800.558.5571 
Chat 5 Reasons Your Spa Needs Single-Use Supplies
Whether you’re a spa owner, esthetician, nail tech, massage therapist, or salon stylist, providing an exceptional client experience is essential to your business. Disposable spa and salon supplies may not be the first tools that you think of when offering this, but their usage is extremely important to your clients and to your spa or salon business. Here’s why:
1. Clients Expect Single Use Supplies
Satisfying client expectations is one of the most important things a spa can do to build a solid book of clients. Even in our eco-conscious world, clients expect disposable items in spas and salons.
As the spa industry has grown, spa clients have become savvier consumers. One thing they have learned is the value of spa disposables and supplies. Consumer education materials provided by everyone from beauty bloggers to state boards of health or cosmetology stress the importance of proper sanitation in spas. Consumers quickly learn which spa supplies should be disposable and how everything else must be sanitized and disinfected.
Through this education, spa clients have come to expect disposable supplies at all spas and salons, regardless of price point. Spa disposables convey cleanliness and concern for protecting each client’s health.
Disposable items can also convey luxury or low-budget. Cotton pads that leave lint or strands behind, sponges that separate, and applicator sticks that break are all signs that a spa is not investing in its products. At some level, clients experience this as a lack of investment in them. Sometimes these details seem insignificant or unnoticed, but every element of a spa experience contributes to a client’s overall feeling about the spa.
Spa disposables can feel luxurious. Forget the cheap synthetics of the past. Look for disposable products made with 100% organic cotton or natural cellulose fiber. While you might pay a higher price per item, the overall cost tends to be the same or less than reusable products. Estheticians and nail technicians typically use fewer wipes, swabs, and pads because higher quality products are stronger and more durable. Appropriately absorbent applicators mean that less product is used, resulting in less waste.
2. Disposable Supplies Keep Spas Sanitary
All states regulate the cleanliness of spas and salons. States require spas to clean, sanitize, disinfect, and sterilize workstations, equipment, supplies, and facilities. Spas must document compliance with proper hygiene protocols.
While spa directors and salon managers appreciate the importance of cleanliness, compliance with the increasing requirements is usually not their favorite part of the job. Significant time is spent training staff on the protocols, ensuring time is available between clients to comply with the protocols and implementing quality assurance measures to verify that employees follow the protocols every time.
This time investment is reduced when spa disposables can be used. For example, in states that allow salons to use approved disposable pedicure liners, the time savings add up. Instead of disinfecting the bowls with a 10-minute soak after every client, the liner can simply be switched out. That’s one less process nail technicians need to remember, allowing them to focus on their clients.
When spas properly store and use disposable supplies, they comply with safety and sanitation requirements. No extra steps are needed to disinfect anything, and documentation is minimal. Little time is required to train staff on using disposables, and the QA process is simple. Many spa directors appreciate the way that spa disposables streamline their work and reduce their compliance burdens.
3. For Efficiency, Spa Disposables Can’t Be Beat
From an efficiency perspective, disposables can help you streamline spa operations by saving you or your staff from washing towels all day and disinfecting pedicure bowls between each client. Disposable cleansing towels and pedicure liners could help your spa and salon tasks run smoother.
Reusable table sheets and washcloths are excellent choices, but sometimes spa treatments can be messy. Oils, tints, and tanning lotions will stain sheets and washcloths. To save your linens from these types of products, you may want to rely on disposables at times. Additionally, if the inventory of spa disposables and supplies is properly managed, you won’t run out of linens because the laundry wasn’t done or too many sheets got stained.
4. Spa Disposables Offer a Quicker Turnaround Between Services
One of the benefits of disposable salon and spa supplies is saving time, which can translate into cost savings. The time spent on sanitizing and disinfecting supplies or washing, folding, and storing linens can be spent serving clients. No prep or cleanup required. A quicker turnaround time between treatments offers an advantage for busy spas and salons with a high volume of clients.
5. Disposable Supplies Provide Flexibility
Many disposable spa supplies are multitaskers. For example, cleansing wipes can be used to remove makeup before a facial, prepare skin for waxing, or to wipe up spills during services. Keeping one product on hand for many purposes streamlines ordering and managing the supply cabinet.
Instead of ordering specific supplies for every service, choose a few high-quality, versatile products and buy in bulk. The savings will add up because larger quantities usually cost less, and ordering and tracking one or two products take less time than managing a complicated order or placing frequent orders.
While regulations mandate that certain spa supplies be single use, spa managers have flexibility with other items. The decision to use spa disposables must consider the spa’s brand and promise to clients, what clients expect and want, costs in terms of dollars and staff time, and other factors particular to each spa or salon. Many spa directors and salon managers have found that using spa disposables can streamline their services and assist in compliance with sanitation regulations.
If you are considering whether to switch some of your reusable spa supplies to disposables, our product experts are available to consult with you. Give us a call at 1.800.558.5571!
Universal Companies is proud to have a team of experienced spa advisors on staff and welcomes you to consult with our professionals about spa products and supplies, including ingredients, equipment, and retail. Dedicated to the success of spa professionals everywhere, we're grateful to be recognized with the American Spa Magazine Professional's Choice Award, Favorite Distributor of the Year for many consecutive years. (Thank you!)