ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS, darling

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Summer Hill institution Absolutely Fabulous Skin Therapy and celebrations are certainly in order, Michelle Ruzzene.

ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS SKIN Therapy is a fitting name for the beauty salon situated in a gorgeous terrace in Sydney’s Summer Hill.

Salon owner Trinh Grasso-Nguyen purchased the business in 2013 after a stint at home looking after her two children.

“My husband and I came across this beautiful salon with a cute village feel and I knew this was it,” she said.

“Even though I knew nothing of the beauty industry and nothing about running a business, I jumped in head first.”

Trinh said what followed was a time of learning, growing, conquering and understanding in how to run a business, the beauty industry and managing and leading a team.

“Even though I am not a therapist, I now know most of the clients by voice, what they look like, what treatments and products they have purchased, and a little about their personal life,” Trinh explained.

Trinh said building personal relationships with her clients, fostering a local, community vibe and the salon’s focus on old-school values had seen the salon’s continued success.

“There is a big trend moving towards machinery in the beauty industry,” Trinh said.

“But we are still very much focused on human connection using our hands. We are the only salon in Summer Hill that performs high quality treatments that provide results, so it’s very important that local clients have somewhere fantastic they can go that they trust.”

Trinh said her “back to basics” philosophy was why loyal customers kept returning to Ab Fab.

“Our clients walk out feeling happy and good about themselves and their skin,” she said. “We don’t need 10 machines to achieve that.” The salon is Ultraceuticals exclusive with all five team members fully Ultra Academy Certified, and they were one of the first salons to bring the Ultra Consult program to their customers.

Trinh said she was extremely proud to be one of the first in NSW to be accredited from Ultraceuticals as a gold standard, ‘Ultra Consult’ clinic.

“We were chosen as the trial salon when they first in trial stage, and then a year later when it was officially rolled out we got certified,” she said.

The salon made the move to being Ultraceuticals exclusive after an unfortunate fire in 2015.

“I’d only had the salon for 18 months when we experienced a fire by a mag lamp that was accidentally left on overnight,” Trinh said.

Everything in the salon was soot damaged from the fire’s smoke.

But rather than dwell on the negative, Trinh used the incident as a way to put her own stamp on the salon.

“It was a blessing in disguise as it gave me an opportunity to maintain the integrity and essence of the salon, but to add my own personal touches,” Trinh said.

The salon was back up and running after only two weeks of being closed.

Clients can choose from a range of treatments at the busy, boutique salon that include facials, LED treatments, micro needling using Dermapen, electrolysis, waxing, massage, ear piercing, tints, tans, manis and pedis.

Waxing, manis and pedis are done downstairs, while upstairs are the facial treatment rooms.

Trinh revealed the Signature Facial - a relaxing, one hour and 10min facial that provided results and was tailored to target each client’s concern was one of their most popular treatments at the salon.

“We also offer more intense skin treatments if someone wants to get faster results, and we encourage clients to go on a journey with us and invest in their skin, much like they would invest in their gym membership and nutrition,” Trinh said.

She said all of her staff had reached ‘expert status’ by completing all of the necessary modules using the Ultraceuticals online learning tool.

“I’m lucky to have fantastic, loyal staff that work hard and love to learn and build up a relationship,” she said.

Trinh said she kept her staff motivated by providing training at every opportunity and being flexible to their needs when it came to achieving a work/life balance.

Last year the salon was awarded the Outstanding Award for Beauty Services at the Inner West Local Business Awards.

It’s clear that Trinh’s personal philosophy to always have a positive outlook on life, to remain steady with a calm aura and maintain a balance of family, fun and hard work is a winning formula for her and her team.

Contact Absolutely Fabulous Skin Therapy on 02 9798 2277 or visit www.abfabskin.com.au