"Virgin" Bikini Waxing Now Popular for Pre-Teen Girls

MSNBC has a long trend-piece about how increasingly younger girls are getting bikini waxing. How young? Well, Wanda Stawczyk, who runs Wanda's European Skin Care on West 57th Street, offers discounts for clients as young as 8, and she says pre-teen business is booming, telling the Post that "in 10 years waxing children will be like taking them to the dentist or putting braces on their teeth." Her company’s website says it all:

"Virgin-waxing for children 8 years old and up who have never shaved before. Virgin hair can be waxed so successfully that growth can be permanently stopped in just 2 to 6 sessions. Save your child a lifetime of waxing... and put the money in the bank for her college education instead

And leave it to the Post to enlighten those readers “interested in whether there's even hair to wax. Pre-puberty hair, called ‘velus,’ is a fine, light pigmented hair. When a child hits puberty - which these days is happening to kids as young as 9 - the hair coarsens and darkens.” And must be torn out by the roots if you don't want the other girls to laugh at you!

Of course some people, like child psychiatrist Candida Fink, think “this is another example of how younger and younger girls are being sexualized and objectified.” And Dr. Diane Levin, co-author of the book So Sexy So Soon, tells MSNBC that “girls are learning the worst possible lessons about body image and body hair. Keep your bodies like little girls’ because that’s what men like.” Anyway, better you hear about all this here, in a safe place, instead of from your creepy co-worker. Or did we just become your creepy co-worker?

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on August 15, 2008 4:51 PM

Comments [rss]

educational dvds

Some kids who are joining pageants are also having hair removal for much better exposure for their bikini. Well, I think it hurts a lot for those young age.

Sen0ritaah

Fucking sick people, fucking grose pedofhiles, You all must be murderd

Chris Sanson

comment if you googled sexy kids and mistakenly came here XD

brazilian body waxing

I think you have mixed your definition of schizophrenia ... multiple personality disorder, bipolar disorder or even as ...

Neil_Andy

Brazilian waxing is one of the renowned styles of bikini waxing. The way of removing hair through your private area has to be perfect because this particular area of body is very delicate and requires specialized way of waxing. waxing

Person

i wish i was virgin waxed. hair is not sexy. its disgusting and filthy. im not a animal. im human.

giovannigouveia13

WHAT?????
You deserve to be arrested

Riot_Grrrl

I am a feminist. I don't watch Sex and the city and have not burnt my bra. Men can be feminists too if they believe women and men are equal, you don't have to be feminine yourself! Anyway...

I did however start shaving my body hair when it first grew, because I was raised in a society that tells you that is what is acceptable. I have since grown into a woman capable of making my own decisions, not just conforming to other people's ideals of beauty. I recently grew all my hair back, pubes, legs, armpits... I have never felt sexier! Waxing kiddies first signs of puberty away is just another way of giving in and conforming to pointless, painful and counterproductive ideals. Let them make their own minds up about what they want to do with their bodies, but when they are old enough to make an informed decision. I agree with Denise_Spain, find me an 8 year old who doesn't want to fit in, to be like everybody else, look like everybody else and copy what the kids at school and women on TV are doing. Just like they are not old enough to decide if they are mature enough to handle sex, they are also not mature enough to make possibly permanent decisions about their body/image.

Hair can be sexy because it is natural and shows you are confident enough about yourself and your image to not give f**k what other people think. Confidence is sexy!

Denise Spain

What these disgusting people doing this to their kids don't realize, that even if their kid "wants" it, they're TOO YOUNG TO KNOW WHAT THEY ACTUALLY WANT. She might grow up with a terrible body image because now her body is forever in this unnatural state. At that age, all they know is "Yay, I'm doing what grownups do!".

Jess A

So...we can wax an 8 year old, but 7 years later with hormones rushing through her body, if that teenager tries to show off that primped area of her body via phone message, she's guilty of child porn! America is disgusting and every day I get more worried about raising children here. Dr.Fink was exactly right when she said we should not be teaching young girls that men want them to look like babies forever, and that looking like a child is sexy.
If you are waxed before you even hit puberty, how are you ever going to feel comfortable with the natural state of your body? These girls are growing up learning that "hair" is unattractive and unacceptable, years before they have anyone to impress. The only people who benefit from this are the beauty industry. Monsters, who thrive off making women hate their natural bodies.

Ashley

I see no difference between this and what t hey do to boys as babys. With boys they snip off a little extra skin. now with girls they wax off a little extra hair. NO GUY WANTS TO BE SNIPPED AT 17 OR 18, so what makes people think women want to wait until they are that old to remove extra hair. Let me just say women have periods and having a bloody mess between your legs is no fun. DO IT WHILE THEY ARE YOUNG AND NOT SO EMBARRASSED ABOUT BEING WAXED. I DO NOT SEE THIS AS SEXUALIZING GIRLS THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT WILL KNOW ABOUT IS THE GIRL AND PARENTS. have the legs and under arms done at the same time less time and money spent shaving later in life

Jemima W

Just so you all know, when I was 8 I had WAY more than peach-fuzz. I really wish this had been done to me as I now have to shave every 3 days just to wear a pair of shorts. Please think again before violently attacking this procedure.

Mary

So we're teaching our daughters not to let people touch them in their private areas, and then we take them to a "salon" to let strangers get all up in there to perform an extremely painful and embarrassing "procedure" on them. There's no mixed message there. Move along.

Un

SICK!!!

LBJ

amerikka already circumcizes infant boys (genital mutilation, unnecessary pain, psychological scarring) like stuck in the past muslims and jews.

this does not surprise me. the trend will rise. and ppl will be shocked because protecting 8 yr old girls is a bigger priority than protecting just born boys.

Jumbo

You know who is doing this, right?

Single moms.

And you know who enabled single moms, right?

Feminists.

Thanks again, feminists.

Vanessa Hiner- Burke

What a sad world we live in. They have plenty of time to wax, bleach, and dress up when they are older. Let them be children for as long as they can.

Danny Jimmy

Let them choose what being a child means to them. Forcing a child to play with dolls and wear winnie the pooh shirts while she would rather lean languages and wear cute clothes is the same as forcing her to wax when she would rather play outdoor. This nonsense idea that "we" now how a child should live her life by forcing them to follow certain fake criteria like playing with toys or what not is as dangerous as what this mother is doing. Let them be people.

Guest

Purely sick pedophilia.

Cena Felter

if the kids enjoy to do these beauty shows or whatever they are then good for them, they should do what makes them happy.. but waxing an 8 year old???? what is wrong with these parents??? they shouldn't even be wearing anything so tiny as to see the lil peach fuzz that 8 to 10 year olds might have. they need to wake up and realize how they're screwing their kids up having them think so much about their appearance at such a young age.

peakofelephants

Meanwhile, somewhere on 4chan...

Heather Dearing

Prepping a child to go to the Gyno for the 1st time is hard... what in the hell do you say to a little girl to get her peach fuzz waxed? So disgusting, I am Sickened by this.. wow...

AmyMilam

I think this practice is deplorable! I can't believe what I am reading! How on Earth could parents allow tjiis, (or could a business do this?!!!) These places should be shut down immediately and their licenses should be revoked.

brook-lyn

SAD VERY SAD ...

purpleflower

This is completely disgusting, and should seriously be considered child abuse. How can parents AND the business doing this think this is acceptable?? Why don't we just give them Madonna bras and fishnets to complete the package???? We're sexualizing our children earlier with every single generation. The "adults" involved in this should be jailed for sexual abuse. Let kids enjoy their childhood without the pressures of sex, and let them make these decisions for themselves when they're adults.

princesspeach

Ok. So maybe I am not seeing this the way most of you are, but I think the term bikini waxing is being taken a little TOO broadly. Typically bikini waxing is not done to remove ALL the hair from the pubic area. It is done just in areas you can see when wearing a bathing suit. I know there are people who get more of their hair waxed off, but that is personal preference and is NOT the definition of bikini wax. I do NOT know any woman who wants hair showing around the edges of her bathing suit so really people I don't think the argument for the kids deciding they want hair there is really the proper issue to be concerned with. What we really need to address is the appropriateness of allowing a stranger to touch young children in an area that is so close to what should be a NO ZONE. Only your child's doctor and yourself should even be dealing with those areas and then only if there is a REASON.

ken

Who is looking at the 8 year olds anyway to know if they have hair? I have to agree with many others here, it seems as though we are thrusting our children into sexuality far too soon. Then we all stand around and wonder how these things happen.

Perhaps it's time for us as a society to step backwards in time a bit. Maybe we don't need all the toys and gadgets that it takes both parents working to acquire. Maybe we should focus more on the true important things in life, like our children.

Joan Angelson

I know a lot of Greek girls that need waxing at 5 years old. So what's the matter with waxing?

QuinnM

I do however question the validity of the claim that it works to stop hair growth forever.

QuinnM

Okay people, lets calm down a little here! How many of you wax your pubes and wish you didn't have to be bothered? This gives future women the opportunity not to be bothered at all. I wouldn't do it to my kids, but I can see the appeal.

For those saying that it's going to result in pedophiles vying for the job, I don't think that makes much sense. Are the people who currently hold these jobs known take advantage of the women they are waxing? NO! So, why is it suddenly going to be this huge problem when it's done to kids?

Ritchie

Are you serious? It's outrageous to make your 8 year old go through totally unnecessary pain and embarrassment (what 8 year old wants to be nearly naked in front a stranger!) all because Mom is freaked out over her own pubic hair. The whole thing is absurd and, yes, a form of child abuse.

sosa1412

"What's wrong with America, is a bunch of perverts read this story and assume they are talking about pubic hair"

Actually Robert there is nothing to assume. If you knew anything you'd realize what a "Bikini" wax is. Which is right there in the title of the story.

Lucia

At 8 years old she knows if she wants to destroy her hair follicles for life?... There is something really gross and disgusting about choosing how your childs pubic area will look for LIFE, before she knows whats going on..

James

Dont care. If no one is dead whats the big deal... as far as abuse goes I think that is some BS.

optionshift

Eight-year-olds, Dude.

Robert

What's wrong with America, is a bunch of perverts read this story and assume they are talking about pubic hair. Legs and armpits were what popped into my head, because I assumed these kids weren't worried about pubic hair for their contests and pagents.

I'm forwarding this article to my two daughters in case they are interested in it for their daughters. If it saves them a ton of money over the years and keeps them from having to shave their legs and armpits for years, I see nothing wrong with it. Provided the parents and the children are in agreement, of course.

Ritchie

Read the story. Its says bikini wax. That's the pubic area, Robert. And i'm sure your daughters will be just thrilled to get an email from their kid's grandfather about getting their crotch hair ripped out.

Nicholas West

This is one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen. America is a sick sick place. To teach body self-hatred and hatred of nature to little kids, and to pass along to them their parents' hangups about their own bodies. Truly perverted.

El Izzy

Two obsessions in this country: going after pedos and sexualizing children. WTF?

That's What She Said

So it's a felony for a reporter to come within 65 yards of an oil boom, but it's A-OK to molest your children at the salon and then parade them before like-minded pedophile parents?

Lisanne!

We have to teach superficiality at a young age.

reebit

Won't be surprised if pedophiles would start lining up to get a job at that place after reading this article.

Erica

I actually think this is awesome,

but then again I'm a result of that childhood sexualization.

glob

I hope they remember to get the rabit tail while they are at it. Nobody likes that.

lolli

I actually knew Wanda Stawzyck years ago and and she was always an money grubbing witch ,so I'm not surprised she wouldn't mind torturing little girls

mdow

u-s-a! u-s-a!! u-s-a!!!!!!

oh, wait, no, not that.

Nick S

the Pedro the Lion song "Once they get to know you they will run" predicted this like, 10 years ago. Download it, its great!

"I don't like girls the way they are, so shave their legs and make them look like beauty stars, then we can pretend its natural."

robingee

What 8-year old has pubes??

And I always thought piercing babies' ears was weird.

NannyState

Barbie dolls don't have merkins so what are little girls to think? Is it a freakout for them when that stuff starts coming in? Is this some kind of emotional purging? Either way, a trimmed quim beats a shaved cave any day.

Kojak

"How is it child abuse if the kid wants it?"

If a 12 year old sleeps with a 40 year old, its considered child abuse even if the 12 year old consents to it. Its not about what the child wants, its whether she/he is old enough to make those types of decisions themselves. In this case however the pressure seems to be more from the parents side. But just because its their parents making the decision doesn't make it all right. Things like these can warp their children for life.

Nooo I'm no feminist Vanessa... I'm a Man's man. No waiting to exhale, Sex in the city, burn my bra protests for me. I only drink Beer and Scotch, not Cosmopolitans and Strawberry Dacaries.

interlard

And when the 70's comes back and they all want big pubes they sue their mothers for doing this to them in the first place.

Såkandulæredet

I don't think anyone read the article. If girls are developing quicker, why not? How is it child abuse if the kid wants it?

Swede

agreed with miz coaster - this has *got* to be child abuse. a friend is actually going to forward this bit to a CPS contact to see if it can be investigated...

displaymyname

I saw this earlier today on a blog and thought it was a bad joke. Now I'm completely shocked as you are and was about to start researching Then it hit me, how is this worse than circumcising boys? I just saw an article on San Fran trying to make it illegal for the same reasons we would want to look into this issue so many people were so protective over their right to do whatever they want to their child's genitalia based on tradition and cleanliness even though doctors are suggesting more and more how unnecessary it is medically if you practice good hygiene.

Well now we are presented with a similar situation. I don't like the comments about women waxing or shaving to look like little girls. We do it for the same reasons we shave our armpits and men shave their faces. Okay?

So what are a parents rights, and why? How far can a parent go? How far can the law go? Is permanent removal of your child's skin any less appalling than removing their hair?

I'm not saying I am for it and I certainly don't understand it, I don't even understand peoples need to groom their poodles into such funny shapes. But I think these questions are worth looking at and putting into perspective.

Jess A

There are some IMPORTANT differences between bikini wax and male circumcision.
1. Babies don't remember circumcision when it is done so young, so it cannot have nearly as much psychological impact.2. These girls being waxed are taught to hate a natural part of their body.3. Waxing is only done to look sexy, circumcision is done for a variety of reasons.

So based on this, we can see why teaching girls to wax prepuberty will have a damaging effect that circumcision never had.

Emilija Pruden

1) "Circumcision, even if anesthesia is used, causes unavoidable operative trauma and post-operative pain that has been shown to disrupt bonding with the mother, which in turn interferes with the first developmental task of every human, that of trust (trust in human contact, in personal safety, etc)" (http://www.noharmm.org/advanta...
2) boys having bits of their dick cut off teaches other parents/future parents and people in general to hate the foreskin
3) I wax because I find pubic hair smelly, gross, and unsanitary (personally). circumcision is purely aesthetic and any website saying different usually performs them, and downplays the side effects
look into:
http://www.mothersagainstcirc....
http://www.norm-uk.org/circumc...
http://www.noharmm.org/
http://www.doctorsopposingcirc...

My Urschel

and yet you ignore that, despite the fact that circumcision became mainstream in Kelloggs attempt to stop boys from masturbating, there ARE benefits to circumcision when it comes to hygiene. This is because bacteria can thrive under the foreskin and it is hard for boys to clean themselves properly there at a younger age.
On top of that, there has been studies showing a 60-70% lowerrisk of HIV...
http://www.who.int/hiv/topics/...

Also, this procedure is generally performed under anesthesia, meaning, no, there is no traumatic and painful memory. If circumcision were emotionally scarring, I think it would have turned up as such in the millions of men who have had the procedure and live normal and healthy lives.
Also, there is no evidence that it effects one's sex life in the way female genital mutilation does, as that is specifically designed to do just that.

Personally, I am going to have my sons circumcised. When it comes down to it:
Anti-circumcision? Don't have it done to your child.
Anti-abortion? Don't get one.
Anti-gay marriage? Don't get one.
etc.

Polemicist

In all fairness, women have already evolved to resemble children. They have childike voices, physically resemble children in stature and build, and many even evolved hair similar to children.

Men first evolved to desire woman and to protect children. It is only natural women would evolve to elicit both these responses. There is no point in trying to suggest there is something wrong with men who desire childlike features. That is who we are as a species.

Never fight nature, you will surely fail.

Zak Snowden

that's adaptation not evolution retard...........

Zak Snowden

that's adaptation not evolution retard...........because you show me the added or deleted gene from the gene pool that made it classified as evolution............

Anna

"Men first evolved to desire woman and to protect children. It is only natural women would evolve to elicit both these responses."

Women do not equal children. Women have different chemicals and hormones that young girls do. (Hence "never fight nature")

"Men evolved to protect women",not to become pedophiles. I

I do not understand your logic. I do not see how it is "natural" for a man to want a woman to look like a child, especially if he is looking out for thier best interests.

abcohen

leave it to the post :)

Rfive

the parents are stupid for doing it and the technician offering the job is an idiot too.

america the clueless

Bouncing Soul

I'm sure pedophiles will be lining up for jobs at salons.

csk

You can't pluck a Greek woman's bikini. That shit is thick!

Mr Mel

I don't believe it.

Future Taliban

Excuse me, but does anyone ELSE here seem to see something potentially DISTURBING about contests that require dressing-up children as sex toys?.

No wonder the muslims wanna kill us. Hell I wanna kill us.

Future Taliban

"Nothing is finer than a thick, rich, luxuriant bush, overflowing with a limitless array of delicious aromas and flavors."

Delicious?. Only if you're a lovelorn eskimo who's been dating walruses for too long.

Peter

Waxing of this sort for girls so young is absolutely sick. Of course, it's hideous for adult women too.

Nothing is finer than a thick, rich, luxuriant bush, overflowing with a limitless array of delicious aromas and flavors.

westernqueensland

profoundly disturbing

Pull My Finger

this is just so wrong

NannyState

Jon Benet Ramsey sure got waxed.

fakenewyorker

looks like an american apparel for kids ad

mattcarman

You mean if my parents had waxed me young, I could have gone to one of my reach schools?

eyekantspel

Now the credo 'if there's grass on the field, play ball' won't work at all.

maybe If there's wax on your wick...

wait, that's pretty sick.

takethecanoli

Now the credo 'if there's grass on the field, play ball' won't work at all.

Future Taliban

This is another reason why I choe not to have children.

nicemarmot

Wow. I've never felt so thankful for my pubes before.

Fritzdecat

whats the word for beyond sick...?

Amanda Harletsch

what? What are they waxing? the eyelashes...

There is no pubes in preteens...there fore the pre, in the teen.

Those parents are the dumbest fucks ever.

plk779

what

the..

tsol

But what if they grow up and want to be dirty hippies?

VanessaNYC

"But what if they grow up and discover that they again want to get hair down there? I think its irresponsible for parents to do this to their children for that very reason alone."

"Why does our society want women to look like children throughout their years? Why is hair okay on a men, but on a women it's considered ugly and dirty?"

Kojak! Steven! You're feminists! I love you!

miz coaster

wait, isn't this a form of physical child abuse? I mean really... even if it's the finest of hair... it still HURTS.

this company should be investigated by the vice squad. just on sickness factor alone. anyone who would WANT to do that little kid is greedy and sadistic. then the parents should have their children taken away.

barfa

Or maybe just closed down by community action, with extreme prejudice...

Steven

Why does our society want women to look like children throughout their years? Why is hair okay on a men, but on a women it's considered ugly and dirty?

Kojak

But what if they grow up and discover that they again want to get hair down there? I think its irresponsible for parents to do this to their children for that very reason alone.

I don't think they sell Rogain for pubes (I could be wrong)

Pitch

This is symbolic of all that's wrong with America today. We wax our preteen children and give teens who have sex worse sentences than murderers (see 18 year old Georgia boy jailed for having sex with 16 year old girl). What happened to natural progression? We're schizophrenic; we can't decide if we want to sexualize our young children or lock our teenagers away for indulging their hormones.

Helen-Marie

I think you have your definition of schizophrenic mixed up...multiple personality disorder or even bipolar fits...

But yea, children should be left alone to make choices about their bodies in their own time.

Angela Warner

The Georgia teen wasn't locked up for having sex, the problem was who he had sex with. The girl was 16, and that is considered a minor in Georgia. It would be statutory rape, whether she was willing or not is beside the point in GA law. An "adult" cannot have sex with a minor and expect everything to be ok.

Danny Jimmy

This is just nonsense. A teen is not a child and there's no difference between a 16 years old and a 18 years old. There's no physical difference and no sudden change from kid to adult. In many other countries once you're reached the consent age you can have a sexual relationship with who you want to. The concept that it's okay for a 16 years old to have sex with a 16 years old but it's not with a 18 years old as if 18 years old make love in a different way is simply retarted and anyone who supports it is retarded as well.