This is the tale of two eyebrows.
One was waxed, one was threaded. At the end of the day, the results were exactly the same: My eyebrows were groomed.
I put my left brow in the hands of Kiva (190 E. Pearson St.; 312-840-8120), a swanky two-story pampering salon–located right next door to the Ritz-Carlton–that has a wall-mounted waterfall and piped-in New Age music. An eyebrow wax here will run you $25, plus tip. You can also fork over $40 for something called eyebrow sculpting, although when I called and asked about it, I must say it sounded suspiciously similar to the $25 wax.
All the way across town, I put my right eyebrow in the hands of Dipti’s (2714 W. Touhy Ave.; 773-456-3737), a West Rogers Park storefront–located right next door to a chop suey takeout joint–that is literally an empty room save for two barber chairs set up in front of a long mirror. An eyebrow threading here costs $6, plus tip.
Appointments are required at Kiva and the waiting area is festooned with cozy throw blankets, dim lighting and a sign that says, “Please refrain from using cell phones in this area,” lest you disturb a fellow spa-goer’s calm. Off to one side, there’s a tray of fresh fruit, coffee and water with lemon slices.
At Dipti’s, it’s strictly walk-in. You take a number, sit your butt in a hard vinyl chair and wait your turn. A sign on the wall reads: “Special mini-facial remove the black-heads from the nose 15 to 20 minutes only $15.” Enticing.
Kiva’s Irene Kaplunovsky was relaxed and efficient–I liked that. Kaplunovsky moved to Chicago 16 years ago from the Ukraine, where she told me she was a nurse in a cosmetology clinic.
Before we got started, she asked if I was taking any topical or oral antibiotics. (Certain drugs can dry out the skin, which can become irritated or worse if subjected to a wax.)
Kaplunovsky instructed me to lie down on a padded table and then she dabbed on the wax (it was hot but not unbearable), and laid over it a piece of light fabric. And then, without ceremony, she grabbed one end of the fabric and whipped the whole thing off, a sensation I would describe as startling rather than painful.
Kaplunovsky used tweezers to pluck stray hairs and then rubbed some cream onto the area, an extra step that she assured me would reduce any redness. The whole thing took about 15 minutes, and I walked away feeling as though I had gotten some very personal service.
At Dipti’s, the process takes about 10 minutes at the most. This is down-and-dirty eyebrow grooming operation, no bones about it. Get ’em in, get ’em out. The floor is littered with strands of white thread, but there’s a nice, convivial atmosphere here that doesn’t exist at Kiva, where everyone just sort of politely ignores each other.
Threading is a centuries-old method from Southeast Asian, and owner Dipti Dave says she learned it in her native country of India.
When it’s my turn, I sit in one of the barber chairs, scrunch down and, as instructed, use both hands to stretch the skin tight over my right brow. Dave gets to work. The process involves just a plain old spool of sewing thread that Dave twists into an intricate triangular pattern held taut in both hands. The third end is anchored in her mouth. By tangling the thread in such a way, she can quickly grab and yank out hair follicles. Once she’s done, she bites off the used length of thread and tosses it to the floor.
It hurts more than I expected–more than waxing–and I can feel teardrops forming. My brow is a little sore for the next hour, but as pain goes, this isn’t too bad.
Threading may be the cheaper route, but it doesn’t last as long. Kaplunovsky recommends getting a wax every four weeks, whereas Dave’s clients come in about every two weeks–and because she does not take appointments, there can be long waits, especially on Saturdays when it’s standing room only. You’ve been warned.
