Strip Ministry of Waxing

This place knows how to do waxing. Here’s why.
— No double dipping & hard wax only.
— My esthetician, Sammie (I think that was her name) told me to hold my skin taut during waxing which really helped with the pain. I don’t know why no one’s ever told me that before.
— She used chocolate & strawberry hard wax which smell really good.
— She also helped me tweeze out some ingrown hairs which I really do have a problem with.
— She showed me products that I could use afterwards but didn’t push me to buy.
— Afterwards, the effect of the wax lasted which really shows how good the technique was.
Only issue I had was with the décor. Why did they pick a garage/​warehouse theme? That’s not a very comforting or clean look for a waxing salon.
Also as a side note, she kept insisting that I shouldn’t be shaving during the waxes even though I told her I never do. I think its because my last wax was so bad it looked like shaving not waxing. Well you win some you lose some. –_​_​_​_​_​–

I got a Brazilian done by Sammie. She was so good, talked me through it so it can be less painful. Gave me further information and tips. They Have a very nice and clean space. She didn’t double dip. Overall great experience I definitely bought a package so I’d be able to come back again and again and again

Ended up here after a botched Groupon at another place.
My time at Strip Ministry was hands down the best waxing experience I’ve ever had!
The staff were friendly & Dominique, my technician, was knowledgeable, fast and made me feel really comfortable.
I got a full Brazilian and it didn’t hurt as bad as I thought it would. Wish I’d known about the first timers 3pack discount before I arrived, I would have def brought in had I’d known how great the service was gonna turn out. It’s been two weeks and I’m shouting their praises
And I got engaged that same nite!

This company is not ethical and they do not care about customers.
I have been their customer for over 2 years and signed up for a large package of IPL sessions in their Singapore location.
Shortly thereafter, I had to re-​locate to the USA through my current employer.
Hence I reached out to Strip to find ways to either refund or transfer my package to Strip NYC.
They did not provide any solution and made life miserable for me.
In fact they had the audacity to say that my package which is currently worth more than 1500 USD would be deducted for all the sessions used at an ala carte price which would then leave only 100 USD to be transferred to NYC location.
They are petty minded, selfish and have no respect for their customers.
Stay away!

Hands down the best wax I have ever had. Absolutely ZERO PAIN during a bikini wax. I couldn’t believe it! I came in as a walk in and they were extremely accommodating especially with a busy weekend like valentines day weekend. I will never go anywhere else!

Fantastic customer service. Natalia is professional and experienced, so you know you’re in good hands.

I used to only be able to tolerate a full bikini due to the pain. Never did I think I would actually get a Brazilian wax.
I am in awe at how relatively painless it was.
I will never fear a Brazilian wax again!

I came here today with a gilt voucher for a brazilian and have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I was taken right on time and my waxer Lilyana was so sweet and really very gentle overall. No it is not painless but the closest I have come in a while. I think I say this in all my wax reviews but I am convinced that those who find it painless are nuts. They also have a gilt packgae which makes your next 5 waxes about $ 40/​session which is fairly reasonable too~

I have been a Strip loyalist since my first wax in Singapore. Now just open up more US venues! LA an DC please! They are completely thorough, offer great advice on how to follow up with your procedure, and are extremely friendly. I have never been disappointed and highly recommend that the cost is worth the experience.

Where oh where has Candi gone??? Does anyone know where she is? She was their saving grace! Great technician — wax and laser specialty.
The rest are entirely inconsistent. Don’t bother — the front desk can’t keep track of their own package promotions, your account status or your balance. Small print — forget it. Sign on the dotted line and we won’t remember you by your next appointment.

I really like Ministry of Wax however, my two favorite technicians have departed for other salons and I feel «shy» having to reintroduce my privates to another aesthetician. Services can be a little expensive but my past experiences have left me satisfied. I only wish they would run more GiltCity or Groupon deals as before or have better price breaks for waxing packages as an incentive to retain existing clientele.

A little expensive but you get exactly what you pay for. Great service, comfy environment, innovative hair removal techniques. I usually come here to get my armpits waxed but Ill definitely be doing more in the future!

This place is definitely pricey but you get what you pay for. I highly recommend Kat who I’ve gone to several times. She is efficient, gentle, and very easy to warm up to. My first Brazilian at a hole in the wall shop made me feel very nervous but I decided to give it a second chance. I’m glad I did! Recently I tried out another salon closer to home and I was horrified! I will never cheat on Strip (specifically Kat) again. Ever!

I always used to tell people that waxing isn’t that painful. My usual salon, Nickel, closed at the beginning of the year. I had a friendly funny, sociable Russian woman there who made it a pleasant experience.
Well — I amend my feelings based on my cold, ruthlessly efficient experience at Strip today. I’ve had way more charming exchanges at the DMV than with my aesthetician, who did her job just fine but treated me like I was — if not a nuisance — not of any value to their business. She didn’t ask one thing about me, my day, anything, and it seemed clear that any pleasantries were going to prevent me from my main task: pay and get the hell out of their hair (so to speak). There’s a human touch that helps when one is naked under a blanket having their hair follicles ripped off at the root. It was the most painful wax I’ve had in 15 years of getting it done. I should add — it was not unendurable, but their style of roll-​on and rip off definitely made me wince.
I started laughing at one point because with every rip she gave me the order: «Deep breath» which was followed by the yank a millisecond later, hardly time to even prepare. She did not ask why I was laughing. I felt like I was getting neutered at the vet, though I imagine there’s even a degree of warmth there.
At over two hundred bucks it was the most expensive wax I’ve ever had. And I’ve been to Bliss.
I’ve always resisted posting negative reviews on Unilocal.Small businesses have it rough in today’s economy. Nonetheless, it’s the first time in a long time that I’ve left a business feeling angry. They do not give a damn about the customer’s experience here. I’ll get my hair yanked out elsewhere, thanks.

I know Strip brands itself as the supposedly ordained women of wax, but I have come to learn better. I went here for my first string of six or so waxes on the recommendation of a waxing friend. It was always super, super painful, and I’ve been through at least three estheticians: Candi, Tandi and a blonde Polish woman.
I stopped going here for two reasons: one service-​related and the other experience-​related. Both only occurred to me after I cheated on our exclusive wax relationship with a far superior (and cheaper) waxing place on visit to family in San Diego.
Strip only used the strip wax on me. As someone growing what every wax artist has told me is extremely thick hair for a surprisingly thin-​haired brunette, it was always a Unilocal-​inducing trauma that I couldn’t bear more than once every 8 weeks.
This problem can be almost fully resolved! With the right wax artist! With the right wax! And with the right wine!
In San Diego, the salon used the hard wax on the more intimate parts of the Brazilian job. Much, much less painful than the strips. And thus I was able to get a full Brazilian for the first time ever — something I was never able to do at Strip because the pain was just too much.
***
I also stopped going here because they push product on you like no other. I gave in once for some stupid «French» cream that was supposed to assuage my post-​wax singe-​ing pain. It didn’t. It made me break out. In order to get my money back, I actually had to go through the embarrassment of taking off my clothes and letting a «technician» inspect me first! Just to make sure I was truly having a reaction, not just lying! WTF??? And then I had to ring up the manager to keep asking about my refund for two weeks. I finally just did a credit card charge back. Awful.
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Strip’s waxers are OK, it’s the technique they’re taught that I don’t love. If you for some reason decide you want to take this place over other NY options, here’s the lowdown on the waxers I’ve had:
Candi is supposedly the best, but I found her «deep breath, breathe out» to be exhausting and light-​headedness-​inducing. She was OK, but not really worth the extra booking hassle.
Tandi: I liked her better. Still hurts in general.
The blonde woman who I think said she was from Poland (she only works on the weekend): I liked her best because she spoke a lot. It helped to concentrate on what she was saying rather than what she was doing. She’s pretty gentle as well, and doesn’t instruct you to breathe all the time.

I have been here twice so far. My first time was during a deal when all first timers for the Brazilian wax were 50% off, $ 32.50. The process went seamlessly. I was checked in, the technician came out shortly after… led me to a room with a Pollackesque painting on the wall. There are red mesh lockers for you to store your belongings. They also provide a squeeze toy for you to squeeze during the painful bits. I bought the 5 waxes deal that day and I used it yesterday. Again, the process was seamless. I used to go to Bliss Spa and it’s $ 75 there. It’s $ 10 cheaper and I can’t say Bliss was superior. Both provide good Brazilian waxes. One might argue that Bliss might have more of an upscale ambiance but I am more concerned with the quality of the Brazilians and I’d say Strip is equally on par with Bliss. I think I will keep going here.
Oh and tips are only in cash!

I’ve been a regular of MoW in London for some time, and so when I was in NYC I figured I’d stick within the same brand.
It’s a relatively nice, clean place, although I wouldn’t say anyone I came across was particularly friendly or welcoming.
The wax itself took longer than usual (so, more pain, which no-​one wants!) which you would expect means a cleaner, superior finished product. No such luck. It was very untidy, looked unfinished, and it wasn’t long at all until I needed it to be done again. For a wax that costs as much as it did, I was really disappointed.
I’ll continue to go to MoW in London as the brand itself is great, but Strip is certainly not a good example of it.

Their Brazilian process is extremely quick and painless — not to mention thorough.
The atmosphere is cool and playful (the stress toy is a cute touch). The staff is friendly and will set you at ease. Believe me, I never knew it was possible to hold a non-​awkward conversation with a waxer. The hard wax they use minimizes pain and smells like chocolate, so that’s an added bonus.
Hands down best waxing experience time and time again. Now, I’ve tried to save money by snagging Groupon or Lifebooker deals from other locations, but I always end up wishing I had splurged on Strip — the quality is unbeatable.

This place screwed me over. Admittedly, $ 65 for a bikini waxing is a lot of money, but potentially worth it if the place offering lived up to the hype.
So, I was pretty thrilled when Gilt Groupe offered the $ 35 voucher (still rather steep, but swing-​able) for the waxing. I wanted to try it out before seeing if this was something I could turn into a regular thing.
Voucher in hand, I had called to make the appointment. My appointment was made two weeks ago (well before expiration date) for today March 4^th, and I had explicitly clarified with the girl on the phone that I would be using my voucher, and that would be all right? I had even asked for available dates to use my voucher when booking and she had been the one to offer March 4^th. (Expiration date was listed Feb. 28.) She had told me it was going to be okay. Hesitant but trusting, I made the appointment.
Not. Okay.
Today, they wanted me to pay the $ 30 difference, stating that it was ME who had made the wrong inference from what the girl had said on the phone (I hadn’t. The phone call was incredibly straight forward) and that they were doing me a favor by redeeming my $ 35 value for the voucher at all as most places don’t even do that. (Also not true, on the voucher, it also states that a it’s redeemable for up to five years for the price you pay for it.)
Terrible customer service, SMoW. If one of your employee makes the wrong call to a customer, you should still honor what was promised to the customer. For the price of these things, I would expect much better, more personal service. But this is exactly how you lose customers. I’m very disappointed in this company. One star.

Big fan of strip. I have yet to find a place that uses the same technique. Some of the girls that have waxed me have had a tough time making conversation, but some are like old friends. The place is clean and trendy. Highly recommend purchasing a package since it saves you some money if you plan on coming back. Definitely on the pricey side, but it’s totally worth it. No dipsticks here.