october 008 - Stylist and Salon Newspapers

Creating the Perfect Menu for Your Esthetics Practice
Esthetic Endeavors
Judith Culp
There is more to creating a perfect salon
menu than meets the eye.
Creating a menu for an esthetics practice is
more complicated than just listing mini-facial,
cleansing facial and waxing services, etc. For
a successful esthetics menu, it’s important to
tailor it to the exact target market segment,
the locale and the individuality. If these factors
were ignored, the results would be marginal
at best.
The first step is to analyze your target
market. This is an important step to consider
before even opening your practice. If you
haven’t done this, take time now to do so.
Have you geared your practice to spa-type
relaxation treatments, holistic treatments,
acne treatments, anti-aging therapies, teens
or boomers? This is probably something you
must have thought about before locating your
business. You probably wouldn’t put a teen
acne oriented clinic in a medi-spa geared to
anti-aging injectables.
If you already have a space, then take a
careful look at the demographics and needs
of the incoming clients. Consider their age,
genetic background, level of disposable income
and even regional preferences, and then you
can create that truly effective menu.
If they are a younger crowd, they may be
more interested in hair removal, treatments to
deal with problem breakouts and techniques
to prevent the signs of aging. If you carry
makeup, these people are probably into more
trendy looks and fun colors.
If your client base is more in the baby
boomer age group, then you will definitely
want to focus on anti-aging treatments and
have home care products designed to assist
with this. While there are some exceptions,
as women get older they tend to go for softer
makeup looks and the color choices that compliment
this. As we age, we suffer more hair
loss; therefore, this is a good market in which
to offer permanent cosmetic services.
If the client base is dominantly working
people or those with stressful lives, then offering
stress-reduction treatments is a sure winner.
Genetic background plays an important
role in menu development. If you have a client
base dominated by those with Fitzpatrick IV,
V or VI skin tones, they need treatments and
products to fight hyperpigmentation. They
may also be looking for someone skilled in
hair removal techniques and know how to deal
with resistive hair. Microdermabrasion services
might be better to offer than chemical exfoliation
for these skin tones.
The level of disposable income of your
potential clients is critical for you to know.
Are they looking for skin care on a budget?
You will want effective services that don’t
have a high product cost or equipment cost
so you can offer services that will be within
their financial reach. Manual microdermabrasion,
alpha hydroxy acid treatments or some
of the new inexpensive high tech devices may
be just what is called for. It is exciting to see
some great new tools for estheticians that are
in the under $500 range. This puts them in the
budget of new technicians and clients.
You must also take into account your
regional location and preferences. Northeasterners
have different tastes and live different
lifestyles than those in the deep southeast. The
salon menu should be designed with this in
mind. Capitalize on the region you’re in. A spa
in Key West, might consider offering the new
hot shell treatments, where those in a Rocky
Mountain state might stick with hot stones.
Spas are a good example of facilities that
consider these regional flavors. At the Hershey
Spa in Hershey, Pennsylvania, chocolate treatments
are their specialty. In the Napa Valley,
one finds treatments on the menu that use
grape byproducts, champagne or other winery
related specialties. The Northwest is now
growing more wine grapes, and spas in the
region are making use of the related oils and
juices. Oregon is also becoming a lavender
growing area and numerous lavender products
and services are emerging. Every area has its
own specialties, capitalize on yours.
The final consideration is personal
strengths. If you love makeup, find a way to
focus your business around this. If you are a
waxing diva, focus on that and your clients will
find you. Sometimes we try so hard to please
others, when we would be better off doing
the things that please ourselves. Certainly, our
practice will have its share of compromises;
but why not create a career that pleases us
instead of just doing what we perceive the
client wants?
Once we have determined all the factors to
consider, then we need to express our offerings
in words and phrases that are understandable
and attractive to the client. Sometimes we can
be so scientific we burden them with information
they really don’t want.
A menu that gives the tantalizing basics can
be backed up with a price list and with a sheet
or brochure, that gives them all the inviting
details. If we call it a “Raspberry Rejuvenation
Delight,” then in the brochure we can create
word pictures that will lure them right into the
treatment room.
Menus are not static items. Review them
routinely to evaluate your best selling services
and client requests. Once you have an established
client base they will be loyal and stay
with you for years. However, this means you
will need to change your services as your client
base ages to keep up with their changing needs.
Just like our careers, our menus are evolving
and changing. Giving them the attention they
need is one of the best marketing strategies we
can pursue.
Judith Culp, a CIDESCO Diplomat has been in the esthetics industry since 1980.
A CPCP permanent makeup technician for over 18 years she served a 4-year
term as a Director for the Society of Permanent Cosmetic Professionals, two
years as their president. She is president of Culp Enterprises Inc. and CEO of NW
Institute of Esthetics. Judy Culp is available for consulting. For more information
visit www.estheticsnw.com.
CALIFORNIA STYLIST & SALON | OCTOBER 2008 | 15