Su-Man Hsu, originally from Taiwan was an internationally acclaimed dancer in her previous career. Her experience in Pilates and oriental facial massage, and a keen interest in shiatsu led her to create a unique East meets West facial experience.
The shiatsu facial is an art form; a hybrid facial treatment that combines a profound understanding of natural and traditional Taiwanese skincare to lift the face by treating the body and soul at the same time.
Su-Man is a leader in her field and has treated celebrity clients including Juliette Binoche, Joely Richardson and Anne Hathaway. She’s now based in London, and will be in Singapore from 12 to 20 October 2013 at the Away spa at W hotel Sentosa Cove.
She shares her thoughts on beauty, life and working with celebrities:
When I first started in the beauty industry… I feel my whole life has been associated with beauty. As former professional dance artist it’s in my DNA to seek perfection in beauty as frustrating as that can be. Even as a busy facialist, I still stick more than enough toes into the world of dance. I’ve trained actresses to dance for movies and last year I was the rehearsal director for Akram Khan’s (British choreographer) segment in the opening ceremony of the Olympic games. But the truth is, I stumbled into the beauty industry. I retrained as a shiatsu therapist, than began to master some ancient facial techniques. Before I knew it, people where queuing up to see me. I needed fantastic products so I used my passion for mixing ingredients to make my own. My clients adored them. I then decided to refine them with chemists and then before I knew it, I was on the verge of launching my own range. Call it a beautiful accident! I’m struggling with the business side of stuff because I see things idealistically and what I do as an art form. With all those marketing experts around us it takes great self-belief to remain truthful.
My mother always told me… We’ve all heard this one, “Eat everything on your plate!” However, for me it had greater significance, as my parents were illiterate farmers who lived in a mud hut in Taiwan. We didn’t have electricity until I was ten let alone enough food. You don’t think about it at the time but the lesson being learned is that you never waste what you’ve been given and use what you’ve got to the maximum. This is the way I have lived my life since I moved away from simple farm girl life.
The last thing I treated myself to… A holiday in Koh Samui with my family this summer. It’s the one time in the year that I can kick back and get looked after without looking after others. Conversations are playful with my children and I get to laugh a lot more. I love laughing! I also get to be pampered and try the local facials but sadly I come out frustrated as I get well meaning beauticians who have no real craft or knowledge. I guess it would be natural for me to complain!
Working with celebrity clients… Is very similar in many ways to working with my non-celebrity clients. The main difference is that when I work with celebrity clients they usually have a goal to work towards, whether that is looking their best for their latest film, magazine cover or red carpet event. This gives them a purpose to work harder as the time period is more condensed, and this can often lead to faster results. But I love my regulars as we work together for longer and go on a journey together. I feel I make a profound difference to their lives, which gives me immense joy.
The talent I secretly wished I had… I always envy the people who are good public speakers. It would be great to have this talent; a great public speaker can always convey ideas in a clear and exciting way. I love to share my ideas and passions, being a good public speaker would be great with this. I would also like to be better at multitasking, I always have so much to do and being able to multitask better would make it all easier when I have a lot to get through. In saying that I tease my husband who is good speaker by saying half empty jug makes a lot of noise… a full jug is silent and profound!
The thing I admire most about people… I have such admiration for people with confidence, energy and a positive outlook on life. It sounds kind of strange to say but I think most of us live in fear. Fear of no money, fear of no love, fear of no career, fear of no education; fear that we will not be special. The only way to overcome this is to have hope and used the power it gives us to fight our fears. Add hope to everything we do and we will be surprised about how beautiful and wonderful we are and the world is! Yes, very romantic I know but I did say I was an idealist!
Treatments are limited to five per day, so make your reservation early. Su-Man Hsu facial treatments are available from 12 to 20 October 2013 and priced at $250 for a 75 minute treatment. Contact +65 6808 7290 to make an appointment.
Away spa, W Singapore Sentosa Cove, 21 Ocean Way, Singapore 098374.