Argania Salon De Beaute

Stopped in for a brow wax. I’m only in the area temporarily and have had bad experiences before, so I wanted to go to someone I could trust. I’m really happy I called this place based on the reviews. The wax was virtually painless, and Miriam’s tweezer plucking method was awesome. She was so sweet, and even though the place was small, it felt so serene and was very clean. I will definitely go back as needed before I leave!

Who knew getting your brow waxed could be so relaxing. I looked and felt so much better. Kind professional people

I’ve been going to Miriam for my eyebrows for over a year now. I’ve never had such a painless and pleasant waxing experience (nor can I imagine one — how she manages to rip hair out with almost zero pain is astounding!). Miriam is also very friendly, and we always have a lovely conversation during my appointment.
Finding Argania has given me another reason to be sad about graduating from Berkeley: it will be a real challenge to find someone who can make my eyebrows look as good, as painlessly (both physically and financially!), as Miriam can.

Been going to Miriam for 12 ½ years now. Still love it! Her new space is small but she made it look great. I drive half an hour once a month to see her. She has singlehandedly kept me looking younger than I am. Love that I can book online months in advance. Love how I am never rushed. Love how welcoming she is and how relaxed I feel –after a bikini wax! Love how reasonable her prices still are. Such a professional.

I’ve been going to Argania Salon for over a year now for waxing, and have specifically requested Anita each time. I always feel comfortable, welcomed, and thoroughly hair-​free by the end of every appointment. I never have to worry about any incomplete or unfinished areas, as she is a perfectionist in her craft.
In addition to being a superior aesthetician, she is very amicable and capable of holding an engaging conversion (if desired) for the entire length of the appointment. She has such a great spirit and energy; and I am very thankful to have her.
I assure you, as a man (and I suppose as any gender), waxing is not one of my favorite pastimes. But with Anita, it’s like visiting a friend for a period of time, where I happen to leave smooth as a baby’s bottom.
Worthy of more than 5 stars.

I used to live in Berkeley and went to Argania because of the blue wax and Miriam’s outstanding service. Then, I moved to the city and after trying several salons and being disappointed, I realize just how special Argania is. Miriam provides the most thorough waxes and great conversation at reasonable prices. It’s well worth the commute from the city!

I went to schedule a full leg wax online, and Anita was the first with available appointments, so I booked her.
She was friendly and professional, and the space was quite nice. I’ve only been waxed a handful of times before, so I don’t have a lot to compare the experience to. I was surprised that the waxing alone took around 50 minutes instead of the scheduled 35. When she finished, my legs looked red and felt a bit sore, but that seemed pretty normal to me and they looked pretty thoroughly waxed.
However, when I got home this evening, I realized that few hairs had actually been pulled: most were broken, and pretty significant patches were ignored altogether. This means I have to deal with raw, ugly legs for a few days and I’ll still have to shave to wear a dress this week.
I’m giving two stars because Anita was nice, but the result (the reason I paid $ 70) was pretty awful. I’m not sure this is Anita’s fault, it’s possible my hair wasn’t long enough or something, but I won’t be going back.
Edit: I want to clarify that the problem I had with my wax was that I didn’t leave with waxed legs. There are plenty of reasons this could have been a more difficult wax, and why I could have left a bit more red and bumpy, but I left with a lot of hair on my legs, so I’m unhappy that I didn’t get what I paid for.

Best place for facials and waxing in Berkeley! So cozy and nice Inside! I got the European facial which was very relaxing and my face felt so great and hydrated. I also got my eyebrows and upper lip waxed and it is not painful like the other spas I’ve been to in the past. But seriously the best spa. And Miriam the owner is so welcoming and friendly! Love it.

I went for the first time today to Argania. The location is so convenient (5 min from campus) on top of a really nice salon (and clean !). I’ve been nicely welcomed by Miriam, and she offered me some drinks. As Miriam is also from Europe, I’ve been able to chat with her in French while enjoying a very professional wax.
I am pretty used to go to professional waxing institutes in France and can confirm that Miriam’s one is at the same level. She’s patient, polite, very attentive and precise with the waxing part. She is really easy to talk to and will give you a lot a advice for your skin. All the Unilocal reviews about how amazingly nice Miriam is, are totally true.
I would definitely come back and recommend her salon. I first went for my legs but will definitely try other services with confidence.

The online website made an appointment for me for a bikini wax on Monday at 930. I got to the salon, nobody showed up for ten minutes, and I found out the the salon was closed on Mondays. I schedule my days very thoroughly, so argania wasted my time. Get a better website. You have lost my business.

I have been going to Argania for about 3 years. I love going there and I love the owner Miriam.
She is from Algeria, the same country my father is from. My mother is from France and I was born and raised in France so Miriam and I speak French together.
We always have a very lovely time chatting. Miriam is very professional and very very good at what she does.
She waxes my legs and underarms better than anyone has ever done it before.
Her salon is very cute and very well located, half a block from Slow and Bittersweet, 2 awesome places to eat in Berkeley where you can be at a table right in the middle of a marvelous rose garden in the back, with hundred of roses.
I like everything about Argania and I very highly recommend Miriam and Argania.

Miriam is amazing.
I don’t trust anyone else with my eyebrows.
She is very kind, attentive and great at what she does.
Her new salon is cozy and clean.
If you are in need of waxing give her a call or make an appointment online.
She is very busy so plan ahead.

Update Note: Miriam, the owner, reached out to me after reading my review. She kindly offered to make herself available to me for a re-​do facial. Unfortunately I don’t have the time now that school has started again, but I wanted to note that it’s clear based on Miriam’s email that she cares about her business and takes customer satisfaction seriously.
Review:
I had a 1:15 appointment for a facial with Cindee. I arrived just before 1:15. And I waited for at least 15 – 20 minutes. When Cindee finally appeared, it took her at least another 5 minutes to realize that it was so far past my appointment time. So my facial didn’t begin until around 1:45. Well, I shouldn’t really say «begin.» Cindee took me back to the room, and said she’d give me a minute to get in to my robe and get settled on the table. Well, that was another 10 – 15 minutes of waiting inside the room before she finally came back to begin the facial.
Anyway, when the facial eventually began, it was clear that Cindee is good at what she does. The facial itself was nice, although the head and neck massage could have been firmer and better. The extractions hurt like a you know what, but that’s the nature of extractions.
Still, though, as nice as the actual facial was, I could not give my 2^nd experience at Argania more than 3 stars. Three times during the facial Cindee left the room, twice without explaining why, for at least 5 – 10 minutes or more at a time (or at least what felt like it). The third time, it was because another client arrived, and I overheard the conversation — Cindee had also mixed up that client’s appointment time, and wasn’t ready for her when she arrived, as she was still with me because we started so late. Cindee was frazzled during my appointment, and dropped items a few times which made for a few startling loud noises — definitely not a relaxing experience. I know Miriam is away right now (originally I had scheduled a massage with Miriam but due to an injury she is not seeing client’s for a while), but this is not how her business should be run while she is away.
My appointment was at 1:15, and I didn’t leave until about 4pm, yet the facial should’ve only lasted for about an hour. My time was wasted today, and I feel like Cindee was not apologetic enough for imposing such an inconvenience. I hate to say it, but after today, I will not be returning to Argania for any services, unless they’re with Miriam, and even then I’ll have to think about whether it’s worth it to give it another shot.

This review is long overdue.
I went to Argania several times for brow waxing. I was very happy with the services every time. My skin is sensitive, and it was always painless. My brows looked great. Josie in particular went above and beyond.
I haven’t been to the salon since I started to use retinol on my face (it can cause problems if you wax), but I don’t hesitate to recommend Argania highly.

This salon gives a full experience of self-​pampering. Myriam is pleasant, friendly, professional, soothing voice, great conversationalist, if you’re in the mood to chat. Her waxes are very effective. At other salons (some higher end), I have experienced break-​outs after a wax job. Myriam’s wax is of a quality that I have never broken out after a wax, and I’ve had pretty much everything waxed here from top to bottom so…
Another nice detail is that parking is easy in the neighborhood and free.

Words can’t express how much I love Argania, my «home» spa. I don’t pamper myself very much, but when I do, I go to Argania.
I first came here when I had a Spa Finder gift certificate to spend. Argania happened to be the closest listing near my place, and all these 5 star reviews on Unilocal as an added bonus! I was sold.
The ambiance is nice, though it isn’t a luxury spa. You won’t be sitting in a spa chair with a fluffy robe while getting your manicure done, and the rooms for waxing/​massage are pretty small. Still, they make a point to provide lovely décor and an comfortable, exotic, friendly atmosphere.
Stephanie, the nail technician, is wonderful. She’s very easy to talk to, and I enjoy the time I spend with her. In addition, she does an excellent job. I have never found a place that does manicure better than her. She takes her time and pays attention to detail. Her handiwork is amazing, and my manicures last well beyond 2 weeks. I’ve done both regular manicure and Shellac — I prefer the former, as I don’t really like the way Shellac feels on my nails.
Miriam, the owner and head estetician, is also very sweet. I haven’t gotten any skin work done from her yet, but I’ve come to her for waxing. My experiences with her have been quick, comfortable, and virtually painless. There was a period of time where I stopped taking care of my eyebrows, so she reshaped them for me. Miriam does beautiful work.
I love Argania!

WAX WARNING
So I have a friend who we shall refer to as Jane. Jane is against female circumcision.
[Enter Argania]
…Jane almost loses her _​_​_​_​.
In all seriousness, the owner is so nice that I did not want to leave a negative review. But I see so many positive reviews on other services that I feel the need to warn others about my, err, Jane’s waxing experience.
«Jane» went to Argania a few times noting that the waxes took longer than usual and were kind of awkward. Maybe it is the dim lighting that prevents the owner from seeing you right while she’s waxing? I mean a brazilian need not be relaxing so just turn on the lights or others may end up like Jane or worse for the owner: realize later that the patch of missing skin right above the _​_​_​_​may warrant a lawsuit. There was no scar left but the pain lasted for a couple of weeks. I never returned or contacted the owner as I should have.
Positives:
1. The owner is friendly and multilingual :)
2. She does a gentle and thorough job with facials.

I found Argania on Unilocal a few months ago (way to go Unilocalers!) when I was looking for a place to take my mom for her birthday/​some girl time.
As it’s a small place, they have only one manicure/​pedicurist which means that we each had to wait for the other to be done, but we were made comfortable with tea and magazines while we waited.
The manicurist (whose name, I am embarrassed to admit, I have forgotten) was absolutely lovely. She was great to chat with and both my mom and I had some fun random conversations with her about baking, gardening, glasses, men, you name it.
Most importantly though, she was good. She took her time. She wasn’t rushing us through the process. I hate getting a manicure and being sent away when it’s not just right. When I very clumsily dented my freshly polished nail, she immediately offered to re-​do it for me.
And boy did that baby last. This was Christmas when there were eleven people staying in my parents’ house and I was doing a LOT of dishes. It lasted a full week with no chips under some hardcore conditions. It wasn’t until two weeks later when I’d started picking away at it that I finally gave in and took it off.
I also got a wonderful feeling of community here, people would pop in and say hi, every single person who came in and out of the doors was a regular who was greeted as a friend by the staff. That, I think, says a lot.

I’ve been getting my bikini waxed since I was 13. I’ve been all over to get a good wax: Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Castro Valley, myself! FINALLY I have found somewhere that I have no complaints about.
This is the first place where I felt the waxer (Miriam is AWESOME!) actually cared and made sure that I left with no hairs remaining. And she went over it without any hesitation. She spent 45 mins on me, and we had a lovely free flowing chat. And the vibe and ambiance of Argania is unlike any I’ve been before. Miriam started me off with some hot tea and led me to a small room which was elegantly decorated. It felt like I was at a spa for my brazilian! I loved it.
Miriam was so sweet and she basically insisted that I didn’t leave her a tip (because I am a broke college student) but I just had to! I enjoyed her work and company too much. Also, with her I’ve had the least trouble with in-​growns. She is awesome!
Go to Argania for Brazilian. Totally worth every dollar. 4 weeks later and I am still thinking about my experience. Also if you mention Unilocal you get a discount meaning YOU HAVE TO TRY IT!

I used to live on the same street and would pass by everyday, however I never went in because it looked like it was out of my price range. Then I got to a point in my life where I _​needed_​a facial. It was to be my first one ever and I didn’t want to trust my face to an oppressed worker in a cheapy nail salon. At that time, I would turn to cheapy factory-​like nail salons for my waxing needs. But my face? No way! Since my first facial at Argania in July 2009, I’ve had more facials and now feel like I have decent grounds for comparison.
Argania has a luxurious, clean, and calm feeling. It radiates once you enter the door, step onto the wooden floors, and are pleasantly greeted. While the public area feels airy and open, the treatment room itself feels cozy and intimate without inducing claustrophobia. The clean, dust-​free drapes at the ceiling were a really nice touch – as if you were inside a cloth tent (not like a camping kind, but a touch of an ‘Orientalist’ or ‘Arabesque’ aesthetic. And just a touch, not kitschy at all). I love the ambiance!
I was late because of traffic on University Ave, yet Miriam was ever so patient. On top of that, I only booked a facial, but I wanted to add underarm and eyebrow waxing. She not only accommodated my request, but she did such an excellent and thorough job! After that, I just can’t go to a cheapie oppressed-​worker mill/​nail salon for «simple» waxing. Home waxing w/​Sally Hansen or Parissa is just plainly inadequate when compared to Miriam!
As for facials, having had 2 more since my first experience by 2 different estheticians in a different city, I am particularly struck by Miriam’s thoroughness and skills. She saw that my skin’s breakout called for more intensive intervention and so she ‘zapped’ them (without charging me more). She did all her extractions manually and patiently explained its utility (it hurt, but it’s always the case and in this particular case, the pain is utterly worth it). She told me what she was doing, sharing the right amount of information to keep me relaxed.
Because it was my first facial, I mistakenly thought my zits would miraculously disappear as soon as I put my clothes back on. It took maybe a week and then my skin looked really great. It was so worth it! As soon as I get back to Berkeley, I’ll be making an appointment with Miriam for another Argania experience facial!