“I do a lot of ‘who-ha’ waxes,” says Michelle Austin, an aesthetician at Benefit Boutique (1625 Sherman Ave.), referring to the Brazilian wax treatments for which she has become a Northwestern legend. Austin says she performs an equal number of Brazilian and brow waxes, but below-the-waist jobs are her fave. “It’s a weird one to like, I know, but it’s a service I’ve learned to master … you really get to know clients, and it’s more personal than other waxes,” Austin says of the treatment, which costs $60 the first time, then $40 for touch-ups.

Austin claims to be “the least modest aesthetician in the land.” When a client is on the waxing table, she’s open to chatting about anything, though “we aren’t supposed to talk about race, religion or politics.” But on her table, you might learn the key differences between an aesthetician and a cosmetologist, or get schooled in the world of “black hair places” where she goes to get her chameleonic weaves.

In general, conversing with clients is a big no-no in the salon world, but Austin says Benefit shatters most cosmetology conventions. “It’s been a learning experience here,” Austin says. “Benefit goes against basically everything you learn in beauty school, like playing popular music instead of spa stuff, having long conversations with clients, and quick services.” That’s why Weinberg senior Samantha – who refused to give her last name – has been getting her waxes at Benefit for the past three months. “(My aesthetician Whitney) is really sweet, down to earth and doesn’t try to sell me stuff,” she says.

Before Austin started wielding the wax, she spent 11 years in retail. Over the past few years she’s honed her cosmetology skills at Pivot Point, interned for skincare line Bioelements, and worked at C.O. Bigelow.

But next up, Austin will be tackling another kind of turf-the open road. “I’m taking motorcycle certification classes in May with my six best girlfriends that I’ve known since junior high,” Austin says. “We’re joining a group called D.W.D., which stands for Do What you Do… it’s not cultish like the rest.” After Austin becomes a bona fide biking bikini waxer, she plans to move to Atlanta in September to pursue a degree in nutrition and nursing so she can learn to perform Botox treatments and chemical peels.

Austin says she will likely miss the tightknit staff at Benefit, her stable of clients-and perhaps some of the store’s less traditional visitors. “Sometimes homeless people stop in, they’re intrigued by our décor,” Austin says. “There’s one guy who calls me ‘Nefertiti’. I hide when he comes around!”