Body Hair

A couple weeks back, I tried the hair removal gadget Silk'n SensEpil for the first time. It was fast, it was easy, it was blindingly bright. So over the weekend, I threw on my sunglasses just like the brave canine in the picture, cranked the zapper up a notch, and did my second session. I'm gonna make this report short but sweet. To see how it went, just keep reading.

In case you didn't catch it, on Monday I told you I was about to start using the Silk'n SensEpil ($499) to, with any luck, permanently depilate myself. Last night, I went ahead and zapped my underarms and bikini line for the first time. The experience was different than using Tria's laser, in-office laser hair removal, or the No!No!, so to find out what an Epil session is like, just keep reading.

The New York Times has picked up on the "trend" of women not shaving their leg and armpit hair, counting Mo'Nique and singer Amanda Palmer among women who don't like the shaved look. There's been a lot of talk recently about both women, which is a bit odd, considering shaving is uncommon in many other countries. It's a big deal only because our culture makes it so.

I think shaving has its place. Even though I've been known to get lazy about depilating, I love having smooth, glossy legs. But I don't care if other women choose not to — doesn't matter to me one way or another. Where do you stand on this? Do you think you could stop shaving and feel confident? (Or maybe you already are au naturel?) Or is going the free and easy route only for celebrities who are already too glam and rich to care what other people think?

Lemme tell ya, a Bella editor's weekend is one nonstop party. On Saturday, in between reorganizing my closet and brushing the cats' fur, I went in for my third round of laser hair removal. As previously mentioned, I'm getting my bikini line and underarms zapped. This is, I have decided, one of the best grooming decisions I have made. Here's why: After only two sessions, at least 80 percent of my hair was gone, and the stuff that remained was soft and downy. I went three weeks without shaving my underarms, and you'd be able to see hair only if you looked closely. For a lazy girl, this is a big win.

This time around, my laser technician turned the machine up to 11 (figuratively speaking) to better target those very fine hairs. Each treatment hurts less, but there were still a few yeow! moments. Because I've already lost so much hair, we decided to take a few month break before the next session. Truthfully, I wish I'd waited a little while longer before going in for the third treatment; I just didn't have much hair to get rid of this time around, and it would have been nice to be slightly more hirsute before being lasered.

To find out why I wish I'd done this sooner (it's not for the reason you'd imagine), read more.

Meet Megan Barnes, a Florida woman who recently decided to groom her bikini area . . . while driving. Allegedly, she was shaving the area before a date with her boyfriend. With her ex-husband steering the car from the passenger seat, Barnes collided with a pickup truck. (Nobody was hurt.) She kept driving before the fuzz pulled her over; turns out she was driving with a suspended license and had been convicted of a DUI the previous day. She's been charged with one felony and two misdemeanors and is waiting for her day in court. Talk about a hairy situation.

Source

Two laser hair removal sessions down, three more to go. Or maybe not, as it turns out. Allow me to explain. After the first session on my bikini line and underarms, I lost a lot of hair. It was delightful to see small pieces of hair simply slip out of the follicle, leaving bare skin behind. It was like living in a balding man's Bizarro World, in which every shed strand brought me more and more glee.

My second appointment was scheduled for five weeks after the first, and the laser technician was similarly pleased by how much hair was gone. Even so, I was surprised by how much hair the laser picked up. Because some of my underarm hair was fine, zapping them required a higher setting. It was fine for the most part, but when it hit a stray thicker hair, it was Pain City, population: me. Still, the pain is over quickly, and the fact that I've shaved my underarms once in seven weeks is worth enduring it.

Because I'd lost so much hair from just one treatment, my technician recommended that I wait longer until my next visit. "It'll allow more hair to grow in, so we'll get rid of more," she explained. So from now until mid-April, I'll be letting my hair down. The good news is that there is significantly less fuzz as it is; the bad news is that my neuroses make me think that the early success was a fluke, and I'll wake up one morning to Chewbacca armpits. It's too early for me to give my final opinion of laser hair removal, but so far, "Why didn't I do this earlier?" keeps going through my mind.

Source: Flickr user pasukaru76

In a world where vajacials are listed on a spa's menu and disturbingly wacky ladyparts trends are thrown our way, here's something to add to the excess — the Va J-J Visor ($10 for six). I groan at the name, although I suppose it's slightly better than the Hoo Ha Hoodie.

Similar to a cup for women, this gynecologist-invented disposable covering is intended to protect the dainty bits. Its suggested usage is to cover the region while tanning; for hygienic use while trying on underwear or swimsuits; for privacy when getting tattooed or pierced; and, of course, for hair removal. (I think it may be more awkward to wear a vulvar visor during a wax than to go naked, but that's just me.) Shaped to be held into place by your own natural muscular movement, the Va J-J Visor can also be "suctioned" on. Oh, and the one-use visors are recyclable, too. The mind reels. What do you think about this thing?

Have you ever thought, "My life would be so much better if only there were a facial for my crotch"? Me neither, but San Francisco's Stript Wax Bar is introducing the Vajacial. Suggested for women who get Brazilian waxes, the trademarked treatment aims to do for your ladybits what a facial does for your face. "We developed the Vajacial to really address and treat the key needs of anyone who gets waxed," Stript owner Katherine Goldman said in a press release. "Your 'little lady' will thank us!"

Meant to be performed a week after waxing, the 50-minute treatment ($60) involves four steps. First, skin is cleansed with an antibacterial body wash and witch hazel. Then, a papaya-based exfoliating gel goes on before the esthetician extracts ingrown hairs. After that, an anti-freckle, anti-acne, or calming mask is applied. It finishes off with an application of lightening cream. (Unless the esthetician plans to put a mask on a client's vaginal walls, shouldn't this treatment be called the Vulvacial?)

Oh, where to begin? Lots to say on this one, so read more.