my approach

As a child growing up in Japan, I was influenced by Japanese aesthetics, food and culture.  Although I am from a mixed heritage, and spent part of my young life in Hawaii, I identify as Japanese.  One of my favorite Japanese holidays is Girls’s Day, or Hinamatsuri.  It is celebrated on March 3 every year. Females of all ages dress up in their favorite traditional kimonos.  It is a joyful celebration.  Special foods are made to enjoy and to celebrate the feminine. Each family has a display of dolls, and each female in the household adds their favorite doll to the collection. Some dolls ancient, and I recall being comforted and feeling viscerally connected to the hand-stitched dolls from many past generations.   

Japanese aesthetics is a set of ancient ideals that include wabi (transient and stark beauty) sabi (the beauty of natural patina and aging) and yugen (profound grace and subtlety). Simplicity or elimination, brought to awareness by Marie Kondo, is an essential part of the selection of possessions. Everything is expressed in plain, simple, and natural manner. This is where the foundation of my world view began and how it continues to influence my business and personal life.

Rituals are also part of life in Japan, and I carry on the tradition.  I enter my studio hours before my first appointment to prepare the space and ensure the optimal temperature of my wax.  On my wall is  a print by Pegge Hopper of a Hawaiian woman who, instead of being presented as an object of fantasy, is instead lying in repose, contemplative and serene. 

My goal is to share my lifelong practice with you, so that I can teach you to make positive changes in your skin care routine.  In this way you will face the world with confidence.