Hello! I’m Kim
At Kim’s Day Spa, our purpose is to help our customers feel confident, rejuvenated, and restored.
We’ve been serving the Buckhead community for nearly 30 years.
We welcome you to Kim's Day Spa in Buckhead to relax, unwind, and feel rejuvenated.
My late husband, Mr. Hung, and I built Kim’s Day Spa together. We have served the Buckhead Community for nearly thirty years. In 1990, we moved to the United States from Vietnam. I was only twenty years old. We landed in New York and stayed only a brief time before we found our forever home in Atlanta. Mr. Hung and I have an amazing son, Anh Bao, and an awesome daughter, RoseMarie.
Our purpose: To help our customers feel confident, rejuvenated, and restored.
The reason I have such a passion for skin care is that I was born with a birthmark covering the right side of my face. It was like a mask that I could never take off. It not only masked my face but also my confidence. I yearned to remove it. In 1997, I began a three-year journey that consisted of several painful laser procedures. For me, it was worth it. Below are photos before the surgery took place. Although I was generally happy, I still felt plagued by my large birthmark.
My personal story motivates me to help others boost their confidence and achieve their dreams to face the world!
I will admit that, along the journey of wearing this pigmented mask, I found my inner beauty and a profound inner gratitude that I may not have otherwise discovered.
“You can just feel Kim’s lightness and happiness. When you walk in the door, you sense her cheerfulness and deep-rooted gratitude. I always feel ‘seen’ and welcome there.” -Caroline, customer
Since the surgery, I have regained my confidence and I feel compelled to help others. I decided to become a certified aesthetician. I trained with B. Terry Seymour, III, M.D., MBA. In addition, I have received expert training from Obagi dermatologists.
My mission is to help clients increase their confidence. It brings me such joy to see my clients happy and glowing. Coming to work does not feel like work to me – it feels like I am living out my purpose to help others be their best selves.
Come visit us! We’d love to see you!
Kim’s Story
I was born in Vietnam and am half Vietnamese and half American. I never knew my father until March 2024. I found him and my siblings through 23andMe. It was the most exciting news when I heard from my half-siblings. They told me our father had passed in 1997. Even though I never met him, by connecting with my siblings, I feel closer to him than I have ever been. I am so grateful.
As a child, children made fun of me because of my heritage. Although I had a loving mother and younger siblings who supported me, at home we struggled financially, and I never had the opportunity to learn, excel, and be myself. I managed to finish school and knew at a very young age that I wanted to emigrate to the US.
While waiting for documentation, I met and married my dear husband, Hung. He shared my vision, and we embarked on the journey to the United States together. We started our American life in Syracuse, NY, during the winter. Neither of us had seen snow nor had the proper clothes to bear that weather. With the help of friends, we decided to move to the warm city of Atlanta to start anew.
My passion for skincare came early. I was born with a birthmark covering the majority of my face. Even though I was accustomed to seeing my face in the mirror, I never let go of my dream to have the birthmark removed. I wanted this for several reasons, but the main important was that I saw it as a mask over my authentic face. I wanted to be brave and face the world without the proverbial "mask."
Moving to America was my first step in courage and faith. I was 21 when we emigrated. Soon after settling into our new home, I found Dr. Scott Korempelis, who agreed to take on the intricate job of removing my birthmark. It took two years and immense patience on both our parts.
Once I removed my mask, I looked into the mirror and saw the reflection of my true self. The remarkable difference impacted my confidence and self-esteem. I felt compelled to help others reveal their authentic beauty behind whatever was in their way—from a birthmark to acne to any skin insecurity. I felt called to become an esthetician, so my husband, Mr. Hung, and I opened Kim's Day Spa Buckhead.
We went from two clients to thousands over the years. We have the most loyal clients who have been with us for 30 years! We both continued to increase our skills and our offerings to our clients. Along the way, we had our son and were able to provide him with the opportunities and education we did not have. Then, when our son was 16, we had our daughter. It was a joyful surprise!
Over the past three decades, we've had the privilege of serving the Buckhead community. I feel the most successful when I see my clients brighten up through better skincare.
In May 2016, Hung was diagnosed with lung cancer. As is the case for many non-smokers who get lung cancer, it was far advanced before it was diagnosed. But Hung was a strong man, both mentally and physically. Our daughter was only seven, and he was determined to be there for her and his whole family as long as possible. I believe this determination, just as much as any physical characteristic, let him survive as long as he did. But tragically, his courageous fight ended in October 2019. A side effect of his illness was huge medical bills coming at a time of lowered income due to Hung's inability to work and my need to be with him during treatment.
As 2020 began, I was overwhelmed with a new determination to overcome this new challenge.
I had faith because I had done it before, but this time, it was complicated because I was also grieving the love of my life. Then, COVID hit. The spa was closed entirely for three months and open only selectively for another two. How could I work any harder than I already was? But while the spa was closed, though I couldn't eliminate the worry, I could choose to work hard amid my anxiousness to survive. I called cosmetology schools and landed a job teaching in the evenings.
Since the spa was closed, I sold my Obagi products over the phone and shipped them to my loyal clients. I sold gift certificates to keep some income flowing in. I researched skincare products to sell in my salon to create an alternate revenue stream. I was determined.
I found NuSkin and began selling the products to my clients. The spa re-opened, I worked seven days a week, and we began to regain our footing. We celebrated my son's marriage to a wonderful young woman. My daughter was accepted to a beautiful school that would give her the foundation education she needed in middle and high school to allow her to follow her dreams.
I was slowly paying off the medical bills. But it was hard, and I was tired and no longer had my partner. At this low point, I attended a Nu Skin conference and heard Alan Nagao speak. I sat in the audience and thought about his physical challenges more than 60 years ago, when our world wasn't as accepting of people with his degree of handicaps. I thought about how he used his ideas and hard work to achieve his goals while maintaining optimism.
I thought if he could overcome such physical challenges, I could overcome my mental challenges: those thoughts that tell me to give up or to give in to sadness and fear. Hung used his mental strength to hold off cancer longer than any doctor thought he would. I could overcome these financial challenges and keep the spa alive. And so I did.
Now, I don't think the challenges are over; I know that there will always be challenges in this life, and there will always be unexpected and even tragic occurrences. But at this time, Kim's Day Spa Buckhead is in a great spot.
My children are thriving: one has fully arrived as a productive and successful adult, and the other is mature beyond her years. The spa is better than it's ever been. We're well-positioned for the future. And the weight of grief has lessened, and there is fun and happiness in the world again. As immigrants and entrepreneurs, we grow through all our challenges, strengthening us. I would have never known how resilient, resourceful, and hard-working I could be without the setbacks.
I am taking the time to tell you about this story in hopes of inspiring some of you, even in a small way.
Every day I am grateful.
I walk into Kim's Day Spa Buckhead each day with a sense of gratitude because I was able to "make it" as a female immigrant entrepreneur. The journey has been riddled with challenges, and I appreciate my clients, who have encouraged me to persevere. Moving to America over 30 years ago made my dream come true. I feel privileged to live here and build my successful business in Atlanta.
