Today we’d like to introduce you to Julio Mendez.
Julio, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born to be in the beauty industry! My father was a hairdresser and my mother was a beauty maven. I also had 3 aunts that were also cosmetologists. I remember being around 10 years old and helping my aunt tweeze her eyebrows and then I’d braid my mom’s hair so the following day it would be curly. I’d help my mom paint her toe nails and then she’d let me use the nail polish to touch up the scuffs on my hot wheels toy cars! My family was very accepting and loving especially my mother. If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be the person I am today.
After college I went to beauty school. At that time I really didn’t have a desire to be a hairdresser but the esthetics course was appealing! I studied under Ms. Silvia who was trained in France and taught me everything I know about waxing. Ms. Silvia was visually impaired after several eye surgeries yet she taught me the fine art of hair removal. Literally, she would run her hand across the skin and could feel every hair and that’s a skill I still use today. I’ll jokingly tell my clients I could wax them in the dark! My other teacher at Pivot Point was Ms. Norma who taught me in depth on facial therapy, massage, chemical peels and gave me my first makeup kit. I remember the renowned Leo Passage shaking my hand and congratulating me when I graduated with my license as an esthetician. At the time, I did not know that I was the first male to be a licensed esthetician in Illinois. Today it’s my claim to fame!
Over the past 20 years I’ve worked in every aspect of the beauty industry. I’ve been a sales person at all the department store cosmetic counters to regional executive handling hundreds of employees and responsible for driving millions of dollars in sales for top cosmetic companies. I’ve used my skills on every type of person from celebrities to the homeless. I am proud of my accomplishments and the opportunities I’ve been given. I know that in order to be successful in the beauty industry you have to be open to change and you have to be humble. At the same time you have to find a way to talk about your work and come across confident that your methods and decisions or recommendations will be successful. I strongly believe that you can only grow by getting continuous education. In 2011 I returned to school and graduated in 2012 as a Cosmetologist from Steven Papageorge Academy.
The idea to open Wax Man Spa was simply to meet the demands of my amazing and loyal clients which happened to be mostly men. About 10 years ago was when I began noticing that there was a trend in men demanding professional spa and salon services. The barber shop was not meeting the demands of the “metrosexual”. Today we call them “Modern Men”. The salons and spas that were catering to a male demographic were usually very gay or still very feminine or your typical fancy salon. I found that men were intimidated, uncomfortable or disappointed by those types of environments. They wanted a barber shop feel but with a salon spa service but it was more than just the environment. It was the professional offering the service. Since I am licensed as a hair stylist and as an esthetician I wanted to offer my clients both salon and spa services which was frowned upon by past employers. In my experience employers do value employees with multiple licenses but usually only when they need you to help in a different area of the shop. Unfortunately if you don’t regularly practice a skill you tend to lose it or feel very insecure offering it which results in bad service 90% of the time. At Wax Man Spa not only do I offer clients all of my services, I make sure my team can offer the same techniques I use for MY services. This ensures that every client receives consistent treatments and it allows clients to receive our services when it is convenient on their schedule not ours. I strongly believe in working as a team and I am more than happy to share what has taken me 20 years to perfect. My core values at Wax Man Spa are Consistency, Education, Zero Attitude and Judgement Free.
Wax Man Spa has grown from 300 clients to over 2000 regular clients since opening in fall 2013. We recently renewed our lease for an additional 5 years! We are always improving something. We are recognized as Official Brand Ambassadors for PFB Vanish skincare as well as Menaji – The first high definition makeup line for MEN. Recently we added online booking and an app. Keeping with the modern times and appealing to the millennials. We’ll be rolling out seasonal treatments and we have already added LED Light Therapy and Ultrasonic Cleansing, high tech professional tools that utilize the latest in anti-aging technology. We truly are a hidden gem on the Northside of Chicago!
Has it been a smooth road?
Is that a pun? LOL. It’s actually totally ironic, nothing goes smooth in business even if your business is making things smooth! I found the funniest meme online. It reads, “WHO SAYS HAVING YOUR OWN SALON IS STRESSFUL? I’M 39 AND I FEEL FANTASTIC!” The actual picture the meme is written on is of a 95 year old very wrinkled man! It’s my screensaver on my phone and it cracks me up!
Anyone that owns a business knows that every day can be a struggle. If it isn’t finances, it’s a client complaint. If it isn’t a client complaint it’s something broke down. If it isn’t something broke down it’s an employee sick or late or quit. That’s the way it goes.
I’d say my biggest challenge is finding ways to keep myself healthy. As a small business owner you already give so much of yourself. But in the spa salon personal services industry you give even more of yourself. We are therapists, we listen to our clients because it is about them releasing stress and feeling better. And don’t forget, hair stylists, makeup artists, massage therapists and estheticians are usually very dramatic people with over the top personalities!
Finding the time to relax and eat healthy and exercise is a huge challenge for the majority of entrepreneurs. For me, the biggest stress relief I have found is from reaching out and meeting other business owners and venting or sharing challenges. They understand and even if they don’t have suggestions to help it’s ok because you know they get what you are going thru. Join your local Chamber of Commerce and go to a meeting or event. It’s a great way to get help for your business and meet fellow business owners. You aren’t alone even if you think you are there is someone who’s been thru it before or going thru it at the same time.
And I’ve also learned to not hire out of necessity, take your time and really screen applicants, call references and do a background check. Dealing with bad employees can destroy everything you have worked so hard to accomplish and sadly many people lie and steal and could care less if they ruin your reputation. If you can’t delegate tasks in your business to the people you’ve hired or trust them with a key or security codes or cash, then your natural instinct as a business owner is telling you they aren’t the right fit for what YOU need to succeed.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Wax Man Spa – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Earlier I mentioned that I am a Brand Ambassador for PFB Vanish. PFB Vanish is an amazing line of skincare I discovered for pre and post hair removal services. Although I have worked in cosmetics as a Makeup Artist, I also did manicures and pedicures for a year once, I do haircuts, I’m a colorist. My true specialty is hair removal and having an in depth understanding of everything involved before, during and after a hair removal service. As a Brand Ambassador I get to partner with an amazing company and provide my expertise and share my knowledge in exchange for exposure for my small business. This past year I traveled to Las Vegas for the IECSC (International Esthetics Cosmetics & Spa Conference) and to Dallas for the PHRC (Professional Hair Removal Conference) for PFB Vanish. This allowed me to network and gave my business great exposure. It also gave my clients reassurance that I am a trusted and recognized professional in my industry which truly sets me and my team apart from other like businesses. PFB Vanish as well as Menaji have quoted me in their blogs or asked my input when developing new products. I’m very proud that I can tell clients I am a brand ambassador and they can FACT CHECK what I have claimed.
There is also one other thing that will set me apart for as long as I am in business. I am most known for being Chicago’s First Male Esthetician specializing in Brazilian waxing for men and women. When I was about to graduate from esthetics school I worked at a high-end spa downtown as a spa attendant, Basically I did the laundry, set up the rooms between clients, cleaned the locker rooms, OK, It was a fancy title for janitor! My boss told me when I got my license she would hire me as an esthetician and makeup artist. I worked so hard, learning the in’s and out’s. I was constantly corrected. Julio! YOU TWEEZE AN EYEBROW AND YOU PLUCK A CHICKEN! JULIO! YOU PLACE THE TEA CUP ON A SAUCER NOT A PLATE! I won’t mention what spa it was but when I graduated I was told that women wouldn’t allow me to work on them because I was a man. I was only 18 years old, if I knew then what I know now, Wax Man Spa would be located in the Gold Coast!
I have climbed the ladder and I’m proud of what I have accomplished. My favorite thing to tell people when we first meet is “You’ve chosen the best place for your waxing service, I’m pretty sure I’ve waxed the genitals of half the population of Chicago by now, if not more!” I have even done a back wax on a priest from a parish I used to attend! You’d be surprised if you knew some of the people I have waxed! =-)
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I’ve lived in New York, San Francisco and Puerto Rico. It’s not only that I am a native Chicagoan, it’s that Chicago is really a beautiful city. I love that we get all the seasons. I love that there is amazing food here and culture. People that visit for the first time always are amazed at how clean it is in Chicago!
The one thing that I have always disliked in any city but especially in Chicago is the segregation between people and neighborhoods. I was born and raised on the Southside! I’ve been a resident of the Northside for about 5 years now. It just amazes me how many people living on the Northside have told me they have lived here 5 even 10 years but they have never been to China Town or past Roosevelt Road! Do you know Bridgeport is the same distance from downtown as Lincoln Park? Southside residents need to get up north just the same as Northside residents need to get down south!
Pricing:
- Brazilian Wax – $75-$85
- Men’s Modern Cut, Wash & Style w/Drink $45
- Back & Shoulder Combo $60-$70
- Manscaping $20 per 15min
Contact Info:
- Address: 1744 W Lawrence Ave.
We are located 1 block east of the Ravenswood Metra Train Stop. - Website: https://www.waxmanspa.com
- Phone: 872-208-3702
- Email: info@waxmanspa.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waxmanspa/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/waxmanspa/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/WaxManSpa
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/wax-man-spa-chicago-5
- Other: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+HairRemoval
Image Credit:
Stylz & Roman(US99 Morning Show), Vanessa Ortega (Esthetician), Ana Belaval (WGN 9 Morning News), Stephen Scalabrino (Spider-Man), Tino Sanchez & Julio Mendez
