January 8, 2017

Meet Myka Harris of Wax + Buff Nail Bar in Old 4th Ward

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Myka Harris.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Myka. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started WAX in 2009 because I couldn’t find a place where I wanted to get waxed after moving back from Europe. Every place treated waxing as an afterthought and I wanted a different experience.

In 2012 I opened BUFF which is Atlanta’s first all natural nail bar. I pretty much was motivated by the same thoughts – the experiences I was having in nail salons were not what I was looking for as a client and so I figured I would bring something different to the market.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No! Owning a business is full of challenges. Especially one that is so people oriented. You are dealing with a multitude of personalities and perspectives and trying to satisfy all of those at once can be challenging.

Atlanta is not a major beauty market and one of my challenges has been educating clients about different products and services and getting them to do things differently. Our services are not the cheapest in the market, but we have never competed based upon price. We use high-quality products, offer a lot of amenities to our clients (coffee, tea, prosecco, valet parking) and have a very beautiful space which gives our clients a different experience than what they are used to.

One of the biggest challenges in this industry is managing people. People who are drawn to this industry are usually creative and sometimes you can encounter people who are flaky and not sure about what they want to do over the long term. This can lead to some ups and downs in regards to staffing as people will drop things and move onto something else without any notice.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about WAX + BUFF NAIL BAR – what should we know?
We specialize in results-oriented beauty services such as waxing and nails. We are known for being customer service oriented and giving our clients a unique experience.

We take a natural approach to beauty using natural and organic products in all of our services. We blend our own post waxing oil by hand and mix all of our scrubs and masks used in our nail services in house. What’s sets us apart from others is our skill set, a commitment to a higher standard and being able to see things from our clients perspective.

What’s sets us apart from others is our skill set, a commitment to a higher standard and being able to see things from our clients perspective.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Flexibility and creativity

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