A Hairy Situation in the Big Apple

Ask most women what they dread most about the summertime and you're likely to hear two words: hair removal.

Whether their method of choice is waxing (ouch!), shaving (quickly stubbly), or laser treatments (too pricey), women seem to spend as much time between Memorial Day and Labor Day moaning about body hair as they do at picnics and lawn parties. But if you want to wear a bikini or short shorts, what's a girl to do?

Fortunately for ladies that are in New York City next week, the folks at Bliss Spa are coming to the rescue. On Wednesday and Thursday (Aug. 5 and 6), Bliss reps will be on the street handing out special discounts on their in-spa waxing services (which many N.Y.-based beauty editors consider to be the city's best) and plenty of free samples too. Where will this, um, hair-raising promotion take place? At key locations across the Big Apple, from Times Square to Soho, outside Crunch on Lafayette.

Certainly, getting some freebies and a deal on one of summertime's inevitable necessities should make you feel good, but there's even more to smile about by supporting Bliss. This international success story was originally the brainchild of one spunky woman, Marcia Kilgore, who started the business in her Greenwich Village apartment by giving facials to friends. Just 13 years later, there are branches in several countries (pictured is a typical check-in area) and a vast line of products (most of which are free of parabens and other irritants), plus the company continues to expand. Basically, the growth of Bliss is enough to make your hair stand on end.

And if you can't make it to New York next week, don't pull your hair out — there are plenty of products to do that in the privacy of your own bathroom on Bliss' website.