2019-06-01+Woman+and+Home

A

fewyearsagoI wentfora

bikiniwax.Onspyingmy

unkemptnethers,theyoung

technicianteeteredbackin

alarm.Admittedly,it wasa wilderness

downthere(withthreeyoungchildren,

I barelyhadtimetotendtomyheadhair,

letaloneanythingelse).Butstill,it was

onlyharmlesspubichair,andnota

wolverineabouttorearupandbiteher.

Wincingvisibly,shetrimmedit with

scissorsheldatarm’slengthbefore

theactualwaxingcouldcommence.

Humiliated,I switchedtoshaving

wheneverI neededtotidythingsup.

Eventhat’sprettyminimal– aslittle

asI feelI cangetawaywith,really.

It’stheintimategroomingequivalent

of dumping unwashed dishes into the

FromBrazilians tothefull fuzz, fashionsin nether-regionmaintenance

come and go. Fiona Gibson updates us on the politics of body hair...

“Intimate

waxinghas

becomebig

business”

sinkandthrowinga teatowelover

myBrilloPadpriortovisitorsarriving.

UntilfairlyrecentlyI’dassumedthat

youngerwomenwouldbedisgusted by

myrelaxedattitude.Afterall,

intimatewaxinghasbecome

bigbusinesssincethe

Brazilian(allhairremoved

apartfroma thin“landing

strip”)wasfirstintroduced

totheUSin 1987.Bythe

2000s,theHollywood(ie,

allhairoff,smoothasan

egg)hadbecomea favouredoption.

However,amazingly– andhappily–

it seemsthere’sa returntoleavingour

down-therehairasnatureintended.

“It’stheover-fortieswhotendto

request Brazilians and Hollywoods

now,”saysKirstenMaine,co-directorof

LiveTrueLondon(livetruelondon.com),

a groupofsalonsacrossthecapital.

“We arealsofindingthatclientswant

morehairleftontop,rather

thanjusta thinstrip.”Asfor

youngerwomen?“They’re

askingmoreforbasicbikini

andextendedbikinioptions,”

Kirstensays.“Perhaps

millennialsdon’tseea need

toremovealltheirpubic

hair,andlikethewayit

looksandfeelsjustwitha tidyup.”

Forourhealth,ourcomfortand

purses,thisis excellentnews.It’sasif

wehadalmostforgottenthatpubichair

servesa purpose(toofferprotection

against injury, abrasion, bacteria and >>

garden grow?

How does your (lady)

straight-talking woman