THE ABIA WINNING RECIPE
During the recent live broadcast of the 2021 ABIA, the overall Australian Salon/Spa winners for 4 Treatment rooms or less and 5 treatment rooms or more, determined from the State Category winners were announced naming Infinity Skin + Body, VIC and Eco Spa, WA as taking out the major prizes! We spoke to owners Chrissy Alger and Hannah Loreto to get a special insight into their recipe for success, culminating in the highest accolade within the Australian Beauty Industry.
INFINITY SKIN + BODY
Winner of the 2021 ABIA Australian Salon/ Spa of the year 4 treatment rooms or less.
Infnity Skin + Body became a standalone business in June 2019. Prior to this, it was a service offering under the Infinity Wellness Centre Brand, which was the brainchild of Chrissy Alger, being a Psychologist and Wellbeing Entrepreneur. The Mission of the team at Infinity Skin + Body is to empower people to prioritise emotional and physical self-care and in doing this, change people’s lives and how they feel about themselves through skin. “Whilst we spent the large portion of 2020 not being able to engage in this mission from a physical stand point, we remained committed to this mission and even more so because of what our clients and team were suffering through,” says Chrissy. With Infinity Skin + Body bursting from the seams of the Wellness Centre and foot traffic starting to impede the local residential surroundings, 28
Beauty Biz Year 14 Issue 6
a strategic move was decided to relocate this component of the business to the shopping district of Sunbury and become a second site, providing all of the skin and beauty health offerings that were once available at the Wellness Centre. Infinity Skin expanded the service offerings to include more technically advanced skin treatment modalities, which included Plasma Fibroblast Skin Tightening and HIFU NonSurgical Facelifting. Currently and already offering IPL Hair reduction and skin rejuvenation, Oxygen Facials, Hydromicrodermabrasion, Chemical Peels, LED Light Therapy, Skin Needling and Custom Facials using Professional Use Products. “As a Melbourne clinic,” says Chrissy, “we spent a lot of time closed during the Global Pandemic, but I wanted to enter the awards as a demonstration of the will and courage that I encountered as a businesswoman, as a leader, and as a beauty industry participant. The pivot we engaged in during the COVID period resulted in an increase in revenue, services and retail units when compared to the pre-covid period, which was an outstanding achievement.” “The last 2 years have been extremely difficult for many beauty salons especially being Victorian based and there have been enormous impacts on our workforce and our ability to endure restricted and unpredictable trade. I feel that being a business owner during this time has been exceptionally hard, so it feels good to emerge out the other end having not just ‘survived’ but be thriving and still excited to be in an industry that does SO much to help people feel good about themselves.” “Taking out the State Category win and then the overall Australian honour for 4 Treatment rooms or less was more than I could have hoped for! I couldn’t believe it initially, but there was also a part of me that knew this year was going to be special for team Infinity. We achieved some amazing outcomes during COVID and the lockdowns, completing a full online pivot to provide skin consultation online Australia wide. We overcome so many challenges as a business during the lockdowns, I thought, this HAS to be our year.” says Chrissy. “I watched the live broadcast with some industry friends, and we had a great night. I felt that I wanted to celebrate my team who got us through a very difficult time and deserved some recognition, so I did it for them. They have been SO excited, in disbelief in fact and the icing on the cake is that the clients have loved every minute as well!”
