Education

Have you finished your Holiday shopping yet?  Our annual Holiday party here at Spruce last week was a huge success. Lots of gift certificates will be found in stockings and under Vancouverites’ trees this year.  While we were at it, we managed to get lots of donations for the Vancouver Food Bank- where the number of people in need is on the rise this year.

If you’re still in search of gifts- but you’re running out of time- visit our web store where you can order gift certificates on-line in dollar denominations and for treatments. We also have a phenomenal gift certificate promotion happening right now. For every $100 you spend on gift certificates, you’ll receive $25 in credit, either on your account or towards the gift certificate you’ve purchased. How can you go wrong with that?

This year, Dermalogica has come up with some beautiful Holiday promotional packages.  One of the most popular offerings, is the Body Therapy Favorites- a combined package of  Conditioning Body Wash (250 ml) and Body Hydrating Cream (250 ml) for just $52- whoever gets these will definitely feel spoiled. The Conditioning Body Wash is super refreshing with it’s sandalwood, lavender and citrus essential oils, while the aha’s infused into the uplifting Body Hydrating Cream, keep your skin soft and smooth without any heavy residue.

This time of year also means the soy Stress Relief Candles are back! Dermalogica’s stress-relief blend is one of the nicest aromatherapy blends I know of- sandalwood, lavender, tea tree, lemon and eucalyptus are all combined for a calm and refreshing experience. Single votive candles are $18 each.

I can hardly believe that Christmas is just over a week away and I still have much mailing and wrapping left to do!

I’ll be off to New York for the first time as of Wednesday- so I’ll wish you all well over the Holidays and I hope that you get back as much as you give in love and friendship over the festive season!

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?

The Holiday Season is upon us.  It’s that time of year that seems to foster a build up of tension and stress. What to buy people? What to wear to all the Holiday parties? Can I fit it all in?- and family dynamics… Yay!

Something that came to mind for me when I was thinking about the Holidays is how nice it is to receive a gift certificate for a spa treatment. In fact, that is how I got started in the industry. When I was in my teens, my Dad started the tradition of buying everyone in my family gift certificates for a massage and facial every year at Christmas, and the rest is history. It was like nothing I had experienced before. I felt so taken care of- not just on the surface. What was I experiencing? The benefits of touch.

This year, the staff here at Spruce Body Lab, have had the pleasure of treating an elderly couple who have exemplified the benefits of the spa experience to me. The woman, who is in her mid seventies, started coming in to see one of our Registered Massage Therapists who was referred to her by her physical therapist.  She had been injured in a car accident, and her therapist had plateaued in the results they could give her, so they recommended proceeding with massage therapy.  While she was at it, she decided to try a facial.

This lady has since become a regular client, coming in bi-weekly for massage and monthly for skin treatments. She has raved about how her treatments have restored much of her vitality and health. She has significantly reduced her pain and improved her mobility. People have commented that she’s looking more youthful.  I believe that the therapeutic benefits of touch and the feeling of being cared for, are due as much credit for how good she looks and feels, as the science behind the treatments she has received.

As a special treat, she gave her husband a gift on his eightieth birthday, of a massage and facial.  He just came in again for his second massage this week.

It is one of the gifts to us as a therapists to see people getting so much out of the work that we’re doing. And it’s a good reminder to me that sometimes people need to be given these gifts, as they are not always likely to “treat” themselves to a spa experience.

I think in part, it’s about shifting how we view going to the spa; it needn’t be a rare treat. I think that culturally we could stand to start thinking of the spa as a resource for enriching our health and our lives- much like European cultures.

Do you think of spa treatments as a luxury, or have  they become part of your lifestyle and self-care?

Be sure to join us at our Holiday Party- gift certificates are 10% off!

Our web store has expanded! For the holiday season last year we opened our web store featuring gift certificates for dollar denominations and treatments. This year, we’ve added the full range of Dermalogica and Pro-Derm products.  Products junkies don’t have to leave the house in order to reap the benefits of professional products and it’s easier to share the addiction with friends and family by taking the foot work out of holiday shopping and simply pointing and clicking your way to stress-free/ stress relieving gifts.

Here’s link to our store to see what’s new. Spruce Body Lab Shop

Keep an eye out for special Holiday promotions to come!