This past weekend, New Jersey Monthly hosted Girls’ Day Out, a day-long celebration of wellness and pampering. One of the event’s exhibitors, the European Wax Center, offered guests a complimentary wax to try out its four-step process.
The wax center ladies had me at free. I hopped on Julie Dispenziere’s chair, and she thoroughly explained the process. First, she would clean my skin, followed by a depilatory cream to create a barrier between the wax, which the center gets from Paris, and my skin. Then she would apply a hard wax, which she would remove by hand without using the traditional strips.
I was pleasantly surprised that it was virtually painless. “Because we are not pulling your skin with your hair like most strip waxes and because of the oil we apply, the wax is really only adhering to your hair follicles, so you don’t have that ripping sensation,” explained Denise Harbula, manager of two New Jersey locations.
The benefits don’t stop here. Since strips aren’t necessary, I found the treatment to be more hygienic, (no double-dipping in the wax), which is a bonus for this germaphobe. There are also cosmetic benefits, as step three requires the wax specialist to apply a hydrocortisone cream to reduce swelling and redness. Dispenziere finished by applying the center’s Shape-It product, a thin, gel-like substance that set my newly manicured brows and gave them a nice sheen.
Harbula is currently offering a free bikini line, eyebrow or under arm wax to new female guests and a free eyebrow, ear or nose wax to male clients at the centers she manages in Florham Park (973-301-2200) and Livingston (973-992-3400).