July 10, 2017

Meet Fanny of Bella Pella Skin Care in Cambridge

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Fanny.

Fanny, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I have always been interested in beauty, fashion and skin care. As a child in Hong Kong, I dreamed of owning my own skin care salon. However, it was only after I got married and came to Boston in 1983, that I had the opportunity to pursue my dreams.

While working full-time during the day, I attended the Catherine Hinds Institute of Esthetics in Medford, MA during the evenings for two years, and graduated in 1995 with a certificate in Cosmetology. After I graduated from Catherine Hinds I continued my education with aromatherapy classes by Elizabeth Grady, formerly of Collage European Skin Care in Cambridge, MA. I had to continue working while being supervised for two years to receive my aesthetic license to work independently and eventually opened up my own business. Currently I operate and own my business in Cambridge, MA which has been there for about 4 years.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It’s not easy to own and operate your own skin care business. After I graduated from Catherine Hinds and completed my apprenticeship, I had to develop a client base. There were many days, I waited for clients to walk-in, and if it weren’t for the love and support of my husband, Andy, I would not have been able to persevere and succeed.

After three years, and word-of-mouth, I began to slowly build a steady base of loyal customers. It is thanks to these many loyal customers (now, friends) that I have enjoyed this career for almost 20 years.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
My specialties include analyzing and treating each person according to their needs and skin type. I also take great care and pride in my eye-brow shaping, for which I am especially known. My European skin care apprenticeship taught me the value of properly cleansing the skin. I may spend 45 minutes on deep pore cleansing. This is unheard of, but key for healthy, radiant skin. I created my signature facial massage techniques and both I and my clients love the results and improvements we see in their skin.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up I was interested in becoming a nurse or a teacher. I have always enjoyed helping people and I think that is what made me interested in those two careers. However, skincare took the best of both teaching and nursing and brought them together. When I discuss skin care with my clients I am able to teach them how to care for their skin and I can share my best practices. I also grew up in a very strict family and my parents taught me how important respect for other people is. My parents were very health conscience and had a regimented schedule for when we ate dinner, did school work etc. We also ate very healthy meals which made me learn and appreciate a healthy lifestyle in my very young age.

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