Beauty Treatment and Spa Design from Islamic Perspective Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 50 ( 2012 ) 492 – 501 1877-0428 © 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Centre for Environment- Behaviour Studies (cE-Bs), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.08.053 AcE-Bs 2012 Bangkok ASEAN Conference on Environment-Behaviour Studies, Bangkok, Thailand, 16-18 July 2012 Beauty Treatment and Spa Design from Islamic Perspective Rostam Yaman*, Zarina Alias and Norishahaini Mohamed Ishak Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying,UiTM 40450 Shah Alam, Malaysia Abstract The paper aims to study design and spatial relationship in health & beauty treatment by blending modern setting within Islamic perspective. The chosen case studies are Islamic Spa in Klang Valley adopted Islamic Spa Practice (ISP). The methodology used is on-site observation and survey questionnaires. Outcome from the research shown that respondents agreed and satisfied with the design aspect also the implementation of ISP within the selected case studies. Based on Malaysia cases, it is imperative to apply and develop the design according to the ISP as it is a flourishing tourism industries based on specific niche market. © 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Centre for Environment- Behaviour Studies (cE-Bs), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia Keywords: Beauty treatment/spa; space design; islamic spa practice; islamic perspective 1. Introduction Beauty salon or beauty parlor means a business dealing with cosmetic treatments for men and women which is from the hair to the toes. Other variations of this type of business are including hair salons and spas. A beauty salon has become an almost iconic image in Malaysian culture. It is a place where people go for beauty treatment and to purchase beauty product. A beauty salon is also a center for community news and confessions. Each salon tries to have its own distinct identity and ambience. Some cater to a particular section of the society, while others meet the demands of certain ethnic communities. * Corresponding author. Tel:+6-012-9177029; Fax:+6-03-5544-3453. E-mail address: rosrose@salam.uitm.edu.my. Available online at www.sciencedirect.com © 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Centre for Environment- Behaviour Studies (cE-Bs), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia 493 Rostam Yaman et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 50 ( 2012 ) 492 – 501 Today women are very much different than earlier time those women because most of them are working and their career nowadays same level as men. Therefore, they are really giving emphasis to appearance, health, and pleasant personality. They are constantly looking to improve what they have or give themselves a whole new look start from the root of the hair to the tip of their toes. They drop by the nearest hair salon and spa to be pampered by stylists and beauticians to style their hair, massage their body, and get the manicure and pedicure treatment even using lots of cash, and an hour in a beauty salon every month. It is no wonder that hair salon and spa business remains one of the rapidly growing industries today. The successful hair salon and spa business is one that offers excellent service, use quality products, and provide an enjoyable atmosphere at an acceptable price. According to industry insiders, the growing popularity of day spas account for the increase in sales on the hair and salon industry. The rising demand for spa is related to the changing lifestyle that requires a person to relax, reflect, rejuvenate and rejoice oneself. Segerberg, an international spa professional, elaborates that spa guests have the opportunity to take time to listen to their souls and bodies. Malaysians are no exception. According to Spa Industry Profile Malaysia 2002-2007, Intelligent Spas has identified spa numbers in Malaysia have grown over 200% since 2002, identifying 151 spas currently operating and 25 spas under development (Clark, 2005). From the data, 54% were day spas and 40% were spas located in hotels, resorts or retreats which so called destination spas. The average indoor area of spa facilities in Malaysia was 393 square meters and contained 7.7 treatment room on average. 50% of spas owned a relaxation room compared to 16% that arranged access for their visitors to use a nearby relaxation room. Whereas, herbal tea was the most common complimentary food or beverage item provided by spas, with 87% offering to visitors. Besides, the increasing interest in traditional massage treatment was most current industry trend observed by spa owners and managers. In addition 26% of spa surveyed stated that there was increased customers awareness about spas. Today beauty industries are very much different than earlier time. Nowadays, most women are working and their career nowadays same level as men. Therefore, they are really giving emphasis to appearance, health, and pleasant personality. They are constantly looking to improve what they have or give themselves a whole new look start from the root of the hair to the tip of their toes. They drop by the nearest hair salon and spa to be pampered by stylists and beauticians to style their hair, massage their body, and get the manicure and pedicure treatment even using lots of cash, and an hour in a beauty salon every month. It is no wonder that hair salon and spa business remains one of the rapidly growing industries today. The successful hair salon and spa business is one that offers excellent service, use quality products, and provide an enjoyable atmosphere at an acceptable price. According to industry insiders, the growing popularity of day spas account for the increase in sales on the hair and salon industry. However, to succeed as an industry is not an easy as there is many problems and difficulties to be overcome especially in Islamic entrepreneur. In Islamic basis, there are a lot of things to consider such as the using of beauty products either halal or non-halal and they should consider about the services offered meets the Muslims needs. Moreover, the important of Islamic beauty salon and the difference between Islamic and normal beauty salon is the design of the space planning itself which is closed and hidden from non-muhrim’s view. In addition, they must ensure that all their employees are women and better they hire Muslim women employees as an Al-Quran said, Islam does not forbid women to beautify themselves, but it must be moderate and does not exceed Islamic limits. As the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) used to make this prayer: “Oh Allah! You made my appearance beautiful so make my conduct excellent.” Malaysia holistic spa has its own specialties to offer in order to compete with neighbours like Indonesia and Thailand, and began to challenge them which they are now is dominating our local spa https://isiarticles.com/article/1274