When I first started in this industry many many moons ago (I started when I was 22 and doing just turned 42), I never dreamed that I would be where I am today. I absolutely love the business I've created; the physical space is such a safe & comfortable place, and the clientele I've been so blessed to grow with... It's nothing short of amazing. My clients started to call me "The Wax Queen" after a few years of our being together- and so the name stuck!
When I first went to school for Esthetics I honestly envisioned myself sitting in a dimly lit room doing facials all day. Around this time though, the woman I had started seeing for my Brazilian Waxes decided to retire.... Being that she was the first and only practitioner I had ever gone to, and the fact that all salons had Brazilian Waxing on their menu made me think that it would be easy to find a new practitioner to go to. Wellllll.... lets just say that I was sadly mistaken! After having 3 horrific experiences with 3 different practitioners, I quickly realized that there was definitely a need for someone who specialized in Brazilians in RI.
Of all the services that a person can have done, a Brazilian Wax is by far the most intimate and most anxiety provoking. For me, as a client, I want to feel safe. Not just physically, but also emotionally. This is one of the reasons that I keep my treatment room very dimly lit. It's already a nerve wracking experience, so there's no reason to make it any more so than it needs to be. Before my clients have even started to enter the shop, I've already started working on the energy there. I clear the energy each morning by burning sage and clearing out any negative or low level energy that may have been brought in the day before. (I'm also a Master Reiki Practitioner, so I infuse everything in the space with Reiki Energy. Even the table you lay on!) I keep Rose Quartz in the 4 corners of each room and I have the Reiki Symbol for Cho Ku Rei placed throughout the shop. It's these little things that your every day client has no idea are a part of their experience. It's these things that make my shop so very special.
Before I even finished school for Esthetics I landed my first job at an upscale salon & spa. I was lucky enough to overhear a conversation that my instructor was having on the phone with someone. I heard her say that she had one or two of us that she thought could work, and as soon as she finished her call I asked if I could interview for it. My instructor, Ms. Sondra, was a no nonsense longtime small business owner in the beauty industry. She owned a successful salon in Providence for about 20 years herself before turning it over to her daughter who carried on the family tradition. I loved that about Ms. Sondra. That she had managed to create a legacy. I was beyond excited when she agreed to allow me to interview for the position. Three weeks later I started training along side the Esthetician I would be replacing when she moved to NH to start a family with her new husband.
And now, here I am.
20 years later.
The majority of my clients have been with me for more than a decade, and 97% of my day is spent doing Brazilian Waxes- which is what I am known for! I welcome new clients with open arms, but I do have an extremely busy schedule- so yes, I'm aware that it's not always easy to get in with me. The thing that new clients have to understand is that I love what I do so much, that I am in the shop as much as is humanly possible. And yes, I really and truly that busy. I book my Brazilian Bikini Waxes in 30 minute increments starting at 9:30am and typically finish my day around 6:30/7pm. But for me, I love the connection that I have created with my clients, who at this point have really become more like family to me. After all, I see these people every 4-5 weeks for the past decade! I'm very often the first to know when someone is pregnant, or when a divorce is happening. I can't tell you how many half naked women I have held in my arms as they sob over the boyfriend who moved out unexpectedly, or the loss of a parent....
This past year with Covid I had to close my doors by 5pm Monday March 24th. I had no idea what that meant for me or my shop. I wasn't sure if I would be able to apply for unemployment and what that would mean for me....I was astounded by how many of my clients reached out to me asking what they could do to make sure that I was ok financially. Offers to pay my mortgage, large tips sent over, clients booking out far off appointments so that I had some income coming in. My clients showed up for me like nothing I ever could've imagined. I sat in my living room completely humbled by how everyone wanted to take care of me now. I after all, was the lady who did their waxes... yet...I was clearly as important to them as they had become - rather, as they are to me. And that, my friends, is how I became The Wax Queen.