Founder and President
Vanessa Nguyen
Founder and President
VK Beauty Spa
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Vanessa Nguyen is unique. Not only is she one of Palm Beach County’s top estheticians, she is also an entrepreneur, world traveler, and avid proponent and teacher of the new anti-aging non-surgical beauty techniques that have been emerging in the last 15 years.
“It’s very different today,” Vanessa explains. “Years ago, looking younger was all about facelifts. Today we have so many great new treatments and techniques that help people retain their youthful looks or even improve them. This helps people postpone or even avoid that type of surgery. “
Ironically, Vanessa was first drawn to the field of cosmetology through the field of plastic surgery. Her uncle, known by the single name of Hoang, was a successful plastic surgeon in Saigon. Vanessa spent time with Hoang when she was young and travelled from her hometown of Qui Nhon in Vietnam to visit him in the summer. This experience showed Vanessa how beauty could be enhanced by science. It also compelled her to decide to work in that field--but from another perspective.
Vanessa took this dream with her when she moved to Chicago in the United States at the age of 21. After high school, she went directly to the Mac Daniels Beauty School in Chicago where she studied for two years. A few years later she opened her own salon—Van’s Beauty Salon in Chicago. Seven years later in 1998, she rebranded her company as Van’s Salon and Laser Center in order to emphasize the new beauty techniques that were emerging such as laser hair removal, IPI photo facials, and fibroblasting (skin tightening.)
But life changed dramatically for Vanessa 17 years later, when she decided to fly to Florida to visit some friends. She was enchanted with South Florida. So delighted, in fact, that within two weeks, she had sold her business and rented a house in _________. A short while later she opened VK Microblading and Permanent Make-Up Academy in West Palm Beach with her daughter, Kathy. The new salon provided many of the same treatments she had in Chicago, and also offered certification for many of these new techniques.
Meanwhile, Vanessa never stops learning. She actually flew all the way to Berlin, Germany, in 2017, to study the latest in fibroblasting, since that skin tightening procedure was just evolving. Just two years later, his esthetic skills, high energy, and entrepreneurship won Vanessa first place in the Miss Vietnam in Florida Pageant in 2019.
The next year, Vanessa decided to expand her salon and rebrand. She opened VK Beauty Spa in 2020 in Palm Beach Gardens, a location she felt would be more convenient for customers and give her more room for training.
“It was the right time to expand,” says Vanessa. “There is a growing demand for anti-aging treatments like the ones we offer that don’t leave women looking like someone else. People want a natural look as they get older not the artificial result that surgery sometimes results in. And we can offer that with new technologies.”
At heart, however, what Vanessa cares most about is serving her customers with the best techniques available. “We know that one solution won’t fit every woman,” she points out. “Our clients are very different in terms of age, lifestyle, and needs. But I’m an expert, not only in these techniques but—even more important—in matching the enhancements we offer to the specific needs of each woman. And making sure each client walks out of our spa with a natural—yet sparkling, healthy look—just what she was hoping for when she walked in the door.”
Kathy Nguyen
Vice President and Senior Esthetician
VK Beauty Spa
For Kathy Nguyen, beauty is a passion. Her enthusiasm started at a very early age. “I was only nine the first time I put make-up on my face,” she says. At the time, she never realized her passion would translate into a life-long career.
But maybe that was not a surprise. After all, Kathy grew up in a home in Chicago where her mother was one of the top estheticians in the city. No wonder Kathy decided to enter the field—and flourished in it. Today she is vice president of VK Beauty Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, which offers not only the latest in beauty treatments to its clients but also trains other estheticians in the latest technology-based beauty techniques.
Kathy started to build up her credentials in cosmetology and then esthetics as soon as she graduated from high school. Her basic training took place at the Elle International Beauty School in Chicago, and Illinois was the first state where she earned a cosmetology license. By that time, she was working at Van’s Beauty Salon owned by her mother in Chicago. She also began earning a number of certifications in the fast-growing growing field of non-surgical anti-aging techniques that we're developing over the past few decades. These ranged from hyaluronic acid (for plumper lips) to plasma fibroblasts (skin tightening), skin tag removal, and semi-permanent make-up.
“We are so fortunate today to have so many non-surgical techniques to use today to enhance our clientele’s beauty,” observes Kathy. “It’s really a whole new world. This way, we can keep our clients looking youthful and vibrant without resorting to surgery.”
But Kathy believes that even these new tools should be used judiciously.
“Our aim is to enhance natural beauty,” she says. “We don’t want to transform our client’s faces into something totally different. We take our time deciding exactly what matches their needs. We want to help our clients achieve the vibrant and healthy look they want.”
Kathy is very enthusiastic about the new location and name of VK Microblading, the firm her mother and she established in West Palm Beach five years ago. The new firm, VK Beauty Spa, is located in Palm Beach Gardens. “We have more space here, and it’s much more convenient for our clients because we are right off I-95,” she explains. “I know both our clients and the students we teach at this academy will love it.”