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Ifiok Babatolu is the owner of Spa Revivify in Lagos. In this interview with ROTIMI IGE, she speaks about the need for Nigerians to embrace spa treatments and relaxation techniques in order to live better. Excerpts.

You own one of the best spas in Lagos. Tell us about how it all started.

My journey into the beauty industry started in 2006, two years after the liquidation of Nigeria Airways where I had worked as part of the cabin crew for 14 years. I ran out of my beauty supplies and since I had always bought them outside the country, I didn’t know where to buy original products in Lagos. I bought a lipstick in a shop and ended up with rashes on my lips. Fortunately, my elder sister was a registered beauty consultant in an international and well known beauty company, so I turned to her for a handout. Instead of a handout, she encouraged me to join the brand, which I did. I learnt a lot about beauty and the industry as a consultant with that brand and it piqued my interest in the industry as a whole.

It took the interest and determination first of all. With that, I looked for where I could learn to be a major stakeholder in the industry. I was introduced to a spa owner who had an apprenticeship programme. I saw it as a start though it wasn’t really what I wanted. I’m glad though that I learnt through her.

After almost two years with her, I discovered an established beauty academy which was a franchise of a US based academy and moved there. I got my certificate in easthetics and cosmetology from there. While I was still in training there, I had the opportunity to attend a seminar of Spa and Wellness Practitioners in Africa (SWAA) with a few others from within and outside Africa, in Mauritius. I knew I had found my niche. I decided to establish my own business and make it world class. So that’s how Spa Revivify was birthed.

What do you intend to achieve with your wellness centre?

First of all, I intend to make it a safe and wellness haven for people looking to escape the stress of living in Lagos and the environs, as well as bring out the beauty in their skins.

Our well-trained therapists are always on hand to offer therapeutic and relaxation massages and other beauty services to our clients. We have put all things in place to ensure that our clients leave with the best experiences.

Many Nigerians believe that such facilities are exclusively for the rich. In your opinion, who needs spa treatments?

Everyone needs spa treatment! There’s so much stress in the country right now. Prolonged stress leads to health conditions that can be avoided with regular medical checks and self care. Regular visits to the spa are self care. Many of our clients sleep off during massage treatments. People don’t realise how much stress they are carrying around until they come to that bed.

Taking care of your skin also boosts one’s self- confidence and makes you feel/look younger to take on the world. I know this from experience!

So, I’ll say again, visiting the spa should be like going for your medical checks, only more often. If you can’t do it monthly, then try every two months. Many people bemoan the prices of services they mistakenly consider non-essential, but I always say that, health is wealth! We can’t put a price on good health. You will only realise how expensive and precious good health is when you lose it.

Many do not also understand the concept of sauna or acupuncture. Kindly shed some light?

A sauna is a room in which people aim to relax in dry heat. It may provide benefits for cardiovascular health that resembles those derived from exercise. Most people confuse saunas with steam rooms. Saunas are dry heat while steam rooms are wet heat. These rooms have been used over time to produce a feeling of relaxation. It also improves blood circulation and detoxification.

Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and component of traditional Chinese medicine in which thin needles are inserted into the skin to stimulate the central nervous system. This, in turn, releases chemicals into the muscles, spinal cord and brain which will stimulate the body’s natural healing abilities and promote physical and emotional well-being.

Most people in Lagos live very hectic lives. How do you think they can balance it all and be healthy in all ramifications?

Priorities! Make rest and good food a priority! Learn to say no to activities that do not add value to you or are not essential. So eat healthy, rest, drink plenty of water and book a spa treatment if not monthly, at worst, quarterly.

Where do you see yourself and your centre in the next five years?

Our dream is to be positioned as the number one wellness centre in OPIC and its environs. For starters with a client base of 1000 people, who see the centre as their second home.

What parental or societal influences shaped you during childhood and now as a fully grown adult?

My parents were teachers. My father went on to become a trade unionist and rose to the position of the principal state secretary for the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) in the then Cross River State comprising the present day Cross River and Akwa Ibom states, was one of the earliest influences in my life’s ideology and mindset. He was honest, firm, extremely neat, and particular about integrity and a good name.

Also, schooling in the north with people of diverse backgrounds, religions and tribes helped me to develop great understanding and tolerance for others. Till date, I am an active member of my school alumni groups.

I love to bring people together, organise events meet ups and I think this comes from my upbringing where we hosted a lot of extended family and friends. Also, I remember in my early years in secondary school, my mother, who was schooling in the USA then, would bring back a lot of beauty products whenever she came home for holidays. It made a great impact on me. That was my introduction to beauty products.

I’m the fifth of six children of Sir David (KCW) and Lady Akon Etokebe, born in Akwa Ibom State in the late 60s. I was born at the onset of the civil war which threatened the unity of Nigeria. The government made a concerted effort to eliminate the division that led to the war and promote unity by creating the unity schools. I was fortunate enough to have attended one of such schools. So I had my secondary education in the north.

I later went back home to Akwa Ibom for the university education, earned a BA (Hons) degree in History, then a masters’ in international law and diplomacy from University of Lagos. In between my first degree and masters, I worked as a cabin crew with the now liquidated national carrier, Nigeria Airways.

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