by building trust, encouraging repeat business and facilitating retail options to better care for the client post treatment with home care.”
The prescriptions are based on the new Pure skincare range, which is comprised of a Basic face cream or gel plus Supercharged serums, containing bio-active ingredients for specific skin concerns. Spa-Kit KeywordS: AW Lake
Pure is a new, customisable product line
Skin analysis machine COURAGE + KHAZAKA ELECTRONIC Germany’s Courage + Khazaka Electronic (C+K) manufactures machines with various probes to measure aspects of the skin including moisture, oil, pigmentation and elasticity. The machines include the computer-based Multi Skin Test Centre MC 1000 and the stand-alone Multi Dermascope MDS 1000. C+K also makes a photo booth for full face photography to determine pores, wrinkles, spots and skin colour. The equipment costs between €200-€4,500 (US$267-US$6,000, £173-£3,900) depending on the machine and number ordered.
Marketing manager Christiane Uhl says: “Beauticians claim their sale of additional care [products] is increased at least threefold when such devices are used. Other clients state even higher turnover of products and treatments.”
The analysis begins with a software-based questionnaire, which can be customised to a company’s product range. Using these answers, combined with the machine’s measurements, the software selects suitable treatments and products.
Spa-Kit Keyword: Courage
Using the machines can increase retail sales three-fold says C+K
Customised skincare BABOR Babor offers a free skin analysis before facial treatments which incorporates its customised skincare range SkinovagePX.
An hour-long treatment begins with a lifestyle consultation with a Babor skin expert who uses a magnifying glass to assess the skin type and its condition. A special gel mask can also be used to check skin vitality – it incorporates nettle extract which causes the skin to turn a darker colour the more nourished it is.
The SkinovagePX system can be tailored to suit five skin types. The range includes Vita Balance for dry skin; Calming Sensitive for sensitive skin; Perfect Combination for oily and combination skin; Advanced Biogen for tired, stressed skin; and Pure for blemished skin. Each has its own set of products, which can be mixed and matched, or boosted using Intensifier serums.
Dr Helmut Drees, head of training at Babor says: “When using customised skincare, you don’t just offer an hour of relaxation, but a visible improvement of the skin and complexion. Customers are amazed and, therefore, willing to pay a higher price.”
Spa-Kit Keyword: Babor
Babor offers a free skin analysis
First-person experience: Kate Corney, product editor, Spa Business
DNA Analysis - GeneOnyx at The Organic Pharmacy
Kate Corney
Kate Corney Product EditorSpa Business
GeneOnyx is a digital DNA-based skin analysis tool, created by professor Chris Tamazou of Imperial College London, which is being piloted by skincare company The Organic Pharmacy in London. The Organic Pharmacy offers it as part of a one-hour £295 (US$452, €345) Anti-Ageing DNA test and consultation at its Kings Road store.
The session starts with a lifestyle questionnaire and a saliva sample DNA test which is processed by the cloud-based geneOnyx machine in 30 minutes. The analysis provides a recommended list of skincare ingredients based on the client’s DNA with a focus on how quickly the body breaks down collagen – the faster collagen degrades, the more prone people are to showing the signs of ageing. The software matches these ingredients with existing products from the Organic Pharmacy range for a skincare prescription. The test is delivered by a homeopath so that lifestyle, nutrition and general health advice can be incorporated.
Margo Marrone, founder and owner of The Organic Pharmacy says: “Young people can use the genetic information for preventative ageing, while older people can use it for corrective measures. It adds value by establishing us as the experts in the market.”
In the future, geneOnyx will be looking to partner with other skincare companies to make this technology available to more customers over the counter.
First-person experience: Kate Corney, product editor, Spa Business
On arrival at The Organic Pharmacy, I was led to a basic consultation room with a desk, chairs and the geneOnyx machine, which is a white electronic box. I filled out a health and lifestyle questionnaire on an iPad, connected to the geneOnyx, which covered my existing skincare routine, general health and any concerns.
As my saliva sample was analysed by the geneOnyx, the homeopath talked to me about my skincare routine and a broad range of questions focused on whole body health. The 30 minutes seemed like a long time for a consultation and could have been enhanced with a mini treatment as an added extra.
Eventually, my results showed a list of 36 ingredients which the geneOnyx identified as suitable to my skin and gave eight recommended Organic Pharmacy products containing these ingredients – with those featuring the highest number of ingredients listed first. The homeopath whittled this down to four products for my skincare prescription, based on our consultation, but not all of these were the geneOnyx’s top suggestions so I gathered that the in-person consultation was equally as important as the machine-based analysis. The prescription was based on cleansing, hydrating, repairing and moisturising products, most of which I felt were appropriately prescribed for my skin when I tried them out back at home.
Compared to The Organic Pharmacy’s free non-technical skin consultations, the DNA testing is certainly expensive, but the cost is in line with its other technical treatments on offer, such as the 125-minute Ultimate Lift & Rejuvenate Facial – an oxygen facial which costs £260 (US$397, €302).
Spa-kit.net keywords: Organic Pharmacy
The geneOnyx machine tests DNA to determine how quickly customers breakdown collagen
People taking GLP-1 weight loss medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound
may be losing weight, but they’re also becoming less physically active, according to new
research presented at the ENDO 2026 annual meeting of the Endocrine Society
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Global retreat trade show, Synergy The Retreat Show, has launched a resource called The
Source, which hosts an open-access online Transformation Series programme.
The Standards Authority for Touch in Cancer Care (SATCC) charity has announced its first five-
day Living with Cancer and Beyond retreat, which will be held at Carden Park Hotel and Spa in
Cheshire, UK, between 1 and 5 September.
Patmos Aktis, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa, has opened in Greece, with a renovated and
rebranded wellness offering called Ansana Wellness and Spa.
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, an Autograph Collection property in Hawaii, US, has opened its
22,000 sq ft indoor-outdoor Spa at Mauna Kea as the final step in the property’s overall
renovation, which has cost more than US$180 million (€166 million, £140 mill
The UK spa review and discovery platform for consumers, the Good Spa Guide, has announced
it will host the Good Spa Guide Awards 2026 during an event on 16 November at Sopwell House
Hotel in St Albans, UK.
Eighty-four per cent of consumers now say wellness is a top priority in their lives, with this
percentage increasing year on year, according to a preview presentation of McKinsey’s Future of
Wellness 2026 research report.
Mass protests have been taking place since Monday 1 June in Albania over the development of
a luxury resort by Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
Global Wellness Day (GWD) marked its 15th anniversary on Saturday 13 June 2026, with the
theme: #JoyMagenta – a celebration of the healing qualities of simple gestures and activities
that spark joy.
