Good Neighbor Podcast: Bergen
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of Bergen County
Good Neighbor Podcast: Bergen
Ep. # 90 Sugar, Skin, and Sustainability: The Ancient Art of Hair Removal
Ever wondered about a hair removal technique so gentle it actually improves your skin? In this fascinating conversation with Marisa Kochnover, we uncover the ancient practice of sugaring that's revolutionizing modern skincare while honoring techniques dating back to Cleopatra's Egypt.
sugaringLA isn't just another beauty franchise – it's a complete reimagining of hair removal using only three ingredients: sugar, water, and lemon. The magic happens in the science: unlike waxing, which painfully adheres to live skin cells, sugar paste only attaches to dead skin cells. This fundamental difference transforms hair removal from a dreaded necessity into a skin-conditioning treatment that simultaneously exfoliates while gently removing unwanted hair.
What truly sets this brand apart is its commitment to creating gender-neutral, welcoming spaces where everyone can feel empowered. "When you feel good inside your body, you stand taller and operate differently in the world," Marisa explains, revealing how sugaringLA's mission extends beyond beauty to personal transformation. As both the national Director of Development for the brand and owner of the soon-to-open Closter location, her passion for entrepreneurship shines through every aspect of the business.
The sustainable, vegan, organic approach hits all the right notes for today's conscious consumers seeking alternatives to chemical-laden treatments. Marisa's return to business ownership in Bergen County brings this innovative concept to our community, with doors opening mid-April next to the Market Diner in Closter.
sugaringLA
Marisa Kochnover
273 Closter Dock Rd # 1
Closter, NJ. 07624
(201) 775-0006
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Doug Drohan.
Speaker 2:Hey everybody, welcome to another episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast brought to you by Bergen Neighbors Media Group, based in Bergen County. Funny enough, I'm coming to you live from my studio in Harrington Park, coming to you live from my studio in Harrington Park and today I'm thrilled to be joined by someone who, when we spoke last week, reminded me that we met years ago when she was part of another franchise. But it's Marisa Kochnover of Sugaring LA. Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2:Hi, thank you I was about to say Sugaring NYC, but it's not Sugaring NYC, it's just Sugaring.
Speaker 3:It's Sugaring LA.
Speaker 2:Sugaring LA. Okay, coming too closer, not to get confused, right.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So since we're talking about sugaring, let's talk about what is sugaring. What is this franchise about?
Speaker 3:So it's hair removal, it's a real basic concept. I mean, hair removal is something that everyone you know, it's a pretty traditional concept. A lot of people do it, but so it's taking a traditional experience and it's doing it with products that are not only good for your skin but the environment as well, and it's kind of crazy. I mean, sugaring is not a well-known, it's not a well-known concept, but you would be surprised to know that it's something that dates back to ancient times. Apparently, yeah, apparently Cleopatra, they say. I mean no one is around to verify this, but apparently they say Cleopatra even used sugaring. So it dates back to ancient times.
Speaker 3:But this is something that's been modernized and it's really it's taking on a whole new, just taking on a whole new way of removing hair from your body. Um, and you know, now, with having you know, it's interesting when you see data and you, you're learning more about how everything the environment, products, chemicals, services, the things we eat, what we use, how it affects our bodies, yeah, how it just what it does to us. People are, you're like an educated consumer. People understand, you know. So you see, people's lifestyles are changing. They're actively seeking out more natural solutions. So, in that vein. This is a more organic, healthier solution to a traditional experience that people have been doing for ages.
Speaker 2:I mean, I've never had waxing done to me. I didn't know that there was. I guess there's ingredients in traditional waxing that are not environmentally friendly or friendly for your skin, but sugaring, as you said, is natural. So it's basically just three ingredients.
Speaker 3:All it is is sugar, water and lemon.
Speaker 2:Wow. So you kind of stir it up, but it comes out looking like a waxy type of gooey thing that you put on your body and then peel off yeah, it's just it.
Speaker 3:Like it boils down into, uh, almost like a, like a, yeah, like a caramel, like a, you know, a candy kind of like caramel texture. Yeah, and you, you so it tastes good you can it. It actually is safe enough to eat what you wouldn't want to eat. You know a wax, yeah, so you could actually eat it, and it's boiled down into this substance. It's a pliable substance, and what's actually really cool is it's never it's never applied hot to the body, so it's like a there's some real massive differentiators between sugar and wax.
Speaker 3:It's never applied hot, so it's applied to the skin and it's removed in the natural direction of the hair growth a much gentler form of hair removal.
Speaker 2:So it's not like the rip it it off, like ripping the band-aid off and like in the yeah, it's not.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's a lot less painful um steve carell on that movie yeah, everyone always says that no, it's, yeah, it's, um, it's an or, you know, it's a gentler approach, um, it's a customized approach. So we have four different types of sugar paste that we custom blend. Um, yeah, it's a real customized um. Elevated skincare we really view it as like hair removal is is really an extension of skincare. That's a way of taking care of your body.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 3:So what's interesting also about the difference between sugaring and waxing is that when you put wax on your skin it attaches to the live skin and that whole Steve Carell thing and like the waxing it is very archaic if you think of it Like it's ripping skin. I mean obviously the end result the hair is off, but it rips skin off of your body. Have you ever seen people walking around with red strips on their faces or this angry irritated skin or you hear about these nasty reactions people get or ingrained hairs.
Speaker 3:It's because it's lifting off live skin, it's breaking hair follicles, it's causing all this irritation. It's ouch, it's gross, but honestly it's a necessary evil that people have just kind of like dealt with right right um, and with sugaring you the, the sugar paste. Actually, this is like the nerdy, geeky sciencey part. It can't attach to um a live skin cell. It can only attach to a dead skin cell oh, wow so when it lifts, you're exfoliating as well?
Speaker 2:Yes, exactly.
Speaker 3:You cannot lift a live skin cell. You can only take off the dead skin cells. So you're creating this incredible level of exfoliation. So you've got this wonderful ancillary benefit of exfoliating the skin while you're taking that hair off. So that's what I'm saying. It's like this skin conditioning. You're taking that hair off, so that's what I'm saying. It's like this skin conditioning. So we've got this hair removal, which is skin conditioning benefits, and so it's like I said, it's this skincare. So we've got this routine that we're due to help take care of your body. So it's a real customized, elevated approach for taking care of yourself.
Speaker 2:So it's a real customized, elevated approach for taking care of yourself. So it's called Sugaring LA. Yes, so the company started out in Los Angeles.
Speaker 3:Sure did. Yeah, it started out in 2011. Real dedicated founder. Her name's Danielle Correa. She kind of put herself into beauty school to just kind of learn about her skin. She was exposed to sugaring and like never looked back and she just started. She just started growing her business, um, and she knew she wanted to keep on going. And she but she's an esthetician and she didn't really understand how or how, you know why, how did like really how to do this.
Speaker 3:So she partnered with some real franchise heavyweights so interestingly enough, um, the their, the parent company of sugaring la, is called franworth. There's two franchise companies underneath this brand. One is, uh, called franworth, one is called the repm group Group and the you know some serious franchise heavyweights. So, like former president of Haagen-Dazs and Pure Bar, honey, baked Ham, krispy Kreme, some real franchise brass has come together to create this company called Brandworth, which provides a framework, obviously capital, infrastructure, human resources, but a franchising playbook they've already seen success with and they leverage that for these younger brands as they come to market. So really understanding needing that kind of support and structure to bring this brand. So yeah, she started out in California and we're taking it across the country.
Speaker 2:So they're kind of like the Mr Wonderful of you know when it comes to looking for investors and mentors.
Speaker 3:Similar, yeah, similar.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so how did you get involved in? I mean you, you mentioned that you you became deeply inspired by the mission and values. So what are the mission and values of sugaring? And then, why were you, why were you inspired by that and why get involved?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean, I love this question. Um, and I'll I'll explain why. I mean, when you think of Haramobile, the first thing you typically think of is female. You think feminine, you think sexy date night, you think a particular type of woman, and that's really like the direct antithesis of this brand. This brand is intentionally gender neutral. This brand is intentionally gender neutral. It is positioned in a way that is a space that is warm and inviting and is a place where everybody can come feel good in their skin and we really we focus on creating a place of empowerment, because when you feel good inside your body, you stand taller, you operate differently in the world, you feel good about yourself and it really can change someone. I mean the right. So it was all.
Speaker 3:I decided to come on to the brand for a couple reasons. I mean both. I play two different roles in this brand. Just to be totally clear, I am the director of development nationally for this brand, so I'm helping this brand grow across the country from a franchise perspective. I also am the owner of the Closter location, so I'm personally invested in bringing it to the Closter area.
Speaker 3:So I'm very excited about that personally, but I'm also bringing, so I chose to come into this brand from a larger perspective, because I believed in the mission um and how it was positioned, because I believe that the you know twofold right, that the, that the, the, the, the right business opportunity can change someone's life. But I also believe that when you the right opportunity and the right the right experience like when you feet, when you're matched with the proper experience and the and feeling good about yourself, can change your life right. So much so that when I was in my prior life in fitness, I genuinely felt as if the you know, the right energy in the room and the right you know when you were in a class like that, those kinds of moments could really change you those kind of moments could really change you right and and and though you, you would you know if you um that kind of energy could allow you to stand taller and empower you, right?
Speaker 2:I think? Yeah, I think the thing with fitness communities too is it's a community you feel like whether you're part of a cycle bar or you know some of these other types of groups that I think the reason they become popular is because it's a community that they build. It's not just going to the gym and walking in, walking out. You become part of something, you become part of a group and you're inspiring each other. And you know, the nice thing about cycling is there's music and there's lights and it's, you know, a fun, exhausting kind of battle that you go through together I have to say, cycling was never my favorite thing.
Speaker 2:I used to be a fitness instructor. I I used music a lot in my classes. I taught down on edgewater and those areas down there, so I'm a big believer in the power of music. My my brand was rock and roll, tbc, which is total body conditioning, oh yeah, but um, you know. So I totally get it. And but it's interesting because I meet a lot of franchise owners and one thing I didn't realize, uh, until I started the career that I'm on, is that somebody who's might looking for another career, that they're going to hire a franchise consultant and they're going to show them oh, you can own a senior care business, you can own a home care business.
Speaker 2:You can own a home care business, or you can own a European wax, or you can own Perspire. You know sauna or club Pilates, or so you know, and a lot of people you know. You know you could judge it as ever you want they're. They're motivated by how much money am I going to make from this franchise? And their background might be in finance or whatever it was, and their bottom line is the bottom line. That's why they want to own this franchise. So, but what you're saying is it's beyond that. Right, it's, this is a skincare business, but there's much more beyond that. If you wanted to be a franchise owner or be a part of this company, there's more to it than that. Is that what you're saying?
Speaker 3:Yeah, Well, I mean, listen, I think everyone has their own motivations for what they do. Right, everyone is motivated by something different, but I do, and you know, when you go through the franchise process, when you, when you go through that discovery process, it's a, it's a very out, very clearly outlined and organized or it should be organized, depending on who your development team is. It's a very organized process and it is a sales process, make no mistake. However, it's a mutual evaluation. As you go through that, it needs to be the right fit and as you're going through that, you're very much dating right. Everyone has their own motivation and what they're looking for and the right fit for each brand is different, and what one franchisee or or candidate is looking for in a brand, another one might not be looking for.
Speaker 3:And, yes, the bottom line money at the end of the day, is is definitely a huge factor. Everyone is looking to for an investment here and everyone is dollars and cents, but there are are other reasons why people are getting involved in this. People want to make an impact in their community. People are looking for other external factors, and I and there are people who are looking to make a change or make a difference. There's a huge component of this brand they that it is a sustainable business. There is not a buzzword that this brand does not hit. It is all natural, organic, it is vegan, it is sustainable, it is non-toxic. Literally, there is not a buzz. It's also recurring revenue, depending upon what buzzword you're looking to hit. I mean, we hit almost every single one.
Speaker 2:So if I'm a person in Closter and I'm walking, going to shout out to the MKT Diner right next door and I see this sign on the window says sugaring, I'm going to speak from experience because I saw it and I'm like what is this? Is it like a candy shop? So what is your like?
Speaker 2:You said you're reaching a population who care about sustainability, who care about feeling good, looking good, having a non-toxic approach to skincare. Is that like when I'm walking by and I'm thinking, okay, this is not me, but say I got a hairy back and I need to? You know, my wife's been telling me forever get that back. You know, take care of that. So I guess you know there are different places to go to, a lot of places to go to. Right, that's going to do waxing traditionally. So what is the draw of when I'm walking past your store? When it's open, it's going to bring me in. I would say one thing and I'm going to answer my own question so tell me to shut up. But just the word sugaring, I'm like what is that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't you know? So you're, you're curious and you know when your door. If your doors were open right now, I would have walked in and said you know what is this? Yeah, but is that like? So you're you're opening personally in Closter? Why Closter? Like what about? What is it about the demographics of Northern Valley in Bergen County that attracted you to? You think this is the right place for sugaring.
Speaker 3:Well, already being a business owner once in the Valley, I and I have already know that this is an incredible neighborhood and area to be a business owner in. I love this neighborhood, I live in this neighborhood, so I already know the people here are incredible and I love to serve them. Right, I was very excited to be back to be a business owner again. I couldn't wait to be back. It's just a great community. Great community to be I. I couldn't speak for a second to be a part of um, and I was just really excited to to get back in the saddle. You know, it was just something I really missed. Um, I loved being a business owner. It was really it's and why is that?
Speaker 3:you know I was so searching, doug, I gotta tell you why is that? I? I don't something about it, I um it just it's. I love being an entrepreneur. I always have loved being an entrepreneur. Um something I? There's no greater feeling, at the end of the day, to know that, like you, put in that full days of work for yourself yeah, yep I think that's why somebody also described it as there's financial security and financial freedom.
Speaker 2:Financial security is when you get the paycheck every week and you got. You know you punch a clock nine to five. That's financial security. Financial freedom is, yeah, there's a freedom to fail, but it's also the freedom to, like you said, I put that work in for me. I didn't do it for a boss that I hope I get a raise at the end of the year. I hope they promote me. You know that the work you put in is going to pay off. That, for me, is why I love you know I worked 25 some odd years behind a desk and when I went off on my own, I didn't know it at the time, but you know I realized that I'm suited for this. You know the ups and downs, the roller coaster of it, but to your point, that satisfaction of doing something for yourself. And then you know what you're doing too, for the community. And obviously you're hiring people. But so did you always. Were you always an entrepreneur, like early days? Did you come from a family of entrepreneurs?
Speaker 3:I don't come from a family of entrepreneurs per se, but I didn't actually frame myself as an entrepreneur. I didn't realize that I was an entrepreneur from the beginning until I saw a friend, an old friend, a while back at a reunion and he said to me he's like, you've always been this way. None of this is a surprise to me. This has always been who you are. And I was like what do you mean? He's like Marissa, you created a swimming lesson school when you were 16 years old in your parents' backyard and I was like you're right, I did. He's like, I know, I watched it and I was like you're right, I fully did do that. And so like that I it didn't even occur to me, but I he was totally right, I made up business cards I on a the printer, right.
Speaker 1:I made up business cards. I'm embarrassed to say this.
Speaker 2:The printer that had the Do you know what I'm talking about?
Speaker 3:The printer that had the things on the sides I'm so old the things that had the things on the sides.
Speaker 2:I know what you mean. I'm there with you.
Speaker 3:That's how I made the business cards right, I printed up these business cards and it was like this little. But I was a swimming teacher and I had this little swimming school and I had all these private lessons that I taught after I ran the waterfront at whatever. So I yes, I, I was an entrepreneur from like early days as a teenager and then I was doing, I became, I was a therapist and I did private therapy for little kids for a while. So, yes, I always had this little bug in me. I just I don't think I framed it that way for myself until later on in life, but yeah, I was, I did have that in me.
Speaker 2:That's great, and I think that passion shows through and that's why you're successful and why sugaring is going to be a big hit in our community. I'm looking forward to it opening. So we talked about the benefits of it, and when do you hope to open the doors?
Speaker 3:We talked about the benefits of it. We talked, and when do you hope to open the doors? Yeah, so the end? I just got word and hopefully we stick to this plan as long as the powers that be allow this. The last week should be a training week. I will have the LA team boots on the ground, working with my team, working with my team, um. So that will be, and I'm going to need um I I've been working like overtime, um getting the word out, because I will need people to come in for free services so that all of my um girls can get all of their training hours in.
Speaker 3:So I'm giving away lots of free services, so we can get all of our training hours in. Um, that's going to be like the starting the last week of March and that will run for the first couple of weeks of April, be a lot of free services happening for a couple of weeks and then I'm hoping to cut the ribbon in like the middle of April, middle towards the end of April and ready to rock. That's great, that's fantastic, we're almost done.
Speaker 2:We're almost there yeah, yeah, just in time for um, you know spring break, spring break and then getting into the summer.
Speaker 3:Summer, we're here vacations.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's great yeah well, marisa, thank you. Thank you so much for being a guest on the show and let's just go over again where you're located how people would would contact you, how they book a session yeah, so we are on Closter Dock Road.
Speaker 3:We are right next to the Market Diner, um. We're on right underneath Blackbird Yoga, um, so you can go online. It's um sugaringla. com um. You can go online. You can even find us on MindBody. Right now. Our booking window is not open just yet. It should be open probably in the next couple weeks, but you can sign up for free sugaring. So if you just want to leave your information for free sugaring, we're going to be reaching out to anybody who's looking to do want to volunteer for free services, so you can just click that link there. You can also follow us on Instagram. It's sugaring LA, underscore Closter. So just follow us on Instagram for all the updates. They should be coming out like soon and you can also follow me. I'm Marisa K 67 on.
Speaker 2:Instagram. I'll be posting all this stuff. So one of my friends is an instructor at Blackbird, and so her name is Isabel.
Speaker 3:She's, I love her, it's my favorite.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she's. Her son's the same age as my son. We were just over their house on Saturday night.
Speaker 3:You should come take yoga with me. I love her class. It's the best.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know I haven't. She keeps telling me to come and I, you know I haven't. Well, we can talk about that offline.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I said well, I'm probably going to cry, man.
Speaker 3:It's been a while since I've taken a yoga class and I'm stiff as a board.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Marissa, this was great. Just bear with me for like 15 seconds and you and I'll be right back.
Speaker 3:You got it. Thanks, Doug.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpbergen. com. No-transcript.