A growing number of resort and spa destinations are spreading their wings and reaching a wider customer base via social media. With the help of social networking platforms and niche bloggers, vacation spots are broadening their branding efforts from the sand to the slopes, and connecting with potential patrons they may not have reached through traditional advertising.

Here’s a look at some of the social strategies these getaway companies are employing and what we can learn from their success. Read more  …

In order to run a successful Spa business it is necessary to have a software management system to keep track of your clients, employees and products. Management software is capable of keeping a history and record of your clients’ visits as well as their product record. It is also capable of keeping track of Employees hours and pay scale. It has the ability to keep a record of inventory and sales. Read more …

In a warning letter to Dr. Leslie Baumann of the Baumann Cosmetic and Research Institute in (where else?) Miami Beach, Fla., the FDA chided her for promoting Medicis (MRX)’s Dysport wrinkle-killer before it was approved for sale. Baumann talked up the competitor to Allergan (AGN)’s Botox in Allure, Elle and on NBC’s Today Show, the FDA said.

The warning — which targeted Baumann and not Medicis — comes as a warning shot across the bows of cosmetic dermatologists everywhere. Derms are often a publicity hungry bunch who get patients through media pr and advertising. They’re easy “gets” for women’s magazines and shows. Baumann (pictured), for instance, has a Yahoo Health blog and writes a column for the Miami Herald.

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Sally Beauty Holdings Inc (SBH.N) said its subsidiary Beauty Systems Group LLC has acquired privately held beauty products distributor Schoeneman Beauty Supply Inc for about $61 million in cash, to enhance its presence in the U.S. Northeast region.

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Spa as an alternative stress buster

By davidjonex80
More and more people are seeking spa treatments as an alternative and holistic way to reduce stress.

Globally, the spa industry earns about US$60 billion annually, this according to the International SPA Association.

The association reported that one in four Americans has been to a spa. As of June 2008, there were 18,100 spas in United States alone. In the last eight years, the number of spa locations in the United States has grown at an annual average of 20%, the association added. Read more…

“Rubdown” is a half-hour comedy TV series that takes you behind-the-scenes of the spa business — with stories inspired by real life situations. The pilot for the show is being filmed in historic Franklin, Tennessee on October 4th and 5th. Read more…

There is one element that any spa needs to have in order to become a successful business and that is a relaxing spa design. Without the spa giving off a feeling of being stress-free, it will not be able to do the job in which it is intended.

Upon making the decision to open a spa, the owner needs to understand the feeling that they are trying to create in the building. It is often difficult to take a building that may have been used for some other purpose and making it a stress-free environment. Read more…

Skin Inc. magazine and Cosmetologists Chicago (CC) are pleased to announce the repositioning of America’s Expo for Skin Care and Spa® to Face & Body® Midwest. Face & Body Midwest will be co-located with America’s Beauty Show® to be held March 27–29, 2010, at McCormick Place in Chicago. Skin Inc. magazine and CC have co-sponsored and co-produced America’s Expo, the Midwest’s only expo dedicated to skin care and spa, since 2002. The repositioning to Face & Body Midwest addresses the many changes in the skin care/spa market since the initial launch of America’s Expo.

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The current retail downturn is not simply a temporary side-effect of the recession but the mid-point of a lengthy reform of the retail market, according to retail analyst Verdict Research, part of the Datamonitor Group. Verdict predicts just 8.1% growth in the UK over the five years to 2013, a considerable drop from the 14.1% increase in the same period to 2008. “The good news is that survivors will find themselves in a far less competitive environment, with major opportunities for market share gains and winning new customers,” says Verdict.

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