Ministry of Waxing

Where to begin?!? I arrived a bit early, which was fine and totally on me. The problem is that there are only 2 chairs. i suspect that this would normally be fine except it’s a few day before Valentine’s day so people were standing around or sitting in the dirty window area while waiting to be seen. Strike 1…
While waiting for my appointment to begin a woman ran upstairs barefoot shrieking. Apparently when she was getting dressed she stepped on a bloody plaster that was left on the floor. It took awhile for the staff to understand and/​or assist her. Strike 2…
As luck would have it, I then had the same waxer in the very same room– yay me :(
The maze to get there was freezing. Apparently the heat doesn’t work anywhere down stairs (which isn’t conducive to a place where you are expected to disrobe). Anyway, there were parts of the floor that were missing, other parts covered with wax and Lord knows what else! It was disgusting and definitely didn’t inspire comfort or relaxation. After the many reviews about how good they are I was super disappointed, but as I have a date with a beach in my near future, I didn’t feel like I had a choice. Strike 3…
Considering the environment and the cost, I would definitely not go back or recommend it.

Mow is my go to waxing place in london. It is not particularly cheap (probably average price), but they are nice, efficient, and relatively painless. I’ve only had brazilians, but definitely interested in pursuing some ipl and other treatments

First of all, I think the advertising and general marketing for this company are awesome. Because I definitely feel like an orangutan sometimes :)
I started my experience with Strip Ministry at their New York location and it was really excellent. My experience at the London branches has been good too, but they’re a little more scruffy. But the actual waxing experience is great. Nothing beats hard wax.
The staff can be a little ditzy sometimes, but they’re open over the weekend and have been very accommodating so far.
It’s probably a little more expensive than elsewhere, but given that they’re quick, efficient, and straightforward I think it’s worth it. They also have some decent packages of 6 – 8 waxes which take the cost down significantly.

I feel like such a jerk making comparisons like this, but in NYC I went to a stern Russian woman who did brazilian waxes in half the time, with half the pain, for half the price, and twice as thorough.
At the ministry of waxing I was placed in exceptionally comfortable positions that granted them poor access and didn’t hold the skin taut enough. Give me a stern russian woman who’ll make me hold my legs over my head any day – the result was so much better than this.

I had my free IPL session (underarms) yesterday, and once again this place rocked my world.
I managed to get an appointment on the same day (used to be unheard of, but ever since they opened a branch at Covent Garden, it’s much easier to get into their books) and was met by a chirpy East Asian chick (I want to call her Emily?) who showed me through the ever-​clean, ever-​colourful lobby to the treatment room.
Emily explained the process to me, I signed a bunch of forms, and then we whipped off my top and got down to business. She zapped my underarms, applying a cooling gel first, and asking me (a little TOO often) if I was ok.
The result? Clean underarms for up to 4 weeks and, as it was part of my wax package at MOW, it cost me absolutely nothing.
Another two thumbs up for the MOW kids!

Excellent place, never left it unhappy. Quick and as painless as it gets for bikini area, nice staff. The downside is the pricing, but since I’m happy leaving them every time — it’s ok.
Make sure you choose your own beautician — some of them are talkative (which I like — makes you less uncomfortable), some would only say — turn on your back, hold your leg and that’s it, but all are very professional — so it’s up to you whom to choose!
Clean. That’s what I also love about the place.
Many people mentioned the décor — I love it, sort of industrial-​quirky-​Spitalfields look. I’d say unusual, and not pretentious at all — you don’t feel like you need to be all dressed up to get in there (as it is the case with many London salons!)
Oh and advice to everyone — the X’ed out cream really works… at first I thought they are trying to push through some random products, but i think it was on sale or something and I bought it. Ingrown hair — eliminated!

I’ve been here twice (once to each of their London locations) and, while I’d REALLY like to like this place for its convenient locations, I just can’t. I haven’t had a bikini or Brazilian here since I wanted to test their other waxing services first. Honestly, I’ve been disappointed both times. I had three different post-​wax lotions applied to me (antiseptic, ice cream, and something else beforehand) but I really wish they’d paid more attention to the actual waxing. They were rough both times (I had bruises), used cloth strips that were way too long (part of the reason for the bruises I’d imagine), and didn’t spend any time «reviewing their work.» The place I normally go to actually goes over your arms or legs with a tweezer to check they’ve gotten all the hair. If your name is Ministry of Waxing, I’d expect a similar level of detail and attention.
Plus the really loud music and industrial look really turned me off. Yes, it’s clean and professional but I think I’d rather go to a place that is good at what it does rather than spending all its money on gimmicky stuff.

Disappointingly overrated.
After reading the strong reviews for this place, I thought I would give it a try. When I got home 40-​mins later, I realised (a common theme with London waxing salons!) that they had left some unsightly patches of hair. I called in to ask whether they could give me any compensation at all since I couldn’t come in again that day and would now have to pay to get their job finished locally, and they were curt and offered nothing but a perfunctory «sorry», which arrived just before the call ended.
Having handed over £39 for an «all-​off wax» by a salon that specialises in waxing, I feel somewhat cheated!
Where they did wax, it was brilliantly done — if only they could have finished the job and offered better customer service.
***
MoW called me again the next day to ask whether they could do anything to make me a happy customer. Kudos for this. However, throughout the ensuing conversation, in which the manager repeatedly interrupted me and described company policy about ¾ times, it became very clear that they were unwilling to do anything apart from look at the wax they gave me so that they could check they had trained their therapist properly!

«Brazilians are an essential rule of etiquette» quotes the ceiling of my waxing room. Hmmm, perhaps that is why the waxer and the front desk receptionist tried to get me to buy the 300 loyalty packages and book my next appointment more than one time.
The place was clean and professional, although the waxing rooms reminded me of a backroom at a club. My waxologist made me feel right at home, although she did GASP at the TERRIBLENESS of shaving. Who DOES that anymore?
I also felt like she took forever, waxing the same spot over and over… which I haven’t experienced at other places. But the job got done, and was relatively painless. Thank you MOW, but I don’t think I’ll buy a loyalty package anytime soon.

I’ve been through about six different waxing salons during my time in London. I could never really find a place that was either right for me or did the job properly. If you’re going to get your lady garden tended to, you want to know that they’re going to do a good job and that it’ll be a pampering experience.
With an Orwellian name like Ministry of Waxing, you have to try this place out at least once. I first started getting waxed here last October after seeing a friend Tweet about how good the service was here and I haven’t looked back.
Everything is ultra clean, the beauty therapists are all really chatty, friendly & fast and it doesn’t break the bank!

Caveat alert!!! The Ministry of Waxing website says, verbatim, «Our Striperellas have been trained to do a Brazilian in 15 minutes flat!». What they neglect to tell you is that the 15-​minutes thang only applies to their branch in Singapore because the women there are nearly hairless anyway. So, while I’m a fan, I won’t show up 35 minutes before I start work and expect to walk away Brazilian-​ed again, as I did this morning.
All disingenuousness aside, the experience was quite pleasant. My «Striperella» was a chatty, efficient girl named Imogen, who gave me a little squeezy pig to hug while I was getting waxed, and she finished by slathering me up with some of their special after-​care cream. She worked quickly and precisely, and I’ve rarely had a better waxing experience.
The desk-​girls tried a little overly hard to sell me on the loyalty packages they had on offer, but were otherwise fine.
I was sad to have found this place 2 months before moving out of the country, but was delighted to hear that they’re opening up a New York branch later this year. If Imogen’s counterparts across the pond are as skilled as she is, I might just invest in one of the frequent-​buyer cards. Good work, MoW!

I could have sworn that there had been some negative posts about this place a few weeks ago – maybe the owners bribed some Unilocalers? Anyhow, I had to test it out for myself and this place is great.
They specialize in hair removal. They are gimicky, but it is okay because they do a good job.
What do I want from waxing? For it to be fast, efficient, effective, painless and affordable. DONE… need I say more?

This place is fab. They are definitely the best when it comes to hair removal! I had the most pain free session ever… Stacey was amazing.