When BESTWAX Center first reached out, they had 300 followers on TikTok and almost no online presence. They were a premium waxing salon — beautiful interiors, high-quality products, trained cosmeticians — but nobody could find them online.

The founder had built something genuinely special. This wasn't a typical budget salon. They used their own branded wax products, had a specific technique that was gentler than traditional waxing, and created an atmosphere that felt more like a spa than a strip mall beauty shop. The problem was communicating all of that to people who had never heard of them.

Waxing is an intimate service. People are nervous about it, especially first-timers. They want to know what they're getting into before they book. And in Hungary, most people's reference point was the painful, sticky, slightly embarrassing experience at their local kozmetika. BESTWAX was different, but nobody knew that yet.

I took this project because it felt like a creative challenge I hadn't faced before: how do you build a premium brand on TikTok — a platform known for trends and jokes — for a service that most people don't want to think about, let alone watch videos about?

Starting From Almost Nothing

Three hundred followers. That was it. No content library, no established voice, no audience data to work from. The bigger challenge wasn't the follower count — it was the positioning problem.

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The Starting Point — visual showing 300 followers, minimal brand awareness, zero content strategy.

Making Premium Feel Approachable

BESTWAX wanted to be seen as the premium option. But "premium" on social media often translates to "cold and corporate" — perfectly lit product shots, overly polished aesthetics, no personality.

That wasn't going to work on TikTok. The platform rewards authenticity. People scroll past anything that feels like an advertisement. We needed to be premium without being pretentious, professional without being sterile.

Educating Without Boring

Most people don't know the difference between wax treatments and traditional waxing. They don't know that different wax types exist, or that the technique matters, or that aftercare affects results. All of that information was sitting in the heads of the cosmeticians, never reaching potential clients.

We needed to turn that knowledge into content people would actually watch — and share.

The Intimacy Factor

Let's be honest: waxing videos could easily feel uncomfortable or inappropriate. We were walking a line. The content had to show the service authentically without crossing into territory that would make viewers cringe or scroll away.

This required thoughtfulness about angles, framing, and tone. Every video had to feel inviting rather than invasive.

Before creating a single video, I spent time at the salon. Watched treatments. Talked with the cosmeticians. Asked them what questions clients ask most often, what misconceptions people have, what makes someone nervous on their first visit.

I also went through their training — the same sessions they give new franchise cosmeticians. I wanted to understand the product deeply, not just superficially. You can't create authentic content about something you don't actually know.

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Content Strategy Foundation — four pillars: Premium Visuals, Educational Value, Service Showcase, Professional Credibility.

The Creative Direction

We settled on a few principles that guided everything:

Content Rhythm

Three videos per week. Every week. No exceptions.

Consistency matters more than virality. The algorithm rewards accounts that show up regularly. And more importantly, audiences learn to expect you. They come back because they know there will be something new.

Phase One: Foundation (Months 1-3)

The first month was about establishing presence and testing what worked. We posted consistently and watched the data closely. What made people stop scrolling? What got shared? What prompted comments?

By month one, we'd grown from 300 to 1,000 followers — organic growth, no paid promotion. Not explosive, but steady and real.

Month three brought our first viral moment. A video comparing wax treatment to traditional waxing hit 587,000 views. It wasn't flashy. It was just clear, honest, useful information presented in a way that made people want to share it with friends who were curious about waxing.

That video alone brought more awareness than any advertising campaign could have.

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First Viral Video — visual showing 587K views, engagement metrics, growth spike.

Phase Two: Growth (Months 4-9)

With proof of concept, we refined our approach. By month six, we'd reached 6,000 followers. More importantly, we were seeing consistent engagement — comments asking questions, people tagging friends, saves for later reference.

This phase also included a major test: supporting the launch of a new salon location on Fehérvári Street in Budapest. The TikTok presence was a core part of the launch strategy. Instead of just traditional advertising, we created content specifically about the new location — tours, staff introductions, behind-the-scenes of the opening.

Within three months of opening, the new salon was averaging 5 clients per day — roughly 140 clients per month. For a new location with no established reputation, that's a strong start. And the owner attributed much of that traffic directly to TikTok discovery.

Phase Three: Peak Performance (Months 10-18)

By the second year, BESTWAX had become recognizable. Our best month hit over 900,000 views. Average monthly views stabilized around 300,000. Followers crossed 11,000.

But the number that mattered most wasn't follower count — it was brand recognition. The owner started hearing from clients that they'd found the salon through TikTok. Staff reported that people recognized the brand from videos before booking. On the street, people would approach and say "I follow you on TikTok."

For a waxing salon in Hungary, that kind of recognition was unprecedented.

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18-Month Growth Trajectory — line graph showing follower growth and monthly views over time.

What Worked Best

We found four content types that consistently performed:

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Top Performing Content Types — ranked list with icons and brief descriptions.

The Numbers

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Before & After Dashboard — comprehensive metrics comparison.

Business Impact

• New salon launch: The Fehérvári Street location reached 140 monthly clients within 3 months of opening, with TikTok as a primary discovery channel.
• Brand awareness: From minimal online presence to nationwide recognition. Street-level recognizability in Budapest. Clients mentioning TikTok as their first touchpoint.
• Franchise interest: The visibility generated inquiries about franchise opportunities from other parts of Hungary.