August is all about Rest, Research & Development!

Summer holidays always bring mixed emotions for me. I love the fact that my routines are changed because my children are off school. Then I hate the fact that my routines are changed because my children are off school!!!

I have two sons and they are not so little any more so it has got easier in one way but I am still conscious that I want to spend time with them when they are off school, particularly as they are growing up fast and I don’t know how many more summer holidays I will have the opportunity to actually take them out for a day.

The other interesting and sometimes unnerving thing about summer holidays from a therapist’s point of view is that treatment numbers tend to drop off because people are on holiday or looking after their children! So all in all, the end of July and August can be a little unsettling at times.

This year I decided to approach the holidays with a different mindset. I planned specific day trips that I would do with my sons, which gave me a good structure. I then changed my clinic opening hours to streamline my clients into specific time patterns each week - giving me some control over when I was physically giving treatments and when I had clear time.

And then I decided to actively use that “clear time” to move my business forward. The result has been better than I could have imagined. I have almost completed the development of three new aromatherapy products to add to the two hand and foot creams I already made.

I have set up an online store so that people can buy the products more easily than they could before. I have also sourced boxes so that I can easily post the products around the UK, and I have designed a new label for each product rather than the homemade labels I had previously, which I was printing at home.

I have had amazing fun to developing the products - two shower gels and a bath foam - which will be ready to launch in September (when the children go back to school!)

If you like aromatherapy products I hope you will love these. There is:

“Freedom” Shower Gel containing natural essential oils of Sandalwood & Sweet Orange, with extract of fig. This shower gel is designed with people who have a busy lifestyle and want to escape from the stresses and strains of everyday life. It contains vitamin B-complex, vitamin C and essential minerals for your skin.

Sandalwood is the “liquid gold” of essential oils and is great for calming the mind and encouraging peace. Meanwhile Sweet Orange essential oil is fresh and uplifting, giving the shower gel a gorgeous citrus scent.

The second shower gel is “Happiness”, which contains essential oils of Jasmine, Frankincense & Clary Sage with extract of green tea which has anti-ageing properties and is good for protecting your skin.

This shower gel has been designed to boost your confidence and lift your mood. Jasmine reduces stress and anxiety, boost confidence and helps with depression. Frankincense is uplifting and refreshing, regenerative and relieving and generates a feeling that everything will be OK. Clary Sage is great for relieving tension and uplifting the mind.

So all in all August has been all about Rest, Research & Development so far and there’s more of it in the pipeline too.

Gayle