I wish Centre de Beauté Indienne weren't such an inconvenient distance from my apartment and my…read morework.
The threading technique is just catching on in France and I think it's much better than waxing for facial hair. The women at Centre de Beauté Indienne are experts and the thead goes so fast you can hardly see it.
Threading leaves no pimples or redness. It costs between 5 and 10 euros and you can go without appointment. They also do waxing for bikini lines and legs. And ... they have great facials. I've only done the basic one, which consists of 1 hour of massages, steaming, creams and masks and costs 29 euros, which I need hardly add is almost half the price of a standard facial at a "normal" French spa. You're "supposed" to have a facial every month, finances permitting, and Centre de Beauté Indienne makes it possible.
Be prepared, of course, for the fact that going to the Centre de Beauté Indienne is not an "exclusive" experience, but "populaire," in the French sense, which means that you will have to tell them you want your mustache threaded in front of 20 other people and then you will be seated in one of the chairs right in front of the window and they will thead your mustache or chin or whatever in front of all passerby and people seating (or standing - sometimes it's very busy!). There is a TV blasting Bollywood videos in the corner.
If you have a facial, you won't be lying alone swathed in plush white towels in a dimly lit room with cheesy rock sculptures and a cd of babbling brooks and bird noises. You will probably be led to a small room in the back of the main room, where you'll take off your shirt and bra in front of other people who are getting waxed. The women who work there will talk to each other in Hindi or another language. The lights go on and off and there is a steady hum from the crowded main room where people are chatting and waiting and the Bollywood music is throbbing.
if you are not of Indian origin, you may be the only person not of Indian origin waiting in the waiting room and all the other women will stare. They seemed a bit confused by my presence in the beginning, but I persisted because even in Paris, with its huge immigrant population, even if there's a word for it in French, they don't really understand the concept of "brassage" (mixing -ie the fameux American melting pot) like they do in NYC where everyone and their mother gets threaded.
I love the ambiance. I think it's lively and actually soothing. I like that Centre de Beauté Indienne is so successful and busy. The other day I brought a friend for a facial at 11 am before the crowds arrive and the six women who work there were decked out in absolutely gorgeous colorful saris with immaculate make-up waiting to start the day. It occurred to me that they must be doing pretty well. I love the neighboorhood, in the 10th near La Chapelle, full of Indians and African-French women in coton batik dresses and turbans.
But, for those who prefer to be swathed in snow white towels in a dim room with fake rocks and a sea waves cd playing, then this is probably not for you.
