At exactly 10 a.m. on July 15, hundreds of Bay Area residents opened their laptops, pulled up Saelo’s booking portal, and began furiously refreshing the page.
The Korean spa, which opened in June 2024, had just dropped its facial appointments for the next 30 days, and you had to act fast to snag a spot. Within two hours every slot was booked.
Booking frenzies like this are usually reserved for Blackpink tickets or Supreme fashion drops, but Saelo, a high-tech skincare studio founded by two former tech workers, is changing that. “We have boyfriends and girlfriends refreshing the page together, like it’s Coachella,” said cofounder Joyce “Kipeum” Lee. “We launched with one treatment, and within 72 hours, we had to sign a lease for another room.”
The Bay Area has gone all in on the Korean Wave, from food to karaoke to K-Pop merch stores and concerts, and of course, K-beauty. “People watch K-pop and K-dramas and wonder, ‘How are they so youthful and good-looking?’” said Sora Lee, founder of Kurated, a Bay Area agency focused on Korean beauty. “Then they turn to K-beauty treatments.”
Summer Da Hyang Jung, a researcher at the Stanford Center for Innovation and Design who organized a Korean beauty and food showcase at Stanford in May, said K-beauty aligns well with local values. “Bay Area consumers tend to prioritize practicality and minimalism,” she noted. “They’re discerning, research-driven, and results-oriented.”
For the uninitiated, the typical K-beauty spa feels more Apple-store sleek than woo-woo. Saelo’s spa rooms are minimalist and tech-heavy, with LED panels and blinking tech art. Clients check in on an iPad — there is no receptionist — and slippers are provided. Tipping is not allowed.
Saelo launched with one treatment, the $169 Upkeeper, a 45-minute, 12-step Korean-style hydrofacial that includes extractions, skin boosters, and hydrodermabrasion, which uses high-pressure steam to exfoliate the skin. “It’s shorter than the industry standard, so people can fit it in between meetings,” said cofounder Bridget Pujals. “Other spas might do 90 minutes and include a massage, but they charge you three times as much for noneffective fluff.”
The spa has since added two more offerings: a nano-needling treatment, which uses silicone tips to create microscopic channels in the skin to allow exosomes, tiny droplets released from stem cells, to penetrate; and a facial-balancing treatment that uses neurotoxins and lasers like Oligio, a radio frequency skin-tightening device. “We’re the first in the Bay to get Oligio,” said Lee.
“We were inspired by In-N-Out. A simple, high-quality menu — but for your face,” said Pujals. The treatment list is intentionally streamlined, as “clients are just flooded with a long list of menus, and they’re confused.”
Saelo founders (and BFFs) Lee, 35, and Pujals, 33, met in 2014 while working at Postmates. In 2018, Pujals moved to a job at Meta and Lee to Airbnb.
Lee, a Korean American, was introduced to the world of K-beauty as a child, when her mother took her to Seoul for reconstructive surgery for a cleft palate.
“I was exposed to top skincare clinics,” she said. “America was so stale and dated.” She introduced Pujals to Korean treatments, and the duo dreamed up a local spa that would use Korean techniques and products. “We wanted to be very results-driven,” said Lee.
As with any new business, there were skeptics. “People told us we were crazy because we’re nonmedical founders,” said Pujals. “They also said that people in the Bay don’t care about how they look.” Pujals disagreed and used her savings to get the business up and running, a process that included flying in technicians from Seoul to train her staff.
Bayview-based natural soap entrepreneur Jessie Ikhbold, 33, has been getting the Upkeeper treatment monthly for a year. “My skin was always going through something,” she said. “I went through over a dozen facial places.”
At one spa, she paid $400 for a facial that “should have been mind-blowing” but left her disappointed.
Ikhbold was considering flying to Korea or Los Angeles, which has a robust K-beauty scene, when she discovered Saelo on TikTok and gave it a try. “I came out mind-blown,” she said. “My face was plump and hydrated. It’s my holy grail.”
Janice Jung, 37, a search coordinator at a legal recruiting firm, said Saelo’s facials transformed her skin. “I can’t rave about this place enough.” Jung said she suffered from dryness, wrinkles, and clogged pores, and the facials leave her skin clear and refreshed.
Saelo appeals to both sexes, said Pujals, noting that 30% of clients are men. Appointment slots are in such high demand that Saelo has signed a lease in Hayes Valley to open a second spa next year. For now, Saelo is the only Korean skincare spa in the city.
But it might not be alone for long. “A couple of years ago, there was a dearth of options,” said Sora Lee, but the K-spa scene is evolving. Two K-beauty salon founders are eyeing Bay Area launches, she said, hoping to offer services similar to those at Saelo. They consulted with her about funding and locations.
Pujals and Lee rarely look back at their tech careers. “The biggest thing that I miss is my big cash compensation. I don’t make as much, but I don’t regret it,” said Pujals.
