BellaSugar

Amanda Palmer Just Says No to Shaving

Miriam Lacey — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 14:12:25 PST

Rocker Amanda Palmer has a PSA: shaving off your pubic hair to conform is "so wack." Her new video for "Map of Tasmania" is a fierce (and sparkly) rebuttal to those who say hair-free is the only way to be. It makes a good point: women are often faced with derision if they don't shave, and that's totally wrongheaded.

On the other hand, Amanda comes off as very aggressively anti-shorn in this song, saying that women without pubic hair "look like an eight-year-old," adding "it's sad." As someone who genuinely likes smooth skin, I was a little bummed at the put-downs. It's undermining and seems out of character, especially since just last year, Amanda told The New York Times: "You know what’s really cool? Wake up every morning, decide what you feel like doing, and do it." Well, I woke up and decided, and I'm pretty happy with it; I just wish Amanda was, too. What do you think about the "necessity" to shave? And if you want to see Amanda's (extremely, really NSFW but fun) video, just keep reading.

Community Roundup: Do Guys Prefer Bikini or Brazilian Waxes?

TresSugar — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 04:30:57 PST

Bikini or Brazilian? - Très Q + A
Crisis pregnancy centers and tax fraud - Life Forward
Contacting the guy who rejected sex - All the Single Ladies
Making out on a second date - Group Therapy
Share your love stories to get featured on Très - Fall in Love

Do You Go Hairless?

Annie Scudder — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 12:15:57 PDT

Hair down there might be going the way of female armpit hair. Among women 18 to 24 years old, 58 percent report going completely hairless some of the time, offering evidence that pubic hair is increasingly considered unsightly or "gross," just like all other body hair on a woman.

This week, Psychology Today examined how the Brazilian wax trend impacts sexuality. The article accepts that each generation produces its own trends (with the help of the porn industry), but also wonders if the new expectation makes young women feel obliged to wax and shave. The whole process is timely, costly, and painful, and it's troubling to think that women must alter their bodies just to please their partners' aesthetic preferences. But there's another side of the debate. One study found that women who wax report more sexual satisfaction and better "genital self-image." Couldn't that confidence come from knowing you're meeting the expectation?

Perhaps the key is groom yourself according to your own preference, not someone else's. What's yours?

Do You Think Brazilian Waxes Are Truly Popular?

BellaSugar — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:00:26 PDT

Funny lady Janeane Garofalo has a new stand-up special out called If You Will, and in it she takes on the popularity of Brazilian waxes. In a recent interview, she said, "We've been conned into thinking it's desirable to have that waxing done and that people like it. I think it's a national myth that we have all gone along with for some reason."

But how many people are getting Brazilians, anyway? It's not like there's a hair census that reveals the trends of the nether regions. When it comes to depilation, I'm definitely a "to each her own" kind of girl. While some people wax or shave everything, plenty of others don't. So what do you think? Is Brazilian waxing really as popular as Janeane says?

When Manscaping Goes South

BellaSugar — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 04:00:00 PDT

Now here's one instance of guy grooming we really and truly hope doesn't get repeated: a 24-year-old British guy recently almost lost one of his, ahem, surfboard fins when the Brazilian wax he was getting went horribly awry.

Joe Cooper, who seems like an extremely affable young man, had volunteered to get his manly parts waxed in order to raise money for his local hospital, but wound up there himself when he made the mistake of letting the highest bidder pull off one of the wax strips. The overenthusiastic (and obviously totally new to waxing) bidder managed to remove six layers of poor Joe's skin, although luckily he's recovering nicely. We've definitely had bad waxing experiences before where skin got removed instead of hair, but nothing as horrendous as this. Would you ever encourage a guy to wax his area? And do you think that, as manscaping gains in popularity, we'll hear about more incidents like this?

Why Are So Many Women Showing Off Their Privates?

BellaSugar — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 07:00:46 PDT

Some people are taking the overshare to the next level. Ice-T's wife Coco decided to tweet her Brazilian (Twitpic removed the picture, but if you must, the NSFW nakedness is here). Last week, Kathy Griffin had a pap smear done live poolside-for a good cause, but still. And vajazzling videos galore are popping up on YouTube. (Thanks, Jennifer Love Hewitt.) It's not just celebrities who seem to be eager to make their ladybits subject to public scrutiny, though. There's a lot going on here, so to see more about it, just keep reading.

Let's Tackle that Hairy Question: Are Brazilian Waxes Necessary?

BellaSugar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:00:27 PST

Do you really need a Brazilian wax these days? That's the question a woman posed to the Times of London, after a new beau was "shocked" by her presence of pubic hair. In her letter, she says, "I don’t think that a permanent tan and Brazilian wax should be dealbreakers in a relationship. Or am I just hopelessly outdated?"

Long story short, advice columnist Suzi Godson tells the woman to let 'er rip. "Grooming down there is now considered to be normal, on a par with manicures, blow-drying, and eyebrow waxing," she says. "There is something hugely irritating about being forced to conform to an aesthetic ideal instigated and perpetuated by the porn industry, but, like keeping one’s armpits and legs smooth, it is now expected."

Oh brother. You already know that I hate, hate, hate the whole "wax, or else you are gross and undesirable!" standpoint, but I wanted to get a professional opinion on the matter. So I turned to sex educator Debby Herbenick, Ph.D., MPH, author of Because It Feels Good. Her advice is about 10 times better than Godson's, so read more.

Beauty Byte: No Ban on the Brazilian

BellaSugar — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:00:08 PDT

As the warmer months approach, perhaps you're thinking of heading to the salon for a bikini wax - or maybe even a Brazilian, if you dare. And if you're living in New Jersey, you can rest assured, knowing that a possible ban on Brazilian waxing has been lifted. Last week, officials in the Garden State threatened to prohibit the risqué service due to concern about hair removal safety around the oh-so-sensitive intimate areas, particularly after two women were sent to the hospital with infections following the bare-down-there treatment. In a letter to the New Jersey State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling, the state's director of consumer affairs, David Szuchman, noted that the procedure in fact can be safely carried out.

New Jersey officials agreed. So salon owners win, and the Brazilians will stay. What do you think about this hairy situation? As long as the proper safety precautions are taken, are you pro-Brazilian? Or do you think they're just too risky?

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Bliss Wants You to Say Farewell to Bush. Yes, That One.

BellaSugar — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 09:00:53 PST

You've got to give credit to the clever guys and gals over at Bliss for their amazing ability to play on words - The Big 'Orange' or 'Dew' Diligence Facial, anyone?

And now the quick-witted company has an offer sure to make you chortle. From Monday the 19th until Sunday, February 1st, you can say farewell to bush at Bliss Spas in NYC, LA, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Scottsdale by saving 20 percent on a Brazilian bikini wax appointment when you present the coupon from the link above. You'll also receive a 20 percent discount on Ingrown Hair Eliminating Peeling Pads (regularly $38), Poetic Wax Kit (regularly $45), and Get Out of Hair! Lotion ($35) at participating Bliss Spa locations and at Blissworld.com when you type in BUSH in the shopping bag at checkout. So whether you're happy or sad about W leaving office, you can save a few bucks on your personal deforestation.

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Ten Tips for a Nearly Painless Bikini Wax

BellaSugar — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 14:00:50 PDT

I think only masochists look forward to a bikini wax, and small wonder: It hurts! The thing is, it doesn't have to hurt quite so badly. I've compiled a list of ten ways you can reduce the pain of waxing. If you're new to waxing, I highly recommend going to a professional to see how it's done. After a few times, you might want to try doing it at home to save a few bucks; I really love completely bare's wax kit because it's practically pain-free. (Let me know if you'd like a how-to on at-home waxing; I'd be happy to do one!) For now, to learn how to keep pain at bay,

Plan to wax after your period. Your pain threshold is higher in the week after your period than beforehand. Think of it like this: If sappy commercials make you cry when you're premenstrual, having wax applied to your dainty bits certainly will.
Lose your self-consciousness. Yes, a stranger is going to see you wearing, at most, a paper thong. Don't worry about offending her or feeling embarrassed. It's nothing she hasn't seen before. The less anxious you are, the less you'll worry about pain.
Start off slowly. Your first bikini wax is not the time to try a Brazilian. If you're new to waxing, go with a basic bikini wax. You can always decide to remove more the next time around.
Exfoliate. The day before you decide to wax, exfoliate in the shower. This will remove dead skin, allowing the wax to grip shorter hairs.
Speak up. A good esthetician will work with you to make sure you're as comfortable as you can be. I always ask my esthetician to tell me when she's about to pull the wax off. So don't be shy to say something if you have a low pain tolerance-it's better to speak up than to suffer in silence.
Use hard wax. Hard wax is more gentle than soft wax, so I recommend going to a spa that uses it.
Take an over-the-counter pain reliever. About an hour before your appointment, take an Advil, Tylenol or other pain reliever.
Breathe. It can be tempting to hold your breath, but breathing in and out helps reduce the pain. Take a deep breath in when the wax goes on, then breathe out when your esthetician gives it a yank.
Know which parts are most sensitive. You wouldn't expect it, but having hair pulled from the lower abdomen area is more painful than it is around the vaginal opening.
Turn your head and cough. An esthetician at Bliss taught me this trick: When the wax is about to be ripped off, cough. It distracts from the pain, and trust me, it works!

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