The Hair, A Parent
Want a Brazilian wax for bikini weather? Not so fast, kiddo.
By Randall Roberts

Published: Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Tucked within Missouri Senate Bill 280, now awaiting Governor Matt Blunt's signature, is a single sentence that's sure to have repercussions at poolside chaises and in steamy backseats across the state: "The written informed consent of a minor's parent or legal guardian... must be obtained prior to providing body waxing on or near the genitalia."
If Blunt signs the bill -- which he's fully expected to do -- budding bikini-wearers interested in ripping the pubic hair from their nether-regions will have to convince Mom or Dad to sign off.

"That's so a child under the age of eighteen can’t go in and do a complete Brazilian wax without parental consent,” explains Darla Fox, executive director of the Missouri State Board of Cosmetology, which proposed the law.

“Twelve- and thirteen-year-old little girls think they’re eighteen and nineteen in this day and age,” Fox continues. “Sometimes they can become very rebellious, and if they think this is something that their folks can come unglued about, that’s what they’re going to do.”

The hair-removal method, “the barest form of erotic shaving,” gained prominence in the mid-’90s as skimpy thongs made their way into wardrobes. Rather than simply trim the hair escaping from the cloth triangle, women (and men) started paying to have it waxed off. The added bonus is increased sensitivity. And, in a culture where some teens don’t consider oral sex to be sex at all, a good waxing can double the pleasure.

“We use a wax substance specifically made for [Brazilian waxing],” says Chris Duello, marketing director for The Face & The Body, a Clayton day spa that offers the procedure for $60. “It tends to be very sticky. The wax is applied carefully where you want to remove the hair, and then a piece of cloth, usually a muslin, is applied to that, and it’s smoothed in the direction of the hair growth.”

With one stern rip and a few days of healing, the pubic area and butt crack are as fresh as the morning dew and remain so for a couple of months.

“The hair,” notes Duello, “is stuck in the wax, the wax is stuck in the muslin, and as you pull it backwards it removes the hair from the follicles.” He adds that the proposed legislation won’t effect business much at The Face & The Body, which already requires parental consent to wax anyone sixteen or under.

Erin Otis, an aesthetician at American Image Salon in Chesterfield, says that she has a lot of teens asking for the procedure. “The majority of my clients come in and say they heard about it on Sex and the City. They come to us and say, ‘What is this all about?’ and it’s always in a really hush-hush voice when the door’s shut. A lot of the kids would probably be embarrassed if they had to go to their parents and say, ‘I want to go and have this done,’ and the parents would go, ‘Why?’”

The parental-permission-for-waxing provision was tacked onto a larger piece of legislation that will merge the state’s cosmetology and barber boards. The bill passed both houses of the legislature with near-unanimous support. Blunt has until July 14 to approve the measure. When signed into law, the waxing provision will take immediate effect — so expect teenagers to soon be racing to waxing salons in time for the summer nookie season.

“Brazilian waxing is absolutely the thing now for these young people,” says Darla Fox. “It’s always been a thing for body-builders and models, but it is unbelievable how many people want this thing done. And that’s fine if their folks say it’s OK.”

Do 12 yr olds really need waxing at all?

This is probably part of the evil P&G, Gillette conpiracy.

The only good thing to come out of this is Missouri legislators saying the phrase "Brazilian Wax."

"This Image Is Unavailable"

With one stern rip and a few days of healing, the pubic area and butt crack are as fresh as the morning dew and remain so for a couple of months.

This might be the funniest thing i've read all day

Um..

I think that they should have to get parental consent (at least) and then even after that I would be wary if I was the aesthitician who was performing the wax.

They are minors, after all, and the person doing the waxing is going to be pulling and prodding and stretching all kinds of areas to get a good wax. I imagine that without the parental consent, these people could, on a very bad day, be sued for sexual abuse on a minor. some kind of statutory rape like thing, where even if the kid consented to it, the adult "should have known better" to be touching them there?

right?

It's like genital or nipple piercings. I if I were a provider of these, I would be keeping my hands off anyone under 18.

If the only think keeping your 12 year old daughter from having sex is lack of bikini wax, I've got news for you; you've failed as a parent, and your child will be pregnant at age 14.

They are minors, after all, and the person doing the waxing is going to be pulling and prodding and stretching all kinds of areas to get a good wax. I imagine that without the parental consent, these people could, on a very bad day, be sued for sexual abuse on a minor. some kind of statutory rape like thing, where even if the kid consented to it, the adult "should have known better" to be touching them there?

The brazilian from my understanding is clearing a woman of all pubic hair.

Yeah, what part of "the pubic area and butt crack are as fresh as the morning dew and remain so for a couple of months" didn't you understand?

uh, it's a total lie though. You start growing hair back again in like a week.

Who are you?