Nestled on Victor's High Street Extension is a structure dedicated to helping clients restore peace and tranquility, both mentally and physically. Formerly Woodhouse Day Spa, RELAX The Spa opened in 2017 after a complete rebranding.
Owner Ed Alberts brought in spa guru Melissa Endres in August 2018 to elevate RELAX's level of luxury. As a general manager, Endres says that coming on board did not pose a major obstacle for her. In fact, RELAX was already a well-oiled machine, but Endres has fine-tuned processes, retrained the staff of 25 on the best spa techniques and created a cohesive and lavish menu of services with new treatments.
In 1998, Endres was the first graduating class at Onondaga School of Therapeutic Massage in her hometown of Syracuse. Her first job in the massage industry was at one of the top spas in in the United States - The Centre for Well-Being at The Phoenician (now called The Phoenician Spa) in Scottsdale, Ariz. She started as a desk agent and worked her way up into massage therapy and eventually into management.
There, Endres was trained by the top massage therapists in the country and has since been dispersing her knowledge of best spa methods and practices to establishments around the country. She also had the opportunity to work with numerous professional athletes during her time at The Phoenician, including former Major league Baseball pitcher Randy Johnson and racecar drivers Jeff Gordon and Rusty Wallace.
Thirteen years ago, Enfres left Arizona in order to lead the opening of Spa Elan at Woodcliff Hotel in Perinton. After two years as spa director, Endres joined skin care and cosmetics company beingTRUE. In addition to heading northeast sales, Endres also designed all of the body care treatments for beingTRUE.
Endres has also designed treatments for the No. 1 spa in the Finger Lakes, Mirbeau Inn & Spa in Skaneateles.
RELAX is Endres' first venture into the day spa arena. Her career has been primarily spent at resorts sporting regular clientele. Day spa business is far more "transient...You have to go with the flow," she says.
Endres was open to leading a day spa because she knew the staff was highly skilled and well-trained. And the location didn't hurt.
"I live here, my kids go to school here. I love this area and I know it quite well," says Endres. "I know the type of clients that come to RELAX and what they need. And I know I can bring a next-level into the spa here."
RELAX's menu of services is both classic for a spa and lavish at the same time.
"We offer massages, facials, manicures, pedicures, and body treatments," says Endres. "Our massage therapists here are very well-educated; they're some of the best in the area. I do trainings on different techniques because I've been trained in so many different things. Working at one of the top spas in the world, we all had to be trained in a certain way. I bring that information on and I try to do training with them quite often here."
Endres is currently working on bringing a lymphatic facial to RELAX as well as a Korean pilates facial.
"Korea is the forefront of skincare, so we're working on designing a facial that has exercise techniques and acupressure massage," she says. "All different, unique things to bring in to this little part of New York."
Endres has also introduced CBD (cannabidiol) products and treatments to RELAX. CBD is a compound in cannabis plants that has been found to have profound healing properties. It does not contain THC, the mind-altering compound in cannabis, so people do not get high using CBD. Endres herself attests to the healing abilities of CBD.
"I broke my back about five years ago, and I used CBD to help heal my back and I noticed what an amzing product that was," says Endres. "I always knew I had to do something with CBD, but nobody was bringing it to New York."
She then recalled that her co-workers from her stint working at The Spa at The Hotel Hershey in Pennsylvania had a line called Hempfield Botanicals, which offers products like massage oil, muscle recovery and salve for more intense pain. Endres brought these products to RELAX and designed a massage specifically targeting pain relief using CBD.
Besides their innovative CBD massage, RELAX also offers deluxe hydrafacial treatments using a top-of-the-line machine "that a lot of spas can't even afford to have because it's one of the top machines." Rather than doing oxygen facials, RELAX performs hydrafacials to plump the skin using hyaluronic acid.
"People think oxygen facials are the best thing. But what happens when you cut open an apple? It starts turning brown because oxygen is hitting the flesh and deteriorating," she says. "We don't offer oxygen facials because it's one of the worst things you can do for your skin."
Endres is dedicated to educating herself on what other areas of the country - and the world - are doing in the spa industry. She looks outward for inspiration and ways to make RELAX the leading massage and spa in the Rochester area.
"Research is very important," she says. "You have to go outside the box; you can't just look at Upstate New York. You have to look beyond at places like the West Coast where everything begins before trickling into our area years later."
Reprinted with permission from Rochester Business Journal.
