Susan Santsche Lifts Spirits
Without splitting hairs
Susan Santsche. Photos by Melissa Sanderson
Humboldt business owner Susan Santsche doesn’t just think outside of the box, she reconstructs the box to suit her specifications. Faced with what seemed to be insurmountable life changing events — not once but four times — she rose to meet the challenges while building her successful business, the Spa at Personal Choice (located inside the historic Vance Hotel, 130 G St., Eureka).
The former hairdresser has a lot of tricks in her stylist’s bag. Santsche picked up as much free education as possible working with some heavy hitters, including Paul Mitchell and Vidal Sassoon. She realized that she loved skin care, a timely discovery as she was told she “can’t cut hair.” Not wasting time, Santsche quickly moved on to studying with co-developer of Retin-A, James Fulton. She became a licensed paramedical esthetician, providing support for dermatology patients. She speaks of “being a curious learner,” absorbing knowledge whenever and wherever she could. She put all that hard-won education to play in developing the spa.
When Santsche says her motto is, “The way I fight back is I give back,” she really means it. Her life is a fine example of that motto embodied in one determined woman. She graduated high school, got married and completed beauty college all in the same year. A tragic accident disabled her spouse, leaving the young mother of two no real way to earn a living because she had no access to home healthcare. The healthcare workers involved in her spouse’s hospital care began to evolve Humboldt’s home IV care system to meet those needs. Santsche was able to start her business with the support of this initially informal network.
Sue Santsche, hands-on at her spa.
As the spa grew, so did the Santsche family. With the joys of a third child came a diagnosis of cervical cancer only discovered due to the pregnancy. “I’m a busy working woman. I was taking care of my family, but not me. We have to make sure women know we can’t put our lives on the back burner; we must put our oxygen mask on first.” Once she had given birth, Santsche began treatment, including a hysterectomy. The delayed diagnosis meant the involvement of her glandular system, which would leave her vulnerable to two more cancer battles. “In 1987 I had my first bout with cancer. My business coach reminded me that the sun will come up the next day, so I kept going.” Santsche kept doing what she loved, helping Humboldt celebrate weddings and homecomings, rejuvenating and refreshing each person who stepped through her doors.
Santsche used her involuntary doctorate from the School of Hard Knocks to help others with their own battles. Santsche made a difference one face at a time with the spa for Cure, giving cancer survivors makeovers. This was especially important to her as the effects of chemotherapy and radical surgeries can negatively impact how a person sees themselves. She also worked diligently with community members to bring one and eventually three 3D mammography machines to Humboldt County, a worthy cause that has saved many lives through early detection. Her experiences navigating the maze of health care inspired her to create the Courage Awareness Health Advocacy Program and its annual Night of Courage. She quickly became Humboldt’s champion educator on the importance of maintaining our own health care records for our sakes and our families’.
“My Humboldt Life is serving my community,”
Skin care products developed by Santche.
The networks Santsche built along with the spa came to the aid of Humboldt’s businesses during the COVID pandemic. Santsche is a cheerleader for the Small Business Development Center and its programs. “They were my lifeline during COVID.” Twice-weekly Zoom calls brought the business community together to develop protocols and support each other as much as possible. Santsche gave Zoom tutorials on giving yourself a facial (with mimosas of course!), and made home spa boxes available for pick up, adapting to the hands-off restrictions placed upon her hands-on business.
Santsche’s hard work has won her recognition across the board. The Spa at Personal Choice was awarded 2023 Eureka December Business of the Month and 2023 Business of the Year. The Spa also received national ranking of the best 200 spas in the country and Santsche accepted one of 10 Salon Global Business Awards from the Anderson School of Business. “One thing I always say, ‘Greatest weakness is our greatest strength.’ Humboldt may be small but it’s great. We have to go out and create opportunities for ourselves.”
Santsche demonstrates red light treatment at the Spa at Personal Choice
After years of helping acne sufferers, Santsche realized that problems like cosmetic acne can be caused by the unintentional interaction of ingredients in hair and skin-care products. She developed her own line of products, Clear2Perfection. Not satisfied to sit still for long, this August Santsche published Acne Unveiled (Amazon’s No. 1 New Release in Skin Care and No. 1 Best So Far in 2024 in Fashion and Style upon its release). The spa also offers red light treatments, a therapy used by some NFL teams to relieve pain and inflammation, and encourage healing.
Santsche is still tapping into the expertise of the SBDC as she prepares a succession plan with an owner-to-employee trust. She has grandchildren and a paddleboard waiting for her to join in the fun once she retires! Santsche wants the Spa at Personal Choice to give others that same opportunity in the future. Her hope is to inspire young women and business leaders to keep growing and learning. “My Humboldt life is serving my community,” she says. She puts that philosophy into play daily, saying that she and her staff are day makers, making one person’s day better one person at a time. Santsche has definitely made Humboldt’s day better.
The Spa at Personal Choice
130 G St., Eureka
(707) 445-2041
personalchoicespa.com