The other day I was amongst a group of salon owners and while talking about business, the number one requested service -the Brazilian-was brought up. I was curious. How many Brazilian waxes did they think their salons did each month?
I heard a variety of answers and most of the numbers were astronomical. The one that impressed me the most was 500.
500 Brazilian waxes in one month! Not quite a gazillion, but seriously folks. Who does 500 Brazilians?
We estheticians-waxers are a curious breed. Many of you can’t believe what we do most of our day and why we’ve chosen (Brazilian) waxing as a way to make our living.
As our conversation grew louder and more animated, it dawned on me how much an esthetician/waxer relies upon her clients for more than just a job.
If you consider the intimacy of a Brazilian wax service and the personal connection the waxer must make with her client in order to put her at ease throughout the service, you will find a lot of talking and chit chat going on in the room. A competent waxer must be able to carry on conversation and make that primary while waxing is preformed quickly, efficiently and most importantly, as if it weren’t happening. Clients need to feel comfortable and connected to the person wielding the wax. Estheticians should be hired because of their personalities just as equally as their waxing abilities. You gotta be able to laugh and bring some comic relief into a first timers Brazilian waxing experience.
Most waxers will agree that they have become something a kin to a 30 minute best friend, a bartender, or even an MD…the kind with the notebook and padded cell! It’s like girlfriend talk time… all the time.
Your esthetician/ waxers learn so much about you and your happiness’s and joys, your trials and tribulations. We look forward to work each day because we know it’s the time to catch up on your goings ons. Some days, our jaws hurt from laughing. Other days, when life isn’t so great for some of you, we agonize over your husbands job loss or your child’s hurt feelings at school.
Okay, back to the 500 -the gazillion Brazilians. I could write a book…but I won’t. I promise. I do, however, have some hilarious stories to share about some funny Brazilian waxing experiences that I heard that day with my coffee drinking my buddies and other salon owners. No names of course. We must protect the innocent!
Here’s one many of you can probably relate with. Your first Brazilian wax. You have no one to blame. You did it to YOURSELF.
One client bought the kit from the beauty supply store, went home and eagerly read the directions from top to bottom. She couldn’t wait to surprise her husband when he came home from work. Her toddler was engrossed in Dora the Explorer while my client went to work. Into the microwave went the wax….then using a spatula, she spread it all over her Brazilian area. (Luckily she only had first degree burns) With a deep breath, she grabbed onto the wax and was ready to pull it off! She couldn’t do it. She gave a little tug and yelped as pain shot through her. The wax didn’t come off…of course…neither did the hair. She spent the next two hours in the bathtub with fingernail scissors cutting the wax from her body.
Another client decided to try out her first Brazilian wax with the encouragement of her best friend. She booked a service at an “in home” salon and showed up to the front door with much apprehension. She was right to be nervous. After ringing the front doorbell and being met by an enormous barking dog and a tiny elderly esthetician, she was led down a dark hallway to a small room in the basement. There she was told to “strip” and hop up onto the bed on all fours. The client did as she was told, hopped up onto the bed and spent the next half hour staring at a huge family portrait–eventually recognizing one of the men in the portrait as an old boyfriend!
And here is a cheeky one:
One client had a “sticky” experience. As she tells it…not knowing what to expect, she went for her first Brazilian on the advice of a co-worker. She scheduled her wax after work AND before a big date with a hottie. The wax seemed to go okay but when it was all over, she was told to go ahead and get dressed…she was finished. She found this a little strange because there was no clean up or post waxing solution applied. When the last strip had been pulled off, she was told her service was over. She dressed and was immediately uncomfortable because she had a large amount of wax stuck to her nether regions. She didn’t have time to go home and shower, so she sucked it up and went on her date. Half way through the evening, her cheeks (and in between) started to sting. Excusing herself, she went to the ladies room and found her cheeks stuck together and stuck to her thong! She said she barely made it through the rest of the dinner and could hardly sit still through dessert. She ended the date earlier than expected and was sad to think she’d never seen her date again. But, in her mortification she just couldn’t tell him what had happened.
The great ending to her story is that her date eventually ended up as her husband. Being persistent he asked her for a second date and was relieved when he found out their first date hadn’t ended early because of broccoli in his teeth, but rather wax in her crack.
Funny stories aside, your waxer looks forward to your trips into her salon. Not only should you, the client, receive a terrific waxing service but the possibility of a life long friendship should be in the works!