Pamper Yourself While Supporting the Trevor Project at Sand Spa

In this day and age, we have to strive to make health and wellness a priority in our busy lives. Self-care is absolutely crucial to navigating the stressors of everyday life. If we can somehow combine that self-care with doing good for the community then so much the better! That’s why we were thrilled to find out about Sand Spa, a chain of day spas and nail boutiques in California co-founded and owned by married couple Megan Richardson-Tiernan and Gretchen Tiernan. For Pride Month they have pledged to donate 10% of their sales to The Trevor Project. We recently had an opportunity to sit down with the happy couple and find out a bit more about them and their business.

Vacationer: How long has Sand Spa been open as a business? What was or is the first location that opened for business? 

Megan & Gretchen: We have been a business for 8 years and opened our first Sand Spa location in Manhattan Beach in 2014. At that time we only offered massages. Now, Sand Spa is the one-stop, affordable spa designed to fit the everyday needs of any person. Our modern spa offers highly flexible, customizable treatments designed to maximize your experience. We specialize in all self-care services such as massages, facials, skincare, waxing, and nail care. We don’t just do one thing, because neither do you. Self-care starts here!

Vacationer: Sounds good to us! How long have you been a couple?

Megan & Gretchen: In total, we’ve been a couple for 10.5 years and recently got married in September 2021. We met in college when we were 19 and 20. We both played college basketball for opposing teams. We dated for two years before we officially got together.  We were living eight hours apart and on completely different schedules. Gretchen’s career (at the time) took her to Los Angeles where Megan was finishing her last year of college, and the rest is history. Now we are on our fifth Sand Spa location in Southern California.

Vacationer: Awwww that’s beautiful!! We hear that Sand Spa is moving into West Hollywood. When will the WeHo location open?

Megan & Gretchen: We are going to be summertime fine! We are hoping to be open in July. Sycamore (West Hollywood) is a very exciting project, and we can’t wait to be a part of the community!

Vacationer: We know lots of people that are going to be absolutely thrilled to have a new spa to patronize in WeHo, ourselves included!

So, we know that 10% of your June sales will benefit The Trevor Project. Are there other LGBTQ+ charities you donate to during the course of the year aside from Pride Month?

Megan & Gretchen: The Trevor Project is near and dear to our hearts. We advocate for them all year round. Since we are very fortunate in our circumstances to be able to live authentically, we are advocates for our youth and their ability to do the same. If someone can learn or be inspired by our story, we want to continue to tell it. We also work closely with the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles every holiday season. 

Vacationer: That’s awesome. Children’s Hospital also does a lot of amazing work as well and we definitely want you to continue telling your story. To that end, what advice would you offer other queer womxn entrepreneurs? 

Megan & Gretchen: The advice that we would offer other entrepreneurs is to build their businesses the way they want to. You have to make the best choices for yourself, and we think that will ultimately lead to building a business aligned with your values, and simultaneously it will create a community you want to serve. You can be as vocal as you want. We decided we weren’t going to hide who we are because we want our business and our lives to be as authentic as possible.

Vacationer: Can’t go wrong with that. Thank you, Megan, Gretchen for taking some time out to chat with us. Good luck with the WeHo location. Happy Pride!

If you’re a local or visiting California soon, book your treatment now at Sand Spa and help support The Trevor Project!