The Refinery

11/20/09

Great Brazilians and affordable too!

by blackninja at Citysearch

The Refinery is by far the best place to go for a full brazilian wax. The staff is very professional, friendly, and they care about you as a customer. Waxing was nearly pain free and absolutely the best I have ever received. The cost is definitely a plus too. I would highly recommend The Refinery to everyone I know.

• Pros: Friendly staff, professional demeanor, cost
• Cons: none

09/16/09

Don't trust Refinery's inexperience with your Brazilian

by beth216 at Citysearch

I would like to tee this up by saying I have been getting Brazilian waxes for over six years, every six to eight weeks or so - not a novice with the service, and have definitely experienced varying degrees of quality & (unpleasant) sensations during them from service providers all over the country. Some degree of pain comes with the territory, but I have never been prompted to write an unfavorable review until now.

I have been in MN about two years, and after trial and error, found the Refinery. I was pretty happy with the Refinery - you see a different esthetician each time which means inconsistency, but the wax they use worked well with my skin for both Brows and Brazilians and the price cannot be beat. The Brazilian waxes are over in 15 minutes so you do not get the precision (tweezing, etc.) that you do with a spa, but I wouldn't expect it for the price and time allotted.

I had a routine Brow & Brazilian booked at the Refinery in April '09 and was seen by a esthetician new to the Refinery. While I was happy with the brow shape she did, the Brazilian technique she used did not feel right during the service, and I was in so much pain afterwards I had to waddle for two days. The second night after the service, I inspected the situation with a mirror and found that my private area was an angry looking purple and red - and still in enough pain that I needed to take Advil through the third day after the service. My significant other of several years confirmed that I had never looked like that before following my Brazilians. There were no unique factors on my side (I am a natural blonde whose hair is very sparse down there after years of this service and was mid-cycle; I know having your period can make skin more sensitive - not the case here).

It was an awful, traumatizing experience - especially after contacting the salon to report what hat happened. The receptionist said that someone would contact me to discuss this, but they never did. No replacement (repeat) service was offered, and they didn't even seem to be concerned with the level of service they provide and the fact that broken skin in such a wax is what I would consider unsanitary and risky. In the future, it may cost me twice the price, but I won't ever entrust a Brazilian wax to the Refinery again.

• Pros: Cost
• Cons: Inexperience + Brazilian = Traumatized delicate bits

03/30/09

Cheap prices but experience of technicians lacking

by localbeans at Citysearch

I agree with the other posts that say you can't beat the price for a Brazilian but I also agree with the variability of service. I've been there many many times for waxing and this weekend I used a gift certificate for a facial, a body scrub, massage and paraffin dip. The woman doing the facial clearly didn't know what she was doing. It was absolutely awful. She used the wrong products for my skin type. Many of them burned when applied. When I asked her why she was doing what she was doing she had to consult a sheet and read me what it said. Two days later and my skin still looks raw and splotchy. During the body scrub the technician had me sit up instead of flipping over. It was all very awkward and at one point he even said out loud - I am so confused. The massage was more like an application of lotion. And he missed many spots all together. He didn't even massage my legs at all. Additionally the towels they used in both the facial and the body treatment are so old and scratchy they are painful! They also look dirty. When I asked him the benefits of the paraffin dip he said "I don't know." Then, the worst part was he said, "Lucky you - looks like you get out of here early!" I probably was lucky - but a rushed spa treatment isn't a benefit -- it's a ripoff.

• Pros: great prices
• Cons: Variable service, lacking experience or technicians