- Dec 14, 2000
- 68,143
- 10
- 81
http://www.chicagotribune.com/...-react,0,4403680.story
Imagine, for a moment, a world without "Brazilian" bikini waxes.
Boarded up waxing salons. Skirt-length bikini bottoms. The evisceration of centuries of South American cultural tradition.
This nightmare scenario, sparked by New Jersey's recently proposed ban on the bare-it-all Brazilian-style procedure, has waxing professionals in Chicago and across the country atwitter.
"Everybody that comes into a salon, that's all that they want is the Brazilian wax," said Jeannette Abou-Mourad, owner of Sister's Skin Care and Waxing on Michigan Avenue. "How do you tell a woman what she can and can't do down there?"
Jeff Lamm, a spokesman for New Jersey's Division of Consumer Affairs, was asked that very question ... more or less.
"This is really prompted from the health care perspective," Lamm said. "Two complaints were filed with the board of cosmetology and hair styling. Two women within the past year sustained injury."
A lawsuit has been filed in one of the cases, Lamm said, and the state plans to make a decision on the ban no earlier than May.
For the uninitiated, a Brazilian-style bikini wax involves the full removal of hair from what can euphemistically be called the "bikini region." Abou-Mourad explained that, despite its South American name, the practice began thousands of years ago in the Middle East, a tradition considered routine and hygienic.
"It's pure cleanliness," she said. "It began in the Middle East, then traveled to Brazil and around other parts of the world before it wound up in America."
And it's now wildly in fashion.
"It's the most popular, the most requested service we have," said Stephanie Grant, who owns Just Waxing Salon in Bucktown. "We might do six or seven a day on average."
New Jersey officials have opted for the more cringe-inducing term "genital waxing," which draws a clearer demarcation between Brazilian waxes and the parts of the body that can be legally plucked: face, neck, arms, legs and abdomen.
What remains highly unclear is how state regulators could enforce such a ban
"I'm interested in how you're supposed to determine whether someone has a Brazilian or not," Grant said. "It's pretty intimate. How will you know? Send in undercover people to get waxed?"
Lamm said salons would likely just be trusted to comply with state rules. But if prohibition brought about back-room gin mills, what might desperate Jersey Shore-goers resort to in the face of a Brazilian ban?
"Bikinis will continue to be worn," noted Abou-Mourad. "God forbid women start to hurt themselves trying to do it themselves. It's sensitive, and best done by a professional."
Gordon Miller, executive director of the National Cosmetology Association in Chicago, said he also worries about the economic impact if a state actually bans such a popular procedure.
"It's something that makes up a good percentage of revenues, especially in salons that specialize in waxing and skin care services," Miller said. "We've never received a consumer complaint about this particular service. There has been no industry conversation about the service. It sounds like two isolated incidents and it seems like an overreaction by New Jersey regulators."
It also may be a public relations misstep. New Jersey, with its turnpike and pollution, already gets picked on enough by late-night comics. Add a bikini waxing ban to the mix and the Garden State might never hear the end of it.
hahahah this is insane. Now that they can't get a brazilian wax they are going to be hairy! ohh no!
so who is going to check? i volonteer to go inspect women off the street. i will walk around pick women out to get in my van and show me they are not getting a brazilian wax. i know its a rough job but i am willing to take one for society.
Imagine, for a moment, a world without "Brazilian" bikini waxes.
Boarded up waxing salons. Skirt-length bikini bottoms. The evisceration of centuries of South American cultural tradition.
This nightmare scenario, sparked by New Jersey's recently proposed ban on the bare-it-all Brazilian-style procedure, has waxing professionals in Chicago and across the country atwitter.
"Everybody that comes into a salon, that's all that they want is the Brazilian wax," said Jeannette Abou-Mourad, owner of Sister's Skin Care and Waxing on Michigan Avenue. "How do you tell a woman what she can and can't do down there?"
Jeff Lamm, a spokesman for New Jersey's Division of Consumer Affairs, was asked that very question ... more or less.
"This is really prompted from the health care perspective," Lamm said. "Two complaints were filed with the board of cosmetology and hair styling. Two women within the past year sustained injury."
A lawsuit has been filed in one of the cases, Lamm said, and the state plans to make a decision on the ban no earlier than May.
For the uninitiated, a Brazilian-style bikini wax involves the full removal of hair from what can euphemistically be called the "bikini region." Abou-Mourad explained that, despite its South American name, the practice began thousands of years ago in the Middle East, a tradition considered routine and hygienic.
"It's pure cleanliness," she said. "It began in the Middle East, then traveled to Brazil and around other parts of the world before it wound up in America."
And it's now wildly in fashion.
"It's the most popular, the most requested service we have," said Stephanie Grant, who owns Just Waxing Salon in Bucktown. "We might do six or seven a day on average."
New Jersey officials have opted for the more cringe-inducing term "genital waxing," which draws a clearer demarcation between Brazilian waxes and the parts of the body that can be legally plucked: face, neck, arms, legs and abdomen.
What remains highly unclear is how state regulators could enforce such a ban
"I'm interested in how you're supposed to determine whether someone has a Brazilian or not," Grant said. "It's pretty intimate. How will you know? Send in undercover people to get waxed?"
Lamm said salons would likely just be trusted to comply with state rules. But if prohibition brought about back-room gin mills, what might desperate Jersey Shore-goers resort to in the face of a Brazilian ban?
"Bikinis will continue to be worn," noted Abou-Mourad. "God forbid women start to hurt themselves trying to do it themselves. It's sensitive, and best done by a professional."
Gordon Miller, executive director of the National Cosmetology Association in Chicago, said he also worries about the economic impact if a state actually bans such a popular procedure.
"It's something that makes up a good percentage of revenues, especially in salons that specialize in waxing and skin care services," Miller said. "We've never received a consumer complaint about this particular service. There has been no industry conversation about the service. It sounds like two isolated incidents and it seems like an overreaction by New Jersey regulators."
It also may be a public relations misstep. New Jersey, with its turnpike and pollution, already gets picked on enough by late-night comics. Add a bikini waxing ban to the mix and the Garden State might never hear the end of it.
hahahah this is insane. Now that they can't get a brazilian wax they are going to be hairy! ohh no!
so who is going to check? i volonteer to go inspect women off the street. i will walk around pick women out to get in my van and show me they are not getting a brazilian wax. i know its a rough job but i am willing to take one for society.
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