Today we’d like to introduce you to Rosie Umberger.
Hi Rosie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
In early Spring 2020, life was rolling right along-I had a great job as a waxing Esthetician, fun coworkers, wonderful clients….then, BAM! The pandemic happened, and for the first time since I was 16, I was without a job. The salon where I was working permanently closed its doors.
I missed my clients, missed making people feel confident and beautiful by giving them perfect eyebrows and removing hair they didn’t love having. Most of all, I missed laughing with clients and listening to their life stories. I felt like my favorite TV series had been canceled on a cliffhanger. I knew I had to bring in the next season on my own to find out what had happened with their job interviews, their love lives, their work challenges, their families, the art they were creating, their hopes and dreams, etc. I was also worried that some of them might’ve been forced to go back to *gasp* shaving or that a nail salon somewhere had waxed their brows too thin. I knew I had to act quickly.
I waited until I was absolutely sure I could keep my clients safe inside my salon, and it did take time to find all the protective cleaning/sanitizing/disinfecting agents and gear that I needed.
I threw myself into listening to every beauty business podcast, researching what to do and what not to do, and took every online marketing and business course I could find. I loved every minute of learning how to do this….well, maybe not the accounting, but I hired a bookkeeper as soon as I could.
Decorating the space was my favorite part of this process. Rosie’s Beauty Lounge is my favorite place to be-it’s warm and cozy and welcoming. Everything I purchased for the salon was lovingly selected. It’s an amazing thing to get to create your dream space and to support local Austin women in business by getting to retail their products on your shelves.
In August 2020, I opened my waxing salon, Rosie’s Beauty Lounge in Downtown Austin East of I-35. My goal was to create a body-positive, judgment-free, safe waxing space where every client would feel as if I were welcoming them into my home for a friend hang-out session with good music, chill vibes, complete acceptance, and decor inspired by my passion for pretty, retro designs.
It is my sincere belief that a hair removal experience can actually be fun, and my clients tell me that they feel the same way!
Every single day I am filled with gratitude.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s funny to say, but I knew everything would work out. I guess you could say I have gumption. I am very driven when I am passionate about something. I dove into learning everything I could and mostly enjoyed the research process.
I didn’t take time to worry or fret because I felt it was unproductive.
One thing I did struggle with is organizing my financial records. I am not very computer-savvy, so I did have to learn how to make a spreadsheet (don’t judge!), how to store records, receipts, create and enter forms, and how to make a basic budget.
Another difficulty was finding the protective gear in the quantities I needed (gloves, masks, Lysol, CDC approved-for-Covid sanitizing/ disinfecting products, air purifiers, etc.).
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
When I was in my mid-40s, I woke up one day and asked myself, “How in the hell are you still working for a company that you despise?” I had worked for that company for 20 years. I needed a change, and I needed it badly.
I decided to take a complete leap of faith and go in an entirely different direction. I enrolled at the Aveda Institute Austin and absolutely fell in love with skincare, beauty, and waxing. I was super lucky to have two teachers, Jessica and Charlotte, who were both incredibly knowledgeable about the industry and did an excellent job of teaching us what we needed to succeed as Estheticians.
Upon graduation, I worked in a spa performing facials 90% of the time and waxing 10% of the time. I fell in love with waxing. I love the immediacy of the results from waxing, and I knew then that I wanted to make Eyebrow and Brazilian waxing my specialties.
For Brazilians, you must absolutely know what you’re doing. Clients gave me feedback that helped them feel comfortable and at ease. For Eyebrow Design, you must have an eye for design, balance, and symmetry. At last, I was getting to use my Art Major!
I invested in additional brow training courses from Brow Artists I admire, and with practice, I began to build my portfolio and confidence in my work.
Every waxer has their own style and way of doing things. For brows, I prefer to keep them as full and lush as possible because to me, that is 99% of the time what flatters the client best.
So to answer your question, I feel like I am known for my “signature brow” which is full but groomed and perfectly balanced, with clean lines and long tails (the tail is the end of the brow), and for helping people who have had traumatic brow waxing experiences in the past work towards a fuller, more flattering brow shape.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
There are still days where I cannot believe that I opened my own solo business during a global pandemic, and it all worked out.
Sometimes the gratitude hits me so hard I get tears in my eyes.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@rosiesbeautylounge.com
- Website: rosiesbeautylounge.com
- Instagram: @rosiesbeautyloungeaustin
Image Credits
@richardandrose @artbyalicemeow
