Mary Gayner-Paul is the owner of Amethyst Salons, one at 190 California Ave., and a new one at 1960 N. Sierra St. Just as the university is wrapping up classes, I noticed one of my former students Facebooking about the salon: “Awesome new nail/tanning/waxing salon right by campus. Great deals for students this week during finals!” That struck me as an interesting topic to be thinking about as finals and deadlines loomed, so it must be news. At any rate, for more information about the salon, check out www.facebook.com/amethystspa or call 322-2251.
What do you guys do? I’m not that familiar with salons. I’ve never had a mani-pedi, let’s put it that way.
That’s terrible, Brian.
It’s terrible? Do men come in and get mani-pedis?
They do. Once you have it done, then you’ll understand what you’ve been missing.
Really? Isn’t it kind of gross?
No. Well, do you like to be touched? Some people don’t like to be touched. Do you like massages?
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m fine with all that.
Well, men, especially, should get pedicures. When you get old, you get those thick, nasty toenails. If you start getting pedicures as a younger man, then you won’t get those raunchy feet when you get older.
I’ll have to keep that in mind. What else do you do at the salon?
The one on North Sierra is spray tans, Brazilian waxing, vajazzling, pedicures, manicures, nails.
What did you say, vajazzling? What is that?
OK, you’re going to get educated here. Vajazzling is the decorating of the pubic area on a woman.
And how do you do that?
That is with jewels or like glitter tattoos. You can go to the website page, and you can see.
I’m not sure that’s safe for work.
It’s classy; it’s on the pelvic bone. There’s nothing showing.
What is a Brazilian exactly? I know it’s along these lines, but is it whole body or is it just the pubic area?
It’s pubic hair, front and back for females. For males, it’s called a boyzilian.
When I was a student, I couldn’t afford the premium top ramen. How do students do this?
Well, we have a student special for our Brazilian waxing, our brow waxing and the spray tanning. We give a student discount for those. Students these days seem to have a lot more money than when I went to college. I went to college 20 years ago, and I was broke. We do try to make it affordable for the students, and we’re also going to be giving back to the students as well as soon as the fall semester starts.
You are an aesthetician. What is that?
An aesthetician is a licensed professional who can do facials, waxing, spray tanning, tinting. Anything to do with skin care.
What do you tint on skin?
Eyebrows and eyelashes.
I am getting an education. So you think there’s a market near the school even with students being broke?
Here in Amethyst 1, we do about 50-plus Brazilians a week. And 70 percent of them are students. Students make up a huge part of my clientele with waxing. Not facials and peels and microderms, they don’t have the money for that. Plus, they don’t need it, they’re too young. But no, they find the money for their waxing. They do. They want those waxings. They find the money, maybe they don’t tell their parents.