Brow to Toe Waxing and Skin Care Studio

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Welcome to the Topsoil

Intro

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Insider podcast where you can hear all about the businesses and events in the beautiful coastal towns of the greater Topsoil area of North Carolina .

Coming Up

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Coming up , are you wanting lush lashes , beautiful brows , clear , healthy skin ? Then pay attention . I'm interviewing Ms Nakea Vargas , owner of Brow to Toe Waxing and Skincare Studio , and she's going to tell us about the many services Brow to Toe offers , the skin care line she's created and how she helps fellow business owners with her coaching and consulting

Sponsor - Saltwater Suites

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Experience .

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A new level of luxury on Topsoil Island . At Saltwater Suites in Surf City , north Carolina . With no nightly minimum , you can enjoy short getaways or an extended stay . Each suite features luxury bedding , fully equipped kitchens with dining tables and dishwashers , front-loading washers and dryers and , of course , ocean views . And 24-7 self-check-in provides a hassle-free and seamless experience . Saltwater Suites is the perfect choice for your next beach getaway . Book your next Topsoil visit at saltwatertopsoilcom or call 910-886-4818 . Saltwater Suites Topsoilin's premier luxury hospitality experience .

Introduction to Brow to Toe and Nakia

Speaker 1 1:35

Hello everyone , welcome to the Topsoil Insider podcast . My name is Krista and I am your host . Today I am interviewing Ms Nikia Vargas . She is the owner and CEO of Brow to Toe Waxing and Skincare Studio in Hampstead , north Carolina . Hi , nikia , how are you doing ? I'm doing well , krista . How are you today ? I'm doing fantastic . Thank you so much for being here . Thank you for having me . Brow to Toe offers many advanced skincare services and programs , along with lashes , brows and hair removal , and we'll discuss all of those with you , nikia . I'll let you go into more detail about those programs . Brow to Toe is open Tuesdays through Fridays 8 30 to 5 pm and Saturdays 8 30 to1 , and it is by appointment only . Do you take walk-ins ?

Speaker 2 2:24

at all Chances are we will not be able to accommodate a walk-in appointment , so we encourage our clients to look online and use the online scheduling or call ahead .

Speaker 1 2:35

So definitely call ahead and make your appointment . Ladies and gentlemen , you have male clients as well .

Speaker 2 2:40

Yes , we have male clients and we love our male clients Awesome

Lashes

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.

Speaker 1 2:43

Alright , so let's talk about some of the services that are offered at Brow to Toe . Start with the lash extensions . On your website , I noticed that you put American versus London . What are the differences there ?

Speaker 2 2:55

The biggest difference for the client is the American volume is going to be not as thick as the London volume .

Speaker 1 3:04

And how long does it take to apply , let's say , the American lash extensions ? How long does that process take ?

Speaker 2 3:10

Both the American volume and the London volume take the same amount of time . The appointment time is about three hours . During that time I do a pre consultation and also do a post consultation . The application is anywhere from about two hours and 15 minutes to 30 minutes . Okay , and how long did they last ? With amazing care and nuts , with following the home care regimen and using the products , clients can expect to come back in about four weeks and when they come back in four weeks you can't tell they need to get them filled . But obviously we can tell the client and I can tell that they need them filled and that's the one reason I partnered with Novelash the excellent training . But Novelash has amazing products , okay what is an eyelash lift ?

Speaker 2 3:59

An eyelash lift is great for those ladies who have naturally long and thick eyelashes , and basically it's an eyelash perm that curls your lashes semi permanently , almost as if you use an eyelash curler .

Speaker 1 4:14

And this is only with natural eyelashes . You can't do that with extensions applied .

Speaker 2 4:19

No , you cannot . It's only with your natural lashes . An eyelash lift is an excellent substitute for those who don't want to invest the time , the money , in eyelash extensions . But , as I mentioned earlier , they must have naturally thick and long , healthy lashes in order to get the

True Brow Program

Speaker 2 4:38

eyelash lift .

Speaker 1 4:38

Let's talk about your true brow program . I looked on your website . I got to see the before and afters and it's such a huge transition . I had no idea it would be that big of a difference that you can make in the brows . As a woman who probably over plucked in the 90s , how do you add volume to my very thin eyebrows ? How do you make them look that amazing ?

Speaker 2 5:02

One of the misconceptions for women is that our brow hairs don't grow . Now , there are some instances where the hair does not regrow , but nine times out of ten , if we leave the hair alone and if we have a healthy diet and if we're taking care of our skin , keeping those pores nice and clean , you will notice the hair will come back . Most of the clients I work with , it takes them anywhere from a year to 18 months to experience that regrowth . For some of those who had sparse brows . I also work with some clients who we like to call it a transformation brow , which is more of an unruly , male-looking brow . I'm able to create more of a softer , feminine look based on that person's natural features .

Speaker 1 5:48

There's a consultation and a design phase . What is involved with designing a brow ?

Speaker 2 5:53

Most brow services are in and out type thing , but a woman's brow can do a lot to the face . Your brow can make you look angry . It can make you look sad , surprised , sick . A brow has the power to change a woman's face and for our true brow , that first appointment . You're looking at approximately one hour and you're probably thinking what are you doing to a brow for one hour With true brow ? I can't tell you everything because their information is intellectual property , but there's a lot of intensive training involved with true brow . I spent days just doing brows at their trainings and then we do weekly brow trainings online where we're watching them work through other people's brows , for example . I had never thought about this , but people from different races , ethnic groups , their hairs grow differently . I had never had an Asian client , but I sat through the training on true brow watching them do an Asian client's brow and when I got my first Asian client , I knew exactly what to do with that brow because if I would have treated it like any other , brow .

Speaker 2 7:05

I would have completely messed up her brow .

Speaker 1 7:07

How about that ? And I also didn't even think that your brows do make you look happy or sad or angry . There's a lot that goes into the brows . I just didn't think about it all . Can the brow and design and the first session ? Can all that take place in the same day , or you have to split it up ?

Speaker 2 7:26

We like to split up the consultation and the design . We need to do a patch test to make sure you're not going to have an allergic reaction to the tint we use . We want to give that a two-day window for the patch test .

Speaker 1 7:40

And maintenance for the brows . How often do you go in ?

Speaker 2 7:43

Maintenance is going to be dependent on the individual's hair growth . That could be anywhere from three weeks to six weeks , depending on the individual

Hair Removal

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. Gotcha .

Speaker 1 7:52

Let's talk about hair removal , and on your website there's a long list of things that you can have hair removed from . I encourage everyone to go to the website and take a look at that list yourself .

Speaker 2 8:03

My name- is Brow2Toe Waxing . That's how I came up with the name . When I worked elsewhere , Someone called and wanted to know what do we wax ?

Speaker 1 8:14

And I said we wax everything from brow to toe , arm pits , backs , shoulders , bikini areas , the buttocks , the only thing we don't wax is the top of the head and we don't do the men's beards .

Speaker 2 8:28

It is tender and we know it would be very painful , but also because of the way the hair grows , you could potentially lacerate the skin .

Speaker 1 8:37

Okay , if you were going to do my legs , how long do I have to let the hair grow out before you can do the legs ?

Speaker 2 8:44

We prefer about four weeks of hair growth . I know that sounds like a long time , but the wax has to encapsulate the hair so we can get a good grip and pull it out .

Speaker 1 8:56

Okay , is there anything else that people need to know about hair removal before we move on ?

Speaker 2 9:01

The only recommendation I would have for hair removal is if you want to use waxing as a form of hair removal for the summer , I recommend that you start no later than April . By that point you would have probably waxed about three times and you won't have the regrowth as often as you would the first two or three times . So the results will last longer .

Skin Fitness Programs

Speaker 1 9:27

So I noticed on your website that you offer skin fitness programs and I wanted you to tell me a little bit about that . If you're after a specific goal , you're going to take them through a program to get to the goal ?

Speaker 2 9:40

Yes , our skin fitness program is something I designed based on my own skin care journey . What I realized is you can use products and you can get skin care treatments , but if you're not consistent or if you're not using the proper products and getting the right treatments , you're not going to get those results . And I came up with the skin fitness program based on the different skin concerns , and that program is something we use . But we also customize our appointments with our clients because no two people are the same and our skin care needs change from one visit to the next .

Speaker 1 10:20

Okay , let's talk about your consultations . Tell me about the computerized photographing that you do .

Speaker 2 10:25

I absolutely love the skin analysis machine . All the clients love it . One of the benefits of this machine is it allows us to be proactive with our skin care . Obviously , if I have acne , that's something you can see , but some of the things you can't see with the naked eye may be the texture of the skin . That's my favorite screen . It shows how smooth it is , so we know if we need to focus on exfoliation . It'll tell us if we need to focus on sun damage , because sun damage at the deeper layers is something we can't see now , but it'll show up in five years and if we can identify it now , we can be proactive with our treatments and our products and even our lifestyle changes , so that you can have the skin that you want and deserve five or 10 years from now . One of my favorite quotes by Coco Chanel is nature gives you the skin you have at 20 , but nurture gives you the skin you have at 50 .

Speaker 1 11:20

Is there any hope for the people who didn't catch it early enough to sun damage that we can correct the damage that's already done ? That's already showing up ?

Speaker 2 11:30

Yes , ma'am , we do have products and treatments that can help you reverse those conditions . There are some amazing products and services we offer at Brown and Toe that can help with pigmentation . That can also help with lifting the skin . One of my favorites is microcurrent . That's like a workout for the skin helps to lift those muscles . How do you do a microcurrent ? We use electricity to stimulate the skin and the muscles , so we're producing that collagen and also we're exercising those muscles , in a sense , and we're putting them back to where they were when we were a little bit younger .

Speaker 1 12:04

Okay , let's talk about get to know your skin facial . This is a part of the consultation , right . This is so that you can get to know my skin as a client right To get to know your skin .

Speaker 2 12:15

facial is actually for you to get to know your skin , because most people don't have a clue about their skin . They don't understand about the products that we're using . So we use this time as an opportunity to educate the clients on their unique skin , educate them on the products that they may be using and the products they may need to and when I say products , I'm actually talking more about ingredients , because it's the ingredients that matter most .

Speaker 1 12:42

It is a 45-minute peptide facial and I don't know what a peptide is . Can you tell me what that is Peptides ?

Speaker 2 12:50

are amino acids that make up the proteins that we have in our skin . Common proteins that you've probably heard of are collagen and elastin . Yes , these are proteins that help us with the wrinkles and they keep our skin from sagging . When we get to be about 25 , we lose about 1% of that each year , and as women lucky for us when we get to be about 51 , we start to experience menopause . So within that first few years of reaching menopause , we automatically lose another 20 to 30% . Wonderful . So by that time we've lost about 50% of our collagen and elastin , and what the peptides do is help you continue to reproduce that a little bit faster than what you would on your own .

Speaker 1 13:39

Okay , you mentioned that you had bad acne when you came out of the military and that's what drove you to become an esthetician . Tell me about your Clear Skin Acne Program , the .

Speaker 2 13:51

Clear Skin Acne Program is very near and dear to me because I had acne as an adult , which I think is worse , because people look at you strange because someone my age isn't supposed to have acne . I was afraid to go anywhere without makeup , so my goal was to be able to leave my house and feel confident without wearing foundation . Through that journey I learned a lot about the connection between what we eat , our habits , the products we use and also the services that we get for that condition and I put everything together and I came up with the Clear Skin Program . The Clear Skin Program is for acne , but it's also tailored towards each individual acne client , because some may have acne with just the breakout , some may have acne with pigmentation marks , some may have acne with aging , some may have acne with dry skin . So we really tailor it towards the individual . It's not a cookie cutter program , but I do stress a lot about diet and lifestyle .

Speaker 1 14:56

I was going to ask you if you give them a healthier diet to follow .

Speaker 2 15:00

So I cannot give them a diet because I'm not a nutritionist , but I can definitely make some recommendations and I sit down and see what it is they may be eating and talk about how those foods can impact the hormones , because a lot of it has to do with our hormones . It's a 12 week program . I will say most people end up staying in the program for about six months because with the acne there's usually the breakouts . We get those under control and then from the breakouts we usually have some type of pigmentation we need to deal with .

Speaker 1 15:32

Gotcha Okay . The Restoring Radiance Program . What can you tell me about that ?

Speaker 2 15:37

That's more for anyone who has pigmentation , dull skin , rosacea , anything that may cause their skin not to have that nice , healthy glow they may have had when they were in their 20s .

Speaker 1 15:50

Yeah , what about this one ? I'm really interested in the Non-Surgical Facelift Program .

Speaker 2 15:56

The Non-Surgical Facelift Program is the microcurrent I spoke about earlier , and we are literally lifting the skin using electricity . The awesome thing about microcurrent is you can use it over your entire body , unless you have some metal in the body or , of course , if you are someone with a pacemaker , something along those lines . That would be a contraindication . You wouldn't want to use it , but otherwise you can use it all over your body . I've done some butt lifting , have you ?

Speaker 1 16:26

really you attach electrodes and it just like tenses up the muscles . Yes , it works .

Speaker 2 16:33

That it's good for stretch marks , really it does . Tightening of the skin it helps with the production of collagen and elastin . It's good for controlling the sebum or the oil in the skin , so I will use it with my acne clients .

Speaker 1 16:48

Got it . Okay , that's fascinating . Okay , you have prosal microchanneling . Is that a part of the programs or is that something you do separately ? And what is it ?

Speaker 2 16:59

Prosal . Microchanneling is actually a new service that we added at the beginning of the year and I'm actually still in the case study phase for that and that will eventually be its own program . But in a nutshell , with microchanneling it is similar to micro needling . The only difference is , instead of dragging the needles across the skin , we're actually stamping the needles into the skin and it gives a more targeted treatment and it is considered to be more natural compared to some of the other therapies like chemical peels . Chemical peels were the rave for some years , but we're starting to learn that we don't need to damage our skin and we don't need to walk around with red skin for days and peeling in order to create the same results and the microchanneling that would help with pigmentation ?

Speaker 2 17:54

Yes , microchanneling is good for pigmentation . We have different depths of needles , and the depth of the needle is determined by what it is that we're working on .

Speaker 1 18:04

Okay , the firming peptide mask which I have learned about . Thank you very much . And derma planing . I've heard derma planing . I don't know really what it is . Can you tell me about that ?

Speaker 2 18:15

Yes , derma planing is a treatment we use to exfoliate the skin , but of course , the hair is attached to the skin by default . The derma planing will not only take the dead skin from your face , but it will also get rid of the peach fuzz .

Speaker 1 18:32

Peach fuzz ? Yes , ma'am . Okay , what is an oxygen rx facial ?

Speaker 2 18:36

An oxygen facial is basically giving your skin a boost of oxygen and for people with acne it's amazing , because one of the reasons we have issues is because we can't we have the bacteria and we can't get enough oxygen in the skin to kill the bacteria . So it's good for those people with acne . It's also good for those with rosacea and the oxygen facial is also great for everyone else , because it is getting that oxygen to the skin which is going to help to bring those nutrients and blood to the skin and you're going to have this nice , glowing , smooth appearance .

Speaker 1 19:13

Okay , that sounds wonderful . Now , I do know some people with skin tag , so when I saw this , I found this quite interesting skin sheik , skin tag treatment and especially when I read it was minor downtime and minor discomfort as well . So tell me about what that process is and how it works with the skin sheik skin tag treatment .

Speaker 2 19:34

We are not removing them , but we are dehydrating them , and after a few days they just fall off .

Speaker 1 19:41

You are kidding me . That is amazing . Wow , after just a few days .

Speaker 2 19:45

Yes , sometimes I would say two to three days . That's amazing .

Speaker 1 19:49

Okay , ms Nakia , you offer a lot of services and I'm blown away at your before and afters and I'm so excited to go in there and try some things myself

Team Members

Speaker 1 19:58

. On your website you mentioned that you have a very deliberate hiring process and you do ongoing training for your employees . Can you tell me a little bit about that ?

Speaker 2 20:08

When I got ready to hire , I thought about what I would want as an employee and I actually refer to my employees as team members but what it is I wanted and I thought about the fact that school prepares us to take the licensing test , but they don't prepare us to really enter the workforce and be proficient . So I decided when I do hire , I'm going to hire based on soft skills and spend a lot of time training them in those technical skills . Things like empathy , for example , is one of the traits that one of my team members have , and that's something you need when you're working with people who have skin conditions . I remember I had my acne , although I had the physical scars , their psychological scarring that's going on that people don't see , but you have to be empathetic towards that when you're working with people .

Nakira Skin - New Skin Care Line

Speaker 1 21:08

So something that is really exciting you have started your own skincare line . Yes , ma'am , Nekira Skin , Nekira Skin , and tell me how you came up with the name .

Speaker 2 21:17

Nekira my daughter , randy , actually came up with the name . She combined the four letters of my first name with the first two letters of her first name , so Nekira from Nice .

Speaker 1 21:29

It's a nice name too for the product . I really like it . She did a great job . So what prompted you to venture out and create your own line of skincare products ?

Speaker 2 21:38

My acne has driven a lot of my decisions , as well as aging now , and I was looking for products that would be great for those who have acne , but also for those who are aging , and those products were perfect for me and my daughter and both . Our journey , because she has a little acne too , is what really inspired , so I wanted something she could use and something I could use as well . If you look at our logo , you see a picture of a flower , but that flower represents the older person , myself passing that skincare down to that younger person .

Speaker 1 22:13

I love that . This is really exciting . Tell me about the process . What is involved ? How did you create your own product , your clients will often become your friends .

Speaker 2 22:23

I had the pleasure of meeting a lady who I didn't know at the time lived in my neighborhood and she is a biochem PhD candidate , and when I was talking with her about skincare products and some things that I was thinking she was a wealth of knowledge for me . I used her . There are also labs that you can work with to help you create these products . So the biggest thing for me is understanding the ingredients and how they work in the skin , and if you understand that and partner with the people who have the know how , it's a pretty simple process .

Speaker 1 22:57

Wow , I think that's so exciting . That's really cool . I would be so proud of that . So are you starting to use your product line in your studio ?

Speaker 2 23:06

Yes , we've been using the Cura Skin at Brow to Toe for about a year and a half now .

Speaker 1 23:12

Can we order the products online or just pick them up at the studio ?

Speaker 2 23:16

You can order them online , necureskincom , or you may pick them up at the studio . Okay , alrighty .

Business Coaching

Speaker 1 23:29

Now you do something that's outside of the skincare realm and I want to talk a little bit about that . Tell me about the coaching that you do .

Speaker 2 23:39

Here I mentioned the type of environment I wanted for my team members and as I was moving around in the aesthetic space in different groups and rooms , I noticed a lot of people who were in my position as solo estheticians were struggling because a lot of them didn't have the foundation that I had , for example , the experience in the Marine Corps . I had the education in business and they were struggling . They were closing their businesses and at that time I was working with a coach myself and she asked me if I wanted to be on her team as a coach , because she noticed I was very active in helping people and giving solid advice . In 2021 , I started coaching other aesthetic business owners up until 2023 . And the reason I shifted my focus is because I noticed a common trend with the business owners is a lot of them were really great at their craft . They had their businesses , but a lot of them did not know who they were at the core .

Speaker 2 24:42

And our businesses are an extension of who we are , and oftentimes if you're not operating your business in alignment with who you are , you don't do so well or you struggle with that .

Speaker 2 24:56

So that's what prompted me to get certified as a Gallup Strengths Coach and now I'm able to help everyone in any field and I know I also have a degree in marketing and as a marketer .

Speaker 2 25:08

We know that it's ideal to have a niche . But I don't want to niche because I want to help anyone who's on that hamster wheel get off , and part of that is really sitting down and figuring out who you are at the core and having a business that's in alignment with you and that's how brow to toe is my business is in alignment with my values . So , even though I may have an aesthetics business and the person down the street may have one , I operate my business completely different and I do it based on me and how I want to show up in the world , and that's what I want to help those business owners do that because when we are fighting against who we are and , if we're , when we're trying to be like everyone else and duplicate what other people are doing , it's hard but it's easy to be Krista , it's easy to be Nikia . We are naturally good at some things than others , but I'll give you an example . I am a big-time introvert , but you probably would have guessed that .

Speaker 2 26:12

No , I'm a big-time introvert , but I run my business in a way that aligns with that . Who we are doesn't necessarily tell us what we shouldn't do , but more so of how we should do it . I have a website for my coaching at strengthsignitesuccesscom , and I also do social media .

Speaker 1 26:32

Is there anything else that you would like the listeners to know about your business coaching ?

Speaker 2 26:37

Yes , not necessarily specifically my business coach . If you are someone who's listening and you are in business or you're considering going in business , I highly encourage you to find a business coach . I would love it if it's me , but if it's not , find a business coach because that's someone who is on your team and can help you along the way and they can see things that you can't see , because oftentimes as a business owner , you're so busy with the day to day that you can't see the forest for

Final Thoughts

Speaker 2 27:11

the trees .

Speaker 1 27:11

Okay , nikia , tell me about your future plans with , either with your skincare products or your studio , or even the business coaching or something else that we don't know about yet , what you got up your sleeve .

Speaker 2 27:23

I don't know that I have anything else up my sleeves . I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do when I grow up Me too , but for right now I can see myself staying at brow to toe . I want to get some more team members in , because our community is growing . I want to be able to serve our growing community and I also feel that eventually I'm going to get too old or maybe not too old I shouldn't say that , but it puts wear and tear on the body and I may not be able to work as much as I would like or as I am now , and I want to eventually move myself out of there as much as I am and just grow and develop the future . Estheticians who are coming up .

Contact Information, Closing Remarks

Speaker 1 28:04

We covered a lot . Thank you so much for joining me , nikiya . I really appreciate it . I appreciate your time . I think that you are a class act from the moment that I met you and I wish you all the best with your studio and with your coaching and with your new product line , especially Now . I am going to give out the contact and location information for you . Tell me if I have anything wrong here . You can find and follow Brow2toe on Facebook and Instagram . The address is 15489 , highway 17 . She's in suite number two in Hampstead , north Carolina . The website is brow2toecom , email is info at brow2toecom and the phone number is 910-650-4273 . So thank you , listeners , for joining us today . Thank you again , nikiya . It's been a pleasure getting to know you and getting to know Brow2toe . Thank you , it was a pleasure being here with you today .

Topsail Insider Info

Speaker 1 29:02

Hey , thank you for joining me today on Topsoil Insider . If you liked today's episode , please hit the follow or subscribe button so that you can get the Topsoil Insider podcast delivered automatically to whichever podcast platform you're listening on . And if you're a business owner and you wish to set up a pre-interview or you want to advertise , please email me at topsilinsider at gmailcom . Please also find and like the Topsoil Insider Facebook page . I provide links to the new podcast there each week , as well as providing photos of the businesses that I'm highlighting , along with any of their upcoming events . So , hey , let's do this again next week . I'll see you around Topsoil .