Raquel Souza was in her early 20s when she left Brazil and moved to America, not knowing anyone Stateside, and with about five words of English under her belt. It was the children she babysat for who taught Raquel her first English phrases and introduced her to daily life in the U.S. She quickly learned that her passion was for aesthetics, so she put herself through cosmetology school while working full-time.
The first to introduce the all-natural art of sugaring to Atlanta, Raquel opened the first Sweet Peach Wax & Sugaring Studio in Virginia-Highland in 2012. She now has locations in Buckhead, Sandy Springs, Johns Creek, Vinings, and Brookhaven. Raquel has been waxing and sugaring for the past ten years and has earned a reputation from the local and national media as the city’s best hair removal specialist.
She employs more than 50 people, mostly immigrant women like herself, who she hopes one day will become business owners. All team members are licensed estheticians, expertly trained to provide one of the best hair removal experiences possible. Raquel managed to maintain her entire team during COVID and took extraordinary precautions to keep the doors open and to protect her clientele and staff.
Always an advocate for women and women’s health, Raquel proactively replaced talcum powder with cornstarch when she learned of the link between the powder and ovarian cancer. This year she partnered with the Georgia Ovarian Cancer Alliance (GOCA) to launch a grassroots education program. This partnership will directly impact the thousands of women each week who visit one of the Atlanta area Sweet Peach locations, as each guest will be given information on the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer in an effort to promote early detection.
“Since my business is predominately focused on the pelvic area of women who want to look good on the outside, I also want them to be healthy on the inside,” says Souza. “The partnership with GOCA gives us the opportunity to educate our captive audience of women from their 20s to their 80s and, hopefully, save lives.”
@SweetPeachWax
She employs more than 50 people, mostly immigrant women like herself, who she hopes one day will become business owners.