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Grace Probert: Career of an Esthetician
A specialist in bikini and brazilian wax and laser treatments reveals what goes on behind closed esthetician room doors.
July 10, 2011
3 min to read
Esthetician Grace Probert owned a spa in a Denver suburb when she noticed an increasing demand for bikini and brazilian-style waxing services, among both women and men. So in October 2006 she left the spa in order to open a smaller studio that would specialize in these services along with bleaching the hair or darkened skin in intimate areas of the body.
Probert named her business "Acomoclitic Laser and Wax Studio" because "acomoclitic" refers to a preference for having these private body areas hairless. She began spreading the word over the Internet and through local networking groups.
earning potential
"This is really good money," she says, adding that she wants to also sell wax kits and videos that demonstrate how to perform a waxing service on yourself or someone else. "Estheticians can watch it for tips," she notes, "but other people can see how to, for example, wax your boyfriend's back."
Until that side of her business gets going, her income relies on her own work. Laser is more lucrative than wax, since it not only takes less time but also is higher priced. She uses the Aesthera laser, which is available to estheticians and not just medical technicians.
large design selection
Probert believes that her menu is unique in offering an array of bikini and brazilian hair removal designs and patterns from which clients can choose. "I have cute names for all of my waxing and laser styles," she explains. "I offer four different french-cut styles, including ‘The Caribbean' and ‘The Runway.' The eight brazilian styles let clients opt to leave a bit of hair shaped like an arrow, heart, teeny strip or other design."
surprise clientele
Although some of her clients are exotic dancers and adult film actors, Probert says the vast majority are "just regular people." The bleaching service, which she has nicknamed "My Pink Wink" and which also can be done by the client at home, attracts women who see some change in pigmentation after pregnancy.
Among her clients are some who want at least some of the hair to stay, just not in its current color. "When I do a bikini wax and bleach the remaining hair, I call the service ‘The Madonna,'" Probert notes. "But I've had women with gray hair come in to get the hair not bleached, but darkened."
next to sweep the nation
Probert believes she's on to a new trend, especially for the interior parts of the country. "I have so many first-timers that I know this is something new or original," she says. "I have a new brazilian client about every day. California and Florida have been doing it a lot longer but, as far as I know, I'm the only one offering all of these choices. I'd love to bring it nationwide!"
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