Something that is frequently asked about in the female expat groups in Medellin is for a decent waxer and boy have a searched far and wide for this one.
This is definitely something Panama does right! You’ve gotta handed to them there are so many options. Of course some of them are terrible! But being from there and having over 10 yrs of experience looking for good waxers in Panama it is not hard for me to find the good ones.
They have wax bars, where you can choose from over 5 or 7 types of waxes. The girls are attentive to detail and the prices range from high end (in Panama that’s $30 dollars) to mid-range ($22 dollars)
…But enough about the neighboring country, we are here to talk about Medellin’s slightly pathetic attempt of waxing. Nowhere I’ve been has a diverse category of waxes, there is always just 1 type. That would be ok if the wax was supremely good but of course its not.
Some of the girls seem appalled too by the job, which has always left me wondering why are they doing it. Surely you can do something else for a living.
The first place I researched and came across is the Poblado popular one called Zen Waxing Center. With a name like this you would expect a quality wax yet this one was by far the worst one I’ve had here.
The only good thing is that you don’t need to book you can just drop in. From there it just goes downhill. The girls are extremely unfriendly.
They heat the wax in an ice cream container in the microwave. Hello, I can do that at home, not the experience you go for in a waxing salon.
From there I tested out an aesthetician in Sabaneta. She was actually not bad. She did a really good job, the wax was all right but the downside was that the location was her house.
Weird me out so much I could never get myself to go back and would definitely not recommend her as a professional waxing. It made me feel like I was getting a wax done by my bff. Which would have been fine if she actually was my friend doing me a very personal favor.
From there I went to a spa near the Aguacatala Station called Piel Y Color. The place was nice, yet one of the most important things in a waxing salon is lighting.
I honestly don’t understand why this is highly disregarded in Medellin. Most of the places I have been to have little to no professional lighting which leaves me wondering how do the owners expect the waxer to do their job.
Quite frequently the waxer will apologize/complain that they can’t see well and that they will try to do their best. Again not really the experience you go for when you just want to get your bikini prepped for a rooftop pool party!
The wax there was average. Although the girl did pay a lot of attention to detail, she was friendly enough and got the job done. Overall I would recommend it, however did not make me stop my search for the perfect wax in Medellin.
I then went to try out 5 Elementos Spa. This one had terrible lighting, friendly staff, and extremely poor wax quality. The prices in all of these places are very cheap, none of them have been more than $10 dollars, and in some I even paid $5.00.
Tired of going all the way to Poblado, I decided to give Sabaneta another shot. So I went to Celestial Spa. The girl was good although when I asked her for a Brazilian she did not seem like she had done that before however was totally willing to.
Her wax wasn’t that good and the cabin was tiny, with lots of apparatus everywhere, products and bags all over; just to much stuff that made me feel crowded.
This made me jump all the way to Via Las Palmas, really far out for my next wax. The journey there alone was epic. Once in Bonita Salon, I felt this was going to be different.
The salon promises an all-organic experience and honestly the space is quite breathtaking. The open plane and beautiful decoration makes you feel so luxurious.
The experience started going downhill a bit when they weren’t sure about my appointment, like if I had one or not and they left me waiting a bit until someone came to make me feel like I was been taken care of.
This quickly then picked up and the girl that was going to do my waxing came to greet me and said she’d be with me in a minute or two.
Once in the cabin the usual 1 wax thing started hunting me. I decided to keep an open mind as it was an all-organic salon and probably getting an organic wax bar would be far fetched.
The girl gave me some time to settle in and make myself comfortable. I always appreciate this, however, I feel it is highly unnecessary as they are going to see me naked and work on my most sensitive area within minutes anyway.
Once she got to it we started chatting and she was extremely kind and approachable making the experience very comfy. She explained they had just started doing waxing hence the dim and not adequate light.
I then, as expected, started my inquisition about the wax itself, which honestly wasn’t that bad but I reverted to my usual unimpressed state because surprise, surprise: it was far from being all natural and organic.
Ha-ha, jokes on me! Of course a salon in the middle of nowhere in Antioquia was not going to have organic wax, only I would have travel 40 minutes out of the city, halfway to the airport for such a claim.
But was it worth it? Honestly, I think it was. The girl was super professional and probably the best waxer I’ve had here so far. The salon was beautiful.
If they intend to keep providing this service, they should surely make a disclaimer for whatever reasons they have that the wax is not organic as it breaks their unique selling point. And they should definitely upgrade to a suitable light.
I don’t mind the wax not being organic as it felt of good quality I just didn’t like the fact I was not told beforehand when booking the appointment. I would have still gone and tried it.
Overall I liked the experience. Although I would probably keep researching to find a better, closer option.