How to track your wax cost per waxing service
We get this question a lot. How much wax should I use for a Brazilian? And the answer is...it varies, of course. An accurate answer depends on technique, how often your client gets seen, how long they wait in between services, the type of wax you use, your proficiency in performing the service, the temperature of your wax, etc.
That said, it is very important for you to measure and know your average usage for the service provided. Knowing this information can help you to:
- gain a better understanding of your variable costs;
- manage and forecast inventory;
- manage your current and/or future staff and their wax usage (which can be a great indicator of the need for additional training);
- budget for your business growth;
- determine your regular pricing;
- plan for a promotion/sale or Groupon;
- figure out your net profits per service.
The Brazilian service is a great one to use as a reference because it is the most popular waxing service.
The two best ways to track your average usage per wax are the following:
Weigh the wax used. This method will give you more detailed information.
1 - Have a separate trash bag for the used wax.
2 - Throw the sticks in one trash can and the wax that has been used in a different can. (Make sure you unload all the wax from every stick.)
3 - Do this with a client who waxes frequently. This client will probably take less time and product to wax.
4 - Then do the same thing with a first-time client’s service, where you would usually use more wax just for pain-relieving techniques, as well as smaller strips, etc.
5 - At the end of each service, use a digital kitchen scale to weigh the wax and write your notes about each service.
Add all of the weights recorded and divide the total by the number of clients you serviced.
If you do it this way, you will have more detailed information, based on your notes, on which conditions increase/decrease your usage.
Or try this method:
Throw the wax from your next five to 10 Brazilian services into a separate trash can, and at the end of the day/week, divide the total weight by the number of clients you serviced. If you’ve seen 10 clients and used 48 ounces of wax, your average usage is 4.8 ounces per Brazilian. This weighing method will work only with hard wax because soft wax will be attached to the strips—unless you count and weigh the same number of strips and subtract that number from the total weight.
There’s another way to measure your wax usage without needing to weigh what was used. You can dedicate a couple of cans of hard wax for Brazilian services only (or whatever service you are measuring for) and see how many services you can get out of the two cans. For example, if you went through two 14-ounce cans and saw eight clients for a Brazilian service, your average usage for a Brazilian was 3.5 ounces. If you are measuring soft wax usage, this method is nice because you won’t need to count used wax strips.
We usually say that for The Chocolate Wax, for example, anywhere between three and five ounces is considered average for a Brazilian service. This variation, of course, depends mostly on how often your client gets waxed and your technique.
You can do the same work for all different areas. That way, you can know your average usage for eyebrows, legs, backs, bikini, Brazilian, etc.
If you are a salon owner with several estheticians, measuring wax usage is another way to keep track of who may need additional training. If you’re a single esthetician, measuring your wax usage is recommended once a year or every six months. But definitely do it every time you decide to switch wax formulations so you can make sure your costs per service are accurate.