Love a good spa treatment? Massages, facials and pedicures are among the services you can experience at the Durham College (DC) Spa, while also providing students the opportunity with real-world experience that will help their career progression.

For students in the Cosmetic Techniques and Management, Esthetician – Spa Management and Massage Therapy programs, the DC Spa provides an opportunity to put the techniques and customer service skills they’ve been building in class into practice.

“They get that hands-on, real-world perspective,” said Leslie Morris, Spa Manager. “In the classroom when they’re learning techniques, they’re working peer to peer so everyone’s mostly in the same age group. But diversity really starts to broaden when they work on paying clients—people are giving feedback, and all of that soft skill training comes into play.”

If you’ve ever been a client at the DC Spa, you know that’s a special experience too. Serving the wider community, the Spa sees a diverse group of people each week from retirees to DC employees. Top service choices include massages, facials, pedicures, facials and shellac manicures. Clients trade a slightly longer treatment time that allows students to learn and practice for really affordable prices ($13.50 for a manicure! $35 for a massage! See the rest of the pricing on their website at www.durhamcollegespa.ca). Massages, for example, are 75 minutes including both assessment and consultation time as well as the actual treatment.

“It’s a clinical practice, so students are creating a treatment plan based on needs and assessment,” explained Morris. Often the treatment recommendation involves multiple sessions, usually a maximum of three before clients are passed along to another student massage therapist.

Given the treatment options and pricing, it’s not surprising to learn that the DC Spa tends to book up fast. “The word is out about our spa,” said Morris. “We can see 40 to 60 people a day (100 a week), so there’s quite a bit of volume. Massage in particular books up and becomes waitlisted, and some people even plan when they want to come for whole semester, so they get preferred booking.”

While the online booking platform is easy to use, the Spa still takes in-person bookings and even walk-ins when available. The Spa’s top-quality products are available for purchase in its retail store, complimentary parking is available, and yes, they do sell gift certificates.

Morris says that clients come from all over—besides regulars, the past week’s customers included a police officer from Toronto who stopped in for a massage, and a first-year student who enjoyed her first facial enough to bring her mom along the second time. Compliments are also a regular feature at the spa, said Morris, reading from a recent client email. “I just wanted to reach out and compliment the amazing experience students at the Spa have created. I recently got my nails done there, and the student was amazing. She was so kind and took extra care during every part of the manicure. I just wanted to share that she created an amazing experience there, and I wanted to formally reach out to express what good work was done.”

Find out more about DC Spa including pricing and booking at www.durhamcollegespa.ca.