Wax Chat: Andy Rouillard collaborates with Salon System to launch Just Wax Expert range

Salon System has revealed its collaboration with waxing guru, Andy Rouillard, of Axiom Bodyworks, for the Just Wax Expert range.

Named Britain’s Top Male Waxing Specialist by the former grooming editor of Men’s Health, Andy Rouillard is an award-winning therapist and qualified teacher.

The collaboration aims to understand and meet the demands of busy salons and therapists by providing a range of waxing products for use on all skin and hair types. The formula also offers speedy removal and no sticky residue, as well as being vegan with no alcohol, no rosin and low allergen.

The range includes:

• Cleanse & Prime: Removes impurities and primes the skin before waxing treatments, protecting the skin throughout the treatment due to beneficial properties such as marshmallow root.
• Hot Wax: Fast setting with a low working temperature, the wax has a visual indicator to show when it is ready to use, turning from clear gel to opaque.
• Strip Wax: Offering easy removal without stickiness, this wax has a low working temperature and thin, fluid application for comfort and results on all hair types.
• Protect & Calm: Can be used instead of oil on pre-cleansed skin to protect areas of dryness or sensitivity before waxing and can also be used after waxing to cool, calm and moisturise skin.

I was invited to the Richard Ward Hair & Metrospa, just a stone’s throw from Sloane Square, to take a closer look at the range and have a chat with Andy about his collaboration with Salon System. Arranging for our chat to take place in the Metrospa area of the salon, Andy had both the hot and strip wax heating in preparation for demonstrations and the fresh, zesty smell of the formulations filled the treatment room. I was intrigued to learn more about Andy’s career in the waxing industry and the brand new Just Wax Expert range…

How did you get into waxing?
“I got into the beauty industry completely by accident, I never had any intention of getting into skincare, beauty or waxing. I wanted to be an osteopath so I was working as a massage therapist in the evening as a way to raise some money to go back to college. I’d previously gained a degree in theatre and television and was working in the probation service at the time, so everything was completely different to what I wanted to do! While I was tending to my male massage clients, I found that a lot were asking for recommendations of where to get hair removal services. As this was 18 years ago, there was hardly anywhere offering such services outside of London so I recognised a gap in the market.

“I got myself trained up in waxing, only ever intending it to be something that I could add on to get a bit of extra money behind me. Waxing services very quickly took over the massage treatments in terms of popularity and I also got made redundant in my job with the probation service: so I opened up the Axiom Bodyworks salon.

“I got into the teaching side of the industry 11 years ago, when Habie revisited the intimate waxing standards. I saw that it was seeking people to help so I reached out and said that I’d been offering male waxing for a number of years at the salon and it all escalated from there.

“It was all happy coincidence and, as a result of that, I was then asked to hold seminars at trade shows and so on. I do very little massage now: it’s 99% waxing, so I feel very happy when I get back home after a long day… All my stress is taken out on a wax strip, I’m completely stress free!”

How did the collaboration with Salon System come about?
“I’ve been aware of Salon System for many years but we started talking at the first wax show back in 2013, organised by Matt Omara and myself. I’ve always loved Salon System products and so we began chatting about how we might be able to work together. That was five years ago and we really started to work on this range about two years ago. Its a capsule collection, so you don’t have to spend a lot of money on getting lots of new lotions and potions as it has everything you need just in four products: the hot wax, strip wax and the pre and post wax products, which are multifunctional. The range is very much aimed at people being able to have exceptionally high quality waxes at a very adorable price, and products that make waxing treatments easy for students as well as experienced therapists.

“Each product is made here in the UK, which is really exciting. Traditionally, we have always looked overseas to the prestige brands for new product formulations but, actually, some of the best waxes in the market at the moment are coming out of the UK. We’ve got chemists and manufacturers that are coming up with such amazing products that the rest of the world are then looking at and saying, ‘that’s really good!’, which is something to be proud of.

“I know from working with brands previously that formulating and launching a brand new range is a long process; it’s never just a ‘write some ideas down and the next month its out’ situation. It takes a long time to formulate, in this case it took two years: we tested, double tested and triple tested the range on clients in the salon and Salon System educators tested it on their clients too. For me, one of the things that took the longest to get right was the fragrance as we wanted it to be fresh and unisex. It was a fun process but a long process. We really pushed the chemist and I’m so proud of how it’s turned out, its an amazing product.”

What is your hero product?
“Each product is amazing but the Protect & Calm is such a beautiful lotion and is very innovative as there is nothing else quite like it on the market at the moment. You can use it as a barrier before waxing on very dry, dehydrated or sun-damaged skin; where you would usually use powder or oil, put the tiniest little bit of the lotion on the skin before waxing and it will act as a barrier. You can also then use it after waxing, making it a two-in-one barrier and post-wax product. The lotion includes marshmallow root extract, which is a flowering herb that is native to Europe, Western Asia and North Africa, and has been used in traditional medicine for everything from sore throats to upset stomachs, skin burns and insect bites. The root extract releases a gummy substance called mucilage and its absolutely jam-packed full of polysaccharides and flavonoids and really amazing things for the skin. Its anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and hydrating – perfect for everything you want from a post-wax lotion. Clients are really noticing the difference after using it: they absolutely love how it smooths and soothes the skin. We’ve all been using it at home as a moisturiser in between appointments also, helping with ingrown hairs and to keep the skin nice and supple and moisturised. Also, a little goes a long way so its great value for therapists, as a bottle will last a long time… You can retail it to clients for use in between appointments as well!”

What makes the Just Wax Expert range different to anything else on the market?
“For therapists, its incredibly easy to use: even if therapists have never had any experience of working with hot wax before, it only takes a small amount of practice before they start to get fantastic results from it. For clients, the formulation of each product means that the treatment is incredibly comfortable. The range is also completely vegan, which is of a course a big industry trend.

“As well as this, the wax uses a synthetic resin, which is not usually found in traditional waxes that instead use natural resins. Natural resin is the same thing that makes sticking plasters stick, so if you’ve got a client with a sticking plaster allergy, the chances are they can’t have waxing treatments as they are at risk of having a reaction to the resin. By using a synthetic resin, clients that might not have been suitable for waxing in the past or found waxing very reactive to the skin means they are now eligible for a wax. There is a whole host of factors that make the Just Wax Expert range unique.”

Is the range ideal for students?
“Definitely! I’ve been using it on my courses and the students find it so easy to work with. Complete beginners are able to pick it up and get great results without having to spend half a day learning the old fashioned figure of eight technique that we used to use!”

What were the main goals for the formulations during the development stages? Were they any issues during this process?
“We definitely pushed the chemist – I was very clear on what I did and didn’t want! My main goals were that I wanted it to be fast setting because, especially in the middle of summer, you don’t want something that’s going to take ages to set, clients want it on and off so they can get out of the door! I wanted it to be fast setting for customers but also for salons so that they were able to save money in the treatment room and I was insistent that it was vegan.

“I was absolutely determined that the wax used a synthetic resin, even though synthetic resins are known for being difficult to work with in formulations. Its difficult to get the temperature right and to make the product strong enough to actually get the hair out: there’s always been a trade-off in the past when using a synthetic resin versus a natural resin for it having the strength to get strongly rooted, thick, coarse, stubborn hair out. We really pushed the chemist to use a synthetic resin and still make sure that the wax gets the finest versailles hairs to the strongest of underarm hairs and everything in between out. Getting a final formula with a synthetic resin that performed as we needed it to was probably the biggest challenge.

“Developing the pre and post products also posed some difficulties as we knew we wanted a serum base, as opposed to a liquid cleanser, we wanted to be able to use it before and after waxing and we wanted it to be alcohol-free. We also didn’t the cleanser to leave any sticky residue on the skin but we wanted the product to be wet enough to remove perspiration and body product, which proved difficult when working with a gel-based or serum-based formulation that is alcohol-free.

“I’m very fussy – I refuse to let anything go out of the door unless I’m going to use it in my own salon or I can hand-on-heart recommend it to therapists. When working with the Salon System team, they also would not release the range unless it was 100% ready and they really took the time to make sure it was perfect.”

Will you be expanding the Just Wax Expert range?
“We have reached a really exciting point in the waxing industry at the moment as things are moving so fast – in the same way as with nails, skincare and the rest of the beauty industry – we constantly see new ingredients and new formulations, so already we’ve got our eye on what we could do ti expand the range in the future. The range is designed to be a capsule collection, meaning everything that a therapist needs to perform a waxing treatment is present in just the four products. However, Salon System is very much driven by what therapists and techs are wanting so the brand listens and reacts to these needs.

“Although there aren’t any plans at the moment to expand the range, we’re keeping an eye out on what techs want and we’ll respond to industry trends – that’s how you keep relevant.”

Why should nail techs offering waxing services to clients?
“Waxing is such a fabulous upsell and it doesn’t require a huge amount of space – you can easily add toe, finger and eyebrow waxing to treatments, which can be performed in a chair. Waxing fits so beautifully alongside other treatments and it will entice clients to get their treatments all conveniently under one roof, meaning they’ll spend their money with you instead of finding somewhere else. Waxing is a very low cost, high profit treatment.

“The Just Wax Expert range is very accessible as it can be picked up from wholesalers and, because everything that is required is in the four products, you don’t need 101 bits and pieces. There is one hot wax for all skin and hair types and one strip wax for all skin and hair types. We’ve deliberately paired it down and kept it very simple and easy to use for anyone who is new to the industry but equally for those that are waxing experts.”

The Just Wax Expert range will be available from July via wholesalers nationwide. 

www.salonsystem.com