It is 1956, and you are parking in the parking lot at Mt Hope Shopping plaza and you see this brand-new hair salon, Style-O-Rama. A young woman named Celia Nesser opened the salon. She became a hair stylist when she was 18-year-old and dreamed of owning her own place. Cecelia’s husband Joseph eventually joined her and they worked side by side for 40 years.
You would have never thought that that salon would eventually become known as the “Home To The 10 Minute Brazilian”.
Celia and Joseph had a son, Mark, who joined Style-O-Rama in 1980 as a hair stylist. He met a beautiful enthusiastic woman named Mary Elizabeth in 1984. Mary Elizabeth graduated from U of R and became a teacher in East Rochester. She also joined Style-O-Rama in 1987 as a nail tech with a certification, and worked at a tanning salon during this time.
Mary Elizabeth quite teaching in 1992 and went to beauty school at continental in 1992 to help her husband and their newly acquired Style-O-Rama that he bought from his parents. They renamed their salon Mark & M.E. In the mid 90’s Mary Elizabeth got into doing Brazilian waxes, which at that time, she was one of the only people in Rochester doing Brazilian waxes. Mark & M.E. became known as the home to Brazilian waxes, and now known as the Home of the 10 Minute Brazilian.
Mary Elizabeth says she can truly do a Brazilian wax in 4-7 minutes, but because they are painful she makes sure that her clients are as comfortable as they can be. She makes sure that she jokes around and talks the whole time to distract her clients. She is very serious about her work and she truly wants to in the future get back into teaching, but teaching beauty. She feels that education and safety are key when waxing. There are so many different types of skin out there that must be taken in to consideration. Mary Elizabeth also does male Brazilian waxes and she says those take her 15 minutes.
Mary Elizabeth and Mark have been married for 30 years and have 3 children; 21, 24, and 25. They all have gone off to college, which was a rule in their family. Get a college degree. None of their children seem to want to take part in the family business at this time. Mary Elizabeth says that her and Mark work so well together because they keep their roles separate in the business. Mark does the hair, Mary Elizabeth keeps the accounting books in order and she does her waxing. Mark has told Mary Elizabeth that she is actually very good at hair, but hair isn’t her passion.
Mark and Mary Elizabeth both had great mentors in business and in life from their parents. Mark’s parents worked together for 40 years and Mary Elizabeth’s parents also worked together for 40 years in the real state insurance business, Mary Elizabeth’s mother is still working in the business. Her father taught her to do a hard day’s work and honest work. Mary Elizabeth has also followed in her parent’s footsteps as did Mark. Mary Elizabeth owns rental properties in Rochester and in Florida.
Mark & M.E. is a full-service Salon that is family oriented. You can get a men’s clipper cut to a full out perm or color. They have regular and gel polish manicures and pedicures. They do not do acrylics except for one client who has been with Mary Elizabeth since the start. They also do facials, back facials, makeup applications, eye lashes, microblading and of course waxing of all kinds for women and men.
With the success that they have had with the Brazilian waxing Mary Elizabeth and Mark have been for the last two years searching for a second location with no luck. They are looking to expand to Pittsford which is close to home. Mary Elizabeth and Mark are looking to have a small location just for waxing. They are in no rush Mary Elizabeth says. They don’t need a second location, they want a second location to be able to provide more services to more people. So hopefully in the future Pittsford will have a Mark & M.E. Wax It All open up.
Mary Elizabeth is also the author of the three-part book series the Happy Hoo-Ha. It is all about Mary Elizabeth’s adventures of the past 20 years and what women say when getting a Brazilian Wax. Her books are available on Amazon and all you have to do is click on the first book and read the first paragraph and you’ll end up buying the trilogy because it totally grabs your attention.
You can also follow Mary Elizabeth on Twitter, Facebook and her own personal blog where she will entertain you with her stories of the Brazilian Rainforest as she likes to call it.
“A new client came in and started apologizing profusely. Apparently, she hadn’t dated in three years. She told me she had a Rastafarian Cootch that was dread-locking itself. In ten minutes, I gave that Jamaican v-j-jay a new bald look.” – February 7th
Not only has Mary Elizabeth written 3 books all about Brazilian waxes she has also published 3 romance novels and she is working on the 4th of the series as we speak. She is also working on a self-help book for people who suffer from Fibromyalgia, something she has dealt with from a young age.
So if you are a looking for a family oriented salon where everyone from your 1 year old to your 90 year old grandma can get a haircut, or if you are needing a manicure or pedicure, or you are looking for a relaxing facial, or you are in need of some TLC and hair sculpting, Mark & M.E. have you covered from A-Z. Also, pick up a good book that will make you laugh or make you fall in love written by M.E. Nesser on Amazon today.
