At Eclips Kids Salon and Spa in McLean, Va., the brightly decorated interior caters to the under-14 crowd with toys, stuffed animals, and video games. The retail center is stocked with products geared to the needs of children and teens. But what makes the kids salon truly unique are its spa services re-engineered for the special needs of the under-14 crowd. Eclips’ kid friendly spa menu emphasizes grooming basics: manicures, polish changes, pedicures, ear piercing, seated chair massage, makeup lessons and applications, skin care lessons, mini facials, hair removal, and eyebrow arching.

“The main theme is education,” says Diane Fisher, founder and president of Eclips. “When I was entering my teens, I didn’t know how to pluck my eyebrows or apply makeup. So what we’re really trying to do is give them accurate information. It helps the parents out at the same time because sometimes kids don’t want to listen to their parents.”

But parents do listen to their kids — and those kids are asking for manicures and pedicures. “Manicures are very much an impulse service right now,” Fisher says. “A mother walks in with a few kids and asks if Sara can get a manicure while Mary gets her haircut. Or the child will see someone else getting a manicure and request one for herself.” Fortunately, Fisher says, children’s manicures are much simpler than adult manicures, and technicians can accom­modate several at once.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, Click here.