EVERETT — There’s no way to wax eloquent about this hair removal salon.
It’s more than lips and brows. It’s not-so-public places where people have a lot of hair. And in crevices that might surprise you.
What’s up with that?
Waxology: A Beauty Boutique offers full-body hair removal from head to toe — and everything in between — for women and men.
Yes, men.
About 20 percent of their waxing clients are male, said Brandi Pattison and Athena Walker, who opened Waxology in May at 1317 Hewitt Ave.
They couldn’t get any men to talk about it for this story, much less pose for a photo. I couldn’t get any guys in the newsroom to be a wax model. My hairy husband, who I can usually badger into anything, said “Absolutely not.”
Maybe it was the memory of Steve Carell’s famous bloodcurdling-screaming chest-waxing scene in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” in an attempt to look man-tastic.
Many hair salons and day spas offer facial waxing as a sideline, but wax is the specialty here, especially Brazilian waxes (removal of hair down there).
It’s nothing to blush about, that is, if you’re a millennial who takes it as casually as getting a pedicure.
The waxers see it as an ordinary vocation.
“We don’t think it’s odd that people come in and get all naked,” Pattison said. “People always feel like they have to warn me, ‘Oh, I’m so hairy.’ I go, ‘That’s why you’re here.’ People are worried that I am looking at their body or their tan or whatever. I’m like, ‘No, I just see the hair. I just want to get it off. That’s all I am focused on.’ “
Pattison, 36, has two children and lives in Marysville. Walker, 32, also a married mother of two, commutes from Mercer Island.
Both are licensed estheticians who previously worked at waxing salons in Seattle.
“We would get a ton of clients coming from the north end, especially men. I would see male clients all the way from Mount Vernon making the drive into Seattle because they were having a hard time finding someone to do a male Brazilian,” Pattison said.
The vacant space in downtown Everett that once housed an HVAC shop was the perfect fit, though it took extensive remodeling. There are two private waxing rooms with a towel warmer, massage table, ambient lighting and a spa vibe. The walls pop with paintings from local artists. The salon is a stop on the Everett Art Walk.
Brazilians are among the most popular waxing services. The cost is $68 for women and $80 for men; or $55 and $65 respectively for follow-up maintenance to keep the nether regions bare. Full-leg waxing is $65. Underarms are $20. It’s $50 for a smooth back or $30 for a man-tastic chest. The list goes on. They also do eyelash curls and tints, and recently started spray tanning.
The big hairy stuff is no big deal.
“You are usually in the door and out the door in 30 minutes,” Pattison said. “A huge part of our clientele is the lunchtime crowd.”
They might do a dozen Brazilians a day.
“Women from baristas to attorneys,” Walker said.
And not just the younger set, the main segment who embrace the grooming trend.
“I had a woman who got her first Brazilian when she was 70 years old,” Pattison said. “She did not think she would like it, but she did and she came and saw me every five weeks.”
The obvious question is … why do people want a pre-pubescent look?
”Some people say it makes them feel better about themselves,” Walker said. “Some do it for hygienic reasons.”
Aren’t men proud of their hairiness?
“The most stereotypical masculine men get waxed, like firemen. They say it helps them stay cool when they’re in suits,” Walker said. “Lots of fishermen that work in Alaska. There’s a male client who’s in the Navy.”
Also physicians, especially surgeons, she added.
When we talked last week, Walker said two of her seven clients that day were male.
“One was getting ears waxed and the other was getting a male Brazilian,” she said. “One worked in the tech industry and the other was a nurse.”
She didn’t say which got what.
Not all guys come by choice.
“I had a client who lost a bet with his wife and he had to get it done,” Pattison said. “And then he liked it, so he kept coming back.”
Remember that, ladies, next time you’re trying to spice up a bet.
“Women will bring in their husbands to spruce up their eyebrows,” Pattison said. “Ears. Nostrils. We get a lot of older guys with the nostril hair.”
Ouch.
“You literally just stick wax inside the inner part of the nostril, let it dry and then pull it out,” Pattison said. “You would think that sounds really painful, but for some reason pulling it out all at once is not so bad. That will last five to six weeks. One of the first things guys say is, ‘Oh, my gosh, I can breathe.’”
Waxing removes the hair from the root. New hair grows back in a month or so, maybe sooner, depending on the person.
So it’s a routine, like getting your hair done, but instead of getting styled it gets banished.
Andrea Brown: 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @reporterbrown.
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