J. Sisters International

Profile

Us Weekly toting, Juicy- and Seven jeans-clad young women flock here for the Brazilian bikini wax that seven sisters from Vitória—a beach city north of Rio—introduced to Manhattan in 1987. It wasn’t until 1994, though, that their famous wax—currently administered at least 200 times a day by a dozen or so specialists—attracted a celebrity following so deliriously happy with the results (or dizzy from pain), that they were coaxed into autographing glossy headshots, which now hang in the waiting room (Gwyneth Paltrow scrawled, “You changed my life!!”). The raven-haired owners—Jocely, Jonice, Joyce, Janea, Juracy, Jussara, and Judseia Padilha—who worked together as teens in the family salão de beleza, later added a men’s grooming lair, which offers the male Brazilian, or Sunga wax, alongside traditional hot-towel shaves and barbering. Housed in the three top floors of a century-old converted townhouse dense with original detailing like embellished moldings, marble mantles, and thirteen-foot ceilings, the salon is also known for its deep-cleansing, long-lasting manicures and pedicures, administered with a battery of Brazilian tools. Nails are serviced on all three floors, including within the hair salon, where—post-waxing, of course—bantering bridal parties get big-day updos and stress-melting reflexology. — Rose Reis

This beauty parlor is famous for its thorough bikini waxes, but it’s also a good place for all-in-one bridal packages. Brides can sign up for the works: manicure, pedicure, hair, makeup, and a pre-honeymoon Brazilian ($350).

Related Stories

Featured In

• Ask a Clerk at Constança Basto (3/13/06)
• Sci Thigh (7/21/03)
• Chelsea's new holistic center (3/25/02)
• Eyelash hair extensions, and more . . . (7/17/00)