Friday, April 25, 2008

Wax-o-rama!



Update 1:

I tried Felicia's suggestion and went to Day Spa in Hannam-dong. The atmosphere is better and the cost is higher. Most important, I think the woman who worked on me was better, um, more thorough.

Their number and how to get there is below in the comments just in case you want to try them.

Between the two, I think it's a clear win for Day Spa but if you want fast (like you're leaving for Bora Bora tomorrow) you might want to chip 10k off the price, say "sod atmosphere" and just go to the Green Turtle. They have two locations, so barring everyone going to Bora Bora on the same day they most definitely would be able to squeeze you in.

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You know I was thinking maybe this is a bit on the TMI, too much information, side of the fence. However, it's rare that I blog about the truly personal stuff in my life outside of my health or situations where someone has irritated the living crap out of me. Outside of that, I mostly keep my blogging to my opinions on this, that, or the other.

With summer approaching I figured it was time for a wax. Yeah, I know...ouch. However, I think the whole "ouch" factor is overdone so that people can just let others know they've gotten a wax. I figure screw that! Just get a blog and write about it. The whole Internet will know you've got one. That's just my humor actually. You can't help having a bit of an off color sense of humor when your parents watch reruns of the Benny Hill Show and let you stay up and watch it too.

The primary reason I'm doing this is to try to build a case that Seoul is more of a modern city than people realize. You can't deny that a city is modern when you can pay someone to rip the hair off of your nether regions with warm wax. Also, it's pretty obvious that most of the K-bloggers are dudes and they're talking about dude stuff and getting into comment wars with each other. The female K-bloggers should blog about our stuff at least every now and then. And maybe have nice comment discussions rather than brawls.

Anyway, the thing I must admit was that the prospect of getting one done here made me more than a bit nervous. I mean this is a society where a full bush is seen as a good thing and a sign of fertility (yeah, whatever...with a few exceptions all healthy adults posses pubic hair). Out of sheer fear of the unknown I got one when I went home to L.A. before I went on the cruise o' much fun in February. My waxer Jodi Shays is just incredible. However, Jodi doesn't make trips to Seoul and I've yet to graduate to the "jetting to the States every few weeks" strata of expatriate. After waiting a bit too long for a redo, I went today and it wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be.

Now I'm writing this because I'm sure this can be a dilemma if you don't know where to go. There are two spots in the Itaewon area of Seoul that do bikini and Brazilian waxes pretty much on a walk in basis. It's the same salon that has two locations. The Green Turtle is located on the third floor above the Coffee Bean which is across from the Hamilton Hotel. The other location is just behind the Hamilton Hotel and Hard Rock Cafe. It will cost you 30,000 won for a bikini wax and 60,000 for a Brazilian. I'm sure there are other spots in Seoul like the Apkujeong area that has reputable places. I'll do my research and report back in due time with an update.

I think shaving is from the dark ages, of course, those who have gotten laser treatment think waxing is from the dark ages. I guess it's all relative.

For those who want to know, here is the contact info for the Green Turtle locations. In the Coffee Bean building: 02-790-6696 or 02-790-6266. The one behind the Hamilton Hotel: 02-790-6059 or 02-795-0588.

Some people have a beef with this establishment. Just run a search for "Brazilian wax and Seoul" and you'll find a thread on the ESL Cafe on it. I'm assuming their reasons are legit, but keep in mind there are a lot of expats here who have issues with just about everything Korea presents to them. That is take it with a grain of salt, realize where you are and maybe try it for yourself and make your own decision. It can't be worse than the reactions on that YouTube video ;-)

Some funny waxing blogs:
Jezebel: Benny The Tech Geek Gets A Bikini Wax
and another: How The Brazilian Explains The World. The second one has now set off some strange ass bikini waxing feud...which is written about here: The Shine blog at Yahoo!: When did getting a bikini wax become a crime?

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16 comments:

  1. So did you go OOOhhhh, or Aaaagghh when it was pulled off?

    I liked the line in the video when the waxer said "All my brothers are sheep shearers"

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gina at USA Nails in Songtan (near the Osan AF Base) does brazilians for 30,000 the first time and 25,000 for follow-ups. She was trained in New Jersey and does a very good job. USA Nails isn't far from the Baskin Robbins.

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  3. Jon...

    How is Japan?

    The sheep shearers comment WAS hilarious. But no, I kept the drama to myself.

    Kim,

    Cool! See? This is the stuff women expats need to know, so thanks for commenting!

    But that's a REALLY cheap price. They tell you to be really careful if it's that inexpensive. 30,000 for a bikini is right though ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've been wondering about this for a while!
    When I'm living in Europe, I ALWAYS have a standing appointment with my "lady" at the Turkish spa (they are the best as they use sugar wax), but now as you are so brave to have it done here, I guess that I can have it done here as well. So far, I've found a great place for eyebrow and lip wax (they also offer Brazilians and your standard bikini wax) at great place called Day Spa is on the edge of Itaewon. There's a woman there that waxes my eyebrows with the precision of a artist. Love her!
    I'll be heading to Italy very soon for a month of cooking and learning the language so you KNOW I "gots' to get to get everything in check! Ha!

    Day Spa: 02 793 0777
    Bus: 110, blue bus, takes you right outside their building.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is what I'm talking about. We've got to start sharing info 'cause that thread on the ESL Cafe pretty much points out the Green Turtle as the only place. In a city of 20 million people, it can't be the only place...yeah!!! More info.

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Before I even came to Seoul I found this website: www.seoulstyle.com. If they didn't have what I was looking for I always ask my very stylish Korean colleagues or students, they love telling me where they go for this that and the other.

    When I first moved here my skin was under siege by the water here and/or the stress of moving here. A friend of mine took me to her facialist and my skin problem went away like that! Poof! Be gone! I now realize that no matter what my schedule says, I must get a facial every two weeks! Divine!

    Now, I'm going to look into laser hair removal. I want to write an article about it. I'm obsessed with clear skin, sue me. Ha!

    Ciao!

    Felicia
    www.nearandfar.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yeah! Now we have another website for more info!!!

    Maybe I'll put it on the sidebar after I check it out although I think I have before.

    Thanks a lot!

    ReplyDelete
  8. hey, great blog! thank u for the tips. im from germany and used to brazilian waxing, but i am such a pussy and wont go without recommendation in seoul. so afraid of women who can´t do it right. do u have a specific person at a place who is very good in it? an answer would be great, thank u!!! carola

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  9. I'd say for you Carola, go to the Day Spa. It's more serene and they came off as more professional. I can't give you a name simply because I didn't ask her. I knew at that time I was probably moving home and I've got a star waxer in L.A.

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  10. thank you, i ll just get over my fear and try it....!:)

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  11. Hey! I was googling places to get waxed and stuff and I came across your blog.
    I have a quick question, do you know anywhere that does threading for eyebrows and face in Seoul?

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm back from the ER ;)

    You left your email in another comment, but I'll leave it here too.

    No, I don't.

    However, eyebrow threading places are usually all over Indian areas of the city. In Seoul that means Itaewon. I'd go to the international foods market (the name escapes me now.) But just walk down the main drag of Itaewon heading from Itaewon Station towards Hannam-dong (that's east, if you have your sense of direction in Seoul). When you pass the Dunkin' Donuts, turn right and the next corner. Walk up the hill past the alleyway (tons of shops and places to eat in the alleyway.) You'll also pass a few Middle Eastern/Indian restaurants. You'll see an international foods market on the left. Next to it is the 'What the Book?' bookstore (landmark...if you pass that store, you've gone too far).

    I'm directing you there because I'm hoping someone will know of someone who can thread your eyebrows ;) If not, hit up some of the Indian restaurants and see if the ladies there might now. Another option, search my blog. I wrote an article for The Korea Herald on Hinduism. They were just helpful, in general. Maybe they can guide you to a place that does threading!

    Good luck!

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  13. Do they use hard wax (is that sugar wax) at Day Spa? Well, the non-cloth strip kind?

    Thanks.
    Bekah

    ReplyDelete
  14. It's the warm stuff, I believe - stick, dip, spread, cloth (or whatever that's called), pull. Repeat until client wants to kill you. Done.

    But, honestly, I have no idea what folks are talking about with all the wax types. That's what I remember but just call them and ask.

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  15. Thank you SOOOO much for this post! I have been here 3 weeks and need my eyebrows threaded. I know how to get to the Foreign Food Mart in Itaewon, so I will look for the Indian area!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Well, I'm long gone now. However, I'm glad I left a record of my time there. It's still helping others and, yeah, that makes me feel good on this snowy NYC night ;)

    If you have anything to add, please drop by the comment section again and update. I've been gone since March of this year.

    ReplyDelete

Hey there! Thanks for visiting my blog. It's my first blog, and I'm glad folks are still stopping by even though I'm no longer living in South Korea. Feel free to comment. If you want a personal answer, leave your email, and I won't publish the comment. Nasty comments and spam links will not be tolerated.