So without getting all TMI (oops, it’s too late), I went to New York waxing emporium Completely Bare last week and had that service–you know, the one that Jennifer Love Hewitt talked about on George Lopez and which has been making the “Seriously?  Gross!” rounds.  (We also wrote about it on The Gloss.)

Let’s just cut to the chase: waxing is akin to medieval torture.  Why pour hot wax all over your nether regions when a razor will do the same job very nicely, thank you very much?  Of course, I’m–usually–blissfully ingrown-free.  Some of my friends over the years have been exceedingly prone to ingrowns, and in those cases, shaving is the real bitch.

Swarovski crystals on your mons aside, there are pros and cons to both waxing and shaving–so much so that I devoted an entire chapter to it in my book Beauty Confidential.  If you’re prone to ingrowns, are even slightly lazy, tend to have coarser hair, or simply feel like spending the money, then waxing is for you.  (Oh, yeah.  You have to have a SKY HIGH pain tolerance…or not be a giant baby.  Both necessities count me out.)

However, if you’re diligent about your shower upkeep, have finer hair, can’t afford regular trips to the salon, and/or genuinely can’t take the pain (see: giant baby, above), razors will be your best friend.

Either way, after you do your thing, consider applying some bikini bump treatment to the area, to prevent ingrowns.  Tend Skin works nicely, and I also like Bliss Ingrown Eliminating Pads.  (In a pinch, use a Clearasil pad, or something with salicylic acid.)  When waxing, pop an Advil an hour before treatment (and apply numbing LMX cream, if possible); if you’re shaving, don’t forget to go in the direction that hair grows, rather than against it.

Enough of that.  Let’s talk about puppies and rainbows instead.