By Joe Stumpe, The Wichita Eagle
It was a pedicure customer of Thao Nguyen’s who suggested that she might not be fully utilizing her nimble hands.
Thao Nguyen offers massages and nail work at Luxury Nails & Spa Pedicure on Wichita’s west side. Joe Stumpe/ Eagle correspondent
“She said I’ve got good hands, ‘You need to do massage,’” Nguyen said. “I’ve got healing hands, good pressure.”
Nguyen, not one to waste her talents or time, soon enrolled in massage therapy school. Today she offers a variety of massages in addition to manicures, pedicures and other services at Luxury Nails & Spa Pedicure, at 119th and Maple.
Nguyen grew up in Vietnam, following family members to the United States in 1993. She spent most of the next decade working for Aramark Uniform Services, making alterations and keeping the stockroom in order.
Following the lead of a sister who owns a salon in Texas, she trained as a nail technician. She worked at Luxury for several years and also made house calls for customers, sometimes bringing along homemade Vietnamese noodle soup.
Nguyen said she bought Luxury “so I could treat people my own way.”
She has six nail technicians working as independent contractors. She recently purchased four new chairs for pedicures, bringing the total to eight. In addition to artificial nails and a variety of manicure, pedicure and face-waxing services, Luxury offers Swedish, deep tissue, hot stone and reflexology massages in 30-, 60- and 90-minute sessions.
Nguyen said the big trend now is shellac for nails, which costs more but lasts longer than traditional polish. As for colors and designs, many customers show her photos they’ve found on Pinterest.
Read the full article by Joe Stumpe of the Wichita Eagle.
