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This week, we'll share the latest news headlines, announcements, and information about the upcoming ISPA November 2005 conference. Please make special note of our ISPA Conference participation below, if you would like to meet with us during the Conference. We look forward to it!

Our healthy and beautiful crystal Salt Lamps are handcrafted in the Himalayas and are among the purest products on Earth. The natural substances and high pressure to which the crystals are exposed will determine the wonderful array of colors and unique appearance. Each Salt Lamp is truly unique.

Bangkok-based luxury resorts operator Six Senses is in negotiations with mainland parties to set up a luxury spa near the Great Wall of China to tap the growing health tourism market. Six Senses Resorts and Spa chairman and chief executive Sonu Shivdasani, said that details are under negotiation with mainland partners and the group intends to open the spa in 2007. "I think there is an affluence in China ... people do have the money and they are willing to spend in the health-care tourism,'' he said. Six Senses runs resorts and spas under three brand names Soneva, Evason Resorts and Evason Hideaway.

A limited number of scholarships will be provided each year by Green Mountain at Fox Run, Ludlow, VT, USA, a premier weight loss spa and retreat, to deserving women ready to take charge of their weight, their health, themselves.

Almost 80 percent of spa resorts and Japanese inns that diluted natural hot spring water with tap water in their 'onsen' baths did not inform their patrons, according to an Environment Ministry survey released Friday. In addition, 80.8 percent of those that recycled bath water gave no indication that they did so, the survey said. It also found that as of Sept. 1, 17 facilities among the 12,122 responding were using hot spring water without authorization from local authorities. Going to spa resorts to enjoy hot spring baths is popular in Japan, but the quality of onsen facilities has been questioned recently after a spate of revelations that some operators were found to be deceiving customers by passing off heated tap water or water with chemical additives as the real thing.

A new consumer survey released today by the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) reveals that African-Americans, more than any other segment of the population, are increasingly using massage therapy to manage and relieve pain and reduce stress. While 21 percent of the overall adult population said they had received massage from a massage therapist during the last 12 months, more than one in four (26 percent) African-Americans surveyed indicated they'd visited a massage therapist at least once during the previous year, an increase of 12 percentage points since 2003.

When the last clients at the Warren Scott Salon & Day Spa have gone home and the lights go dim, a well-kept secret is revealed. When the last clients at the Warren Scott Salon & Day Spa (Raleigh, North Carolina, USA) have gone home and the lights go dim, a well-kept secret is revealed. The salon walls literally swing open to create a 600 square foot professional photography studio. The transformation is completed with elaborate set designs, unique wardrobes and models with dramatic hairstyles and makeup.

"My life is measured in minutes," says Stephanie (names have been changed), a 46-year- old lawyer at a big Bay Street firm and a downtown SpaMedica client who pops in for Botox and the Pan- G facial series (a made-up name for a combination of photofacials and myofacials, basically a machine that does deep muscle stimulation). "It's damned expensive, but I wear my face every day," she says. "I haven't been to a regular day spa for a facial for years. They're a waste of money. SpaMedica is like going to the doctor's, but you never have to wait, which I just can't do."

The Crowne Pointe Historic Inn & Spa in Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, has earned American Automobile Association's coveted Four Diamond Rating three years in a row, is a member of the National Trust Historic Hotels of America, and combines luxurious accommodations with a true full- service spa, the Asian-inspired Shui Spa. Thomas J. Walter is an MBA, with an undergraduate in Finance and Accounting, and is the General Manager. His Partner, David M. Sanford is an engineer and is the Operations Manager.

"We work hard to create a Zen experience. We have dedicated as much space to the common areas of the spa as we did to the treatment rooms. We have a large indoor mineral tub, steam room and sauna area. There are large lounge chairs and relaxing materials to read. We don't allow loud conversation or clutter of any kind, and that includes newspapers. You may laugh at that -- but newspapers are not allowed in our spa."

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