Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services
Iqaluit (Jun 18/01) - Pluck, shave, wax, trim, Neet, Nair, you name it, we go to extraordinary lengths to remove unwanted hair from various parts of our bodies.
To the same list you can add the sugaring technique, plant enzymes called hair inhibitors and a drug -- now available to women with unwanted facial hair -- called Vaniqa.
Yes, fur-bearing ladies and gentlemen, it's true. There's simply no need or excuse to have hair anywhere but on the top of your head these days.
An obsession primarily of North Americans, the desire to rid ourselves of hair is indeed a lucrative business. And while men also dabble in body hair removal, women spend by far the most money and time trying to achieve the pre-pubescent look.
Nowdlak Maurice knows these things. A stylist at the Baffin Hair Studio in Iqaluit, Maurice smears hot wax on people's bodies -- everything from armpits to abdomen -- and then tears it off with paper. The procedure scares the hair so badly it's afraid to grow back for six to eight weeks.
Describing the pain as something that lasts "just for a split second," Maurice said the weirdest appendages she'd waxed were toes.
"I watched one guy get his back waxed," added Maurice. That procedure cost a minimum of $60.
Women can get their upper lips (not called moustaches on ladies) done for $10, both of their legs stripped for $40 and, for the low, low price of $25 can have hot wax applied to what's delicately known as their "bikini area."
For $70, you can become bald from the scalp down.
Jessica Hamburg doesn't want to spend that kind of money. She prefers a good, old-fashioned razor and shaving cream.
"Legs, armpits and bathing suit area," said Hamburg of her shaving preferences. She further asserts that the choice to shave is about her personal preference and not to fit into any feminine ideals.
Clean-shaven women are in keeping with the popular culture, however, said Rankin Inlet resident Dan Kreuger.
"It's a cultural thing," said Kreuger. "To see hairy women is not what you expect."
Kreuger currently gets his own hair fashion sense from MuchMusic videos.
"I have a goatee ... and a completely shaven head," said Kreuger, noting that early spring was a wee bit chilly this year.
