Salon Review: The Golden Touch, London

London correspondent Gemma Summons road tests one of the capital's premier waxing salons.

Sometime earlier this summer, somewhere in the nooks and crannies of Soho, I was invited to a salon called The Golden Touch. No, not a ‘massage’ parlour, though I did have a happy ending, of sorts. The Golden Touch was run by the very lovely, very bubbly Hannah Salisbury, an Aussie who has a wealth of experience in intimate waxing. She has been head of the training school of the same name for some time, and has built up an excellent reputation teaching therapists in the London area. 

I am by no means a wax aficionado. (Make of that what you will). Previous memories of being waxed involved being taken down into a scary basement, with sullen, silent women essentially pouring lava onto my dainty areas and ripping them to pieces mercilessly. Safe to say I didn’t go back for a while (years). Waxing is punishment enough without it being medieval. So, thankfully, Hannah welcomed me into her salon with open arms and put me at ease.

She left me alone to freshen up before taking me into a small room with the radio playing. She explained the process of waxing to me and why hot wax is the best way of waxing in order to minimise pain and reduce regrowth. Throughout the wax she kindly talked me through what she was doing whilst giving me helpful advice about aftercare, as well as friendly chatter between us about our days/lives/etc. The wax itself, she admitted, is never going to be the most comfortable experience in the world (why lie?), but she did her absolute best to minimise the discomfort, and I genuinely can say that it was a world away from my previous experiences. I felt safe, relaxed, and in experienced hands (which is all anyone wants down there, obviously). The results were great and, with Hannah’s advice, lasted a long time.

I would thoroughly recommend a wax at The Golden Touch - Hannah offers good quality, practical and affordable intimate waxing with very good customer service as well. Sadly The Golden Touch is temporarily closed at present; however, Hannah is still offering therapists professional training in intimate waxing and the salon's return is promised soon. If you want the therapists of your salon to be taught by the experts, look no further.

Louis Marcel Crystal Gel Body Wax Strips

RRP: £6.18/20 strips
retails at HealthCounter and Fragrance Direct; also available on eBay

--What does the promo say?--
"Louis Marcel Crystal Gel Strip Wax is a salon style cold wax like treatment for use at home, in safe, easy and ready to use pre-coated strips. Unwanted hair is removed down to and including roots, so regrowth does not normally occur for up to six weeks, and hair regrowth will appear finer and less obvious."

--Packaging--
The wax strips are transparent, showing a pale pink translucent wax ready for use on the strips. The pink and white cardboard box also contains a sachets of oil to remove excess wax and to soothe the treated area after waxing. Much is made on the box of the product's floral ingredients thanks to the large pink flower motif - among the ingredients are camellia, rosemary and geranium.

--Application--
Rub the strips between your hands briefly to warm the wax. Peel the strips apart before laying one down on the skin in the direction of the hair growth. Holding the skin taut, pull the strip off quickly against the direction of the hair growth. The strip can be used repeatedly until it is no longer effective (although I personally didn't fancy trying this, as what comes out on a wax strip always looks so gross!). This is all pretty easy and even relatively painless (although I have pretty low sensitivity when it comes to waxing the armpit area, so this will probably vary between individuals) :)

--Appearance--
The nice thing about the translucent pink wax - apart from looking pretty - is that even if you were to miss getting off all of the excess wax after use, it wouldn't show, as it's practically invisible. The balm oil wipes also don't leave any visible residue on the skin.

--Scent--
Perhaps slightly floral, but nothing too overbearing.

--Texture and consistency--
The wax is non-irritating and skin is left with a smooth, moisturised finish thanks to the combination of the wax ingredients and the balm oil wipes.

--Effects on the skin--
While the wax strips removed an impressive amount, they didn't remove *everything* (ugh, sorry) on the one time through that I used the wax strips. The brand does recommend that hair is 4-5mm long for best results, though, so if you have left it longer than this, or not been patient enough, then it's unsurprising that it would take longer or require the use of more strips to get a perfect result. However, it's really not bad for a home kit (I've used worse) and this could help people to feel much more confident about waxing at home.

--Value for money--
As promised, this is fast and simple to use, as well as being (at least relatively or partially) effective, which is already a good start. However, true value for money will depend on what's on offer in your area, and on your own priorities - I can get my armpits waxed for €4 a time, so an RRP of closer to €8 or €9 a box would require some consideration for me. It would depend how many wax strips I needed to use each time and how I prioritize doing this myself at home vs somebody else doing it for me, faster. You should also shop around, as several websites offer this below the RRP, which naturally increases value for money. Generally, though, a product I would recommend.

perfect partners
Hair Removal Cream for Face and Bikini Line, £4.38 
Hair Removal Mousse, £3

Cosmetics Contemplations: My Vaniqa experiment

Part of me thinks I should really stop hanging out on discussion fora. While they can be bastions of great friendship, humour, knowledge and generosity, I've also experienced the other side of it: narrow-mindedness, nastiness, arguments worse than any in real life, and people turning on you at the drop of a hat. Sometimes it feels as if I'm too old, and beyond the immature individuals that can frequent these places.

However, it seems that I just can't keep away, and my current favourite forum is that of the MoneySavingExpert website, which covers all subjects from how to save old style to which diet works best. It was while I was on the Health and Beauty bit of the forum that a conversation started about unwanted excess facial hair in women. It's one of society's remaining taboos: nobody in real life ever talks about this, so as I suffer with this myself, I joined in the discussion keenly, waiting with bated breath to see if solutions would be offered that I had not already tried (or dismissed as impractical).

I first suffered the demon facial fur when I was about 15. I don't remember how I first started trying to combat it (but as I wasn't waxing the rest of my body then, I suspect it involved a razor), or exactly when I began trying to remove it (although it was probably when I realised it was noticeable, when girls at school added this to the long list of things that they already made fun of me for). Quickly realising the limitations of shaving, I turned to my mother, who was sympathetic, and suggested wax. This didn't hurt too much and she seemed to be suggesting that I would only need to do this once a month. So as we stood over the gas stovetop waiting for the wax to melt, I remember thinking, "Yeah, once a month...I can handle this."

Sadly, the hair grew back again too quickly, and so I resorted to the razor again for more regular maintenance. Of course the vicious cycle with excess facial hair is that you have to let it grow in order to wax it, but that you don't want to let it grow in case it becomes too visible (and with my hair being dark brown against my pale skin, I have it pretty bad). Once I started waxing the rest of my body hair, I went for a combination of shaving and tweezing, knowing that removing the hairs at the root would (...eventually...) reduce the growth. In more recent years, I have resorted to hermitdom for the first five days of each school holiday, letting the hair grow long enough for it to be waxed, which does seem to improve the situation. The hermitdom and constant scarf-wearing at this time are less of a perk, however.

All of these ideas naturally came up on the MSE thread, with others being added, including threading (which carries the same problems as waxing) and depilatory creams (which unfortunately don't slow regrowth). But then a solution was suggested that I'd never heard of before: a prescription-only cream called Vaniqa*, which is said to reduce hair growth over time thanks to twice-daily use. I didn't know how it worked, but I was intrigued, and got myself some. The side-effects didn't worry me. The most common one is chin acne, which I again suffer from anyway, so I figured that I wouldn't be losing out much even if it didn't work.

All of this was at the end of August, or beginning of September this year. I naturally did my research before embarking on my trial of the product (which was carried out, by the way, entirely at my own expense), finding that while information about Vaniqa itself is readily available, finding tales of people's actual experiences is much more difficult. Perhaps it's that taboo subject thing. One excellent, very detailed account can be found here, written by Vickie in the early 2000s. Although people's experiences can of course vary, her report really helped me to make my mind up on whether or not to proceed (but I certainly didn't agonise over it in the same way that I considered whether or not to proceed with a course of Roaccutane).

So - to the product itself. I don't like the name Vaniqa, by the way, as it seems to suggest that excess hair is purely a cosmetic issue. Until society changes the way it sees beauty (yeah...good luck with that one...) it will always be much more than that, with sufferers often feeling and/or being socially stigmatised as a result of it. The cream itself, though, is easy to apply, is absorbed quickly into the skin, and doesn't sting at all. It's also not too heavy, so shouldn't clog pores - it's more comparable to a gel-cream than to, say, a heavier night cream. Apply twice a day after moisturiser, and wash your hands afterwards. Not difficult really.

The accompanying information in the Vaniqa leaflet clearly states that it may take up to 8 weeks to see a difference, and this is what I have found to be the case: having started the course at the beginning of September, I have noticed a huge reduction in hair growth between then and now (end of October). Even though the manufacturers say that you will need to keep using Vaniqa for the effects to be sustained (i.e. the hair may grow back if you stop), the increase in confidence that I've experienced makes the prospect of applying an extra dab of cream to my face each morning and night seem only of infinitesimal concern.

I'm really just amazed that GPs either don't seem to know about this product or don't want to prescribe it - this was never suggested once to me as a remedy when we did seek help at the doctor's surgery for my PCOS and talked to the doctor about the excess hair. Polycystic ovary syndrome can have such severe and long-lasting effects (as mentioned, I was 15 when the excess hair kicked in, and I'm now 26) that it almost seems criminal to not prescribe something that could potentially improve a sufferer's life so much. This also makes me question what other treatments could be lurking to assuage other PCOS symptoms (which include rapid weight gain, difficulty in shifting weight, acne, infertility, and more besides) and makes me wonder why doctors I've seen have had such a laissez-faire attitude towards the condition, rather than adopting a more proactive or combative approach.

The good news is that I still have stacks of cream left in the one tube that I've acquired. I probably use a pea-sized amount each day (not each application - each DAY) to cover my chin area, which just goes to show how far the cream spreads. Depending on your needs, you could make one £40 tube last at least six months, which compares favourably to the cost of several big-brand anti-ageing concoctions. This suggests that even when my tube runs out, I will be replacing it. And all thanks to those 'immature individuals' on MSE! Overall, the experiment appears to have been a success - and I would truly urge other sufferers to look into it too.

*Also available on the internet at around £40 a tube from various suppliers...but you go down that road at your own risk.

Nair Ultra Precision Wax Roll-On

RRP: £5.99

--So what does the promo say?--

"Get salon results…at home! Professionally inspired Ultra Precision Wax glides effortlessly along the contours of your face to effectively remove hair and reveal radiant, smooth skin. With a high precision applicator, it's easy to achieve an expert finish that lasts for weeks! Fragrance free and enriched with moisturising white lily to leave delicate facial skin soft and smooth."

--Packaging--

All fairly simple to use: the squeezy tube shows you exactly how much wax is left at any time, the screw-top lid keeps the tube securely closed until needed and the roller applicator is easy to put onto and remove from the tube as required. It's also easy to wash and store after use. As far as the various accoutrements go, you're provided with a good number of washable, durable strips that can be reused, and an orange stick (supposedly to allow for greater precision when spreading wax over the eyebrow area, but for reasons why this is somewhat redundant, see below).

--Application--

Nair's instructions to users are as follows: "Carefully fill a glass or cup with boiling water. Put the tube of wax, cap downwards, into the water for 3 minutes. Dry the tube well. Remove the cap and screw on the roll-on applicator (keep the cap for storage between uses). Squeeze the tube to get the wax flowing, and roll the applicator over the back of the hand to test the wax temperature. If the wax does not come out easily, replace the cap on the tube and put it back into the hot water for 1 minute. Make sure that water does not get into the tube, as it will make the wax less effective...Cleanse the area from which you wish to remove hair using soap and/or warm water and then dry thoroughly. The hair removal area must be dry and free from any traces of cream or cosmetics. Roll the applicator over the area to be treated, in the direction of hair growth. Place a cloth strip on the wax, pressing well, leaving approx. 1cm at the end to make it easier to remove. Hold the skin taut with the other hand and then pull off rapidly in the opposite direction, parallel to the skin. Each strip can be used several times." 

With the exception of the patch test (whose instructions I have left out here), I followed these instructions to the letter, with no results. Wondering if I were following the procedure incorrectly, I tried leaving the wax to dry a little (e.g. while I dried my hair), but this also had no effect. This leads me to believe that the instructions are either unclear, or missing steps, or that no matter how good the instructions were, the product would still not work.

--Appearance--

A pleasant pink gel which does not leave any visible residue on the skin.

--Scent--

I don't know that I'd go as far as to say it's fragrance free - it perhaps has a slightly bubblegummy scent to it - but on the whole it's inoffensive.

--Texture and consistency--

Very sticky and does not harden enough for any hair removal to be possible. Even if you don't squeeze the tube, and just let the roller applicator do its thing, the layer of wax that comes out is also far too thick, you could argue, to harden within any reasonable length of time. On the upside, despite the stickiness it does wash off easily.

--Does it do what it says it will do?--

In short, no. I wondered if this was down to my inexperience at home waxing (I'm a salon girl all the way), but reviews across the internet seem to echo the fact that you would get better results using sellotape. After being sent this, I must have used it at least 3 times (if I recall correctly - twice on unwanted facial hair, once on eyebrows) only to find that not a single hair could be removed using it.

--Value for money--

It beggars belief that this even got off the drawing board and past initial testing, let alone that people could be charged £6 for the pleasure of using something that doesn't actually work. I'd be interested to try Veet's version to see how it compares, but ultimately would instead recommend the kind of wax that you heat up yourself at home and then rip off - much more effective (see here, here, here, or here for examples of such products).