HK actress Yoyo Chen's beauty secret: Using facial masks every day

Ever wondered how actresses keep their skin looking radiant and healthy despite being caked in makeup for many hours a day?

For Hong Kong-based actress Yoyo Chen, the secret is to use facial masks every single day.

No wonder there's a Chinese saying that goes "there are no ugly women in the world, only lazy women".

In a one-on-one interview with AsiaOne, the TVB actress, who spoke fluently in Mandarin, explained how she discovered the importance of masking and how it changed her attitude towards beauty routines.

"I do admit that I'm pretty lazy when it comes to skincare," she expressed. "I typically don't make the effort to do anything unless my skin condition is getting bad."

The 35-year-old has since been proactive in using facial masks after discovering its benefits, and now believes that women should take time out for skincare and not be lazy about it.

No wonder she looks good even without makeup in her Instagram selfies.

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Importance of self-healing

Unlike most of us who hanker for work-life balance, to celebrities like Yoyo Chen, it is a luxury they've had to sacrifice.

We imagine that for an actor, having to separate their public and private selves could make them feel a little beat-up at times and as Chen admits, "we get really worn out from work".

To cope with this, Chen divulges that she frequently goes for naturopathy treatments on days when she's not working. 

For her, opting for a non-medicinal therapy is a way of self-healing which she finds effective in relieving stress accumulated from work and family issues. 

Besides this, the actress also spends a lot of her free time taking boxing classes, practising yoga and hitting the gym with a personal trainer. She believes that exercising is a great method for self-healing as well, apart from its apparent physical benefits.

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"We spend so much of our time working, so our bodies tend to stiffen up and it becomes very unhealthy long-term wise," she explained.

"But mental health has an effect on physical health as well, and these methods of self-healing is how I take care of myself mentally," said Chen.

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Philosophical about love

For an actress who often stars in TV series enacting romantic scenes, you would think she must know a lot about love and marriage.

While that may be right, the best lesson on marriage still comes from one's own experience.

In 2011, Chen married fellow TVB actor Vincent Wong, 33, and the couple have a 5-year-old daughter.

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When asked what is the most important thing she learnt from her six-year marriage, she paused in silence for a few seconds before sharing her philosophical realisation.

"Many a time, we subconsciously expect our partners to know what we want and hope they'll do the things we want them to," she said. "But if you think deeper, that is merely us desiring control, and it cannot be true love."

"If you truly love someone, you should respect them enough to let them do the things they like, rather than try to control or change them," she added.

We couldn't agree more.

Yoyo Chen appears in Wellness On the Go Singapore (星级健康新加坡) which premieres June 27 at 8pm on Hub E City (StarHub TV Channel 111/825) and StarHub Go. 

ongymm@sph.com.sg