With health and well-being on the forefront of everyone’s minds these days, wellness treatments are increasingly infiltrating the beauty side of the industry. Spa-goers want offerings that address their concerns inside and out, so services that take a whole body approach are a major boon for business.
The icoone device from Skin Science Solutions is becoming popular among spas and their guests for that exact reason. Using its patented Roboderm technology, it performs Multi Micro Alveolar Stimulation (MMAS) for a noninvasive beauty treatment that shapes the silhouette while supporting important internal systems.
WellSpa 360 sat down with Elizabeth Kapica, CEO of Skin Science Solutions, to learn about icoone’s technology and how it can be used to provide progressive wellness treatments to guests.
How does Roboderm technology work?
When the dimpled rollers go over the skin, they stimulate collagen and elastin fibers in the tissue’s microvacuole. There’s a hole in the middle with strong suction, so the rollers simultaneously condense and induce lipolysis. It’s like a pinching effect, and it squeezes the fat out of the fat cell, displacing it.
On the screen, the device also displays the body’s key lymphatic drainage points with little gray marks and tracings. You hold the handpiece for three seconds on each location, and it performs a full body lymphatic drainage, flushing all the lipids displaced from the fat cells out of the body right away.
Not only does the client see and feel a difference in how their clothes fit, but they’re experiencing luxurious, proactive wellness where the lymphatic system is being optimized. So, you’re reducing the fat cells in the body, you’re reinvigorating the skin and you’re delivering relaxation.
How does icoone combine wellness and beauty treatments?
This device is encompassing an entire body approach. We are not spot-treating; a basic treatment always addresses the full body holistically instead of one-dimensionally. It’s all about understanding that the skin is our largest organ and everything is connected. The microvacuole is the nucleus, and the tendons, ligaments and muscles are all interconnected with the skin.
Base programs are 20 minutes long, and there are three outcomes: a firming action for rejuvenating the skin, lymphatic drainage in the system and a body remodeling action. Depending on which program we select, we can have a stronger intention for one of those three things.
People will most likely be looking to reach a body goal and feel better about how they look, but the nice part about these treatments is that the drainage aspect is balancing how the body works and optimizing how it functions. The more that the blood can flow the way it should and the lymphatics work, the more we are oxygenating the muscles, connections and all of the underlying tissue.
Especially at destination spas, when a guest has just flown in, this is going to help right their ship. Even if a flight was only a couple of hours, an icoone session will push through any sluggish lymphatics, move edema out of their ankles, get rid of all that water and reset them. Now they’re ready for their vacation. The treatments are so popular because they don’t just address beauty issues, they also make the person feel better and more balanced.
What’s the purpose of the suit?
The suit and its fibers have been specially devised to work in conjunction with how the icoone functions for optimum services. It protects the body and is more sanitary, in that it minimizes things like skin cells coming through the filters (it does get cleaned later).
Remember, we’re using mechanical rollers, so if the guest has any body hair or loose skin, the suit will keep the grip to a very comfortable sensation and prevent any sudden pinching. It also makes treatments a little bit easier because we don’t have to cleanse the whole body beforehand—just put on the suit!
What do treatments feel like?
Like you just had a six-hand massage. I call it transformative because it is so relaxing, and clients feel more balanced afterward. They came in because they wanted to reach a body goal, and they weren’t expecting to also feel better.
That’s what I get from people: the surprise about how they feel during the treatment and how they feel when they get off the table. It’s one of those services where a guest is welcome to snooze or fall asleep, or just go with it and relax. Afterward, they have a lightness in their limbs, they’re calm and they feel more svelte. It is really an experiential treatment.
How are you able to customize services?
Each icoone treatment starts with a 20-minute Base program, followed by Focus programs that are each 10 minutes long. As operators giving the service, we know what the different programs deliver and how to tailor a treatment to meet what the client wants and what they’re doing in their life.
With a Base program, we can create a service that is stronger on lymphatic drainage, skin tightening, reducing adipose or a mix of those. You can also do one Base on the upper body and a different Base in the lower body.
The Focuses are the protocols that we sprinkle in to really target specific areas. It’s like the client threw a dart at their photo and said, “That’s what I want changed.” Say a guest has a lot of lax skin around their stomach, then we’ll run a 10-minute Focus that just works on tightening the abdomen, as a way of really getting in there and doing more specialized work for that outcome.
If a person has more than one concern, we can add on all the Focuses we want.
How do the wellness modes work?
The two wellness protocols promote energy and relaxation. With these, we’re not trying to do body remodeling; we’re helping the client because they’re not feeling balanced. We still work across the same tracks as we do in body contouring, but the settings are a little different.
In the Tonus mode for activating energy, it helps stimulate on a cellular level to make the client feel more energized. If we accompany it with Flowing, we can oxygenate the blood as well.
If someone is stressed out, Optimum works to relax the muscles and the nervous system so that they’re not feeling tense. This is the last program we go through when we do trainings, and 9 times out of 10 the model falls asleep on the table!
You can use these modes primarily if someone wants to address fatigue or stress, or you could use them as what I call “a piece of chocolate:” The client had a difficult morning, so you give them that nice relaxing moment before you send them out the door. Practitioners love having that option at their fingertips.
Can icoone be used on the face?
Yes, you can work just on the face, neck and décolleté, and you still get a wonderful lymphatic drainage treatment in addition to skin tightening.
The icoone’s smaller handpieces are primarily for facials, and we have programs that address double chins, puffiness, sculpting and tightening. There’s also a great feature that is specialized for working in deep wrinkles.
An icoone treatment could be the main facial: You cleanse the skin, use the icoone and then you’re done. If you have other offerings that you want to incorporate, you can do that as well. Maybe you want to add a hydrating mask, serums or LED therapy afterward; the icoone is going to heighten the penetration and absorption. If you have any type of hydrodermabrasion device, you can use it beforehand.
What’s nice about it is that drainage aspect, again, is a healthy approach to the health of the skin and underlying tissues. Even though the client is here for a beauty treatment, we are approaching it in a holistic way.
How do these offerings differentiate a spa business?
What really makes the icoone stand out is the whole body approach. We may be focusing on one area of concern, but
we’re still treating the entire body—inside and out.
When someone is at a resort spa for three or four days, they can receive icoone treatments the whole time. They’ll leave with a visible difference in their silhouette and feeling great. It’s a very memorable experience and that person is going to want to come back to that spa.
Spa partners asked us all the time: “I have a client going to this location, where can they get treatments?” You’re delivering health and beauty benefits coupled with a relaxing massage; it is the ultimate pampering tool.
What’s the recommended number of treatments?
Strive to give a minimum of five consecutive treatments. Whether it is every day, twice a day or once a week, you want to aim for the continuity of at least five.
Ideally, I say give us two weeks and we can transform the guest’s body and face. I say two weeks because some people have a longer walk than others; five days might work for some, but two weeks gives us time to do a lot more.
Ultimately, there is a lot of flexibility to create a treatment plan that matches up with where a person is today, what their goals are and how they are feeling. It is beauty and wellness together; that’s what I love about it.
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