‘A safe space for women’: Wetherby waxing specialist rises from the ashes to build empowering salon

Louise Moss, 44, who has recently won a national award for her work, specialises solely in waxing and intimate hair removal - a niche she says didn’t exist locally when she launched the business two-and-a-half years ago.

Today, her studio has become a sanctuary for women who feel nervous, embarrassed, or excluded from more traditional salon environments.

She said: “It’s such a vulnerable thing. You’re scared about how much it’s going to hurt, getting your legs out akimbo in front of somebody.

“A lot of people don’t feel comfortable walking into salons where everyone is really beautiful, all Botoxed and really done up. I wanted something down-to-earth and non-judgmental.”

It’s why one of her favourite mottos, and the philosophy behind her business, is simple: “Real women, real bodies, real talk.”

Louise’s journey into beauty was born from a moment of crisis.

After being made redundant from banking giant HSBC, she left a coercively-controlling marriage and found herself facing life as a single mum to a one-year-old.

She said: “I was like, oh God, what the hell am I going to do?”

She retrained in beauty, tried several treatments, and then realised intimate waxing was an underserved area where women needed reassurance as much as a treatment.

She said: “There was nobody specialising in just waxing, and definitely nobody doing intimate waxing. It’s niche. But so many people are nervous or scared to do it.”

Her candid, colourful social media presence helped build a loyal following. Many clients, she jokes, spend weeks quietly watching before getting in touch.

“I call them my lurkers,” she laughed.

“They want to get it done but they’re too scared. You’ve got to build them up and make them feel like it’s actually fine.”

For many women, an appointment with Louise becomes more than hair removal, it becomes emotional space.

She said: “Everyone reacts differently. If people want to swear, that’s fine. Some people laugh out loud. And people tell me things they haven’t told their friends. It turns into a bit of therapy.”

She says intimate waxing is often a deeply personal and empowering decision.

She said: “Most women do it for themselves. It’s empowering. It’s normalising that it’s okay to love what you’ve got going on down there and not be embarrassed by it.”

Louise is about to move into a new, larger salon space in Clifford and has invested in a top-of-the-range laser machine to expand into intimate laser hair removal. She is also taking on a new member of staff who will offer non-surgical body contouring.

But behind the growing business is a powerful message, one she hopes will resonate with women going through difficult times.

She said: “No matter what anyone says about you, you can absolutely apply yourself to anything and go out and smash it.

“Women are so much stronger than we’re given credit for. There’s always a way out, and there’s always a way forward.”

Having once lived on £300 a month, she now runs one of the region’s most distinctive female-focused salons - a space built on empathy, empowerment and hard-won resilience.

She said; “I’ve gone through the trenches. But I’ve built something I’m proud of, and I want other women to feel like they can too.”