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Published on July 21, 2007

The first thing that strikes you about Susan Harmsworth is her warm smile. It's early in the day, but the 63-year-old spa guru and founder of the leading spa company, ESPA, who was in Bangkok for just a day, looks calm and relaxed.

Harmsworth had just spent a week in Tokyo and was off to Hong Kong, from where she will be travelling to take in the fast-paced construction on Macau's Cotai Strip where the major players in the hotel and casino business are busy tapping into a lucrative tourist market.

"They want me to take a look and see what I can do in one of the upcoming establishments," says Harmsworth over breakfast at the Peninsula Bangkok, where last year she launched an ESPA outlet in collaboration with the hotel.

Born and bred in England, Harmsworth says she grew up close to nature.

"My grandmother was into flowers and herbs and my mother was a paediatric nurse who combined modern and alternative - natural and herbal - medicines in caring for the family."

Her father, she recalls, was a great believer in women's education and encouraged her to study and travel.

"I was born right after World War II and England was a very deprived country," Harmsworth explains. "Although we lived very close to nature and used herbs freely, no one used the word 'spa' until much later."

After working as a journalist, mainly writing about women's health for Vogue UK, Harmsworth moved to the US and then Canada, opening her first spa in Toronto in the 1970s. With few other facilities available and a burgeoning interest in holistic therapy, the business flourished.

Like her father, Harmsworth believes in education, so when she launched ESPA a few years later she chose to put her efforts into training therapists rather than spending on extravagant decor.

"The 'E' of ESPA stands for education," she explains. "I want ESPA to be timeless, unisex and international. We have more than 400 branches globally and about 50 per cent of our clients are men.

"Our emphasis is giving education to our staff. With the spa business is booming and everything from nail salons to hair salons being called spas, we find it much more difficult to find the right people for the job. The quality of candidates, instead of going up, is declining because the larger numbers of spa establishments means there are less qualified people out there in the market."

For Harmsworth, even the word "spa" is difficult to define in today's world, but should encompass, at the very least, a sauna or steam treatment that prepares the body for a massage. For others, a cold temperature pre-treatment will be more beneficial," she explains.

Also, when designing a spa for a specific country, she combines local wisdom with ESPA's core treatments.

In any event, a spa should create a sense of peacefulness and wellbeing for all those who experience it and Harmsworth says we all can benefit from a do-it-yourself spa treatment even without the time and money to indulge in five-star facilities.

"You can create your own spa by turning your bathroom into a spa-like environment with candles and relaxing scents," she says. "One hour before your bedtime, indulge in total relaxation with the television and mobile phone switched off and no other stimulants like violent movies."

She recommends that women take good care of their health.

"When I was in Tokyo, we talked about how Japanese women, despite being slim, have a high body fat ratio and osteoporosis problems due to a lack of calcium in their diets. Women now take better care of their bodies, but they also need a healthy attitude."

Being overly emotional can destroy one's beauty. Harmsworth suggests that we try and surround ourselves with positive people, and stay away from negative individuals who are apt to drain our energy.

"Unlike family, friends can be chosen," Harmsworth explains.

"Try to stick to the healthy regime that we all know about. You know, eating right and all. Also, get lots of sleep. Sometimes it is better to go to bed instead of going to the gym. Give yourself time to relax and train your mind to switch off to get a good sleep."

Sirin P Wongpanit

The Nation