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Body sugaring: a new kind of sweet addiction
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Courtesy of Studio Alexandria LA website
Studio Alexandria LA
11740 San Vicente Blvd.
Suite 105
Brentwood, CA 90049
(310) 492-5070
(877) 883-4652 (87-studio-LA)
Sugaring Practitioner: Danielle Correia
Okay, this is weird I know, but I love this new sugaring salon, Studio Alexandria, inasmuch as it is possible to love such a thing as hair removal. So far, for me, it's kicking waxing's butt and I'm betting it'll knock shaving out of the park.
As mentioned in my profile, and in previous stories (see my column from August 10th, Bikini waxaphobia: girls, don't fear the reaper: www.examiner.com/examiner/x-11877-LA-Spa-Treatments-Examiner~y2009m8d10-Bikini-waxaphobia-girls-dont-fear-the-reaper), I have been waxing my necessary body parts since I was a teenager, and pretty much thought I'd be wedded to waxing for life...and then I learned about this method called "sugaring". Here's how the Studio Alexandria website describes the process: "Trained and certified Alexandria Professional™ Practitioners massage our Advanced Sugaring Paste onto the skin by hand at a lukewarm temperature. This is where the magic begins for our clients. When the sugar paste is massaged into the skin, it allows the paste to seep into the follicles, enabling the hair to “slide” out far more comfortably for a complete extraction without hair breakage. The side effects? Many of our clients actually fall asleep during treatments. Now, that’s smooth!" (www.studioalexandriala.com/about.html) The Advanced Sugaring Paste they speak of is a paste comprised of sugar, lemon juice and water boiled down to a sticky, honey-like consistency. And yes, you can really eat it...but I declined the first time around. Maybe some other time. If I'm really hungry.
Maybe not.
Although I was offered a press meeting with owner Lina Kennedy by the lovely PR goddess Robin Gilbert, I elected to go "incognito" so I could have a secular sugaring experience. (What's more fun than the idea of tattling on a sub-par salon?) I made an appointment for a brow shaping and bikini line. Well, Studio Alexandria's Brentwood address is a definite giveaway that this salon is par-in-the-hole (or something - I don't play golf; I have no idea) It's above-par; it's su-par (get it? super = su-par? ha ha!). It's lovely: light, clean and very spare. One of the drawbacks of doing undercover work is the inability to take pictures without giving yourself up, but at least I got some bathroom photos:
My adorable little sugaring practitioner Danielle was wearing something like Roxy shorts and a Hanes white tee and I believe I saw a bikini underneath. I'm pretty sure she was going to hit the waves after work. So here's something that really took me aback at first: the beautiful, sterile sugaring room had a nice padded table in the middle upon which I was to hop ...but where was the disposable paper? Whenever a personal service is performed in a salon, the esthetician customarily rolls this horrible white industrial paper out on the table for the client to lie on. There was no such paper here - which made me happy but also very nervous, for obvious reasons. I was assured that the tables are cleaned and sanitized thoroughly between clients (and I saw this being done after my appointment) so in the interest of journalistic integrity, I took the hop of faith.
As both a practitioner and a sugaring educator, Dani is dynamic, smart and funny...and she knew what she was doing without a doubt, explaining the process to me as we went along. But I have to tell you the truth: it wasn't painless. To be more specific, the bikini area wasn't painless. Sorry to contradict the literature - I'd like to be able to report otherwise...but what can I say? You're having hair pulled from your nether regions; it's gonna smart a bit. However, Dani was fast and - um - comprehensive. Her work is absolutely beautiful. And if it's any consolation, my brow shaping was painless, and they're gorgeous too. She's an artist.
Up at the front desk, on the way out, I had a chance to meet Miss Lina herself. She's lovely, open and warm; the kind of person who looks you right in the eyes when she talks to you. She is clearly enthusiastic about her business, and genuinely happy to talk about any aspect of the sugaring process or the business itself. So Studio Alexandria has got me hooked; right now - a couple weeks after my sugaring - I'm still smooth with no signs of new growth. Now I'm trying to figure out where else I can get sugared and save myself some time and stubble. One caveat, though: at $25 for a brow touch-up and $65 for a basic bikini (the prices go up from there), sugaring ain't cheap. However, it lasts much longer than waxing or shaving (with no stubble and happily diminishing returns), and Studio Alexandria does offer 50% off of the first visit - which I would take advantage of, if I were you.
In fact, any readers who don't want to take advantage of this first visit special, I'll be happy to take your place: just e-mail your first names to me at spaexaminer@thelillypad.org and I'll go "incognito" as one of you on my next appointment! Let's see how many first visit specials I can get in before they begin to recognize me....
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