Wax At Aqua

The nail service is good, but the wax, eh, I’m not sure I had the same gal as all the other Unilocalers had.
It was probably one of the most painful waxes, ever. and those stupid glaring lights nearly blinded me. who the f* puts recessed lighting at like 100 watts in a place where you are staring up at them???
anyway, nails good, wax bad.

Affordable waxing. I did not say cheap, but definitely affordable. Mickey (sp?) is the person to go to for a bikini wax, especially because she uses the hard wax.

I don’t fit in! I never have «fit in» to the Central Coast! If you didn’t look like you just got back from auditioning for «The OC» or «The Hills,» then you weren’t a «Poly Dolly.» This is San Luis Obispo that I am talking about; however, Santa Barbara is no different. What does this have to do with a nail salon?
EVERYTHING! It was so hard for me to adapt to an evironment that was so far removed from my natural habitat; if it isn’t a little dirty and a little dangerous, then I really don’t know what to do with myself!!! Well, I am almost kidding. However, if you live in the «nail salon capital of the world» known as the Grand/​Lakeshore district of Oakland, then you are used to very janky establishments. This should be a bad thing though… if you have worked in biotech as long as I have (which is too long and I need to go to grad school… but enough of my existential crisis), you are used to having your boss email you articles about the connection of Mycobacterium infections to the foot tubs in nail salon places every time you mention getting pedicures to her. However, I’m a recalcitrant Taurus and I get the $#@%ing pedicures anyway.
Well, there is little-​to-​no-​chance of Mycobacterium infections at this salon. They AUTOCLAVE their tools and thoroughly disinfect their foot tubs… which is easy to do because they are not the popular-​yet-​difficult-​to-​fully-​disinfect spa jet baths. In fact, you will see a little sign on top of the bath that says something to the tune of, «Disinfected just for you.» Aw. They also provide you with little bottles of (room temperature) water and have a wide array of trashy salon magazines. The chairs, though not the popular massaging chairs, are high-​up and comfy. The staff, for the most part, is personable and actually talks to you. A pedicure is $ 30, which is more than I am used to paying; however, everything is more expensive in Santa Barbara and you are also paying for added cleanliness.
However, I still didn’t fit in because, well, a little jankiness is kinda my style. =/

i’m so bummed i don’t live anywhere near santa barbara because this would be my place!
came here over the weekend for a bachelorette party and reserved aqua for a semi-​private pedi party… it was perfect! the service was great and so were the pedis!

I have been going to Anezka for waxing and facials since 2001, and have followed her where ever she worked (and told her all along she should open her own business, which she finally did!). She is the most wonderful, knowledgeable and practical esthetician on earth!!! I have gone to other people who tried to sell me expensive products and give me ill-​conceived advice aimed at emptying my wallet, but my experience with Anezka has been that I can trust every word she says! She is an excellent, fast waxer (not to mention painless!!), and I especially love her advice of skincare. Most estheticians try to sell you the most expensive stuff their salon has to offer, but Anezka voluntarily educates herself by going to seminars, conventions etc, and tries EVERYTHING on her OWN skin before recommending it to any customer! I have very sensitive skin and she has NEVER sold me a product that didn’t agree with my skin. Moreover, she never encourages you to buy the latest and greatest, she says «use up what you have, then you can get it». When I went to Camille’s they recommended a Dermalogica facial cleanser to me that was well over 100 dollars and made my skin break out like crazy, and Anezka told me to just use Cetaphil, and it worked like a charm at one tenth of the cost of Dermalogica! Anezka truly is my skin care guru, I trust her because my skin has never looked better, I especially recommend the Oxygen facial! (although she will customize for you whatever she thinks is best for you). What I love about going to her is that I get all the best products and treatments at a lower price than other salons, and without all the bullshit. She is a real person and understands that not everyone wants to spend $$$ on products and skincare and waxing, while still getting the best possible treatments. She really is a rare gem, and a real person who will give you her honest advice, without the fake-​Socal-​salesperson smile you unfortunately so often find in girls working in the spa industry! I recently moved to Monterey, and used to live in Santa Monica, but I always make the trip to SB to see her, because I could never trust anyone else with my waxing and my skincare! She is well worth it! She is humble and modest, and if you want to see what I mean, go to her for a treatment and ask her a question about any skincare problem you may have, or just ask her to design a skincare regiment for you! She is excellent, and if you go to her even once, you will see what I mean. I have gotten all my girlfriends to go to her too, and they love her as a person and as an esthetician, she is simply the best!!!

i was getting my nails done at aqua and decided to ask anyone happened to be free to do my brows. my regular waxer of 9 years just moved out of town, and i have been left looking for someone to trust. i am very picky about my waxing. someone was able to take me before i got my nails done and i thought great! very clean (almost hospital like atmosphere) and not annoyingly over the top trying to be calming and aromatheraputic like most day spas in SB. i cannot for the life of me remember who i saw since it was a last minute thing, but i will never go back. i am still waiting for half of my eye brow to go back in so i can hopefully find a much more capable esthetician to fix the mess they made at wax. apparently it was a little too much to comprehend what «i just want to clean up my brows and keep the natural shape» means.

Don’t disregard my review because I am an Aqua employee; even if I weren’t employed here, I’d be a regular anyway. All the aestheticians are SUPER nice, and they all do a GREAT job. A lot of people are uncomfortable seeing someone they aren’t used to… thats understandable but I have no problem getting my waxing done with any one of these talented ladies.
Penny was the first aesthetician I saw at Aqua. Since then she has done a great job on my brows. She’s fast yet efficient and is really great to talk to. She really listens to her clients and makes sure to deliver what they ask for. The first time I waxed with her, I showed her a picture of how I wanted my brows to look and did an awesome job!
Anezka, the owner of Wax, is in high demand! She is also VERY fast, so fast sometimes it’s AMAZING! She has also done my brows and they looked great! Anezka is an advocate of maintaining a natural (also known as full) brow! My brows were once looking kinda crazy-​thin on the ends and fuller towards the middle-​and she asked if she could take off more. I’m glad she did because then I no longer had «grouchy» eyebrows!
Mickey, the newest addition to the Wax team, has YEARS of experience and also does massages! I appreciate Mickey A LOT because I had a brow wax mishap with a friend of mine who is in cosmetology school, (I think thats what I get for waxing elsewhere!) and after patiently growing out my eyebrows for a month and a half, Mickey worked some magic and you could never tell that I had a problem with my brows. What was great was that she took the time with me to discuss which areas she wasn’t going to wax so they could grow in.
I’ve been at Aqua for almost a year now, and minus the mishap with my friend, my brows have never looked better. Not only are they shaped nice, they look natural! I don’t have that angry or surprised look on my face, haha… I get compliments all the time and I owe it all to the wonderful ladies at Wax.
So, take it from someone on the inside-​if you’re looking for professionalism, efficiency and a great conversation, Wax at Aqua is the place to go. The prices are exceptional as well; affordable (especially for students!) without sacrificing safety and an enjoyable experience.
Another plus: the wax they use is REALLY good. I believe it is a french strawberry wax and in all my years of getting waxed this is the most painless wax I’ve ever come across!

Open on SUNDAYS (gasp!) — a true SB rarity.
Essentially, these are wax services offered in the back of the Aqua Nail Salon. I’m new to the area so I was confused when I pulled up to a nail salon. I found «wax at aqua» (which yes, holds a different business name, license, owner) during a desperate google search for a Sunday afternoon wax.
I know that there’s an Aqua in Goleta so please note, this is the Aqua in SB, passed Gelsons Market. I made an appointment with Anezra (the owner) and was pretty satisfied. She claims to offer reasonable prices for waxes and that the bikini is her specialty. Her prices are on the website:
. I must admit, I do think her full leg for $ 60 is super high, but I’m new to SB and trying to adjust to how expensive my upkeep is…