HYANNIS -- Stacey Smith knew she had to be careful.
Even with the calming effects of the bubbling foot bath and the heat and vibrations emanating from the elaborate leather lounge chair, the savvy nail technician was aware that the slightest slip of the clippers she was using to snip dead skin from the toes of her demanding, high-maintenance client would bring disaster.
''How's the lollipop?" she asked.
''Good," replied my daughter, Emma, 9, as she watched with fascination the progress of her ''Tutti-Frutti Pedicure" in the beautifully appointed nail salon at the Cape Codder Resort and Spa. And that would be it for comments -- or complaints -- until Smith removed the toe separators after skillfully applying the final touches of shiny, red metallic ''Euro-mazing!" polish.
''It's actually fun doing kids," said Smith, when pressed for horror stories from her eight months of working at the Cape Codder. ''What's to worry? They love it."
That's good news to the owners of the Hyannis resort, who have invested heavily in an expanded spa that now offers a full menu of services to youngsters and teenagers. And it represents an important trend in the $14 billion US spa industry.
''Children, teens, and men, those are definitely the fastest-growing areas for the spa industry," said Lynne Walker McNees, executive director of the International SPA Association based in Lexington, Ky. ISPA has some 2,000 members in 63 countries and reports there are nearly 10,000 spas in the United States.
While there are no firm numbers on how many youngsters are going to spas, a 2003 online survey of 1,200 respondents conducted for ISPA found that 39 percent of spa-goers with children 13-15 have taken their child to a spa. That number looms large since ISPA says 44.9 million people over 16 visited US spas from June 2002 to June 2003.
That potential customer base caught the attention of the Catania family, who bought the Cape Codder three years ago. Since then, they have pumped $9 million into renovating the resort, including nearly $750,000 into the spa, which now offers seven treatment rooms and a high-season staff of nearly 20.
''The Cape has many things to offer and attracts tourists from all over the Northeast, but the one thing that was missing here was a full-service, luxurious spa," said Debra Catania, partner and director of sales and spa for the Catania Hospitality Group, which also owns the Daniel Webster Inn in Sandwich, the John Carver Inn in Plymouth, and the Hearth 'n Kettle restaurants.
''I wanted to create a 'spa kids' menu' with unusual treatments that make it easy for parents to introduce their child to the spa world," Catania said. ''I was sensitive to our guests' needs and put a kids' twist on adult treatments, while at the same time promoting parent and child bonding in a serene and comforting environment."
Back at the salon, Gianna Alberti, 6, of Brick, N.J., and her friend Caren Hoffman, 10, of Boxborough, were bonding while having their toenails painted by Smith after a manicure that featured a ''salt candy hand soak" and ''a Tutti-Frutti exfoliation."
Caren, a spa veteran, said, ''Waiting for the polish to dry is the worst part." But she wanted to look nice for her busy evening, which included ''a bonfire, dinner, and swimming." (The Cape Codder also boasts an indoor wave pool that is a huge hit with the younger set.)
Gianna's mother, Cheryl, who had enjoyed a massage at the spa the previous day, expressed some reservations about having her daughter exposed to such pampering at an early age.
''You have to be cautious, because you can make a 6-year-old want to be a 16-year-old real fast," she said. ''You don't want to make it all about appearance." The spa visit was a first for Gianna, and a special occasion, which elicited a smile, but very few words.
Others share Cheryl Alberti's concern. Dr. Catherine Gordon, a specialist in adolescent medicine on the staff of Children's Hospital in Boston, urges parents to be careful about what message is being given through spa visits. ''The activity might not be harmful in itself," Gordon said. ''But parents would ideally supervise these activities and take careful note of the environment of such facilities."
Gordon said she and her colleagues are seeing a trend of earlier presentation of eating disorders among children and she wonders about a correlation between such problems and an increasing focus on physical appearance at an early age. Still, Gordon said, ''A spa visit as part of a family activity -- that's wonderful."
McNees stresses that her ISPA members don't put the primary focus on physical appearance for children. She says education is a big part of what spa personnel provide to their young clients. ''It's a way to learn about nutrition, skin care, and stress reduction in a friendly environment," she said.
The emphasis on education was borne out when Emma entered a high-tech treatment room for a child-modified facial. Soothing music played quietly as Marta Aylmer, the very patient aesthetician, examined Emma's ''perfect 9-year-old skin" under a huge, illuminated magnifying glass before applying a brown mud masque.
''You really need to wear sunscreen every day," Aylmer told her suprisingly cooperative, captive audience as she adjusted Emma's eyepads. ''Even in the winter, even when it's cloudy. The sun is always out."
Both Aylmer and Smith said they adapt their adult treatments only slightly for their younger clients. Timing and comfort level are crucial. Smith's nail treatments for kids are shorter than the adult version, and she avoids the use of a pumice stone and wraps. ''They don't need it, and it tickles," she said. Aylmer added: ''A gentler touch is the key."
The youngsters in the spa at the Cape Codder during our two days there were almost exclusively female, although Austin Pena, 12, of Warwick, R.I., did stop in for a manicure and pedicure along with his sister, Erika, 6, who got a pedicure. Somewhat grudgingly, he allowed that the experience was ''fun."
Nationally, the ISPA survey found 71 percent of spa-goers are female, and the average age is almost 41. McNees says the trend toward younger clients is a boon to both the consumer and the spa industry. Healthy habits are established early and ''once you try it, you're hooked," she said.
Massage has long been a part of my health regime, and I was pleased that the finale of our spa experience would be a shared, 45-minute parent-and-child massage. Emma started out a little wiggly, and I was fearing disaster during the treatment I had been eagerly anticipating, but we were both put at ease by Debra Samia and Lori Welch, the talented team of therapists.
In the large, softly lighted treatment room, Samia gave me a relaxing sports massage, while several feet away, Welch introduced Emma to the basics of the art and stressed its value in prevention and treatment of injuries. Emma was chatty at first, peppering Welch with questions about oils, what she was doing, where she went to school. Then quiet reigned, blessedly, until Emma popped up to see whether I had fallen asleep. I hadn't, but the silence, however brief, was golden.
The spa at the Cape Codder and many others across the country offer teen makeup instruction as part of their services, and ISPA confirmed their widespread popularity. We would have welcomed teenagers' surely more outspoken opinions, but we encountered only the under-12 crowd on our visit, and they were a consistently tough interview as to their take on their spa experiences. All were positive, only vaguely so.
But the key question seemed to be: OK, young spa person, all this pampering is nice, but would you do it if you had to pay for it yourself out of your hard-earned, some would say ''measly" allowance?
Emma pondered this for a while. And then replied, ''I'd do the massage again." When asked why, she answered, ''Because I got to do it with you, Dad."
Now, that's the treatment.
Doug Warren can be reached at dwarren@globe.com.
