Kathy Phuong Luu is the owner and creative director of Spa Logic, a high-end, full-service salon and spa offering hair color, cuts, and styling for men and women, as well as makeup, nail, and skincare services, in a four-story historic building in downtown Washington, D.C. Born and raised in Vietnam, Ms. Luu immigrated to the United States in the early 1990s after fleeing the country to an international refugee camp in Hong Kong. Driven and detail-oriented, Ms. Luu dreamed of becoming a business owner from a young age, and immediately began coursework to become a licensed nail technician when she arrived in the United States at the age of 18. Ambitious, creative, and passionate about the beauty industry, Ms. Luu did not stop once she had earned her nail technician license, pursuing additional certifications in skincare and hair styling in addition to her full cosmetology license.
Ms. Luu began working in hair and nail salons and continued to seek additional training to “keep leveling up her skills,” taking workshops and intensives in New York, Los Angeles, and London, and studying with lines including L’Oreal, Ouidad and Living Proof. In 2012, she opened Spa Logic as a simple nail salon, expanding to the second floor of the building by the following year. After four years of operation, Spa Logic had evolved into a luxury spa and salon with four floors of services and a staff of more than 40 nail techs, aestheticians and hair stylists. As Spa Logic’s owner and creative director, Ms. Luu is responsible for managing the salon’s brand image, product inventory, and staff, and ensuring that all stylists are highly qualified in basic, advanced, and cutting-edge trend techniques.
Spa Logic has been featured in Modern Luxury Magazine and is a sponsor of St. Jude’s Hospital and the Miss District of Columbia Pageant. As one of the area’s most successful independent business owners, Ms. Luu is a member of the exclusive Female Entrepreneurs Association. Though she has been active in the beauty industry for more than 20 years, she maintains the same level of professionalism and passion for her work that she had when she began her journey and continues to train and practice to keep her skills and knowledge of techniques up to date.
Ms. Luu explains that her proudest accomplishment as a business owner has been maintaining her independence and “becoming her own dream, not someone else’s dream.” She attributes her success to never giving up, never compromising, and never taking no for an answer, and advises other future entrepreneurs to “never forget their roots or how they started.” Within five years, Ms. Luu hopes to expand Spa Logic’s service menu to include medical aesthetics, and looks forward to continuing to grow, learn, and succeed for years to come.