Expat Entrepreneurs

After lots of visits to different salons for nail, face, hair and body services, I have concluded that the best places to look for these treatments are from the entrepreneurial expats I've met along the way. Before I'm regarded as someone who doesn't think outside the box, or isn't trying to assimilate - consider this: some of the styles and expectations you have when getting some sort of service done are just different in other countries. I learned this (unfortunately) after being given a mullet-esk haircut, being dyed platinum blond through a highlight cap (have you ever used one of these??  They are dreadfully painful), getting multiple pedicures that involved neither water nor massage (admittedly, the two main reasons that I pay for a pedicure), and getting a massage that involved keeping on all clothing and not laying down. I've had lots of beauty appointments here. I'm sticking with the foreigners!

That's not to say there aren't good services in town. For my first Mother's Day, Jon gave me a massage and facial at the Four Seasons - both were amazing - and both would drain our bank account if done more than once in a blue moon. Value and quality both considered, here are my recommendations.

HAIR: Terrie Orr, BA Hairdresser
Terrie Orr is a delightful woman from Ireland, which makes her even more delightful for the great accent she possesses. She speaks English (goes without saying), her Spanish is quite good and she is a great hairdresser. I have gone to her exclusively for cuts and highlights since my last hairdresser (who lived just a few blocks away) permanently left the country. Making things even better, Terrie has recently moved from Belgrano to Palermo, much closer to my place - always a bonus. You can email her for an appointment, she is very responsive.  Watch out near holiday/travel times, the other expats all want to get their haircut pre-trip too so she books up early at these times. As of 2013 a haircut and color was ~AR$450.  A steal compared to US prices.

BODY: Jennifer Klueppel, Masseuse 
As for body treatments, this is limited to massage for me. For a great massage, I go to Jennifer Klueppel. Jenn is a Canadian that has moved to Argentina "permanently" (as nothing is really permanent in Argentina, just say that she has no immediate plans to leave). She had a place called the Buenos Aires Life Centre that offered massage, yoga and other various services, but then she went and had a baby (a really precious little boy!) and the Life Centre broke up. Jenn will return to massage again after spending time with her newborn and I will be tops on the list of people waiting for her triumphant return. As of 2013 a 1 hour massage was ~AR$300. Compare to the Four Seasons AR$800.

NAILS: Cassandra Wootton, Esthetician

Happy girlie girl

Cassandra is new in town, from chilly Canada and has arrived just in time for hotter-than-anything Argentina. She's just getting started so she is offering some services now with more to come soon. I have had a manicure, pedicure, shellac manicure (this is oh the rage in the north, has yet to appear in mainstream Argentina) and brow waxing. Let me digress by saying that many salons advertise facial waxing (depilacion) yet I have not encountered a single place that actually offers this service. When I've gone to have my eyebrows waxed, depilacion de cejas, I have sat while someone goes to town on my face with a tweezers. Ouch. Back to Cassandra: She's fantastic. Great products, great massage for both manicure and pedicure and all around nice to chat with. Her prices are more than fair, and on one occasion she even made the trek out to my house so that I didn't have to leave the kiddos (obviously, I paid her transportation). On this same occasion, my daughter woke up early and saw the end of my manicure - she was jealous to say the least. Cassandra, without hesitation, painted my 2-year-old's nails alternating shades of green and pink. She has made insta-friends with Gretchen, and ranks pretty highly in my book as well. As of 2013 a regular manicure & pedicure were ~AR$350.

So contact them, book with them, and enjoy the wonder of finding hidden gems within a world of bad highlights and water-less pedicures. You're welcome in advance :)

Baby Belly Lotions

As I am reaching the end of my pregnancy, I need to pay homage to two products that I would recommend to anyone adorned with the lovely ginorm-a-belly that pregnancy will give you. Buckle up everyone, my first true product reviews lie ahead.

First up, Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Massage Lotion for Stretch Marks. Don't let the name fool you, you don't need to have stretch marks to start using this lotion.

During our trip to the US back in October, which is subsequently the only time during my pregnancy that we were in the US, my mom had two bottles of this lotion waiting for me and strongly urged me to start using it tout suite. After using 2 pumps a day in the morning after I shower, I am now on my 3rd bottle. It's moisturizing, has a nice consistency and doesn't get thick and or oily. Each bottle is under $8.00 and it can be picked up at any CVS, Target, Walmart, or it's available for order on Amazon, in case you're ordering it for someone to smuggle to another country for you. Sorry Argentina, as far as I know, Palmer's has not made it here yet.

I've read all sorts of literature on stretch marks, and I understand that the major indicator on determining if you will get them is heredity. That being said, even if there is a small chance that moisturizing your skin will help you avoid/reduce the possibility of getting these lovely marks, I'm game to try anything. If nothing else, lotion helps the dry skin itchiness that stretching your belly to the limit will give you.


The second product that I've used is a less mainstream option. I found this adorable little container in my Christmas stocking from my mother-in-law who brought it all the way from central Virginia-based Soothing Herbals. Soothing Herbals makes all natural, preservative-free products and has a nice Mama & Baby line.

Clearly, when you go from mainstream to local business, the price goes up a bit, but I've been using my 4oz jar of belly butter at night before bed since Christmas Day and I bet it will last me to delivery. The consistency of this product is a little thicker and a bit more oily so I opt to use it before bed. This gives it more time to soak in and allows me to wear looser clothing over top (as opposed to the elastic-waisted bottoms I've been wearing for the last 7 months). The belly butter has a pleasant, but not overly flowery or medicinal smell and my skin feels nice and soft in the mornings. If you do not happen to be located in central Virginia, I believe Soothing Herbals does a mail order business and they have plenty more in their line of products versus just momma-related items.

So there you have it. I have had great luck with these two products, and throughout my pregnancy I have been dry skin and stretch mark free (knock on wood, I still have a few weeks to go...). This is an amazing feat considering how large my belly has gotten, I can't even believe it when I look at the Baby Belly pictures posted.

That, and I have got to stop wearing horizontal stripes!

Nail Salons: Part 2

As I continue my quest for the perfect nail salon, I have a few more contenders to add to the mix. As you may remember from my original Nail Salon post, I am searching for a good, clean, affordable pedicure place in Buenos Aires, and though there are a zillion salons to choose from I have found this to be tricky criteria to fulfill. Here are my most recently visited spots:

Fancy Fingers & Ladygardens
Located in a private residence in Barrio Norte on Parana. House visits also available, with the additional cost of transportation.
15-1300-8565, but email contact is preferred.
A friend originally recommended Sarah, the creator of Fancy Fingers & Ladygardens, as a good waxing person in the city. I visited her website and realized that she had much more to offer than just an eyebrow wax. Sarah and company offer nail services waxing and massages all for incredibly reasonable prices. She operates out of her apartment, which would be strange if she wasn't so incredibly nice and easy to talk to. I highly recommend her for waxing services as well, she has the cleanest room and supplies that I've seen in the city. With regard to her nail services, she gave a seriously thorough pedicure. She used a portable soaking tub (She used water! Hooray!) and unlike every other place I've gone that has used water, she used hot water and actually plugged the tub in for some foot-sauna action (every other place has used a similar tub, but cut the power cord off, thus, never plugging it in). The absolute best part of the whole experience was that she gave a great massage both during the pedicure and manicure. The massage is included in the cost of the service too, so you don't have to specifically request it or anything - music to my ears. Sarah had a pretty large variety of colors to choose from, although she readily admits that she wishes she had more O.P.I. brand, but they are ridiculously expensive here. This enjoyable morning of pampering was augmented by her pet turtle that wandered around the apartment while I was there - I thought this was adorable. Sarah is my new favorite, you feel like you've known her for years after 10 minutes or so, and I've already recommended her to my friends.
Products: B+ for color selection, A+ for cleanliness
Services: A
Facility: B+, it's just a tiny bit strange to be in someone's home for spa services.
Price: $100 pesos for a manicure/pedicure combo - excellent!

Estila Recoleta
Av. Pueyrredon 2436
4803-9047
This small hair salon actually offers a nice manicure/pedicure combination. I walked in without an appointment and was helped immediately. I sat on a 1960s-style white pleather couch for both services and it was one of the more comfortable seating arrangements that I have come across. They used a water foot bath, clipped and scrubbed and the whole nine yards. They had a pretty limited selection of colors, but the colors I choose lasted for a really long time without chipping. There was no massage, which is pretty normal here but now that I've had one included in the service I feel like I was shorted. I like Estila Recoleta, they were clean and prompt and friendly. My only complaint was that it was really hot in the salon to the point where I requested that the AC be turned on. Why the AC wasn't on already on a hot summer day is beyond me. Also, there are two types of pedicures to choose from, if you want more than just a paint-job, you need to specify at the door that you want a "pedicuria".
Products: C
Services: B
Facility: B+
Price: $98 pesos for a manicure/pedicure combo

Branka
Av. del Libertador 902
4812-0462
I won't spend too much time on this review because this was by far the worst pedicure I've ever had. Disappointing too because this is the closest salon to my house, but it was really dismal. I walked in without an appointment, and although they were not busy and took me back right away, the woman mentioned multiple times that I really should have called first. I sat in a standard haircut chair while the technician sat across from me in a cafeteria-style plastic seat. She used a foot bath tub, but then had me prop my feet up on her knees which immediately soaked through with water. Not to mention that I've got a huge baby belly and have a hard time lifting my feet up to her knee level. It was incredibly uncomfortable, and then she cut me to the point of bleeding in at least 3 spots. Gross. I will not be back, with or without an appointment.
Products: C
Services: F
Facility: C
Price: $120 pesos for a pedicure. Most expensive pedicure I've had in BsAs.

I stand by my previous recommendation of The Nail Company and will add Estila Recoleta to the recommendation list. If you have time to make an appointment, definitely call Sarah at Fancy Fingers, she is really worth the forethought.

Nail Salons

FYI - this is going to be a total girl-centric post. You've been warned.

I'm a sucker for some girly pampering; nails, massages, facials, etc, I enjoy them all. These types of services I assumed would be exactly the same, only cheaper here, and I was 50% right. As far as nails are concerned, they are generally cheaper. The biggest difference is the was pedicures are done (sometimes without water!) and the range of services available depending on the salon. It's been interesting trying to find any sort of information on nail salons in the area, there really isn't much out there to be seen.

I have only tried a couple of places, but here are my thoughts on the few places I've been:

The Nail Company
Riobamba 1164
4815-2139
I really like this place - it's clean, the people are nice and the prices are right. There are two locations, I've only been to the Barrio Norte location, but it's the best all around experience out of the salons I've been to. So far as I can tell there are no walk-in appointments, so be sure to call first. There are several different types of manicure and pedicure services ranging from basic to paraffin dip to the "super perfect" which includes paraffin, exfoliation and a massage. The facility is quite nice, but they are missing the great massage chairs with an attached foot bath like they have in the US. Instead you get a plastic portable foot tub (like the one every mother has received for Mother's Day at some point), but it serves it's function just fine. They also use all of their own products, which are nice, but I still prefer the O.P.I. brand polish since there are so many additional color choices in their line.
Products: B+
Services: A
Facility: A

Nail Designers
Juncal 1615
4813-1892
Nail Designers was recommended to me by a friend, and they gave a good pedicure, with one strange twist. They didn't use any water. I sat in an extremely nice recliner and put oil soaked cotton on different parts of my feet and then used a scalpel to scrape away callouses. Not the potato peeler thing that I'm used to, an actual surgeon-style scalpel. I was petrified. Imagine a full on scalpel on completely dry skin. Scary. That and there was no massage included with the pedicure, even though I requested a massage ahead of time. They had a number of colors choices, and their products were of good quality. The price was right, 60 pesos (US$15), but without water or a massage, I have not returned.
Products: B
Services: B
Facility: B+

Yin Yang Pie
Arenales 2189
4824-2011
This hilarious named salon is really great for massages, but the pedicures leave some things to be desired. Like Nail Designers, they are also on the list of salons that don't use water, and that just generally freaks me out. In addition, the chair was not all that comfortable. They did use great products and when I asked for a massage to be included with the pedicure they gave me a 30 minute, lay-down foot and leg massage that was amazing. I will be back for the massage, I'll stick with another salon for the pedicure.
Products: A
Services: Pedicure: C / Massage: A+
Facility: B

Hairmony
Av. Quintana 432
4808-0308
This place is actually more of a hair salon that offers nail services, and the services they offer are decent. The pedicure was basic, no frills or massages, but there was water involved so I was a happy girl. The real downside of this place was their products, the basket of polish that they gave me to look through could have come from a little girl's dress up collection.
Products: D
Services: Pedicure: C+
Facility: B

There are a zillion places to choose from in the city and I'll probably keep trying until I find the perfect pedicure. For now, I'll stick with The Nail Company for my manicure and pedicure needs.