The spa industry is pretty young and for almost 20 years and it, like any developing industry, has been constantly changing, adapting either to certain economic conditions or to new customer needs. Sometimes the industry itself dictated fashion, having caught the vector of human desires for a change in lifestyle and habits. Hydrothermal and mineral springs are natural occurrences that can be used to serve as a SPA procedure due to their richness in minerals. Thus, the overall history is short, but there are a number of critical considerations regarding the general safety of various facilities.
History and Evolution
The spa had a reputation for something incomprehensible, expensive and not accessible to everyone, but very attractive. Today, the spa is understood as a way of life, as a set of services designed to improve health and improve overall well-being. This complex includes not only different face and body care procedures, but also healthy nutrition, physical exercises, and spiritual practices, i.e. the spa advocates a holistic approach to human health (Brown, 2018). The main goal is to improve the mental and physical condition of the client: to help him or her overcome the stress experienced by him or her in everyday life, eliminate stress factors associated with work, domestic problems. Only then, the spa attempts to improve his or her body, i.e. make younger, more beautiful, solve aesthetic problems. Today, the spa is focused on all categories of customers. It deals with what traditional medicine is not very willing to pay attention to – the reduction of stress and the improvement of people’s mood.
A serious milestone and new reference point for the spa industry were 2008-2009. Then, after many years of stable growth in the number of clients in spa centres, their number began to decline rapidly, and many enterprises completely closed. This was a real shock for the industry, which revealed new trends that reflect the instability of the current economy, the need for additional measures to protect business and new approaches to protecting people’s health (Brown, 2018). Representatives of the spa industry are obliged to know what is happening in this sector and to catch the “winds of change” in order to choose the right strategic and tactical decisions and in time to direct their business in the right direction.
Today, when creating a spa facility, investors choose cheaper architectural, design solutions, preferring functionality, environmental friendliness and simplicity to the luxuries of the early 2000s. Luxury is now out of fashion, especially since all this is very expensive. It is much more important that the spa is tailored to the needs of the target audience. In the architecture of a building, functionality plays the most important role. The focus is on the conceptual correspondence of the architectural style to the type of spa enterprise, originality of execution, difference from others, but not luxury. On the other hand, the client, having come to the spa, hopes to get into the spa atmosphere, but not into the economical sanatorium vacation option (Brown, 2018). The main task of spa design is to create a cosy atmosphere that promotes relaxation and good mood. Space itself should affect all five senses, creating a feeling of comfort. During the construction of the spa facility, natural materials such as wood, water, stone, clay, etc., which have a harmonising effect on the human body, are especially appreciated.
The modern client is sceptical of programs with intricate names that promise to work a miracle. He or she wants to see the result that was announced before the procedure, and is ready to pay money for just that, and not for a beautiful dream, which after the session will remain a dream. Therefore, “marketing” procedures should disappear from the spa menu, promising only gentle care, a feeling of luxurious relaxation (Brown, 2018). In this regard, massage becomes the trump card of the spa. Thus, it is very important to review the assortment and duration of massage techniques, find and include in the menu new techniques that provide a good result.
Hydrothermal and Mineral Springs
Hot springs or thermal springs are a special spring, that is, this is the place where water comes to the surface of the earth. The temperature of such water is from 20 degrees (Smith & Puczko, 2018). Such high temperature gives it the geothermal heat of the earth’s mantle. It is essential to understand that the deeper to the core of the Planet, the higher the temperature. If the water is deep enough, it can be heated from a hot rock of the earth and these are not volcanic thermal springs. However, in volcanic zones, water is already heated by molten rock, that is, magma. Such high temperatures are possible here that water boils sometimes and water becomes so hot that it is thrown into the surface of the earth in the form of a fountain. This fountain is called a geyser, but if water, when emitted by a fountain, reaches the earth already in the form of steam, then this is already called fumaroles. A mud source is called when water is mixed with clay and mud.
All thermal springs in the area of volcanic rocks are very high temperature and in such places a person can get severe burns. The healing properties of this water are simply magnificent and many people cured their chronic illnesses by bathing in a thermal spring just a couple of times. Some countries use a thermal spring to heat homes, for example, the city of Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, is completely heated from a thermal spring (Health and safety policy in the workplace, 2017). Other countries use thermal springs to operate some power plants. Many solid particles dissolve in thermal water and it is in such water that a huge amount of dissolved minerals is contained, for example, such as calcium, lithium and radium (Spa education academy, 2018). Life-threatening bacteria and protozoa can also inhabit the given sites, for example, an amoeba that causes a disease such as meningitis. Some viruses may be located in such sources and it would seem that a high temperature, they should die, but it is not so simple. Today, where there are these amazing hot springs, open recreation centres and sanatoriums. Their popularity is only growing and each at least once visited a thermal spring and felt all the magic of this water.
Precautions and Maintenance
The main source of danger in the sauna and steam is the stove, and if it is used improperly, it can burn the skin, mucous membranes and respiratory tract. Stones and walls are also hot in the steam room, and care should be taken when climbing off a shelf or simply being near a stove. The floor of the sauna can be slippery if it is covered with ceramic tiles. Therefore, a person must look under his or her feet and not rush. Before entering the steam room, it is critical to remove all metal jewellery, because they heat up quickly and can cause burns (Health and safety policy in the workplace, 2017). It is also necessary to leave glasses, watches, and contact lenses outside.
In addition, it is critically important to prevent leakage of hot water in showers and hydrotherapy. They require high-quality pipes that are tightly sealed in order to prevent spilling and leaking. At one time, the International SPA Association ISPA conducted a study of client motivation, the results of which showed that 45% of clients come to the spa to relieve stress. After that, the spas, desiring to satisfy the corresponding needs of clients, began to include relaxing procedures in the menu, the main purpose of which was relaxation and stress relief. In other words, they sought to pamper the client, although he or she did not get any obvious benefit from it. Now other times have come, because the spa client carefully considers his or her money and is ready to invest it in a visible result. Thus, the emphasis has shifted to disease prevention, strengthening the body, and improving well-being. Pampering also remains an important component of the spa with a good end result.
Many spa enterprises during their existence have created real menu-masterpieces that contain a huge number of procedures, packages, and programs. Some of them are really interesting and effective, some are attractive only by their names, and others scare them at all because of some mystical raid. There are those that appear only in the spa menu and have never been claimed by customers or have become “disposable”: no one dared to get this procedure again. Reducing the number of spa services is a very relevant trend reflecting the current economic situation. The more treatments in the spa menu, the more cosmetic products will be required to complete them and the more time will be required for staff training (Spa safety, 2017). Today it is necessary to offer customers what really gives effect. In addition, they want to see more comprehensive, individualised holistic procedures and programs.
The relaxation room is an essential part of any SPA salon. Although the given sites are not as dangerous as the ones mentioned above, they do pose a threat. For instance, wet floors and slippery surfaces can severely damage a client. Therefore, there must be a sauna mat, which is designed to allow people to walk safely. Thus, a relaxation room is an excellent opportunity for the client to relax and rest. With the employment that is inherent in people’s lives, the speed of procedures becomes especially relevant.
Express procedures for the face and body, as well as express massage should be provided. Having visited any, even the smallest spa-salon, a person can make sure that a huge amount of a wide variety of equipment is required to provide spa services. Immediately it is worth noting that any unit for carrying out spa-procedures is by no means cheap, especially this applies to those models that are of excellent quality (Spa safety, 2017). Today in the world there are a lot of all kinds of manufacturers that produce and implement spa-equipment, each of them is distinguished by its own characteristics, as well as quality.
Conclusion
In conclusion, only those spa centres that offer all types of services in a complex, and not separately, are doomed to notorious success. Of no less importance is the staff, the modernity of equipment, the interior of the salon, as well as the qualifications of its employees. All this, as well as many other factors, affect the reputation of the spa centre, and therefore its popularity and profitability.
Reference List
Brown, A. (2018). The history of spas [Blog post]. Web.
Health and safety policy in the workplace. (2017). Web.
Spa education academy. (2018). Web.
Spa safety. (2017). Web.
Smith, J., & Puczko, L. (2018). Health hospitality tourism. London, England: Thompson Press.