The Guernsey spa bringing Jennifer Young products to cancer patients

As we all know, skincare doesn’t begin and end with spa treatments; it’s about being able to continue the feel good factor at home. In many cases, helping your clients affected by cancer to achieve this experience, is easier said than done. Cancer treatments often trigger allergic reactions to skincare products, as well as side effects to the skin itself.

Racheal Day is the owner of the Day Salon in Guernsey, where she frequently works with those living with or beyond cancer. In order to welcome cancer patients to her salon, she enrolled at The Jennifer Young Training School. She has also introduced a retail area to her salon, stocking Jennifer Young skincare products for guests to buy and use at home.

Racheal spoke to us about why she introduced Jennifer Young products to her spa, and how this helps her to support and welcome cancer patients from her local community.

Tell us about the Day Salon…

I have a small beauty salon in Guernsey in the Channel Islands. I used to teach at the local college here, where I set up and managed the course for seven years. I had an opportunity to set up a spa, and although that didn’t follow through, we set up the salon off the back of that. We’ve now been here for 14 years!

I volunteer at the local hospice and I am the Lead Volunteer for the charity Look Good Feel Better in Guernsey. I wanted to incorporate a range of products for anyone who’s undergoing oncology treatments, which is why we approached Jennifer Young.

Why did you want to work with Jennifer Young?

I am trained in oncology massage and am doing level 4 training so I can work in a healthcare setting for clients who are having oncology treatments. I have been looking for a range of products specifically for clients with cancer.

Do you like the Jennifer Young products?

They’re lovely! We’re getting really wonderful feedback from people. They like the smell, the texture and the benefits as well. It’s nice that they’re suitable to use too; my friend’s a pharmacist and she looked at them and is happy to refer people to us as a result. They also sit brilliantly beside other skincare brands.

We retail them as well as using them in treatments, and that’s proving really popular. It’s nice for people to be able to buy products for themselves that they can be confident won’t cause harm. It’s also lovely for people to buy them as gifts for loved ones with cancer.

Why do you think training is so important?

Training is really important; I love it. It’s important to keep updating your knowledge in such a fast moving industry. You’ve always got to be looking out to see what’s new and available. I think it’s difficult for therapists to keep up sometimes, especially on the cost if salons aren’t prepared to pay for it. It can be tricky in Guernsey - the college is great but there isn’t anything else here so you’re limited by choice. I travel a lot normally to the UK for training and we also do a lot of our training by Zoom. I’ve been doing it a long time - I’m 52 and I’ve been doing it since I was 16.

Has the attitude changed to cancer and cancer treatment in the spa industry do you think?

Definitely, I think before people were scared because they thought they would spread the cancer. As people are becoming more knowledgeable they’re more willing to provide treatments. It’s wrong to turn people away because of cancer. We should be able to treat them; they probably need it more than anyone else.

Do you see a noticeable difference in clients when you can provide treatments?

Definitely. Sometimes it’s just nice to have a treatment that isn’t medical - to be touched by someone who isn’t a nurse or a doctor. It’s also really rewarding as a therapist.

You do a lot to support cancer patients in other ways too, don’t you?

We hold Look Good Feel Better workshops at the local hospital. They’re normally face-to-face but have been on Zoom calls during the pandemic.

Guests are given a pack containing make-up and skincare products donated by different companies. It’s brilliant, you don’t know what’s in the pack until they open it, so it’s exciting for me too! Then we talk them through how to apply their make-up and look after their skin with general tips. It’s for men and women - skin, hair care, nail care as well - they do loads.

This month the charity has a 28 day challenge, so we’re doing 28 facials for £30. £15 is going towards Look Good Feel Better and £15 is redeemable against products. As we stock Jennifer Young products through the affiliate programme, we’re also giving all profits from the sale of those items to Look Good Feel Better for the first year.

What’s next for you?

I’m doing all of the Jennifer Young training. I signed up for everything in the lockdowns and now all the Covid restrictions have ended. It's all very busy, but I have it planned!

LEARN HOW TO WELCOME THOSE AFFECTED BY CANCER TO YOUR SALON OR SPA

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