If there is one event we look forward to here at Repêchage, it’s our annual Day of Empowerment and Advanced Education events, and this year was no exception. On December 4, 2023, Repêchage and the Sarfati family hosted US media, spa and salon owners and managers, estheticians and medical esthetics professionals and from 12 countries worldwide for its annual full day of inspiration, education, business innovation and networking at the Day of Empowerment at the EnVue Hotel in Weehawken, NJ. Here, Repêchage previewed the NEW T-Zone Balance Classic Facial and instructional video, endorsed by CIDESCO International, T-Zone Balance Hydrating Serum and T-Zone Balance Starter Collection as well as the New Vita Cura® Sea Spa Body Collection.
Lydia Sarfati, CEO and Founder of Repêchage and President of CIDESCO Section USA welcomed guests from all over the world to the event. At lunch, Shiri Sarfati, Partner and Executive Vice President, Repêchage USA introduced keynote speaker Benis Reffkin, Certified Executive Coach, MBA and creator of Women of Compass. Ms. Reffkin was the driving force behind the book, No One Succeeds Alone authored by her husband, Robert Reffkin, founder of the real estate tech company, Compass. Reffkin inspired guests with her talk on the importance of resilience and teamwork during lunch at the event, followed by a book signing.
Following lunch, Shiri Sarfati presented an overview of Rêpechage, leaders in professional skin care and pioneers of seaweed-based skin care since 1980.
Following Sarfati’s presentation, CEO Lydia Sarfati toasted guests for their 43 years of professional partnership, saying “Your presence alone is a testament to your commitment to the pursuit of beauty and wellness. Your dedication to the professional beauty industry is extraordinary. Your belief in Repêchage inspires us every day to do better. Your presence today fuels our passion to continue striving for excellence in everything we do. Together, we will inspire, innovate, and impact the world of beauty and wellness.”
Lydia Sarfati then gave a preview of the newest launches for Repêchage, including the ultimate professional solution for combination skin, the NEW Professional T-Zone Balance Classic Facial for Normal to Combination Skin, endorsed by CIDESCO International. This facial in unidose application is based on ingredients such as hydrating Seaweeds combined with Niacinamide, two forms of Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin C, botanical extracts, Almond, Oatmeal, Clays and a special blend of Tea extracts to target areas prone to excess oil while maintaining skin’s essential moisture balance.
This new facial is boosted with the introduction of the NEW, advanced T-Zone Balance Hydrating Serum. Enriched with natural ingredients such as Repêchage’s exclusive sustainably-harvested Seaweed filtrate, two forms of Hyaluronic Acid, Niacinamide (Vitamin B3) and Vitamin C as well as other effective botanical ingredients, this new serum provides deep hydration while helping to refine and balance the skin. Repêchage also introduced the T-Zone Balance Starter Collection, a five product set for at-home use that is the perfect recommendation for purchase after the T-Zone Balance Classic Facial.
“We’re so proud to be launching the T-Zone Balance Classic Facial as part of our menu,” said Brian David Douglas, Director of Spa, PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. “This will be a perfect step up from the classic facial that we offered before, and we are very proud to offer this to our members and to our guests. I know we’re going to have beautiful results.”
Repêchage® also previewed the new marine inspired Vita Cura® Sea Spa Body Collection, including the Vita Cura® Sea Spa Body Cleanser, Vita Cura® Sea Spa Glow Body Exfoliator and Vita Cura® Sea Spa Body Moisturizer to deep cleanse, smooth and hydrate for glowing, revitalized and smooth skin all over.
Following Sarfati’s presentation, Gordon Miller, CEO and President of Beauty Cast Network, provided insight with his presentation, A Proactive Look at Artificial Intelligence in Pro Beauty and Wellness. Miller demonstrated how AI has infiltrated many industries already, including wellness and beauty, and showed how it can be used to benefit many different areas of a beauty business, including marketing, research, design, customer service, planning and data analysis. He even provided a ChatGPT-generated rap on the illustrious career of Lydia Sarfati!
Girlie Joseph, Spa Manager at the CONRAD Spa in Ft. Lauderdale Beach, Florida, a four-star Forbes rated spa presented Leadership is More Than a Title. In her presentation, she emphasized the 3 P’s to Successful Leadership: People, Play and Problem Solving. Joseph called on managers to empower their teams to make decisions and solve problems without going up the ladder with her mantra: “Call me if you need me, but try not to need me.”
These two industry leaders were then joined by Brian Douglas, of the PGA National Resort for a panel discussion and Q&A moderated by Repêchage EVP Shiri Sarfati.
The event ended as all great days should—with champagne and shopping! Reactions to the day were warm and enthusiastic:
“For me coming to New York is the event of the year,” says Ingrid Coleiro, Director at Makiba Essence. “This gives me motivation and inspiration to start a new year with fresh ideas. It definitely gives me a boost.”
Speaker and CONRAD Spa Manager Girlie Joseph said “Meeting all these amazing leaders in the industry and sharing my story with them and learning about them and their journey in this industry is absolutely amazing.”
“Coming to an event like this, an empowerment event, leaves you feeling refreshed, renewed, that you’re part of a group of people that truly come for the same interests, and that you are part of Repêchage family, ” Says Silvia D’Costa Director/Owner at Beauty Depot & The Esthetic Institute Training Center , Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Vanessa De Mello, Owner/Director of The Esthetic Institute Training Center / Beauty Depot agrees: “I wouldn’t miss this event for anything. Just being here with everyone and networking really is empowering in itself. Meeting everybody from around the world is a truly amazing experience and we look forward to this every year.”
“I think the Day of Empowerment is so important. It’s really special to me, and I get very excited because we learn from each other. There’s always new take-aways. I’ve been coming to these events for so many years with Repêchage and every year I learn something new. They always create new opportunities and really great connections,” said Louise O’Loughlin, Owner, Iguazu Beauty Ltd. Ireland.
“Our team had an amazing experience at the Repêchage Day of Empowerment! Thank you so much for having us!” The team at Rhapsody Spa and Salon, Grand Forks, ND posted on Facebook.
The following day, Repêchage hosted a sold-out class for a full day of advanced education held at the Lydia Sarfati Post-Graduate Skin Care Academy at Repêchage headquarters in Secaucus, NJ on the New T-Zone Balance Classic Facial, a CIDESCO International endorsed procedure. This five hour treatment protocol course is to eligible participants such as beauty therapists and licensed estheticians. Upon completing this five-hour training course and successful completion of testing, attendees were able to receive a combined Repêchage/ CIDESCO certificate. The combined Repêchage®/CIDESCO certificate provides estheticians with the CIDESCO-endorsed protocol to perform the NEW Repêchage T-Zone Balance Classic Facial for Normal to Combination Skin. The class included a PowerPoint presentation of the new Repêchage® T-Zone Balance Classic Facial including the new, step-by-step Repêchage® T-Zone Balance Classic Facial instructional video Participants who took a Multiple Choice Question Test, with a minimum score of 70%, were able to receive a Repêchage/CIDESCO International certificate provided electronically by Repêchage.
As always, Repêchage supports life-long learning, with a full roster of educational webinars, hands on classes, trade show courses and special events planned for 2024. Memberships are available on LydiaSarfati.com with yearly, monthly and ala carte options to suit every budget. Our yearly educational calendar for 2024, with monthly webinars, hands-on workshops, upcoming trade show classes and exciting events is now updated and available here.
Were you able to join us at either of these events, or try any of the new treatments or products? Let us know in the comments.
