Did you know, we've landed in Las Vegas!! And (if you couldn't tell by the exclamation points), we are really, really excited about it. Yes, we are at The Birthday Suit. So next time you're in Sin City - whether it's before a quickie marriage, after a win at roulette or to prepare for a pool party, swing by and let the amazing Stacey and her team of dedicated waxers help you fix your situation up.
We had a chat with Stacey about her business, her philosophy, and everything she's seen as a waxer (ok, maybe not EVERYTHING). Read on to learn more about this incredible company.
The first thing I think women ( and men) need to know about waxing, specifically the Bra/Bro-zilian is that your first visit is not going to be a unicorn and rainbows kind of experience but it will also not be a 40 Year Old Virgin/Kelly Clarkson moment. I canʼt blame anyone for being nervous! Letʼs start with the pants off in a brightly lit room (I donʼt care how cute and charming the decor is, at the end of the day there are spotlights above you pointing right at your nether region) in a butterfly or flamingo leg arrangement with a stranger who is about to apply hot wax to your most important parts! Wait, before you start to panic and rethink the experience, the hype you may have heard is just that, hype. Once you get over the awkwardness of the initial situation, it is a 15 minute relatively pain free experience with 3 weeks of hairless bliss to follow!
My best advice to first timers is unless your friends are already regular waxers, donʼt tell them. They will try to tease you and tell you that you are crazy! Letʼs see who looks crazy when you are in a bikini in the summer with zero razor bumps and no sign of hair! Gently exfoliate the area to be waxed prior to the wax. GENTLY. Avoid any type of harsh scrubs. The last thing you want to do is break the hair you have been growing out to have waxed or irritate your skin. Ahhh, this leads me to the most important part of your first wax... 3 Weeks of growth!!! Donʼt shave 3 days out and say itʼs been almost 3 weeks. This is what we do, we know how long it has been. You will have zero waxing results and will leave with 3 days worth of stubble. I know it can feel like an eternity but if you are going to subject yourself to this, make it worth your while.
Please donʼt take any type of muscle relaxer pre wax. If you seem out of it, chances are you will be turned away. Shower. Please shower. Your spa should provide some type of wipes for you to “freshen up” with. The Birthday Suit is proud to offer the Box Natural Cleansing Wipes to our Gals & Guys! Please take the 2 minutes to do so. We understand that plenty of our clients come straight from work or just life but please be courteous and use the provided cleaner-upper.
I promise though, there will be no tears, no blood, no screaming. You can do it!
When choosing a waxing boutique, first and foremost, your nail salon is not the place to go. They may do great nails but waxing is not their specialty. Look on places like Yelp and Google for reviews. Donʼt necessarily shop around for the cheapest place. Inexpensive is one thing but if a place seems like their prices are too low, it may be a red flag. Tell the reception if you have any concerns. I know with 14 Estheticians we have personalities to suit every type of guest. I for one am one of the chattiest waxers (like you couldnʼt already figure that out). We have chatty and quiet zen. The room will never be silent but our zen girls make very little small talk and let you lead the pace of the conversation as opposed to myself who may not let you get a word in. I would also look for experience. I know everyone has to start somewhere, but do you really want that somewhere to be on your chuckalina? I love the relationships and real life friendships I have made with Clients. Although, once we go out for coffee or a drink, you have to find a new waxer. Sorry :) There are 13 other gals in my boutique to choose from.
We get the question “what does everyone else do?” when choosing your end result look. Right now styles honestly vary by age. Our 17-40 somethings normally take it all off. Our ladies 50 and up tend to leave a “landing strip” or triangle. A lot of our guests will often do what their partner requests. They may not care but their other half prefers a certain “look”.
We have had requests for partners initials, $ sign, heart, X (as in X marks the spot) and an arrow pointing down. We fortunately donʼt do anything other then the standard “all off”, “landing strip” or “triangle”. When you get into detailed shapes there is quite a bit of tweezing which can be a bit more painful then the wax itself.
We donʼt do any type of “extra” like Vajazzaling, Vajacials (facials on your bikini area) or hair dye (yes, there is a company that has cornered the market of pubic hair dye). Most of the vajazzaling is overpriced rhinestone stick on tattoos. Donʼt get me wrong, there are some places that have made an art form out of it. Swarovski Crystals and intricate design. We are focused on one thing, waxing. And we are amazing at it. The Vajacials... no offense, I have no interest in giving your private area a facial. It never made sense to me. I think that type of thing is better done at home in the privacy of your own shower.
To achieve the best results, you want to maintain your waxing every 3 to 4 weeks. Again, 15 minutes out of your day. It is difficult to explain the results if you have never had a wax. The hair, because you are removing it in its entirety - root and all, will grow back like a hair. Thin, soft, like the hair on your arm. Most people notice about 2/3 of the hair does not grow back! But this is why you have to stay on schedule. The body is an amazing thing, if you say “hey, itʼs not all grown back, I will wait” you have now allowed the rest of the hair to grow in and your cycle is out of sync. The hair growth also slows down significantly. In between your wax, donʼt touch it! Donʼt shave, donʼt tweeze! You will break all that new thin hair and shave it back into a whisker. The new growth will be so thin you wonʼt even mind! Nobody is worth it!!! We have had so many clients come in and confess they shaved because they had a date. So not only did they sign up for an uncomfortable wax, yes, when you shave you are starting from square 1 again, they 99% of the time will admit, it wasnʼt worth it! The second wax is an entirely different experience then the first. You have all this thin fine hair, no whiskers, and minimal amounts. Breeze!!!
I guess if I could request one thing for a Guest to do/not to do during a service is to put the phone away. It is equally as awkward for us when there is no conversation but to be belittled like we are “the help” and you canʼt take 15 minutes out of your life to acknowledge us... it is slightly insulting and degrading. To talk to your boyfriend or girlfriend during a service and make crass “dirty talk” is honestly sightly offensive. And really, is candy crush that addicting you canʼt live without it for a few minutes? The other thing that both my OB/GYN have joked about is feet. In the summer it happens, we get stinky feet but our heads are right above them. When you are taking the time to clean up your “areas” use a wipe to wipe your feet off :).
I started The Birthday Suit out of the desire to be able to provide for my family and have something my husband and I could do together. No, he is not waxing. He is actually rarely there. He handles the boring stuff; bills, insurance, permits, pretty much anything that requires paperwork is all him. He was the driving force in getting The Birthday Suit opened, literally, he did all the finishing work, painting, design for the interior. We, as parents wanted a family friendly place. Somewhere that a mother would not feel uncomfortable bringing her child at any age or a place a man would not feel uncomfortable in. Our interior is what we like to call Chicago Loft looking. With cool browns and tans and brick faced interior. Our walls are covered with art work from local artists using us as gallery space. We love it. It is a constant change in scenery and I feel like we are encouraging people to use their creative side! We also have a “Childrenʼs Lounge” aka a playroom. Oversized pillows and kids comfy chairs. We encourage them to color pictures so we can hang them on the wall. We also have Netflix streaming child friendly shows all day. Makes coming in for a service so much more convenient when you know we can accommodate everyone! I guess I really just want my brand to recognized as a luxury that everyone can afford. We use THE top of the line custom hard wax and have an amazing line of skin care from The Birthday Suit but nothing is too expensive to make someone feel they canʼt afford it.
We joke, The Birthday Suit is like Cheers, just with your pants off. We are a family. Dysfunctional as that may sound, every guest that walks through that door is now part of my family.
I wish we could say we had some crazy stories but I donʼt. Aside from the requests for boyfriends and husbands wanting to watch (No Way!) we are so “mom and pop” that everything is pretty vanilla in there. Again, the way we wanted it so at no point anyone would ever feel uncomfortable being there. We were actually approached to do a reality show and they let us know after observing us that they would have to script the crazy and the drama because it was just a lot of laughter and hugs and if you didnʼt know that 99% of our clients were taking their pants off behind the doors it looked like a reunion of friends. Which is exactly the tone we want to set in there.
I have had the pleasure of having the same 19 girls on my team for almost the entire 3 years we have been open! That says something about my company. That they are happy and believe in me and The Birthday Suit and all it represents. I have seen 2 marriages, 5 babies, 5 first time home ownership, 8 new cars and a sense of pride on a team of women that I cannot describe. They are truly my family and I will do what I can to continue being a source of not only financial stability for them but pride in what they do!
We are in the early stages of Franchising our brand to make The Birthday Suit a nationwide house hold name synonymous with quality, affordability and very community involved. We have decided to look into opening a second Vegas location first though. We are currently vying for “Mission Main St Grant” from Chase Small Business. They will award approximately $3.5 million dollars to small business around the country to help them expand their business. We have been accepted into the search and it is multiple stages. The first stage is acquiring 250 votes to nominate us to be considered for the second round. The first round is a FB voting only round. If you feel like checking out The Birthday Suit on Facebook, feel free to click the link and cast a quick vote for us!
And at the end of the day, my best advice is #GetYourWaxOn Twitter/IG @thebdaysuitlv www.TheBirthdaySuit.com