Guest post by Nafisa Akabor

In May GoBeauty made a comeback on the WeChat app. This means all your last minute beauty and spa treatments can be taken care of directly within the app.

If you’re too busy to pick up the phone and try to make an appointment, or told that the date you want isn’t available, or if the line is just engaged – it gets frustrating and frankly a waste of your precious time. The easier solution is to do it via WeChat. Once you have the app installed on your smartphone, just search for the “GoBeautySA” contact and add them.

This little portal is life simplified.  If you need a blow wave, quick mani or in need of a massage – sooner rather than later, just fire up the app, go to the GoBeautySA contact and search “BeautyMap”. Here you will find salons and spas near you.

You will notice various icons on the map. The one indicated by a green power button is the one you’re after. These listings provide you with an immediate booking. Just go into the listing to choose your treatment type, therapist (optional) and time. Once you hit send, the booking is confirmed.

A booking can easily take up to one minute. I tried making a booking on the app myself last week and it was really that simple and quick. Confirmation was immediate/automated. I’m a huge fan of NOT talking on the phone, so I loved the ability to make an immediate booking via an app.  I made my appointment around 13h30 and was at the spa by 3pm for my treatments.

The other icons on the app, not the green power button ones, still let you make a booking, but you need put your details in and wait for a confirmation. Still beats calling in and lots of talking before it gets done.

The app also has a BeautyChat option if you’d like to get advice before going in for a treatment, etc. Once you are in the Map mode, you can further filter by treatment type. There are also “Editors Picks” if you want to browse that.

The four major cities supported in South Africa are Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Pretoria.