posted by Sheenie on Beauty, In Praise Of..., Malika

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When it comes to eyebrow threading, I always believe you shouldn’t have to pay more than a £6 for the pleasure. A lot of beauty bloggers have discussed the price of threading on Twitter and on their blogs with a challenge to find the cheapest who does the job best. (I think £2 was the best find somewhere in east London but don’t quote me on that…)

I’ve been having my brows shaped since my mid-teens. You name it, I’ve been there – swanky beauty salons, tiny cubicles, even the ubiquous chair in the middle of a shopping centre or department store (Fenwicks in Brent Cross, you’re one of the offenders). And not just in this country as well.

It’s a ritual I undergo every 2-3 weeks to ensure I do not look like one half of Bert and Ernie. A couple of weeks ago I was invited to try a treatment at luxurious boutique Malika. It was an honour but also I felt like  a bit of a hypocrite because I agree to visit a salon which charges £15 for eyebrow shaping – a sentiment that goes against my beliefs!

You may recognise the name Malika. It is a chain of salons in the south east of England (mostly in London) offering a wide range of pampering beauty treatments including facials, eyelash and eyebrow tinting, eyelash extensions, manicures and pedicures and a number of male grooming treatments. 

All staff are trained by head therapists Ritu Patel and Sejal Bhudia, who each have decades of experience with high-profiled clients, so with that in mind, I headed to their branch in Shepherd’s Bush’s Westfield.

In all honestly I was just expecting a tidy-up, not a rude awakening (in the nicest, possible way). Westfield’s branch is quite of a squeeze when it’s busy (as it was on my visit) but the salon is equipped with bright lighting and large chairs which can be adjusted at a touch of a button to give total comfort and your threadist the best possible angle to work on you.

I was greeted by a lovely lady called Sejal but before this, completed a consultation card which Sejal then went through carefully. Once in the hot seat, the first thing I was offered was some hand sanitizing gel. This was news to me but made sense because I don’t know how many different surfaces I had come into contact with just before arriving at the salon.  Hygiene is very important in beauty and skincare and to be honest, it hadn’t occurred to me until this moment that my own hands should be clean too when I’m touching my face during threading. I’m amazed many other salons do not offer this before a treatment.

Sejal then talked me through my treatment and immediately spotted a problem. I had a problem with my regularly threaded eyebrows? Surely not!

From Sejal’s sharp eyes and expert knowledge, it would appear my brows had been threaded unevenly and she was absolutely right. I’m horrified but also I am relieved I don’t have deformed eyebrows.  I knew something wasn’t right when I attempted to shade them and they looked odd.

Sejal left one of my brows almost unfinished and advised me to allow them to grow back for a new, thicker look, which is the current fashion trend. I must admit I am keen on thick eyebrows but had never given it further thought nor had it been suggested to me by previous threadists. She also suggested re-shaping the arch of my brows from a particular point for a younger appearance. So it would seem even for a threading veteran like myself I learned something new.

I also had my upper lip (£10) and chin (£10) seen to and noticed Sejal threaded with absolute precision for a flawless finish. The entire process took 45 minutes ending with a neck massage.  The girls in Malika were all deeply polite, professional and lovely and I left the salon relaxed and satisifed.

My experience at Malika has given me some food for thought and as a result, I have had to re-assess my opinion on eyebrow threading. Perhaps I have been rather haste in just running to a walk-in place. I take great care in who colours and cuts my hair and who I trust for bikini waxes (and I pay good money for these treatments), then who maintains my eyebrows should be another important area I should not scrimp on.

If you are going to venture down the path of threading, go to an Asian threadist. No ifs, no buts, just go. These ladies understand the Asian ancient hair removal technique better than anyone.

By the way threading isn’t just limited to the eyebrows. It can also remove unwanted hair from sensitive areas of the face such as the upper lip and chin. I would strongly advise against waxing because there is a risk of stretching and damaging the skin. There is no risk of allergic reactions with threading either and uou do get a beautiful precise finish from threading.

A full list of treatments, prices and salon locations is available on www.malika.co.uk.  You can also follow Malika on Twitter @MalikaBeauty and Facebook www.facebook.com/malikathreading.

Tags: eyebrow tinting, eyebrows, eyelash tinting, facials, Malika, threading