Today we’d like to introduce you to Marayah Porter.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Ever since I was young I showed an interest in the beauty industry, I like to thank my Aunt Mary or, “Tia Mary”, since she was a beautician in a small town just north of Corpus Christi. I spent a lot of time there when I was really young.
It wasn’t until I was a little older that I showed an interest in skincare. I would spend a lot of time watching videos of dermatologists speaking about skin conditions and ingredients in skincare and I think that was what really drew me to wanting to become an esthetician.
I was hesitant on attending school though because I did struggle a lot with academics growing up and I did have a fear of failing.
I had a lot of family and friends and most importantly my husband to thank for believing in me and pushing me to take the plunge in doing this for myself.
School was such a blast even though I attended a little later than I’d like and I was pregnant with my second I found it to be so fulfilling.
Once I graduated I took some time to heal from delivering my baby before job hunting. I ended up landing a job that I wasn’t quite feeling but I stayed there for 3 months until I decided to venture out and try waxing out.
I did find someone with an extensive amount of experience and knowledge in waxing who welcomed me to join her in starting her first business and I think that is where I really fell in love with waxing because I wasn’t great at it to start but I found it to challenge me which I really liked.
It was there at that suite where I got to learn not just about waxing but the in and outs of running a business and starting from scratch. I can especially appreciate the connections I built with each and every person who became a client of mine.
I think the common misconception about what I do is that it’s just waxing and that’s just the perk. What people don’t know is I listen and not just hear what clients are telling me when they’re in my treatment room. In most cases being in a vulnerable position and exposing yourself to a total stranger isn’t easy for most, nonetheless allowing them to rip your hair out.
Being a Latina woman has shaped the way I show up — with warmth, resilience, and deep respect for people’s stories. Creating a safe space for anyone who walks through the door isn’t just part of my job — it’s something I genuinely value and feel honored to provide.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I would definitely say I did have obstacles that stopped me in becoming an esthetician and business owner.
There were many times in my teens and earlier twenties that I wasn’t sure what exactly I wanted to do with my future especially because I see and hear people referring to a job as just that, a job.
I knew I always wanted to do something in a beauty industry I just wasn’t sure what I wanted my focus to be on.
When I finally decided to tour my school and make the decision to study esthetics I found out literally the next day that I was pregnant with my second child. I didn’t realize I would be considered high risk due to some health complications during my pregnancy and that my daughter would also be at risk if I didn’t “take it easy”. Nonetheless we both graduated and were healthy.
I didn’t exactly think waxing would be what I wanted to do with my license since my main focus in school was facials but after dipping my toes into the med spa industry I quick realized that that environment was not a healthy one for me being that I was newly postpartum and struggling with my self image while surrounded my nothing but people altering their appearances.
So I left and found Lazy Wax, I definitely wasn’t great at waxing when I started. I had trouble understanding patterns and I had no speed. I was starting from scratch to I didn’t have regulars or clients to see monthly so I was making sometimes $0 in a matter of a week or two. I was discouraged in the beginning but when I stopped seeing waxing as a job and just focused on my clients and their needs is when it all just started to click and I felt the meaning behind it all at least for myself.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I specialize in full body waxing and what I feel is important to know is that when you come in to my suite it doesn’t feel like a waxing business. It feels like you’re coming home and ready to kick off your shoes and get comfy all while talking to a close friend. There is no uncomfortable feeling because the atmosphere is clean, cozy and warm.
I want everyone to know they are welcome no matter where you come from. That they are welcome to celebrate their bodies and encouraged to because no one body is the same as another’s and that they are beautiful.
I am so proud of this small business because as an indigenous/ Latina woman I want to encourage other minorities that we are the foundation in which America was founded. That all things are possible when you have the will and gumption to see it through. I am doing this for the women in my family who do everything that they can to feed the family and still be a wife, a mom, a sister, aunt or grandparent. I am especially doing this for my Tia Mary in hopes to raise awareness about ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).
I am offering 15% off for all military, medical professionals and first responders during the first week of every month as a way of saying thank you.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love San Antonio for its diversity, I love how this city can come together to celebrate life and culture through music, food, architecture and more.
What I don’t necessarily care for is the constant state of construction our highways are in and how bad traffic gets.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bareawaxstudio.glossgenius.com/
- Instagram: @bareawaxstudio
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/19nUeERCss/
Image Credits
Ana Elizabeth Photo @anaelizphoto
