Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Smith.
Hi Ashley, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My journey in the beauty industry started about 10 years ago when I became a licensed esthetician. Over the years, I’ve worked in different areas of the industry, but I’ve always been drawn to creating experiences that make people feel comfortable, cared for, and confident in their skin.
At the same time, my career hasn’t followed a perfectly straight path. I’ve also spent years working in accounting and administrative roles while raising my daughters and navigating life as a working mom. Eventually, I found my way back to esthetics and realized that beauty and wellness were where I truly wanted to build something of my own.
That desire led me to create LS Wax Studio. I wanted to approach waxing differently—not as a rushed appointment, but as an intentional experience centered around skin health, education, comfort, and what I call “Slow Beauty.” I opened my private studio in Grapevine in July 2026, and although that physical location was a much shorter chapter than I originally envisioned, it taught me an incredible amount about entrepreneurship, community, and the kind of brand I ultimately want to build.
Closing the suite wasn’t the end of LS Wax Studio. It gave me an opportunity to regroup and think bigger about what I want the brand to become. I’m continuing to work as an esthetician, deepen my knowledge of skincare and the professional beauty industry, and develop ideas that extend beyond the treatment room, including professional body-care products and other future ventures.
At this stage of my life, I’m also learning to appreciate the journey instead of feeling like everything has to happen at once. My daughters are grown, I’m entering a new season personally, and I’m giving myself permission to build thoughtfully. I’ve learned that sometimes entrepreneurship is about having the courage to start, but it’s also about knowing when to pivot, learn from an experience, and keep going.
I’m still building my story, and I think that’s what makes this chapter exciting. LS Wax Studio was the beginning of something much larger for me, and I’m looking forward to seeing where that foundation takes me next.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. One of the biggest challenges has been learning how to pursue a dream while still dealing with the realities of everyday life.
When I opened LS Wax Studio, I was still working another job while trying to build a clientele, market the business, manage expenses, and learn the business side of entrepreneurship in real time. I had a beautiful vision for the studio, but passion doesn’t eliminate financial pressure. There were moments when I had to make difficult decisions based not on what I wanted to do, but on what was financially sustainable.
One of the hardest decisions was closing my physical studio shortly after opening it. I had invested so much time, energy, money, and emotion into creating that space, so walking away from it was difficult. At first, it was easy to look at that experience and wonder whether I had failed. With some perspective, I’ve realized that it taught me lessons I probably could not have learned any other way.
I learned that being an entrepreneur also means being willing to pivot. Sometimes protecting the larger vision requires letting go of the way you originally imagined getting there.
There have also been personal transitions along the way. I spent many years raising my daughters while working and building my career, and I’m now adjusting to becoming an empty nester and figuring out what I want this next chapter of my life to look like. There’s excitement in that, but there’s also uncertainty.
I’m still navigating some of those challenges today. I don’t have a story where everything went wrong and then suddenly everything became perfect. What I do have is a greater understanding of myself, my industry, and the kind of businesswoman I want to become. I’m learning to give myself room to rebuild, make smarter decisions, and keep moving forward even when the path looks different from the one I originally planned.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a licensed esthetician with about 10 years of experience in the beauty and wellness industry, and my work is centered around helping people feel comfortable and confident in their skin. I specialize in skincare and body waxing, but what I’m really known for is taking my time, educating my clients, and creating an experience that feels personal rather than transactional.
That philosophy became the foundation for LS Wax Studio and what I call “Slow Beauty.” For me, Slow Beauty means being intentional—paying attention to the health of the skin, protecting the skin barrier, understanding what each client actually needs, and not rushing through a service simply because there’s another appointment on the schedule.
I currently work in a luxury spa environment, where I’m continuing to grow as an esthetician and expand my knowledge of professional skincare, treatments, products, and the business side of the beauty industry. I’ve also had opportunities to represent my spa within the professional beauty community, which has allowed me to build relationships with brands and other industry professionals.
What I’m most proud of is that I continue to evolve. Opening LS Wax Studio showed me that I’m capable of taking an idea from my head and turning it into something real. Even though I ultimately decided to close the physical location, the concept and philosophy behind LS didn’t disappear. If anything, that experience helped me understand the bigger opportunity.
Long term, I’m interested in creating experiences and products that support beauty professionals as well as their clients. I’ve begun exploring professional body-care formulations and other ways to bring the same thoughtful, elevated approach I use in the treatment room into the larger beauty and wellness industry.
What sets me apart is that I don’t believe luxury is just about how something looks or how much it costs. To me, luxury is attention to detail. It’s making someone feel seen, educating them without making them feel intimidated, and creating an experience where they know their skin is being cared for intentionally. That’s the standard I try to bring to everything I do.
What’s next?
I’m actually in a really exciting season because I’m allowing myself to think bigger while also being much more intentional about how I build.
Professionally, I want to continue growing as an esthetician and expanding my knowledge of skincare, ingredients, treatments, and the business side of the beauty and wellness industry. Education is very important to me, and I want to continue pursuing advanced training and eventually be in a position where I can educate and support other beauty professionals as well.
I’m also developing ideas beyond the treatment room. One area I’m particularly excited about is product development. I’ve been working on concepts for elevated body, massage, hair, and personal-care products with the professional beauty industry in mind. My experience as an esthetician gives me a different perspective because I’m thinking not only about what feels luxurious to the consumer, but also about what actually makes sense for the professionals using those products every day.
LS Wax Studio is still very much part of my future. I don’t know that its next chapter will look exactly like the first one, and I’m okay with that. I eventually want to bring the brand back in a way that is sustainable, scalable, and true to the original vision of thoughtful, elevated body care and waxing.
Beyond LS, I have a much larger entrepreneurial vision that I’m slowly developing under House of A. Renee. I have interests that extend into beauty, product development, design, hospitality, and even food, and for a long time I thought I had to choose just one thing. I’m beginning to understand that the goal doesn’t necessarily have to be choosing one—it can be building each idea intentionally at the right time.
Personally, I’m also entering a completely new chapter. After years of raising my daughters and building my life around motherhood and work, I’m now an empty nester. For the first time in a long time, I have the opportunity to really ask myself what I want the next 10 or 20 years to look like.
I’m looking forward to building without rushing. I’ve learned that I don’t have to launch every idea tomorrow. Right now, I’m focused on strengthening my foundation, continuing to learn, creating meaningful relationships within the industry, and being prepared when the right opportunities come. I have some very big dreams—I’m just much more intentional now about how I plan to reach them.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Lswaxstudio
- Facebook: Lswaxstudio
- LinkedIn: Lswaxstudio
