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Spanish Fork waxing studio pushes welcoming atmosphere for men and women

By Ryne Williams daily Herald - | Jan 26, 2021
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Gia Carter, owner and CEO of the Brazilianaire Studio, opened up the studio with a focus on women empowerment and acceptance of both female and male clients.

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Gia Carter, owner and CEO of the Brazilianaire Studio, opened up the studio with a focus on women empowerment and acceptance of both female and male clients.

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Gia Carter, owner and CEO of the Brazilianaire Studio, opened up the studio with a focus on women empowerment and acceptance of both female and male clients.

Gia Carter’s story started 16 years ago after she had attended hair school and realized she hated doing hair. She then transitioned into waxing, deciding she wanted to pull out people’s hair instead.

While at aesthetics school in 2009, Brazilian waxing was something she had to learn.

“I was the only one married in my class, I felt really insecure and awful,” Carter said. “Me being ethnic, Navajo, my hair is a lot different than your typical person’s hair so it’s excruciating to be waxed.”

Following her experience she became determined to find a method that was not as painful. Through travel across the country with her husband, Tim, Gia would get waxed and then take notes, both good and bad, to possibly implement techniques into her method.

Carter soon became the top Brazilian waxer in her class and refined a technique that implements numbing both before and after the wax to minimize pain, something she says she has not typically seen in Utah County.

“I started out of my little house back in 2009 and got a clientele base of 450, so I decided to go big and open a retail front,” Carter said.

She opened the studio, Brazilianaire Studio in Spanish Fork, with a big emphasis on female empowerment, something that hits close to home for Carter.

After her mother passed away, Carter realized how much she depended on her husband. Her purpose was found through her mother’s death, and with some questions about supporting her family if something were to happen to her husband, she decided to start her business.

After opening the studio, Carter filled the space with neon signs of “girl power” messages and body positivity.

Another crucial message for Carter is the acceptance of everyone who steps into the studio.

“I went all over the country getting waxes and probably at 90% of the facilities I did not feel welcomed,” Carter said. “They were really snotty, I felt like an inconvenience, and so when I opened my studio, I was like, ‘Screw that, I’m going to be a difference, I want to be a bright spot in somebody’s day.’ I want to make these women feel united, I want them to feel powerful, I want them to feel loved and accepted, and you feel that the minute you walk in.”

This message also includes men that come into the studio.

After opening the retail space in May of 2020, Carter started to open her books to males. There are limited Utah County studios that offer Brazilian waxes for men, or as Carter calls them, “Brozilians.”

She did not want to offer Brazilian waxes for males until she had an actual location, but as she began to wax some of her clients’ husbands, word started to spread.

“Either you tell your buddies and they give you a hard time that you go get waxed, kind of like a taboo thing among men, or you walk in and feel super embarrassed because you feel judged,” Tim Carter said of the waxing experience for men.

After Tim experienced many of the stereotypes that surround waxing for men, Gia was further driven to welcome in male clients.

Tim said he loves seeing other men breaking down those walls and changing their perspective of waxing, adding that the male clients Gia sees are from all walks of life.

What started as 450 female clients in her home has since expanded to over 1,800 clients with approximately 50 to 60 males. This also does not include the clients of her other employees at the studio.

When asked what is next, Carter said that she is hoping to eventually pass her clientele over to the other employees at the studio so she can become a full-time owner.

She built the company to train others to use her method, be consistent and spread her message. With that accomplished, she said she has her hands full with her 4-year-old daughter and younger twins.

To learn more about the studio and the services offered, visit its website at thebrazilianairestudio.com.

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