Pastor Deborah Omale
By Chesa Chesa
Pastor Deborah Emmanuel Omale, the Chief Executive Officer of Beauty Secrets Medspa, a medical spa and wellness centre, has called for stronger regulation and increased public awareness of Nigeria’s beauty and wellness industry, saying inadequate knowledge and misconceptions about the sector continue to limit its growth.
She spoke during an interview with The AUTHORITY in Abuja, during which she identified lack of knowledge, economic constraints and public perception as three major factors affecting patronage of spas and medical spas in Nigeria.
According to her, many Nigerians still perceive spas as places solely for relaxation, skin lightening and treatment of stretch marks, rather than facilities that can provide preventive wellness and medically supervised services.
She said the perception had contributed to the sector being treated largely as a leisure industry despite its potential health benefits.
“Some people are not very knowledgeable about the beauty field. They think it is all about lightening your skin and treating stretch marks,” she said while stating that the cost of some treatments could also discourage patronage, although services vary according to the needs of individual clients and the solutions required.
Mrs. Omale, who has been in the business for 11 years, explained that Beauty Secrets began as a conventional spa but expanded into medical and wellness services about five years ago. She said the facility now works with doctors, gynaecologists, nutritionists, acupuncturists and other professionals to provide services beyond conventional beauty treatments.
She stressed the importance of preventive care, noting that some clients had discovered health concerns during routine spa sessions. “Some people have gone further to the hospital because they were having a massage and there was a lump that was felt somewhere that they naturally wouldn’t have known was there,” she said.
She also advocated regular attention to nutrition, body weight and general wellness, arguing that people should not wait until they develop serious health problems before taking care of themselves. According to her, routine self-care should be viewed in the same way as servicing a vehicle. “You drive your car every day and service it. Why wait until it is totally broken down before you service it?” she asked.
The businesswoman also rejected the perception that spa services were exclusively for wealthy Nigerians, saying Beauty Secrets had different categories of services designed to accommodate varying income levels.
She argued that the sector had suffered from being regarded primarily as leisure, unlike hospitals and other healthcare facilities where people readily accept that different services come at different costs.
She further called for stronger regulatory oversight, saying the industry needed clearer checks and balances to prevent unqualified operators from offering treatments they were not equipped to perform.
While acknowledging existing regulatory requirements for medical spas, she said more needed to be done to establish clearer oversight of the broader sector. “There are checks, but I don’t think they are enough. We need more,” she said.
She also identified manpower development as a major challenge, noting that the industry requires specialised skills and continuous training.
To address the skills gap, she said Beauty Secrets established an academy about three years ago to train therapists, nail technicians, stylists and other practitioners. She revealed that the company also brings in experts from outside Nigeria when necessary and regularly sends its personnel for additional training.
