Cassidy Irby
Spa Manager of
Drench Day Spa in Ridgeland, Miss.
Services and Retail
What is the best part about working with lash and brow services in the spa industry?
I find my job to be extremely rewarding because I have the opportunity to empower women every day! It is a great feeling to have a client leave Drench knowing she made the right decision by coming to us. From cancer survivors to pageant queens and brides, helping our clients achieve a look they love makes every day a success!
When did you decide to implement lash and brow services into your menu?
Lashes and brows are something we have always done. They are the heart of our business!
Which of your services is the most requested?
Our most popular service is definitely our lash extensions; the client retention is so high! Once women see themselves with fabulous lashes, they never want to go without them, which means they are eager to come back once a month to maintain them.
What kind of lash and brow treatments do you offer?
Microblading, eyelash extensions and lash and brow styling.
MAKEUP AREA
Describe your lash and brow area.
Our lash and brow treatment rooms take up about 70 percent of the spa. These services are what we are known for, so to accommodate the demand we have increased the overall size of this space over the years.
How much space is dedicated to each different section of your spa?
We have about 600 sq. feet in retail space where we offer products to go along with each service we offer as well as our own exclusive lounge wear line and gift items. The remaining 2,000 sq. feet is dedicated to our spa services: five esthetics rooms, one massage room and one room designated for airbrush tanning.
What prompted you to choose the size/design for each specific area?
Service demand. We have altered several spaces in our spa to follow our business trends and to make sure we are doing the most with every square foot.
Do you tweak the area for specific events or promotions?
We don’t have to. We have a beautiful relaxation room that allows bridal parties, friend groups, etc., to lounge together in between services. This room is also used for employee training and demos. Between that area and the retail space we have, we can do a lot without changing anything major!
TEAM MEMBERS
How do you select your lash and brow artists?
We hold each employee we hire to a high standard to keep our reputation up and clients satisfied. All of our employees go through several trainings before they can take clients. My goal is to staff our business with employees who not only have the willingness to learn, but also strive to succeed beyond our expectations. We have trained estheticians straight out of school and retrained those who have been estheticians for years. Being personable and positive is also a must! My philosophy is, you can be the best lash and brow stylist in town, but you will never make a dime with a bad attitude!
How do you keep members of your staff incentivized?
The better our staff performs, the higher our client retention is. We truly recognize that and reward our staff with higher commission. We allow each of our employees to be in control of their own personal business, which also encourages them to work harder.
MARKETING
How do you promote your lash and brow services?
Social media is our go-to for promoting our lash and brow services. We ask each of our employees to keep up their own business page on Facebook and Instagram, in addition to the spa’s page. This allows clients to see everyone’s work before coming in, so they have an idea of what we offer and what they want out of their appointment. We regularly post before and after photos of clients, product information, specials, and of course a cute meme or two!
Are your estheticians trained to promote different services after each treatment?
Each employee is trained to sell product and add-on services whenever time allows. We don’t ever want to be the pushy sales people that clients dread. More times than not, clients are inclined to ask for details on services or products when simple recommendations are made to suit their personal needs.
Please describe your methods of promotion.
Word of mouth is great for our business! For this reason, we use social media and email marketing. We use email marketing solely to highlight new trends, services or products. By staying on trend and sharing that with our clients and followers, I believe they trust our services and recommendations. We love to reward our faithful clients with VIP cards for discounted services, giveaways and gifts with purchase.
INSIDER TIPS
What trends are you currently seeing in the industry?
Fuller brows definitely made a comeback recently! With microblading, we are able to completely reshape brows or add brows where there are none and make them symmetrical. With lashes, the most natural looking application seems to be the most popular.
How do you perform consultations?
We only require consultations for our microblading services. We require all potential clients to fill out an online form prior to their appointment to ensure they are healthy candidates for the service. We then set up a consultation to go over the procedure, risks, aftercare, and then prep their brows for microblading. The brow technician also takes “before” pictures and color matches the client’s brows in preparation for their appointment during their consultation.
What does your business do that makes it UNIQUE from the competition?
Competition isn’t really a thing for us. I encourage everyone to focus on being the best they can be and not concern themselves with other estheticians locally. I think customer satisfaction is the most important goal in any successful business and focusing on our business and clients alone is the best thing we can do as service providers.
What advice would you pass along to other spa owners who are thinking about offering lash and brow services in their spa?
Educate yourself on each service as well as products that go along with them. Your work is only as good as your product. Make sure you know as much about every service you offer as possible, so that you can answer any questions clients ask.
