If you don’t like embarrassing personal stories, this post is not for you.  If you don’t like talking/hearing about sensitive subjects, this post is not for you.  If you enjoy laughing at with other people, read on!

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I will never go back to  European Wax Center.  Never.  Why?

I went in to get a sensitive area waxed.  Now, I used to work at a spa.  I’ve had hair ripped from all kinds of areas.  I know what I was getting myself into, pain-wise.  That isn’t a problem for me.

But you have to be completely comfortable with the person ripping this hair from you body with molten wax.  I am sorry to say, I wasn’t.  That should have been my first clue.

There I was, laying on a table.  Just hoping the person who’s only been on the job for six months knew what she was doing.  Right off the bat, I was a little more nervous than usual.

I also wasn’t sure if the hair was long enough to be successfully eradicated.  I know if the hair is too long or too short, you’re SOL.  Kinda like Goldilocks.  It has to be juuuust right.

I’ll own it here that I didn’t ask if it was a good length.  But it isn’t my job to assess the situation.  I’m not the pro here!

Step one: make sure the person you’re waxing actually has enough to wax off.

A few strips came off, with a lot more trouble than normal.

“When was the last time you waxed?”  She asked me.  It’s been a while.  I don’t believe in paying money for something I can do myself, like Dwight Schrute says about tipping.  “Well, that can really affect how easily it comes off.”

Hm…  Okay, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt here, but I’ve never heard that one before.

A few more wax strips were laid down and unsuccessfully yanked off.  I was getting sweaty. I was trying not to twitch when she came near me to pull off another strip.  I was almost in tears.

People, I don’t cry in public and I have an unusually high pain tolerance.  I was visibly uncomfortable by anyone’s standards.

And she didn’t stop to ask if I was okay, she wasn’t communicating throughout the service to make sure everything was still kosher, nothing.

Step two: make sure the person who’s being waxed is, oh what’s the word, comfortable.

So I made her stop.  I just couldn’t fathom going any further.  It was painful, it was unpleasant, and the result was unsatisfying.

My waxer walked me up to the front desk and I was trying to make a joke so it wasn’t painfully awkward.  My pain tolerance was maxed out.

She didn’t say anything, so as the receptionist was getting ready to charge me and close my ticket, I mentioned casually to her, “Yeah, the hair was a little too short so she couldn’t really do much.”

“Oh, so you didn’t get the full service?”

I explained that I didn’t, I had to stop, and she went to confer with my waxer about how much to charge.

She came back and explained, “We’ll only charge you for a bikini, it’s going to be a much better deal!”

I wanted to laugh in her face and not pay at all.  I’m sorry, basically only two strips were removed with any success.  I had less than a bikini wax.  And what about the poor customer service?

Sadly, I’m the kind of person who knows exactly what to say after the moment.  I paid my “bargain” bikini rate plus a tip (I shouldn’t have given her anything, but I know what it’s like to work for tips..) and left.  Inflamed and enraged.

That’s my experience with European Wax Center.  I have had successful waxes so I know what this should have been like.  The experience I was given was just terrible.

Ladies, a wax can be done successfully and mostly comfortably.  I’ve had three experience at EWC and only one of them was anything positive.  And that was only because the waxer had been doing this for years.

Pro tips:

• Speak up
• Be an advocate for your safety
• Find someone experienced
• Be reallllly wary of EWC

Have you ever had a bad experience at a salon? What did you do?

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