Open House

Exciting News! First and fore most, we are thrilled about being in this month's Day Spa Magazine article " Waxing, the naked truth". They did an outstanding job in discussing the ins and outs of the business as well as important information for clients. Although Brazilian Waxing is currently allowed in NJ, a lot of negative news came about due to two cases of women reporting problems so this article clears up a lot of confusion. Safe, Brazilian Waxing is performed all over the country and we at Jaira's make it our number 1 priority to provide a safe, clean and relaxed environment. Always do your homework when looking for a Waxing Salon.

Our other exciting news is about our very first Open House which will be on August 16 and August 17, at our new salon located at 980 Route 9 South, South Amboy, NJ from 10:00- 6:00 p.m. There will be door prizes, raffles,coupons, cocktails and half price services. Bring your girlfriends, sisters and have a mini spa party. Please call ahead for large groups!

Mom and Daughter fight for Women's Right to WAX!

This whole ban craziness has been a wild ride and I am glad that we have had victory and I am even more glad to go back to being a photographer and a mom but I must honor my mother who was so strong through all of this. I did this for her, I owed to her since I was the one who back in 2007 wrote the board asking about how we can certify aestheticians in our salon since my mother was so good a training. Their reply was waxing in genital area was illegal! Oh boy did I never expect an email of mine cause such an international wave and getting such media as SNL, Rush Limbaugh and Social Media. When we were hit with the news this past February that we could not over the Brazilian Wax and that we had to take down our sign because Brazilian Waxing was illegal in NJ, I FREAKED! and I looked to my mom and she calmly said, God knows best and all things work in favor of those who follow him. Her attitude and grace is so inspiring and it is what gives her victory in her day to day life, now owner of two Salons, short staff, mother of 3 very demanding teenagers, and one pre teen who is months away from being a teen as well, grandmother of 2 boys, wife, mother and my friend. I do not know how she does it but she does, with thick Brazilian accent and all. I love you mom and I am so proud of all you have accomplished and of your graceful attitude, thanks for raising me on your own and always wanting what is best for us. Happy Mother's Day!

Brazilian Wax Craziness Part II

So on 3/18, we hit our climax where newspapers began to call us for the scoop on how we were fighting back the NJ Brazilian Wax ban. We did not know but the Saturday before SNL mentioned the issue on their weekend update saying that New Jersey would now be called the Overgrown Garden State. TV's got interested in the story as well as radio. a Big thank you to Channel 12 news for coming out on 3/19 and doing a story with us. And a big shout to NJ 101.5 who also came to interview and did a long discussion of the issue with Dennis and Michelle as well as their morning news. We were so excited to have the press involved and the whole world began to discuss the silly NJ wax ban. We were surprised that Philadelphia TV stations and news papers were the first to really be interested in the story. A reporter from the Daily news Jason Nark, was the first to write on the issue and his articles were copied in over 100 blogs., The Division of consumer Affairs had told him it was due to two complaints from women who had placed lawsuits and that the NJ Board would be meeting on 4/14 to vote on the ban. When we saw Jason's first article we immediately contacted him and he called to interview us. He then wrote his second article which was updated info and explained that the Board had already voted on 3/10 and that it was out of their hands now and we needed to appeal to the Division of Law in order for them to investigate if the Board's decision was constitutional or not. Here is the link for Jason Nark's article: http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/41249322.html.

But people kept saying the same wrong info over and over and were fighting against the current because it was hard to get that out of peopl's heads. So we were so excited that Channel 12 did a great story explaing it better and it grew and grew. We then saw that the controversial Rush Limbaugh mentioned that no government should be involved in women's crotches and we could not agree more. Never though I would say that but I did.

3/20, when we were still getting lots of PR feedback, my phone died and I did not have my cell for an hour. When I finally was able to charge it, I could never have forseen the messages I was getting. " The Ban is off. All is back to normal". I was so confused and so our publicist Sherry Butler and I called Rosemary Wiener to fully understand what had happened. The director of the Division of Consumer Affairs wrote a letter to the Associated Press saying that the NJ Board should reconsider the Brazilian Wax since it was done safely in other places. The media went nuts and began reporting the Ban was off. NJ looked even more ridiculous, Ban one day, no Ban the next. Mr. Schuzman's letter was not a mandate, as Ms. Wiener explained but a recommendation that the NJ Board reconsidered this. The service is still illegal because it has not been written into the rules and regulations and although right now they are not enforcing fines, it is still illegal. Never had such a think occurred, the buck was passed back down to the NJ Board of Cosmetology and they meet tomorrow to discuss how they shall proceed with this issue. In the meanwhile, Brazilian Waxing remains ILLEGAL in the state of NJ. We held a petition meeting at our salon where Ms. Wiener explained all of this to us and we gathered petitions and signatures. The ASSP did another petition now to the NJ Board of Cosmetology for them to really place the Brazilian Wax into the rules and regulations. We shall see what will happen tomorrow.

Brazilian Waxing is still illegal in NJ

South River, NJ (March 25, 2009)…Feuza Reis, Business Development Director of Jaira’s Salon and Umbelina Santos, President of BAUA- Brazilian American United Association, and a hairdresser herself, to host a meeting of Brazilian salon owners and public regarding the brazilian waxing legalization issue. The meeting is Monday March 30th at 6pm, East Side Community Center, 296 Ferry Street, Newark, NJ (in the ironbound section of Newark which has a population of over 70,000 Brazilians). For more information contact Feuza Reis at 908-812-9650 or go to http://www.jairasbrazilianwax.com/.

Many feel no action is needed and is unnecessary based on new factors. On March 20, reacting to growing dissent from salon owners and customers, New Jersey Consumer Affairs Director David Szuchman rejected the board's proposal and asked it "to begin an immediate review of the training necessary to safely provide this service, and to establish appropriate protocols and safeguards."

However, the truth is that the ban is not lifted until the Board of Cosmetology decides and they could still say NO! It is still illegal until the law is changed by the Board of Cosmetology. Rosemary Weiner, chairwoman of the Association of Salon and Spa Professionals in New Jersey (ASSPNJ) recommends the grassroots campaign of signing and faxing the form letters requesting the legalization continue.
The ASSPNJ statement on this issue:

“This cannot be legally deemed as a lifting of the ban on removal of hair from the genital area until such time as the language in the rules & regulations is modified to permit this service to be performed. So long as the current language is in place, one must consider the Brazilian technique, and removal of hair from the back, chest and buttocks to be prohibited services as stated in the current rules & regulations and affirmed by the Board of Cosmetology.”

“The next meeting of the Board of Cosmetology is scheduled to be held on 04/14/09. All pressure must come to bear on the Board of Cosmetology to put this important issue on their agenda and to create language that would include removal of hair from the genital area, chest, back and buttocks, by waxing, as permissible services for a licensee to perform. That has not yet happened.”

Brazilian Wax Ban Craziness Part II

As I said in last post, we were freaking out when on 2/14 the NJ Board of Cosmetology told us we would need to take down our sign that read Brazilian Wax withing 30 days and that Brazilian Waxing was ILLEGAL in NJ. When Rosemary Weiner called me back, she explained what had happened. The NJ Board of Cosmetology has the right to interpret the rules and regulations and when the issue came up in regards to genital area waxing, they looked at the rules and regulations which stated waxing of arms, legs, abdomen and face only. So Brazilian Waxing was excluded and thus illegal. Rosemary introduce me to the ASSP, the Association of Salon and Spa Professionals and invited me to be present at their meeting on March 2 and that they would vote on a position to send to the NJ Board of Cosmetology. At the time I was taking a class on explosive P.R marketing with Maria Simone- http://passion2prosperity.com ( business coach) and Sherry Butler, a publicist from Butler Communications (www.slbcom.com ). I was learning how to write Press Release and how to pitch to the media but we knew that this would need a bigger team since we would be waking up the lion and did not know what could happen to our business. After many calls, hours and talks with Sherry, Rosemary and myself, I talked with my mother owner of Jaira' Salon and said you have to options- you either hide or your fight head on. And oh what a hard decision it was, we were so frightened but one thing helped me was my mom's reaction to this adversity. Her first reaction was not one of panicking but she turned to me and said, All things work in favor of those who serve God and as a God fearing woman, her words had power. And Sherry and I felt a whole lot better after we spoke with Rosemary who then confirmed that the ASSP supported the Brazilian Waxing and they voted to send a position paper to the NJ Board for their next meeting which would be held on March 10th, 2009. For that meeting the ASSP put together a wonderful position paper with justifications to permit the service and socio-economic impact of the loss of revenue as well as definitions of the service actually consisted of. We both felt there was an adverse perception of the Brazilian Wax and the proposal paper explained it so well. In a closed session to our sup rise the NJ board of cosmetology voted NO to the inclusion of the Brazilian Wax and agreed to uphold their current language which excluded it. Oh oh again. We than began an bilingual international grass roots campaign on twitter, Face book as well as sent Press Releases to the local American papers, Brazilian press, as well as Latino Radio Station and T.V stations. I do not think Sherry knew what she was in for. With a three hour time differance, as well as Portuguese speaking press, we started a ride that would be talked about world wide. Stay tuned for Part III of how I helped ban and helping legalize Brazilian Waxing in NJ.