What is a spa, really?

I've been having a back and forth conversation via blog posts with Andrew Moorhouse, the blogger who writes about spas from the male perspective at the Great Spa Search.

Andrew was nice enough to follow up on the story I suggested he read in Dayspa trade magazine about how spa operators are trying to attract more men to indulge beyond a hot shave with a beer chaser. Andrew asked for comments on the article and as I was trying to make the comments thingy work it really got me thinking expanding on the-post-that-never-materialized idea. So here are some thoughts:

The author of the Dayspa You've Got Male article quotes a stat released this year by ISPA, which states that 31% of males are currently using spas. I think that this stat is correct but misleading. It all depends on how you define the word spa. These days the term is used so loosely that we don't really know what the place is going to look like and what its vibe is until we arrive. You may be envisioning tranquility and quiet ambiance only to find something else entirely.

It would be interesting to know if the quoted 31% includes MedSpas as well, which is a very different beast. I check and see. In the meantime, nail and hair salons are now attaching the word spa their business names. But aside from the one that are true hybrid venues and do offer bonafide spa treatments such as massage, that stat is likely ramped up because of researchers' lack of specificity. So do your own research—ask your Q's to get your A's because I doubt this naming trend is going anywhere fast. And check in here frequently as I continue to elaborate on treatments that you may have heard about but are not so clear on what they do as to what they are.