Danielle Featherstone-Price, a founder of Strip tells us about luxury waxing, celebrity clients, and their racy range of lingerie.
The waxing salon, Strip, has stripped women of unwanted body hair for almost eight years, and they have now set up a salon in Loughton. A favourite salon with celebrities, Strip pride themselves on "pain-free waxing in a luxury environment". Danielle Featherstone-Price, has been in the beauty industry for 17 years, and after being a nail artist, realised the real money was in waxing. Strip sponsored Essex Fashion Week and Danielle spoke to us about Strip, and how they will change the waxing experience for Essex women.
Hi Danielle. Tell us about Strip, how did it start?
We opened nearly eight years ago. I opened it with my sister, were business partners, and we decided that we'd look for something that was a bit different from anything that was out there, that specialised just in waxing and selling lingerie. It kind of became a success over night really. We opened in Notting Hill, then we went onto Chelsea and we have various other boutiques, there are seven of them now.
So people reacted well then?
I think it was needed at the time, about seven years ago no one was really doing waxing very well, it was a real taboo, no one wanted to speak about Brazilian waxing and everyone was a bit 'oh the ouch factor'. It was more of a chore, so we injected a bit of fun into it. We found an amazing wax and searched the globe for the best therapists, and we do it very, very well. I think that's what the clients have bought into, and we have a lot of celebrities come over worldwide.
Can you name a few?
Well, if you look on the website you can see who have done testimonials [Victoria Beckham, Ellie Goulding, Rosie Huntington-Whitley to name a few]. Their PR company or assistant will phone and they'll come in, they know it's very discreet and they know they'll get a good job.
What about the lingerie side of the salon?
The lingerie was always in the background a few years ago, but we've bought that forward. At the beginning of this year we launched our own label, which is the Wear It collection by Strip, so that's really exciting. The rest of the lingerie is quite sought after labels that we've bought together like Cosabella, La Perla, Mary Green.
So you said you wanted to inject a bit of fun into the wax, how do you do that?
Well it's the rooms really. The environment that you come into when you come into Strip is not clinical, it's not like a beauty environment. All of the waxes have scents, so the chocolate wax, a berry wax, a lavender wax, an olive wax and many more. Each room is themed to those waxes, so we have a chocolate room, you walk in and there's a huge bar of chocolate on the wall, it smells of chocolate, the wax that gets used on you is like chocolate, the oils are chocolate.
What about treatments for men?
We've got the Manifico room which is for men, so they can get their 'back, sack and crack'! We can't forget about them! Although what we do is very serious, we take absolutely 100% dedication to get every last hair out of every single client, but it's done in a relaxed friendly, luxury environment.
Is it painful?
Not at all. There's a unique technique that you use with the wax, and there's an oil that you use too. The oil protects your skin, so the wax will not strip any of the skin off or sensitise it, so it's a lot less painful. A lot of women will go in for a wax and will be quite used to that plucked chicken effect, but it's the other way with our wax. The skin is very nourished, very calm, there's no bruising or red spots, it's a premiere wax from Lycon with elite ingredients. We've also got TVs in the rooms as well, so if you're having your whole body waxed you can watch TV and just relax. It's more of a treat.
What's next for Strip?
We've just been invited by Harvey Nichols to open in their Beauty Bazaar in Liverpool at the beginning of November. We're already with in Harvey Nichols in Bristol, so that's really exciting. We're in talks with Dubai as well, looking at going over there. So it's been a busy year, really busy year; chuck a couple of kids into that and you feel like you're going to die!
Strip has changed the face of waxing. The snarling skin-ripping devil has been melted away by an angel who lures you in for a luxury pamper. For more information about their treatments and the Loughton salon, visit www.stripwaxbar.com.
For more about Strip, fashion and beauty, visit Hayley's blog, A British Cocktail.
