Wax in the City opens new Northside salon: We check it out

Good news for all you Northsiders as Wax in the City has opened its third store on Liffey Street. Personally, I'm not a huge waxing fan; this pretty much boils down to the horrendous experience I had seven years ago in a "salon" I visited out near where I live.

At that time, I was heading off on my holidays and had booked in for a bikini wax. It goes without saying how awkward the experience in general is, but this occasion was extremely different. The beautician in question either had never done a bikini wax in her life before or just wasn't a trained professional. I won't go into the nitty gritty but let's put it this way, I was waxed in places one does not grow hair and left walking like John Wayne for the duration of my holiday. Not only was I severely bruised and dealing with ingrown hairs (which I had never had before), but also with an infection that I had to - even more embarrassingly - go and see my GP about. Since then, bikini waxing is not my favourite of things.

So when Wax in the City kindly invited me in, I naturally put it off until I had no other excuses.

The premises is located right beside the side entrance to Marks and Spencer's which is literally a four-minute walk from Beaut HQ. They offer a walk-in service which is great for the likes of me who rarely knows what I am doing day to day, so making appointments can be somewhat tricky.

The premises is clean, stylish and minimal. I was immediately impressed with the ethos behind the company putting hygiene and staff training first. Unlike a lot of places, they use individual wax pots for each client, which is then disposed of. Marjorie (the owner) explained to me that this unique difference was top of their list of priorities after working in many other places where she, as a trained beauty professional, would have a string of clients for waxing. "You might have had someone in for a Brazilian or Hollywood wax followed by someone in for a lip wax and have to use the same wax pot". I'm just glad I have never had a lip wax in a Beautician's in the past.

All staff members are sent to Germany for training, so regardless of which staff member, location or even country you go to, you are still getting the same service. In a way, it reminded me of the McDonald's business model. And that's a good thing!

There are no bows or trimmings, which I enjoyed; it really is a quick in and out "get the job done" service. And in true German standard, it really is function over form, with the booths containing just a bed and poof to rest your bag on.

I can't say it was a pain-free experience, but this could be because I was shaving after my bad experience which thickens the root of the hair making it harder to pull out. But it was certainly extremely hygienic, efficient, and professional right down to the tweezing at the end.

With all this is mind, on top of the friendly nature of the staff and with not a single hair left in sight, I have to say my waxing anxiety might have been lifted.

And with such a reasonable price point and loyalty card, I just might have to go back!