HANG HOUGH’S JOURNEY AT TRANSFORM BEAUTY

Transform Beauty is an independent Horsham business, founded by Hang Hough in 2014. The Carfax clinic offers a wide range of treatments for the skin and body, utilising an ever-expanding range of modern technology. Here, Hang describes her remarkable journey from a farming village in Vietnam to beauty entrepreneur…

I was born in a farming village in Vietnam, about 100 miles from the capital, Hanoi. I have happy childhood memories as we looked after many animals, including piglets, puppies and kittens. I would often cry while hiding behind the door when someone arrived to take one of them away! However, as the eldest of five children, I was expected to help my mum with household chores. 

My father served in the Vietnam War (known in Vietnam as the American War). He didn’t talk about it much, but I know from his diary that on one occasion, many of his friends were killed in an explosion. He was one of only two to survive, as they had simply been fortunate to have been at the front of the group, while those at the back died. I was a curious child, and read a journal he’d kept from his service, along with love letters he wrote to my mum. Sadly, the journal was lost when a twister struck our home. I read enough to know he was a brave soldier and loved my mother dearly. He was my hero. After the war, he became a respected village police chief and was known for challenging corruption. Sadly, he died of cancer when I was only 11. 

My mum was a very capable woman. She was a vet, and did everything she could – buying Western medicines as well as traditional remedies – to care for my father and give him more time. His death left us burdened by debt, yet watching mum raise a family in such circumstances was inspiring. She taught me a lot about resilience and survival.

In my village, higher education for girls was not widely expected at that time. As the eldest daughter, there was an expectation that I get married and help my mother. I remember the day my best friend suddenly stopped attending school when she was only 13. It was not unusual in my village for girls of that age to leave school and prepare for marriage. That was not the future I wanted, so I worked hard at school. I didn’t want where I began life to define my future, and my mum supported my dreams.

I was one of the first girls from my village to attend university, studying Economics in Hanoi. After graduating, I worked in sales and marketing, liaising with hotels, foreign companies and government offices to organise events and business meetings in the city. I met an Englishman who travelled to Hanoi occasionally for business. We became close over time and in 2000, I left Vietnam and moved to Horsham, as his work was based in Crawley. We married at the town’s registry office and I found work at Royal Sun Alliance. Having started as a trainee insurance underwriter, I moved around within the company, gaining experience in risk and compliance too, always broadening my business knowledge. 

I took a break from work to raise my two children. Then sadly, my marriage broke down and I needed to rebuild my financial independence. Rather than returning to insurance, I wanted a job that was customer facing, as I loved meeting and helping people in Hanoi. So, I became a cashier for a High Street bank and quickly progressed to become a customer account manager, then a qualified financial adviser. Supporting my children’s education drove me to work harder and helped me become financially independent too.

When I reached a point where my career progression had started to stagnate, I considered other employment options. I searched online for “happiest occupations” and beauty therapy was top of the list. I had started to use more beauty products at the time, mainly as a way of rebuilding confidence. With my marriage over, my confidence and self-esteem had taken a real knock, and beauty treatments helped me begin to feel like myself again. The more I researched, the more I realised that beauty wasn’t just about appearance, but emotional wellbeing too. As I rediscovered my own inner happiness, I felt a strong desire to help others. 

I spent the last part of my banking career travelling across England, and during this time, I learned as much as I could about beauty and aesthetic skincare too. If I was going to launch my own business, I wanted to know everything about the products and treatments available. Finally, I opened the doors to Transform Beauty on West Street in 2014. I felt that everything I had learned – from assessing insurance risks, to financial planning at the bank, to attending beauty fairs – were all pieces of a jigsaw that were suddenly falling into place.  

I didn’t have a shop front on West Street, but we had three treatment rooms upstairs. To attract customers, I distributed leaflets to passers-by, just to gain a foothold. From the outset, every person who has walked through the door has mattered a great deal to me. So, I gradually established loyal clients, with many becoming friends. Initially, we focused on treatments such as body massage, facial and body waxing, brows and lashes treatments, and manicures and pedicures for hands and feet. I had undergone laser hair removal and it had boosted my confidence, so I quickly introduced this service too. 

A butterfly has been part of our branding from the outset. As a child, I was fascinated by nature and would chase butterflies around the garden. Of course, butterflies in Vietnam are often much bigger than those in the UK! I loved seeing the incredible patterns and colours up-close. One day, a caterpillar landed on my legs and I leapt about screaming. Then, my mum told me about chrysalis, and I couldn’t believe it! This transformation in nature later inspired my business concept. We want every client to feel better about how they look and feel.

In 2018, we moved into our current home in the Carfax and expanded into Transform Health & Beauty Clinic, while retaining Transform Beauty as the public-facing brand, focusing more on health and wellbeing. The pandemic hindered progress slightly, but also gave us time to put in place new ideas and services, expanding further into advanced skin, wellbeing and non-surgical aesthetic treatments, which have become vital to growing the business. 

With so much technology available, I believe it’s essential to understand the science, indications and limitations before introducing a treatment. So, I always take a deep dive into the science behind them, to understand a product and how and why it works, so that I can offer bespoke treatments that meet the individual needs of clients. That’s why every visit begins with a consultation.

Recently, I’ve been working with specialist skincare formulators and manufacturing partners to develop the Transform Elite range. I wanted my products to support brighter-looking, hydrated and balanced skin, while being easy to incorporate into everyday life. The products are designed to complement one another, as part of a structured skincare routine. 

I am also close to finalising a very special product called Elite Within. Elite stands for Energy, Longevity, Image, Transformation and Elevation. I’m still refining both the nutritional formulation and flavour. It’s designed as a convenient daily wellness ritual, combining collagen with selected nutrients to support skin and general wellbeing. Looking good is one thing, but feeling younger and more vibrant within yourself is far more interesting.

We have evolved a holistic approach to wellbeing and beauty in all its forms. I feel we have also developed a growing community in Horsham, guiding clients towards a healthier lifestyle. We offer a range of membership options too, including free membership for new clients as a gentle, no-commitment starting point to the Transform Elite world. 

If anything, my ambitions are still growing. Horsham is where this story was built, but I hope Transform Elite can take our philosophy further, creating a more connected journey through skincare, wellness, education and membership support. As I get older myself, I’m increasingly interested not simply in looking younger, but in how we can stay healthy, confident, independent and engaged with life for longer. I feel as though this is really only the beginning…

Further information: Transform Beauty, 42 Carfax, Horsham.

Transform Beauty: www.transformclinic.co.uk

Transform Elite: www.thetransformelite.com

Originally published on 1 November 2026. Interview by Ben Morris/Photos by Alan Wright