Creating a Signature Service (Part 2)

How has the brainstorming been going? Have you found things to mix and match and make new services out of them? At this point I find notes really help me visualize my thoughts and put things together. Jot down what you want this service to be — is it a manicure or pedicure or both? Are you going to make it a signature service or a seasonal service? Do you have a price range in mind? Will it be more expensive or less than your current menu offerings. Are you going to use anything in the service that can be retailed?

Next, let’s think out the process. If it is a pedicure you will need to begin with a sanitizing product to either soak or wash the feet with. For a manicure it may be a special soap to wash the hands with only when receiving this service. To put together Sonja’s Spiced Apple Splurge, the CND Apple Cinnamon Scentsations Body wash is ideal to wash the hands and soak the feet briefly, or wash them if you do a waterless service.  

I wanted to create a service that sat right at $100 for the salon as these days $100 is what you might spend on a great gift or a really nice treat for yourself. To make this price point a great value for the client we are going to incorporate the hands and the feet. The larger portion of the cost is going to lie in the Rockstar Toes and pedicure so the hands are going to receive a very basic manicure. If you want to have a lower price point, it would make sense to choose one or the other instead of servicing both hands and feet.

For this service the client would receive cuticle work, shaping, and Shellac. I chose Shellac so the nails will be instantly dry and the client can enjoy a snack and beverage while the feet are being done without concern of smudges. For a luxury service you might let the client choose the color, for a seasonal service you may consider narrowing down the color options to complement the service.

Next, before completing the pedicure service the Rockstar toes will need to be applied. For a video on doing Rockstar toes with Shellac visit my YouTube channel.

With the toes finished it is time to complete the pedicure. Remember in the last blog I mention choosing CND Earth Warming Scrub because it will warm up on contact with water? This gives the feet a nice warm, cozy exfoliation that contributes to the mood we are going for. If you are doing a seasonal service you could add a scrub and/or masque to increase the cost of the service or skip them if you are looking for a fast economical service offering.

Whatever price point or type of service you decide to design, a massage can play an important role in making the service memorable! To complete the Spiced Apple Splurge experience, a soothing massage with CND Apple Cinnamon Scentsations lotion on nice warm happy feet are just the ticket to end the service on a very good note.  You can advise the client things are coming to an end if they would like to enjoy the rest of their snack and/or beverage while you massage them.

Did this give you an idea how you want to put things together? To recap this service, the price point we were going for is $100, the services included were a basic Shellac manicure, Rockstar toes, and a spa pedicure. An apple-style beverage will be provided such as apple cider in the cold months and a cinnamon apple martini in the hot months. Apple slices sprinkled with cinnamon are also provided and for a small fee the guest can take home the Apple Cinnamon lotion and wash! Let’s say you want this to be a faster service with a lower price point.  You could take out the scrub, offer a regular polish, and offer an apple as a take home snack!

I hope this has helped you begin the thought process for creating your own seasonal or signature service. There is more we can do to take it to the next level like creating a ritual tray and writing a descriptor that leaves the reader wanting the service stat! Put together your service, write down some of the feelings you want to evoke and some words to describe what is in your product or what the benefits of the steps are.

In a future blog I will take you shopping via video and we will put together inexpensive ritual trays with our “nail eyes” and then write menu descriptions.  Feel free to share some of your service ideas in the comments and use each other to bounce ideas off of and recipe ideas as well!

— Holly