The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

With just a handful of beauty salons in Cairo venturing out to the increasingly-popular outskirts of the city, choices are few and competition is high in New Cairo. After finding success at their Maadi branch, Beauty Salon Josy has opened up in a residential area of Fifth Settlement.

Tricky to find without directions, the entrance to the ground floor apartment of Villa 5 is labelled with little more than a sticker next to the bell. Situated at the top of a set of stairs, customers are greeted by bi-lingual beauticians and soothing smells. Offering a wide range of spa and beauty treatments, a price list is available to take away.

Amongst the tempting body scrubs (120LE+), wraps (170LE+), facials (60LE-1100LE), massages (160LE+), waxing (10LE-160LE) and various nail options – including acrylic and gel sets – we opted for a full leg wax (120LE), a manicure (65LE) and pedicure (80LE). Both the manicures and pedicures are available with a choice of extras, which add to the price considerably. Each option is carried out by either the owner, Josy herself, or one of her more-than-capable assistants. Should you opt to book Josy, appointment options may be more limited, and the price slightly higher.   

Rather than the uniform white, sterile decor seen at many contemporary salons, Beauty Salon Josy adopts a green and purple colour-scheme. Although not to everyone’s taste, the facilities are clean but not obsessively tidy, giving the salon a cosy, casual feel.

First, we were led to the small waxing room and left to undress in private to the tranquil, tropical music playing in the background. Before carefully applying and removing the wax, a thin layer of baby powder was spread on our legs to help minimise irritation and pain and before long, our legs were smooth, with every last hair meticulously removed. Although pleased with the results, we were a little disheartened by the minimal use of oil afterwards, meaning our legs were left a little stickier than was comfortable.

Next, we headed back to the main room for our standard nail treatments, and were moved to two different areas between the manicure and pedicure. Disruption aside, both the treatments were incredibly thorough, with our nails trimmed and filed to the specified length and shape, before two coats of our chosen nail polish were carefully applied, along with a strong, quality top coat.

Certainly not without its faults, Beauty Salon Josy is a welcoming, homely salon where essential treatments are carried out to a good standard.