The Best BRAZILIAN WAX on the Northern Beaches 

A sensitive Our Manly issue.

It’s sensitive in more ways that one and an extremely intimate beauty treatment – it's the Brazilian wax! It can go either way -- superb or disastrous. Disaster ain't good so our reviewers have service tested three Northern Beaches salons for the most sensitive offering and here are the results.


THE BEST BRAZILIAN WAX ON THE NORTHERN BEACHES
Honey Body Salon
Level 1, 18 Whistler St, Manly (02 9977 0349)

I haven’t had a wax months when I meet Kim at Honey Body Salon. I'm sorry in advance, but Kim is Honey’s "Star Waxer" and I get a sense that she’s seen Everything, which chills me out.

I’ve never been to Honey before and I’m struck by how relaxing it is. The colours are warm, neutral tones, and there are inspirational quotes on the wall and even a very large gold Buddha observing me. The treatment rooms follow the rule; they are warm, yet sparse. I don’t feel cluttered by piles of commercial product, and things have a refined aroma. 

I knew I was in for a great wax with Kim, but what really impressed me were the little touches. A baby wipe for before use so you’re more comfortable, Kim towels my hands and feet with a warm cloth to stimulate circulation and relax me and then rubs some soothing oils onto her hands, holds them above my nose and tells me to breathe deeply. Forget the panadol and red wine before a wax, this is the formula!

Then it’s down to business, and there is something so snappy about Kim's technique every time I think she’s going to do an agonising pull, it’s so fast I barely even notice it. I’m in and out in less than half an hour! At $55 it’s up there with the pricier waxes, but I’ve certainly paid more for less. The service you get at Honey is pretty much unparalleled, I'm a convert!

Price: $55
Service: 10/10
Wax: 10/10
Affordability: 8.5/10
TOTAL: 28.5/30








Advance Skin
Shop 304, Warringah Mall, Condamine St Brookvale (02 9907 4644)

At the start of my session I wish my name was something more original than Sarah, because my therapist calls for Sarah, so I put up just put my hand and go with her. When she pulls out a hair net and starts talking about barrier cream it takes me a minute to realise she’s talking about spray tanning ... and then another minute to realise I’m not having a spray tan. We laugh and everyone in the salon fusses over me, apologising. As someone who often struggles to talk to therapists while I’m naked from the waist down I’m glad to have already broken the ice!
There is no need to worry though, my therapist is chatterbox central! Which made the treatment – which I usually fret about the way children fret about the dentist – go so much faster. The quality of a wax is all in the hands of the company you keep while it’s happening I think, and this time I got lucky!
I must say I was super, super pleased with my wax. It did take about 45 minutes which is longer than I expected, but I tend to suffer from ingrown hairs and my therapist told me about using a product with a light Glycolic or Salicylic Acid on the top ONLY (don’t want acid near your privates after all), which I’ve done and I haven’t got a single ingrown since – I love a beautician who knows her stuff!

Price: $55
Service: 8.5/10
Wax: 9.5/10
Affordability: 9/10
TOTAL: 27/30









Nailogic Nails and Beauty
Shop 1e/ 1 South Creek Rd, Dee Why (02 9982 4886)

Nailogic’s Brazilian wins some major points-n-love in the bargain department, the little Dee Why salon caught my eye when the big, bold, neon-no-less advertisements on the window advertised a $25 wax. That being half (if not more) as cheap as most other waxes on the Northern Beaches I literally pulled my car over to the side of the road so I could take their number down. 

The salon is not the Hilton, but the two lovely ladies running it have made an effort to make it feel as open and welcoming as a rustic B&B. It’s very humble and you feel almost a sense that you’re helping these women pay their mortgage, rather than getting a discount Brazlian. (Oops!) They’re two very experienced ladies who are obviously tired of working for The Trump and went into business for themselves. I was initially worried that paying $25 for a wax was almost ripping them off, but by the constant stream of customers I can see that their bargain-treatment tactic is paying!

As far as the wax goes, my gal is a super experienced lass. She used a combination of hot wax and strip wax – I know people say you shouldn’t use a strip wax, but she used it around the top and when I asked her why she told me it was so much quicker and she was right. All in all my wax took just shy of half an hour which is fast. And she even tweezed and removed a few ingrown hairs for me.

There is only a divider between the treatment room and the nail desks, so you can practically have a conversation with the girls in the front of the salon. I’m shameless, so this didn’t bother me a bit, but for those of you having your first Brazilian, or for the very shy, this could test your inhibitions.
I still can’t believe it cost me $25 and she said their post sale price was still going to be even more heavily reduced. Like wow, Aha, errh Ok, ... until next time.

Price: $25 on special
Service: 7.5/10
Wax: 9/10
Affordability: 10/10
TOTAL: 26.5/30