With easy access to online sources, misinformation is prevalent, but today’s clients are committed to separating myths from truth and are quite savvy when it comes to skin care ingredients. Clients who seriously invest in their wellness and skin health expect your staff to be knowledgeable and able to assist them on their evolving journey to looking and feeling their best. This means the better your team is to explain the features and benefits of the treatments and products you offer, the more likely they will be to speak authentically and authoritatively with guests.
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With easy access to online sources, misinformation is prevalent, but today’s clients are committed to separating myths from truth and are quite savvy when it comes to skin care ingredients. Clients who seriously invest in their wellness and skin health expect your staff to be knowledgeable and able to assist them on their evolving journey to looking and feeling their best. This means the better your team is to explain the features and benefits of the treatments and products you offer, the more likely they will be to speak authentically and authoritatively with guests.
Just as growing indoor plants enhances air quality, reduces stress, and promotes well-being, offering plant-based treatments in your spa provides clients with natural, therapeutic benefits. These treatments not only align with a growing industry trend, but also empower your team to confidently communicate their advantages. By embracing this category, your spa can meet the rising demand for nature-inspired wellness, delivering results-driven experiences that enhance client satisfaction and create a serene, rejuvenating environment.
History of Plants in Beauty
For centuries, the use of plants in beauty and skin care has a long and rich trajectory. Many cultures have harnessed the natural benefits of plant-based ingredients across time. From Ancient Egypt to Ancient Greece, Rome, Asia, India and Renaissance Europe, plants have long been recognized for their healing, soothing and repairing benefits.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the scientific study of plants and their active compounds became more advanced, allowing the beauty industry to create more concentrated and effective skin care products. Plants like tea tree, aloe vera, cucumber, green tea, and witch hazel are common in modern formulations for their anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and anti-aging benefits.
Plants are a sustainable and natural alternative to synthetic chemicals, offering a wide range of benefits for skin and hair. They contain vitamins, antioxidants, fatty acids, and other bioactive compounds that can hydrate, protect, repair and nourish the skin. Today, many beauty brands are turning back to nature, highlighting plant-based ingredients and formulations in response to a growing desire for clean, eco-friendly beauty products.
Plant Empowered Skin Care
Plants selflessly sustain our existence, providing essential nutrition and oxygen we need to survive. In addition, plant extracts further benefit the skin and body by providing a cornucopia of natural components. By incorporating plant-based ingredients into treatments and self-care, you empower guests to look and feel their absolute best.
Plant extracts are active ingredients acquired from plants. They may be in powder, liquid, or soft form, and may be water-soluble or oil soluble. There are four classes, including simple, standardized, purified, and quantitative extracts, which can be divided into diverse types: component extracts, Traditional Chinese Medicine extracts, drug extracts and more.
There are more plant extracts than plants, as a single plant has many distinct parts that are beneficial for various purposes. Plant extracts may be from the roots, flowers, bark, the flesh of fruits, seeds, etc., which explains why the list of botanical extracts is so extensive.
Related: Transparent Beauty: The Science Behind Plant-Based Treatments
Benefits of Plant Extracts
Many plant extracts deliver antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects. However, the specific advantage of plant extracts depends on properties unique to each plant component. The benefits of herbal extracts depend on how they are taken or applied. Ingestion produces certain benefits, while topical uses may deliver others.
Depending on how your brand selects and formulates plant extracts, plant-based treatments can topically improve skin issues and discomfort while fostering well-being. For example, the topical benefits of marine plant extracts include detoxifying, preserving moisture, revitalizing circulation, soothing and providing nutrient-rich minerals.
How Plant Extracts Are Made
First, mother nature works her magic, providing us with a bounty of plants that possess abundant properties. Then, after the desired plants are selected and harvested, plant extracts are obtained. They are typically acquired through fermentation, pressing, or dissolving the desired raw components in a fluid that facilitates the extraction. They then undergo a process of separation, refining and/or drying. The extraction method delineates one type of plant extract from another, with multiple applications of various types of plant extracts used in skin care.
When selecting a skin care vendor offering plant-based treatments, it is important to consider sustainable practices. Do they select only safe plant extracts from non-GMO, renewable sources that uphold important sustainability principles? Do they use biotechnology to ensure only the smallest amount of material is extracted, thereby conserving natural resources? In place of solvents, brands can use a CO2 extraction method, which uses naturally sourced carbon to produce 100% unadulterated plant extracts in their most natural form.
There’s A Plant for That
For practically every skin concern, there is a plant extract or plant-based blend that can minimize issues. Based on recent treatment trends, below are a few plant extracts that are trending strongly:
- Aloe Vera: Always a classic, it continues to be a go-to for hydration and soothing, especially for sensitive, sunburned or irritated skin.
- Cacao: With its high antioxidant content, it helps protect the skin from environmental damage, reduce signs of aging and soothe irritation.
- Chamomile: Known for its calming properties, great for reducing redness and soothing inflammation. It’s often used in products aimed at sensitive or stressed skin.
- Cica (Centella Asiatica): Often called "tiger grass," this plant is great for calming irritated skin, promoting healing and soothing inflammation.
- Hyaluronic Acid: Trending strongly for its ability to retain 1,000 times its weight in water, it deeply hydrates and reduces the appearance of wrinkles.
- Marine Magnesium: Excellent for pain management, it relieves joint inflammation and soreness, replenishes moisture and acts as a gentle calming agent.
- Rosehip Oil: Packed with essential fatty acids, antioxidants, and vitamin A, this plant is often used to brighten skin, reduce signs of aging and promote overall skin regeneration.
- Tea Tree: Known for its antibacterial and antiseptic properties, it helps reduce blemishes and breakouts.
- Turmeric: This golden spice is packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, making it a go-to for brightening skin and reducing redness or pigmentation.
Below is a list of plant-based treatments currently trending you should consider for your next menu refresh, along with the addition of on-trend beauty tools within your protocols:
- Adult Acne Reducing Face & Body Treatments
- Antioxidant Yoga Facial
- Anti-Pollution Environmental Facial
- Body Smoothing, Lifting & Contouring Treatments
- Cranial Sacral Therapy (CST)
- Cryotherapy Treatment
- Glass Skin Hydrating Facial
- Healthy Aging & Longevity Focused Treatments
- Hyaluronic Acid Restorative Facial
- Lymphatic Drainage Facial
- Menopause Face & Body Treatments
- Oncology Friendly Face & Body Treatments
- Pain Management Body Treatments
- Sleep Therapy Treatments
- Stress Management Massage Experiences
Based on consumer demand and current buying behavior, it is evident that plant-based treatments and products that are sourced sustainably and results-driven make savvy additions to your menu and retail space. Be sure to promote plant-based services using ingredient focused keywords, images, and posts describing the features and benefits each ingredient delivers, and mentioning the treatments featuring the specific ingredient(s).
Further fortify your spa’s expertise by using your social media and website as ideal platforms to share pertinent educational content, not just offer or product related content. A strong content mix is crucial, and should include email marketing with educational tips, brief staff bios, early bird availability with perks for booking, SMS/text notifications, and a strong assortment of promotional offers like bundle and save, invest more/save more, gift with purchase offers, and membership and loyalty driven offers.
Maritza Rodriguez is the global vice president of marketing and communications for Pevonia International and its related brands. She has worked with some of the most renowned professional skin care brands on image and marketing.
