Today we’d like to introduce you to Ariel Lowell.
Ariel, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Growing up, my parents were and still are go-getter entrepreneurs who are the definition of work hard, play hard. Owners of a Gold’s Gym franchise alongside my father owning his dental practice, my parents’ focus was to help people healthily care for themselves. Naturally, I took on this interest and began teaching fitness classes when I was 15 years old. I slowly fell into the yoga world, where I then began to fall in love with myself, my practice, and an open hearted mindset. After attending musical theatre college at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles, I continued my education at The Academy of Beauty in Culver City where I received my Esthetician’s license. Shortly after graduating in 2014, I ventured down to San Diego, solely to chase an epic lifestyle.
A job as a Sugarista effortlessly fell into my lap shortly after moving, when a past colleague took me under their wing and taught me the ins and outs of sugaring. This wasn’t my initial interest coming out of esthetician school, but I thought, why not, and channeled my open hearted mindset to try something new. I’m glad I stuck with it because I had everything I could ever want. Living in Ocean Beach, my job was two blocks away, the ocean right around the corner. Life was good.
Working as an independent contractor, this gave me time to focus on myself and my other projects. I obtained my 200 hour yoga teacher training certificate in December of 2015 and have been touring with my band Drishti Beats since then as well. Drishti Beats is a live music vinyasa flow yoga experience where yogis are guided through an hour long class as our band which includes a DJ, saxophonist, violinist, conscious beatboxer and rapper, and me, the singer, play an hour long set of our self produced music. I am thankful for the freedom that I have had since moving to San Diego to continue to not only focus on my career but other outlets that bring me so much joy.
I am grateful to have fallen into the world of sugaring. Although my appointments are quick, I have made incredible connections with all sorts of people. I learn so much about what they do, where they come from, and best of all, our conversations are fun and we love to laugh! They’re the true homies for anywhere from 15-45 minutes of their appointment time. It’s fun, to say the least.
In April of 2019, I was ready for a change. I was happy, and I’d say I was the good kind of complacent, but coming from a family of entrepreneurs, what more could I do? My older brother followed in my dad’s footsteps of becoming a dentist, my younger brother became a nutritionist and has his own meal prep and meal planning company, so I knew there was another step for me to take.
I came across a gorgeous space with a room for rent inside of Fifth and Lash studio that felt just right, and I immediately checked it out. Within a week, I received the keys, built my website overnight, and began my very first business, Bloom Sugaring.
This is just one of the stepping stones to bigger and better things and I am loving the journey. Being in charge of my schedule and lifestyle, I can continue to grow not only within the business but continue to grow with Drishti Beats.
Has it been a smooth road?
It’s a process and it’s a big step to start your own business. But to be perfectly honest, I have never gone into something like this with such a relaxed mindset. Having a specialty helps to keep a lot of clarity in the direction of the business. I have now been sugaring for 5 1/2 years, and my intuition led me here, so as I channel my yogic mindset, I am staying as positive and open minded as possible. Although my overhead to get started was low, the fear of building the business challenged me to stay focused as an independent business owner.
Tell us about your business.
I am a Sugarista. Sugaring is a completely natural alternative to wax made out of just sugar, water and lemon juice. Sugaring is an Ancient Egyptian practice that is now gaining more traction as the skin care industry seeks conscious and organic methods and practices. Sugar is a more gentle and more effective hair removal process. Sugar is manipulated with a hand technique, rather than using sticks or strips and is body temperature, so you will never get burned. Sugar is applied to the skin in the opposite direction of hair growth. As it is gently massaged onto the skin and your hairs begin to bend backward with the manipulation of the sugar, the sugar seeps into your follicles to get a 360 degree hold of your hair. It is then removed with the direction of hair growth. Removing hair with the direction of hair growth rather than against helps to reduce irritation, hair breakage, and ingrown hairs. Sugar adheres to only your hair and dead skin cells, whereas wax sticks to your live skin cells. This aids in skin irritation, and gives your skin a beautiful exfoliation when you come in for your appointment. Sugar is bacteria resistant and is water soluble, so you will never leave your appointment feeling sticky because a warm hot towel will do the trick to rid of any sugar left behind.
I stand completely behind this product. Once I switched from waxing to sugaring services for myself, I noticed a complete change in my regrowth, my skin, and I was overall more happy after getting my appointments done. I am so glad to be able to deliver an effective and all natural service to clients that works and is a great alternative for people with sensitive skin or who are prone to ingrowns and irritation.
What I love most about my company are my clients. I have such great and professional relationships with my clients, and without them, the job wouldn’t be worth it to me. I strive to deliver an educational, clean, comfortable and fun atmosphere to my clients, giving them the absolute best experience they could have.
I find that educating my clients on the benefits of sugaring and the ways that you can care for your skin are so important because we are all always trying to improve ourselves, right? One thing that I take off of my yoga mat every day is that there are no masters, we are all students and always learning. This mindset brings me back down to the same level as my clients, so I can look at them not only as a professional relationship but people that I can learn from as well. That is important to me.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love San Diego. I live in Ocean Beach and there are so many things to love just about my neighborhood, and each neighborhood in San Diego is so diverse and has so much to offer. I think we all go through a phase of being caught in the bubble of our neighborhoods, but becoming more open to exploring other neighborhoods has been so much fun. You get a different vibe everywhere you go, and luckily it only takes 20 minutes to get anywhere.
There’s not much I don’t love about San Diego and I think that many people can agree with me. I can’t complain! I am grateful to be in such a weather temperate, esthetically pleasing, and relaxed city that still has hip, slick and cool nightlife with so much good music that comes through and an epic food scene!
Contact Info:
- Address: 3627 Fifth Avenue. San Diego, CA 92103
- Website: www.bloomsugaring.com
- Phone: 9705969423
- Email: ariel@bloomsugaring.com
- Instagram: @bloomsugaring
- Facebook: facebook.com/bloomsugaring
- Other: Google URL: http://bit.ly/2ITB6B8
Image Credit:
Jeremy Hunziker, Fifth and Lash Spa
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