Salon De Christié
A Family Establishment
by Scott Eric Barrett
 When
a client walks through Salon De Christié’s doors, the private calm and coziness
of the spa lounge suggests that this familyowned and operated day spa is a touch
above the rest. Owners Bob and Lynne Miller describe their theme as equally
“comfortable and caring” to match the family-oriented culture shared by their
staff. “Our business is all about people,” Bob Miller says. “We believe that
we have two customers—the ones who walk through the front door and our staff.
If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your customers.”
A Dose Of Midwestern Hospitality
Salon De Christié is a full-service salon and day spa with two deluxe locations.
The first began spoiling clients in 1997 in a 6,500- square-foot section of
the Promise Center—a mammoth shopping center that the Millers also own in St.
Peters, Mo. Residents responded positively almost immediately, which was nice
since most of the Millers’ acquaintances warned them not to mess around with
day spas because the county was too middle class.
“We felt a personalized brand of Midwestern bliss would make such an endeavor
appealing and profitable,” Bob Miller says. “The warmth of the welcoming smiles
that greet you at the door is surpassed only by the warmth of your complimentary
cappuccino. Fresh flowers abound at the reception area and your spirit soars
as high as the Gateway Arch as you peruse the array of services on the spa menu.”
In 2001 the family christened its second location, an 8,000-square-foot facility
in neighboring St. Charles.
“We purchased the building for our second location knowing that it was bigger
than we needed, but confident that we would grow into it,” Miller says. “It
has allowed us more flexibility. We also learned from the first location what
the balance of space needs to be.”
Each location’s decor is bright, modern and airy with many windows for natural
lighting. The hairstyling areas are modern and spacious with a clean, Scandinavian
feel. The treatment areas have a private lounge with a gas fireplace and cushy
chairs, which is a perfect area for hosting a private spa party or shower, or
for bridal preparations. It has the air of a resort or destination spa without
leaving town.
“Salon De Christié has a true family atmosphere and our staff is included in
this family,” Miller says. “We feel extremely blessed and that was the inspiration
for naming our business after Christ, as we feel that it’s important to give
back to the one who gave all to us.”
Select Services
 Like
most full-service day spas, Salon De Christié offers a bevy of treatments from
which to choose.
“We knew we were going to cater to a middle-America clientele,” Miller says.
“So we decided to focus on the spa basics along with a specialization in hair
and, specifically, hair color. We didn’t want to get into trendy treatments
or fads.”
Nourishing facials include the European, alpha-hydroxy, vita mineral, acne
treatment and ultimate spa. Customized massage therapies designed to induce
relaxation, relieve stress and improve circulation fit nicely with today’s stressed-out,
sleep deprived workaholics.
“Our therapeutic massages melt tension away in an instant,” Miller says. “Aromatherapy
awakens our clients’ senses and the healing stones of the hot-stone massage
calm and soothe the soul.”
The spa’s most popular service in the winter months is its airbrush tanning
treatment. The Millers chose to get into sunless tanning because they wanted
to help people look great and continue to advocate the benefits of smart
skincare.
“We started doing sunless tanning with creams and lotions in 1999 and found
the results to be too inconsistent for our clients,” Miller says. “We refunded
20 percent of all our service income to keep the customers happy.”
The family first started airbrush tanning its clients in May 2003. The results
were unbelievable, Miller says.
“We currently are averaging one treatment per day, which is a significant increase
from what we used to do,” he adds. “Now that we know what we are doing and have
reached a greater level of expertise, the spring should be great.”
The staff’s tanning experts are skincare specialists who have undergone training
and practiced on numerous models—mostly staff members. They must be approved
by Salon De Christié’s spa director before they can do applications on clients.
“We use the NORVELL/BodyInvest system along with their tanning products and
body moisturizers and the Bio Elements skincare line,” Miller says. “The solution
is outstanding. Facial bronzing is our biggest service; it’s very big with brides
and prom-goers.”
Miller charges $40 for a full-body airbrush experience, $25 for a face treatment
and $25 for legs, while other body parts and combinations are determined by
the service provider before the service.
“We anticipate that this category of business will double for us in the next
year as our marketing and advertising kick in,” he says. “We are not doing specific
advertising for this category, but now have added it to our menu of services
and our salon brochure. We will be updating our Web site in the near future,
but our best advertising is the salon staff wearing it. Staff members are charged
only the cost of the product to get their sunless tan.”
To stay on the cutting edge of skincare, the Millers made sure to include the
latest anti-aging and rejuvenating therapies on their service menu. The oxygenation
fresh-air facial vitalizes and clarifies dull, sluggish complexions and the
popular microderm-abrasion procedure gently removes the dead skin-cell layer
on the surface of clients’ skin.
“After the microderm-abrasion procedure, the client’s skin appears to be fresh,
smooth, soft and polished,” Miller says. “If a more specific condition is of
concern, they can speak with a technician who will recommend a protocol for
them to follow.”
Salon De Christié also specializes in creative haircutting techniques and hair-color
artistry including highlights, multi-level highlights, special hair-color effects
and corrective hair color.
“We are known as one of the top hair-color salons in metropolitan St. Louis
and one of the best in the United States,” Miller says. “Hair straightening,
texturizing and designer-perm wrap services sell well. We also offer bridal,
prom and formal specials, event hair fashions as well as makeup design, facial
and body waxing services. If there are six or more in the bridal party, the
bride receives a free service.”
To maintain a superb level of customer service, Salon De Christié’s staff receives
a higher than average amount of training. They attend motivational seminars,
regular employee meetings, are rewarded with above-average company benefits
and work together in a family-oriented atmosphere, all of which reflects in
their professionalism.
“We know above all that our future is in our team members,” Miller says. “We
invest heavily in their futures.”
The Millers do an annual education retreat for all of their team members where
they share their numbers with them, educate them, show new products and services
and have a lot of fun.
“We have taken the staff to Chicago, Long Beach, Kansas City, Las Vegas and
on a Caribbean cruise,” Miller says. “We know that the one thing that is true
today and will be true in the future is that it’s all about helping people.
The continued success of Salon De Christié and the warm and caring atmosphere
that we’ve worked hard to create is a testament to our dedication to establish
a new level of professionalism in the market, to offer salon professionals a
great place work and to give the people of St. Charles County a great salon
and spa.”
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