Originally published in Massage & Bodywork magazine, August/September 2003.
Copyright 2003. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.

Spa owners are retracing their roots, offering natural treatments that comprise hands-on, whole body therapeutic services sans chemicals and artificial tools. Appealing to an increasing number of educated clients who read labels and see a link between illness and the use of chemical-laden products, natural spas are on the rise. The umbrella term "natural" applies to techniques and products used, or a combination of the two. While specific definitions vary, the trend is evident across the country, though industry experts say there is nothing new about natural.

"Original spas were natural. It's the American day spa that's been turned into a beauty pampering palace," says Hannelore Leavy, executive director for the Day Spa Association and International Medical Spa Association in New Jersey. "The American day spa was supposed to be an outgrowth of the destination spa but by the mid-'90s, consumers were demanding beauty treatments."

That demand has come full-circle and Natural Body, a natural cosmetic store in Atlanta, Ga., provides a good example of the journey. Since its opening in 1989, Natural Body has blossomed into a chain of eight spas which offer massage and skin care. "Our customers created the concept of our spas," founder Cici Coffee says. The goal was to create a store that focused on education where customers could touch, smell and feel natural cosmetics. The sampling room was such a success that it "drove Natural Body to become a day spa," Coffee says, who expects to open three more spas this year.

Interest in natural spas is frequently compared to the burgeoning natural food market, which also crosses gender and income lines. "Our customers are the upwardly mobile and success oriented. They grew up learning about natural," Coffee says. Most clients are women between the ages of 35 and 55, but the spas, she says, serve an increasing number of men.

While appeal may be universal, definitions and interpretations of what constitutes a natural spa vary. Ask 10 spa owners for a definition and you get 10 different answers. The same goes for natural services. So what separates natural from traditional treatments?

As the industry grapples with definitions, spas offer a smorgasbord of services marketed as natural. Clients receive natural nail services with nail polish, they can get an Ayurvedic massage followed by a chemical peel, they can buy "natural" products containing 2 percent natural ingredients. But when purists prevail, practitioners do not use artificial tools -- including steam, extractions or any type of machinery -- during natural services. The focus is on energy transmitted between therapist and client, the art of touch, the pure product used and the environment that's created.

Therapists are asked not to wear perfume, and "to use intuition, empathy and pure intentions to promote health and wellness through touch by balancing the body's virtual energy systems," says Christine O'Grady of Holtz Spa in Canada.


A First Step
"The biggest hurdle to a natural spa's success is the lack of clarity about what constitutes natural. With so many spas jumping on the concept and then providing services like Botox or [selling] products that are not clean, not natural, it is hard to get your message out to the public," says Barbara Close, founder and CEO of Naturopathica, a holistic-based spa in East Hampton, N.Y.

Naturopathica employs a holistic doctor and takes a whole-body approach to wellness. Since 1995, Close has catered to a wide range of clients, from baby boomers interested in increasing the length and quality of their lives to celebrities and housewives. It sells a full line of natural, holistic products made from herbs grown on Close's Virginia farm.

"I see myself as an educator," Close says. "Spas are a window into natural health and clients are beginning to realize that if they support the systems, the body will heal itself."

In response to what Close saw as a growing demand for pure products and services, Naturopathica opened a training facility for partner spas last year. Spa professionals travel to the New York facility from September through May for three days of training. Naturopathica currently lists 50 partner spas, 12 of which are in the United States.

A graduate of the New Mexico Academy of Healing Arts, Close teaches the practice of conscious touch, client communication and education, hydrotherapy and other service modules such as natural peels and friction. Naturopathica strives to offer a balance between the rustic European view of holistic care and the traditional American day spa.

Stellar Spa in California takes a similar approach. Operating in Corte Madera, since August 2000, Stellar Spa offers natural, organic body and skin care services for a growing customer base. Owners market the phrase "lifestyle in balance" and stress that health of the skin reflects internal and external health. "You can't use one oil and expect your body to be in balance," says Stellar co-owner Mary Anne Rubin. "There is no quick fix."

Stellar Spa, which specializes in natural therapies, launched a line of natural skin and body care products last year. "We focus on educating our clients, which sets us apart," says Rubin, who has 22 years of experience in the beauty industry. "Your skin is only as healthy as your body."


A Pure Definition
A growing number of spas define natural as services rendered by a therapist's hands -- not machines -- using pure products that contain no chemicals, synthetics or additives. Without the addition of synthetics, natural products pack a powerful punch. "The body recognizes natural ingredients more easily than synthetic," says Rubin. "They're more effective."

This is news to some industry professionals and clients who assume natural products will be gentle. "There is a benign sense of what natural is, though Mother Nature is certainly not that way," Close says. "It's a misnomer that they [natural products] are milder, safer to use. They can be really aggressive. Our products have state-of-the-art dermatological effects. They have therapeutic value in their own right," she says of Naturopathica goods.

In general, natural body care treatments, such as purifying body wraps and sea salt scrubs, are the most popular, though skin care treatments are gaining ground.

Body treatments are more about relaxation, while clients are more results-driven when it comes to skin care, says Barry Eichner, spa director for 3000BC, a holistic day spa in Philadelphia, Pa., that opened in 1992. To accommodate both camps, 3000BC offers what Eichner describes as "scientific options" for clients who -- when time is of the essence -- opt for technology over purity. "All-natural treatments might take months for the body to regenerate," he says. "We added scientific options to the menu because the skin care industry is so results-oriented."


Reaching a Larger Audience
While newcomers assume natural products and services attract a "hippy" audience, or what some spa owners describe as the "nut and granola" crowd, spas from coast to coast prove otherwise. "You would think that the spa's pure focus would attract a left-of-center customer base but that's not the case," Eichner says. "We have a clean, chic look and use pure products that affect clients on such a unique level they keep coming back."

Amenities, such as heated towels infused with essential oils and long treatments, balance prices that Eichner says are "not the cheapest or the most expensive" for services that provide "infinitely greater benefits, both physical and psychological." From hair color and nail polish to skin cleansers, masks, massage oils and body lotions, spas use and sell pure ingredients to consumers who want high-end results without risking adverse reactions to chemicals. "You don't have to pay a price with your health to get the results you want," says Julie Smalfelt, owner of Comfort & Joy Spa in Fairfax, Va. She uses formaldehyde-free nail polish and natural hair dyes for conscientious clients who crave color. "Natural products are just as effective. My clients tell me they've never had such a great experience with a product, it provided the results they were looking for."

Even on a superficial level the results of natural products are recognizable. "Guests can feel the difference right away," says Osa Mallo, spa director for The Spa at Mandarin Oriental in Miami, Fla. "Mineral-based oil is not absorbed by the body. It leaves a greasy film and guests feel like taking a shower afterward." Therapists at the Miami spa, open for three years, use avocado, jojoba or evening primrose oil infused with spices or herbs as a base for massage. Products that contain organically grown herbs, oils and materials are applied without assisting devices.

"Professionals can get the same results with their hands," Mallo says. Masks and facial products are applied with hands, not brushes, and cuticles are never cut during nail services. Instead, therapists use salt and oil scrubs followed by facial oils that are rubbed into cuticles to soften and nourish the skin. "Life is so fast-paced. Our guests are really longing for that touch, which is very soothing instead of something mechanized, which is harsh," she adds.

Delivering a relaxing, unique and results-oriented experience is a unifying theme among natural spas and product manufacturers. "People are creative in the natural product arena," says Smalfelt, whose clients raved about the chocolate soaps and cocoa body wraps she introduced for Valentine's Day. DreamSpinner Magicks, owned by Nikki Jones, R.N., supplies the spa with the chocolate cocoa line and several other items. "That type of rich sensory experience makes a huge difference to a spa-goer's experience," Smalfelt adds. "You can have a lot of fun with it."


Marketing Maze
While the word natural is a boon to marketing, products with ingredients derived solely from nature justly make the claim. "It's a jungle out there" for consumers, says Rubin of Stellar Spa. "How do you know what you're looking at? We wanted to get really honest, pure ingredients out on the market."

Natural professionals advise newcomers to ask where ingredients are sourced, and to watch for the word parabens as a tip that a product is not 100 percent natural. "Methylparaben and propylparaben (synthetic preservatives) breakdown essential oils," Eichner says. "We don't use them. Our products are 100 percent pure. If you smell an orange in one of our body care products, [an ingredient] was at one time an orange. There's nothing that's not from nature in them."

However, not all natural product lines are created equally. "Companies are trying so hard to capitalize on the natural, organic trend that's afoot that they're using lovely ingredients to temper chemicals, additives and parabens," Smalfelt says. "Everybody is defining it [natural] differently, which is a real challenge for customers."

For Maureen Sutton, spa director of The Chopra Center at La Costa Resort and Spa in California, deciding what products to use is simple. "If you can't put it in your mouth, don't put it on your skin," she says.

Natural spa professionals suggest products like rosemary citron sea salt scrub, nourishing lavender milk, hydrating Bulgarian rose toner and organic ginger body butter combined with services such as Thai honey facials, herbal massage frictions and body masks. This way, clients reap twice the benefit.

"Body treatments are changing, becoming much more synergistic," says Brenda Brock, owner of Rhode Island-based Farmaesthetics, a line of all-natural skin and body care products. "What's going on in the giving of the treatment is very much in line with the products chosen. Without the proper touch and technique you don't garner the full benefit of the herbs."

Brock inherited her interest in herbal remedies from her grandmother who grew herbs on the family's Texas farm. She started selling her natural remedies in 1999 at farm stands in Rhode Island and today her line is used by 100 spas across the country. She frequently travels to different spas to train skin care professionals on how her line can enhance traditional massage and skin care procedures and has received warm receptions.

"Skin care professionals and massage therapists impart the principles of traditional skin care to their clients," Brock says. "This is an alternative way to beauty. It's not just about relaxation and aromatherapy. There is a growing interest in this type of clean approach to beauty. Three years ago people looked at me like I had 15 heads. Now they're calling to ask me to use their chemists."

Smaller spas, like Indulgences Day Spa in Denver, Colo., simplify the issue of finding pure products by making their own sugar exfoliate, milk and rose footbath for spa pedicures, and mint mud masks for clients. "More manufacturers are becoming aware that the trend is natural," owner Virginia Lansdale says. "Two years ago it was really hard to find stuff so we had to get really creative."

At the Chopra Center in California, therapists who practice Ayurveda also make many of their own products. For pedicures, therapists apply a foot exfoliater paste made with garbanzo beans, barley flour and the spice churna that heats naturally during treatment. "It's kind of like playing with mud," Sutton says. "It's very nurturing for the feet and leaves them so soft and silky they feel brand new."


Needles In a Haystack?
The combination of technique and product creates the ultimate natural spa treatment, which explains why many spas produce their own lines. Stellar Spa in Corte Madera, Calif., 3000BC in Philadelphia, and Naturopathica in New York have launched all-natural lines that are sold across the country.

For small spas, finding pure product can be a daunting task. "So many places will say that they're natural or organic, but 99 percent of the time things are not as they seem," says Smalfelt, who remembers the search for product as one of the hardest aspects to opening the Comfort & Joy Spa in 2000. "Many [manufacturers] will outright lie to you and you have to twist their arms to disclose all ingredients." Smalfelt relies on a list of harmful ingredients found in skin care products published by manufacturer Aubrey Hampton (www.aubrey-organics.com), uses massage lotion from Visuelle (a certified 100 percent organic product line made in Utah), and taps small businesses around the country for the rest of her products. As a small business owner, she was surprised to find she could not afford some of the larger lines. "This isn't something that should be elite, that only wealthy people can afford," she says.

Manufacturers admit that prices for natural product are higher, citing the cost of pure ingredients and lack of economies of scale. However, some companies strive to keep costs low. "My products are formulated so that they're affordable," says Brock, who has been told repeatedly that she should raise her prices. "I use nothing but clean, wholesome, organic ingredients sourced from the U.S. so that I can keep prices down. High quality anything doesn't have to be expensive. Wanting to live better shouldn't be a matter of social status or income. We should all be resonating with healthy lifestyles."

Prices for natural products vary almost as much as definitions, though the sophistication of products from packaging to shelf life has improved dramatically over the years. The shelf life of many natural products ranges from three months to six years, though some require refrigeration. Preservatives such as enzymes, vitamins and vegetable glycerin maintain product integrity, and the use of cobalt blue or amber glass for bottling protects products from sunlight and heat. Tools, like spatulas, help prevent the spread of germs during application.


Learning Curve
While some natural spas describe lengthy training schedules for spa professionals who start out with basic degrees and are schooled on specific, signature therapies, others rely on outside education. Spas like Naturopathica and The Spa at Mandarin Oriental extend training programs to other spa professionals. And manufacturers, like Farmaesthetics, Jurlique and Naturopathica, travel to sites across the country to educate professionals on product and technique.

"Our vision is to inspire others to health and well-being," says Analisa Wagoner, training and education manager for Jurlique, a natural product manufacturer that has been on the market for 20 years. Over the last year and a half the company opened 15 spas across the country, each offering massage and skin care services. "We take the whole person into consideration, recognizing the mind/body/spirit connection," Wagoner says.

In Florida, The Spa at Mandarin Oriental opened the Thai Massage Academy this year and offers its training program, taught by a Bangkok native, to other therapists. "We wanted to make our treatments as authentic as possible," Mallo says. "Thai massage works on loosening energy blockages throughout the energy lines of the body and thereby releasing tension and increasing mobility."

Across the board, professionals -- spa owners and manufacturers -- emphasize the health benefits associated with natural spas.

"We're really more of a health spa," Sutton says. "People come here looking to rearrange their lifestyle. We address food as well as emotional, physical and mental toxicity."

Acknowledging that natural therapies effect positive health changes, some spa owners say services have eased symptoms or improved conditions ranging from depression and circulation disorders to stress-related problems and cancer.

"Natural treatments support the circulatory, lymphatic and immune systems to cleanse the body," Close says. "Massage, hydrotherapy and lymphatic drainage all support the body's innate ability to heal itself."

Heather Grimshaw is a Colorado freelance writer who specializes in health and wellness and lifestyles topics. Her work appears regularly in Natural Home, Frontrangeliving.com, The Denver Post, and other publications. A personal interest in homeopathic remedies sparked her interest in natural spas.