After a day of classes on campus, my friends and I will head to Playa Samil to catch a few hours of sun. Okay, I also study on the beach. I've worked hard to earn my nickname, empollona [1]. With all of this beach-going, it was important for me to scout out a waxing salon to stay smooth and hair-free for as long as possible. I stumbled upon Bucles by chance, as many peluquerías [2] and shops are closed in Vigo from 2:00pm to 4:30pm and this one just happened to be open. The location is in one of the shopping centers in the Plaza América area, "basement" level. A very friendly technician greeted me, I explained what I needed, and she was very happy to take me without an appointment. She was hospitable, made me feel at home, and delivered excellent customer service. What the salon lacks is technique. I'll admit, the wax in Spain is of a different consistency and texture than in the States which could be a potential source of problems. After my session, I still had "Portuguese Grandma Upper Lip Syndrome," as the son of the host family kindly refers to my situation. Fortunately, I had a nice hair-free bikini area, although I was beleaguered with painful ingrown hairs days later. I was expecting to shell out tons of money for this session, but spent 6 euro in total. I was flabbergasted, in a good way (and kindly reminded of the Capitalist Pigs in the states with their low fixed costs and sky-high prices). [1] Translation: nerd. [2] Foreigner Helpful Hint: In Spain, hair removal with wax is performed at a peluquería - a barber shop/ hair salon. Salons dedicated to hair removal are usually of the laser variety. read more