Expansion program points to growing clientele of medical spa

DAVAO CITY – The expansion program of a medical spa here, including a planned branch at the Alexian Brothers' wellness center, has indicated a strong showing of the spa industry here with no sign of rust from the lingering global financial crisis.

And the males may not overtake the proclivity of the females for the wellness benefits of the spa yet, but Rayanne Arao, marketing manager of The MediSpa, by Skin Specialist, said that the males have posted a strong showing as a spa goer.

“More males are becoming conscious of their health and wellness, and they are becoming a good clientele base,” she told a regular fortnight business forum on Tuesday at their clinic at the SM City here.

In less than a decade of operation, the MediSpa would open a branch at the new building of the Alexian Brothers wellness center at its compound along MacArthur Highway here, providing the same brand of aesthetics and therapeutic services that now includes the Filipino traditional hilot services and the Chinese's age-old expertise in acupuncture.

The new branch would open next month, as well as plans were also being laid in the pipeline to put branches at the upcoming upscale shopping center of the Ayala Land, Inc.

“The clientele is growing, with no sign of having been troubled by the financial difficulty,” she said.

She said the local clients remain its strong base of those seeking wellness and medically-supervised relaxation and therapeutic massage.

The only one medical spa in Southern Philippines, the MediSpa is managed by the Guillano couple, with the wife, Dr. Victoria Patiño-Guillano, is one of only two dermapathologist in Mindanao. Her husband, Franklin is a nephrologist, and helps manage the nephrology center in Davao, which would also open a new branch alongside with the MediSpa.

The MediSpa has added new services to the common spa services, Arao said. This includes adaption of the Pinoy hilot expertise in the treatment of joint and muscle pains, of the needle-less acupuncture, the Chinese traditional practice, as well as the application of the healing wonders of the jade stones.

Arao said that wider education of Filipinos may further improve the understanding of how the spa operates. “More people have come to understand that the spa is not a salon and we have helped reduced the misconception that the spa offers other undesirable [sexual] services,” she said.