Lox Skin & Spa

Becky Wilde - Owner

Becky's Story...

As a young Beauty Therapy student at the age of 17, I always dreamed of owning my own salon. I trained at the Joyce Blok Institute of Beauty Therapy & Electrolysis in 1994 and was hired by the owners of the Institute to work in their franchise salons ‘More than Skin’ on my completion. As the very strong, determined young woman I am, I absorbed all I could from client care, retail, beauty therapy skills and marketing from this well-known company. I had a short break with More Than Skin for a brief OE and worked just out of London before returning to More Than Skin. I’m a family girl and missed my home town, so returned to Tauranga in 1998.

At the age of 21 years I purchased my first salon and renamed it Body Language. The salon had just 50 active clients on the database, quickly growing in popularity. In just three months I was fully booked every day, requiring another staff member.

After a few years I was slightly disheartened by the standard of therapists applying for jobs and decided I needed to make a difference. I completed a Certificate in Adult Teaching at the local Polytechnic and was approached while still in training for a full-time tutoring position. I found managing both a business and a full-time tutoring role too much and sold my salon.

After tutoring I went back to Beauty Therapy in a management position and soon found I shined. I was integral in growing a three-roomed clinic into one of Tauranga’s biggest and busiest salons at that time.

At 29 years of age it was time to start our family. Our first son was just a few months old and I couldn’t keep still, so I decided to plan for my next challenge: a new salon. This is where my Immerse chapter began. I had a vision to open a luxurious salon that offers that ‘little extra touch’ with results-driven yet natural skin care ranges and highly trained, professional therapists. Over the next 10 years I had 3 sons.

Not only am I passionate about Beauty Therapy, but training and marketing are also my passion. Other than the odd conference and workshop, I have had no formal training in marketing, but I love it! I create and design all my own brochures, newspaper advertisements, newsletters and website. I love to do courses and continue to learn from other professionals.

Training is a huge part of our salon and we have extensive procedures in which I personally teach all new staff members, nurturing our juniors who need more guidance and encouragement.

I decided in 2016 I needed another challenge. The salon was getting to full capacity and I was nearing the point of turning clients away, so my options were to expand the salon or start my next chapter. With my baby heading to school in February 2017, I could increase my salon hours, so why not double them? With this, my husband and I decided to open a second salon. I loved planning the salon setup, so I began again, found an amazing location and went full steam ahead. Within 6 months of making my decision, Immerse The Crossing opened Thursday 16 March 2017 and wow it looked fabulous!

Unfortunately, after 5 years at that location the rent doubled and continued increasing, so it was time to make a hard decision to close the salon. It was perfect timing for me to discover Lox Holistic Beauty (just 4 minutes up the road from Tauranga Crossing) was for sale, so we decided to purchase the salon and relocate Immerse Tauranga Crossing to a beautiful and even more luxurious location. Lox Holistic Beauty has been a reputable salon for over 20 years, so we decided it would be wise to keep its name.

A high level of motivation and a determined personality, combined with my ability to work hard, has allowed me to achieve my goals. Both in my life and my career I have learned you must believe in yourself and show confidence in what you do to be successful.

Becky Wilde, businesswoman, entrepreneur, beauty therapist, mum, wife, sister, daughter, friend, colleague, dancer, event organiser. The sky’s the limit for me. I love to be busy, and boy am I! Nothing can hold me back when I have my sights set on something!