Arts & Communications: Lead Massage & Esthetics Instructor
Arts & Communications
Peter Shin: Lead Massage & Esthetics Instructor
By Mike Yoshiura
From a young age, Peter Shin had healing hands. The 10-year-old boy rubbed his mother’s achy shoulders at holiday celebrations, while his other relatives waited their turn. Now, three decades later, when the massage instructor visits his family, his portable massage table often takes center stage on the living room floor.
“It came natural to me. I’ve always been good with my hands,” says Shin, the lead massage & esthetics instructor at the Paul Brown Institute. “Actually, my mom was the one who suggested that I pursue a career in massage.”
Although Shin attended the University of Hawai‘i and received a degree in communications in 1992, he came to the conclusion that he just wasn’t cut out for it. He says that the only reason he stuck it out was to appease his parents.
Later that fall, he enrolled at the Honolulu School of Massage. In 1995, Shin became a massage instructor at the school, which has since gone out of business. Four years later, he was hired as a massage therapist at the Paul Brown Salon & Day Spa at Ward Center.
After seven months on the job, Paul Brown himself noticed Shin’s knack for esthetics (facials, waxing and make-up) and promoted him to spa director. In his new role, Shin concocted his own spa treatment recipes made with all-natural Island ingredients, such as aloe vera, avocados, papayas, pineapples and honey.
In 2006, Paul Brown opened the Paul Brown Institute—the first school on O‘ahu to teach massage, cosmetology and spa services. Shin was the obvious choice for lead instructor. Shin says that teaching rejuvenated his career. “It’s a really fun job for me. A lot of what we do is hands-on, so I’m not always lecturing a class. It’s my job to recognize how each student learns, because they’re all unique in their own way.”
As part of his esthetics class, Shin teaches students how to formulate new products such as a kukui nut scrub or lemongrass honey mask.
“I don’t give away my recipes, but I do teach my students how to make their own products,” he says. “No other school offers that to students. I give them the basic knowledge so they can go out into the world and be successful.”
Together, Peter Shin and the Paul Brown Institute are preparing Hawai‘i ’s young adults for a beautiful and prosperous career.