First class fast

When Tricia Holbrook was in the throes of her career in institutional investments, it was hard to find time to sit down for regular hair, nail and skin care appointments.

And between work, community involvement and kids activities, Holbrook said she imagines many, like herself, can’t always make time for those “maintenance” activities.

“You run out of time for yourself,” she said, but thinks she has come up with the solution.

This month, Holbrook’s Speed Spa will open in the former Harper’s Salon location on Petticoat Lane in Mountain Brook Village.

While “speed” and “spa” may sound like mutually exclusive concepts, Holbrook said she and her team have come up with a way to provide top notch service without demanding hours of a person’s time.

“The concept is to deliver first class services in an efficient and timely manner,” she said.

But fast doesn’t mean sub-par, she said, but instead, she and her team have come up with creative ways to make every beauty process–whether hair, skin or nails–more efficient.

“We’re trying to put the time of the client first and foremost, ahead of ourselves,” she said.

Some factors in eliminating “wasted” time during a normal beauty appointment are as simple as keeping the client in the same location during the entire process. In the case of a hair appointment, the client would remain in the same chair through the shampoo, cut and color, thanks to innovative finishings such as slide-out sinks.

For nails, Holbrook said she has often requested having a manicure and pedicure done simultaneously, but that most salons are not set up in a way to make that process comfortable for the client and technician.

From the location of the chairs to the types of sinks and other furnishings, Holbrook said the goal was to make the entire salon run as efficiently as possible.

“We’re trying to be more scientific and more sophisticated in execution,” she said.

But the key to the process, she said, will be the mobile application customers can utilize. The app will do everything from making appointments to payment–customers can save credit or debit card information safely in the system–eliminating the need to wait in line.

However, Holbrook said that if someone wants to book or pay for an appointment the traditional way, they are more than welcome.

“You can still do everything traditionally, we just think it’s a lot easier to do it with the app,” she said.

Customers will also be able to shop Speed Spa’s curated selection of beauty products.

Rather than sticking to a single brand, Holbrook said she opted to choose the best products from different suppliers.

“We’re going to be fresh in that area,” she said. “As a consumer, you know that we love it if we’re offering it.”

Holbrook said she wanted to emphasize that the services will still be the best–or at least tied for the best–and clients won’t be rushed.

“There’s just no wasting of the client’s time,” she said.

Holbrook said she and her team are hoping to have a grand opening event on Sept. 22. 

For more information, visit Speed Spa’s Facebook page at facebook.com/SpeedSpaLLC/.