Kim's Story
Where It All Started I was born in the bedroom of my mum and dad’s council flat in Whitechapel, East London, later moving along the road to Stepney where I lived for most of my life before moving to Essex.
The Stars Aligned At 18yrs of age and bored one day at work with nothing to do but answer the phone, I saw a huge pile of magazines on the floor in the corner. The top one was a copy of Look Now Magazine and there was a competition inside. I completed it and sent it off in the post...the closing date was the next day (fate). The questions were based on basic beauty routines, but the winner was decided on wit and personality. Along with the other eleven finalists, I was interviewed by a panel of beauty editors and experts, and I was crowned the winner, Miss Personality Girl! So cheesy, but I love it! The prize was life changing for me and ignited my passion for beauty because it included a private beauty course. Also included was a month-long course at Lucy Clayton Finishing School for girls. This was where the rich girls were sent by their parents. Despite being the only Cockney girl there, I didn’t care, and I had a ball with the other posh girls. Laughter is a universal language.
Just The Two of Us At the age of 25, I had my only child, by wonderful daughter Amy, and it’s always been just the two of us. Amy is now a vital part of the business behind the scenes.
You've gotta do what you've gotta do I was stony broke with no financial support and I had to get a job with a regular income to support us. So I worked in offices and did various other jobs along the way, including salon work, trying my hand at many things to make a good life for Amy and me, but waxing was my passion because I loved the immediate results and chatting to people.
Leap of Faith Having done waxing on the side for many years, I started my ‘waxing only’ business, renting a room in the attic of an old fashioned hair salon. The owners of the salon wouldn’t allow me to even put cards out in reception, let alone put a poster on the window to let people know that I was there. Despite this, I became so busy that I was working all hours and turning people away. It was then that I realised the power of ‘Word of Mouth’, and to this day I have never paid to advertise…not for my waxing, not for my products and not for my training.
Changing With The Times Brazilian waxing wasn’t even a thing in the UK until the late 1990’s, early 2000's when it came over from the U.S. There was no formal training in the U.K. and those that were brave enough to do it just made it up as they went along (like me). Deciding that this wasn’t good enough, I decided to develop my own unique techniques for male and female intimate waxing. I had three aims – safety, speed and results.
Word Got Out Word spread and therapists started asking if I'd train them. I could only do 121's or small groups at first as I was still above the hair salon, but then I progressed to having my own training studio. That's when my life and business changed beyond recognition. Not only had I travelled far and wide to teach my technique, but students would travel from all over the UK and around the world just to be trained by me. Not just because of my waxing skills, but because of my no-nonsense attitude for high standards.
Time to Grow I started to get bored and disillusioned with the different waxes that I'd been using as they didn’t quite do it all. There were too many waxes that just weren’t necessary. I even tried some cheap brands, just in case it’s true when they say, ‘wax is wax’. It’s not! They were awful to work with, so you really do (or should) get what you pay for. Anyone can build a great website and advertise their wax as being the best, but the proof is when you use them day in, day out.
Being in Limbo I'd reached a turning point in my career and decided to have my own waxes made. I was so nervous as I had big shoes to fill. In 2018, after two years of tweaking my waxes with the creators of my waxes, I finally plucked up the courage to launch. With no more than a Facebook post, saying something like ‘Hi. I’m launching my wax tomorrow’, our online shop crashed several times that week. I was blown away that people would put so much faith in me. My wax sales continue to grow, with customers regularly switching from well-known brands to mine...Kim Lawless Wax.
Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining In 2020, like many of us, my waxing and training business came to an abrupt halt overnight with the enforced Covid lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. Salons had to close, and my insurers were adamant that face-to-face and group training could not commence, despite other trainers continuing. I then became very ill and believing that good comes out of bad, I vowed that I would never be dictated to again and I decided to take my training online. I believe that without lockdown I'd have stayed stagnant.
Not bad for an old chick from the East End!