Despite rising rates of stress, anxiety, and burnout among teens, most spas and wellness spaces remain adult-only playgrounds, ignoring teenage wellness needs. Here’s why that’s a problem that the industry needs to address, says our beauty and wellness director.
The wellness industry, now valued at over £600 billion, has evolved into a global phenomenon – and everywhere you turn there’s something new for adults to try, from the latest stress-busting treatments to breathwork and sound-healing sessions.
Yet, when you pause your pampering to think about it, one group is consistently overlooked in the space. While adults indulge in ever more luxurious retreats and high-end holistic therapies, teenagers are left with limited options that often fail to address their unique needs. Even when the younger generation is considered, with child-friendly pampering experiences such as mum-and-me massages, these are almost exclusively skewed towards ‘littler’ little ones who have not yet reached double digits, rather than towards teens and their friends.
Why are teenagers seemingly excluded from spas?
It’s a truth universally acknowledged that teenagers of every generation are lively, loud and have a tendency to misbehave, right? That’s the stereotype and – while it might not be true of all young adults – you can understand why many adult spa visitors might not love the idea of sharing a supposedly relaxing space with a rowdy teenager, especially when they’ve paid good money, and taken time out of their busy schedule, to be there.
Adults are the ones that hold the purse strings, with teenagers often overlooked because they don’t necessarily have their own income (or enough of one) to make them a priority for luxury spa and wellness experiences. With that in mind, you can understand why businesses choose to predominately focus on adults – with marketing echoing this so that teens don’t see themselves reflected in spa and wellness advertising either, leading to the assumption that these spaces aren’t for them.
Teenagers also introduce a very real (and often hard to overcome) liability factor, considering spaces are likely to require parental consent or even parental presence for certain treatments for under 16-18s. But, ultimately all those reasons ignore one important part of the puzzle. With rising rates of teenage anxiety and stress, spa and wellness spaces might just be exactly what teenagers need right now.
Why do teenagers need spas too?
Teenagers today are facing incredible mental pressures – not least academic stress, social media comparison and the over-hang of the pandemic and its social disruptions. In many ways, they are actually the demographic most in need of safe, nurturing spaces for mind-body rest, as they muddle through hormones and big life changes. No wonder then that shows such as Netflix’s Adolescence – which details an extreme consequence of teenage social culture – have hit such a nerve.
It’s true that wellbeing programmes are becoming more integrated into school curriculums, which is a massive step forward, but there’s a huge difference between sitting through a lesson you have to attend, and the pampering enjoyment that a treatment or wellness class you’ve chosen can bring.
At the end of the day, indulgent wellbeing isn’t something we suddenly discover in adulthood. It’s cultivated slowly, and it’s important we learn to listen to our mind and its needs from our earliest years – while also embracing the enjoyment that self-care can bring. Teens deserve access to restorative spaces that invite them to slow down and unplug without compromise, and if we really believe that spa culture is about restoration and health, that means that wellness really shouldn’t be reserved for just adults.
How can spas be made more inclusive to teens?
Teens don’t necessarily want to be shoehorned into adult-only spas. Equally, not every teen space needs TikTok playlists or ‘youthful’ branding – in fact, that’s probably the quickest way for a space to be dubbed ‘try-hard’ and ‘uncool’. However, some softening of the traditional whitewashed walls and sterile silence could help both teenagers and actually many adults relax more, with a wealth of opportunities to experiment with art, scent and layout in both spas and wellness centres to make environments more inviting to younger visitors. Or, for the best of both worlds, exploring the option of teen-only hours – perhaps in an off-peak time like straight after school on a weekday – could allow for a more relaxed atmosphere without compromising on an original aesthetic.
Including teenagers also isn’t just about simplifying treatments. Teenagers face unique challenges, so treatments need to go beyond just gentler, shorter experiences. Think 30-minute stress-relief massages tailored to growing pains; guided breathwork or meditation workshops with appropriate references; and skin treatments that are as targeted and bespoke as any traditional facial, while being delivered by highly trained staff who are qualified to work with teenagers.
Brands managing to bridge the teenage spa gap
Hopefully, we see a crop of teenage-friendly wellness spaces and spas cropping up soon to meet this very real demand, but in the meantime, here are our top two picks for teens, to celebrate what a bit of pampering can do for 12-17 year olds.
Pan Pacific London
You might think luxury spas would be the last to open their doors to teenagers, but Pan Pacific in London is leading the way as the first UK spa to launch a partnership with children’s brand Bonpoint. The curated range of pre-teen and teen-friendly treatments are as tailored to younger skin and growing bodies as they are an indulgent, pampering treat, with The Awakening to Care facial treatment a particular highlight for teens looking to care and treat their complexions. But, it’s not just about age-appropriate treatments. Most importantly of all, Pan Pacific creates a welcoming environment that helps teens feel comfortable in a traditionally adult space, with trained staff ensuring an atmosphere that both refreshes and suits individuals of all ages.
Laurabella, The Barn, Essex
Built on the concept that it is never too early to prioritise self-care, Laurabella The Barn has spa experiences for ages 11 and up, with tailored packages, whether someone’s 11 and just starting to explore wellness, or 16 and looking for something a bit more grown-up. For older teens (14+), there’s the Pretty Claws & Whiskers package, which includes a mini facial using gentle, skin-friendly products, a manicure, and time to relax in the spa’s calming spaces, as well as the opportunity to try massages, acupuncture and even sound healing – potentially for the first time – in a safe, nurturing environment. Whether it’s for a birthday, during pre-exam stress, or something else, Laurabella gives older teens a space to switch off and feel looked after.
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