SALON SPOTLIGHT: Waxing Perfection by Paige Pemberton

Hello! I’m Paige Pemberton, the face behind the hair removal business of Waxing Perfection and Lycon’s very own external in salon trainer! I started my journey in the beauty industry from an early age of just 14 when I started my Saturday job in a local salon; and fuelled by my passion of the beauty industry, I’ve climbed the ladder from salon apprentice from when I was 16 to Senior Therapist & in salon Training Coordinator by the age of 22!

Unfortunately, when COVID hit in 2020, the salon where I was employed fell into liquidation and all employees were made redundant. From there, I decided to pursue my ultimate passion which combines my love for the beauty industry, and my drive for science-based treatments…from there in October 2020, Waxing Perfection was born! A sole waxing business with client comfort and unbeatable results at its very core, I quickly carved a space in the local area as a renowned hair removal specialist! I'm proud to share that within just over 3 years of being self-employed, I’ve been nominated and won awards in my field, made local newspapers several times, and recently, in August 2023 joined the Lycon team as their external waxing trainer; visiting salon and delivering bespoke, tailored waxing training to full salon teams! My tag line is “the science behind the spatula”, as I thrive in exploring the science behind treatments and truly believe waxing is the best form of hair removal, creating universally unbeatable short- and long-term results!

Given your business name “Waxing Perfection” it is clear you only offer waxing services! Can you tell us a little more about why and how you came to this decision?

Ever since I first encountered Lycon, back in 2015 when I was employed as a beauty therapist, it was love at first sight! It was revolutionary in the beauty industry, and I became fascinated by the unbeatable results and incredible client comfort. Given my scientific mind, I delved deeper into the how and the why of waxing; and teamed with Lycon’s patented system and perfected waxing techniques - I knew I had found my calling! Although I was a full therapist at the time offering an array of treatments, over the course of the next 5 years that I was employed, I found my diary was becoming more and more filled with waxing, in particular, intimate waxing.

Word soon got around that I was the go-to lady for waxing in the salon; and soon around 80% of my days I was wearing my waxing apron and building my passion! That’s when, after I was sadly made redundant during COVID, I decided to make my little business dedicated to this specialism! I’ve found clients love to go to a therapist with a speciality; after all, there are nail techs, lash techs, and MUAs! I was one of the very first in Staffordshire and surrounding areas to make that jump into being a waxing entrepreneur! Clients, and potential clients, love and are more quickly to trust a therapist who clearly knows their stuff inside out, invests in the very best professional system, latest techniques, and has a wealth of knowledge in their areas.

I see you work unconventional working hours! Can you tell us more…

That’s right! I know traditionally salons work Tuesday-Saturday, but back in January 2022 when my business was just over a year old, and I’d found my feel in the self-employed work; I decided to trial a new working week - and I’ve never looked back. I work 3 long days: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday 7:30 am-7:30 pm. This has been tremendously successful - and works great for both me and my clients. Working 36 hours over 3 days is full-on to say the least, but it's so worth it as I gain a 4-day weekend; where I can manage my social media, bookkeeping, stock ordering, and client liaising without impacting my home life and I avoid traffic during peak hours! Clients love it too as I’m still working 3 late nights a week, alongside 3 early mornings. Offering 6 options for peak appointment slots (before 10 am and after 4 pm) means I’m able to accommodate busy full-time working clients, and I still get a long weekend. It also means when I’m traveling to offer my training days to salons, this doesn’t impact on the working week in the salon.

These pre-9 am slots are very popular not only with clients who work during the day, but also with natural early birds, or those who have just finished a night shift before heading to bed - talk about a fresh wax! (Obviously still abiding by the 24-hour no-sun rule, of course).

I can see from your social media that you have a waitlist for new clients; can you tell us more about how this works?

Back in September 2021 when my business was just under a year old (and we’d had a few months of lockdown included in this too), I was fortunate to become fully booked and working at capacity. My gamble to jump into sole waxing and throw everything into my passion was paying off; however, I didn’t want to fully close my books. Circumstances change all the time with clients; just in the last 6 months alone, I’ve had 5 regular clients move away. With clients' circumstances changing, alongside regrowth reducing (Lycon waxing works wonders on long-term hair removal too), spaces for new clients are always available. 

I find a waitlist works best for my business for a few reasons: it allows me to manage the influx of new clients so I can protect and ensure my current clients are offered a regular space (and avoid any temptation to shave). It also allows me to ensure that when I take on a new client, I know I’ll be able to offer them a regular slot going forward, as they’ve listed their availability when I add them to my waitlist. After all, I’m always boasting about the fabulous results regular waxing gives; I need to be sure I can offer them a regular appointment. Moreover, it encourages conversations about the waxing journey and helps manage expectations during the first few waxing treatments (for example, on my social media, I’m always discussing the science behind waxing regarding the 3 stages in the hair cycle leading to optimal results after the 3rd wax), while sharing the excitement regarding the long-term benefits waxing gives too! 

Tell us more about your Lycon waxing training you offer…

I’ve always loved training and learning, and I believe that by empowering and imparting knowledge on others, that’s how we keep raising standards and delivering the best treatments and results possible! Back when I was employed as a Senior Therapist, I was always the in-house training & assessing coordinator, so when the opportunity arose for me to become the in-salon trainer for Lycon wax, it was a dream come true! I travel to salons and deliver bespoke Lycon training to the full team! Whether it be introducing Lycon into the salon as a brand-new treatment, or as a refresher course to keep staff sharp and up to date with techniques, treatments, and/or products, troubleshoot issues and perfect their skills. We can even accommodate a mixture of the two if you have new salon therapists that need bringing up to speed, while pushing senior therapists to become the very best waxing superstars! I offer these salon visits at the end of the week (when I’m not working with my own clients). If you’re interested in a training day, please contact Lycon for more information!

So, what do you do when you’re not waxing away?

I try to always ensure I can spend time every week on my business, as well as in it. By this, I mean an active social media presence as this is my shop window! I can’t take my full column for granted and always strive to ensure my clients know how valued they are and create relevant content for them as well as grow my reach for potential new clients to be added to my waitlist. I do this by making sure every post is either entertaining or explaining. Entertaining keeps things light and humorous, builds relationships and trust, and keeps engagement high. Explaining is where I can delve deep into the science behind my passion and convert new clients to the waxing way, encourage existing clients to try more areas, and build knowledge to ensure they’re receiving the maximum benefits from their treatments. I aim to post twice a week, and where possible, get my face on my feed. By this, I mean show my face on social media in as many posts as possible, commonly through my popular Instagram reels or information posts. Waxing, especially intimate waxing, which is my most popular treatment, is an extremely personal service; doing the above, I find it helps build relationships and trust, putting clients at ease with you as a person and showcases your knowledge & passion for your specialty!

When I’m not waxing or talking about waxing (which is often to be honest, ha!), I’m either rolling my sleeves up to help my husband on his family farm or I love to get out on big country walks at the weekends - exploring new footpaths and of course new country pubs! 🤭