There are few things more awkward than having a strange woman apply hot wax to your happy place as you sit spread eagle before her holding your undies out of the way. Except, maybe, hoisting your leg up on your bathroom counter and doin’ it yourself.

Maintaining a nice coif (or lack thereof) downtown takes a lot: of patience, of work, or pain, and of self esteem. I mean, you don’t lay on a table with your legs wide open for just anyone (sober, at least). And being that it’s such a sensitive situation, there are bound to be some awkward experiences along the way.

After opting for a cheap wax in the back of a Korean nail shop in Midtown Manhattan, where the room was so small I had to rest my legs against the wall and use my pants as a pillow while the teeny lady did her work, I wanted to see if anyone else had similar experiences. Here is what the rest of the CollegeCandy team had to share – well, the ones who didn’t block the experiences from their memories. Share your own stories in the comments!

Beata – Notre Dame: I tried to do it myself once, with some warm-up aloe vera “waxing” gel.  Ended up with sticky green goo all in my lady parts. It took a very long time to get out.

Caitlin – University of Alabama: All of my bikini wax experiences have been normal, but one time I was getting my eyebrows done and my usual lady was out of town so I got stuck with the new girl.  She wanted to try the trimmer instead of wax, and she “trimmed” off half of my eyebrow.  “Oops” is never something you want to hear from your eyebrow lady.

Sara C-Fordham: When I was about nine, I went over to a friend’s house for a pool party and we were at that age where we still weren’t bashful about our bodies and changed in front of one another. Well, one of my girlfriends was maturing much faster than the rest of us, and when I caught glimpse of her bush I shrieked. “What?” she said. “Yours is coming. Just you wait.” The way she said it, it sounded like a threat, and I feared I would one day wake up entangled in a jungle. Fortunately, I eventually realized change comes slowly.

Liza M – Minnesota: I was in the bathroom with three other girls at a frat party when one of them decided she was going to hook up with one of the brothers there, but discovered that she wasn’t as…freshly groomed as she would like for this event. To deal with it, she grabbed one of the guy’s nasty old razors and shaved. Dry. Right there. In front of us. It was horrific.

Lauren – University of Michigan: I once tried to Nair the entire thing off in the shower, then spent the next 20 minutes splashing cold water on myself to stop the burning. I was red and swollen for a week. NEVER AGAIN.

Sara – NYU: I don’t do any of that. If shaving isn’t enough, he can, frankly, suck it.

Kayla – California State University, Sacramento: While shaving my cookie in the shower one day, I felt a sneeze coming on. I stopped shaving when the sneeze came, but kept the razor against my skin. Thus, a jerk of my hand in response to the sneeze caused a vicious slicing of my tender parts. Lesson learned.

Sarabeth – University of Texas: One time after a wax, I’m not entirely sure what happened, but when the hair started growing back I had a bald patch for almost 3 months. It looked sooooo awkward.

Lauren H – New School: I haven’t always been known for reading instructions well, so the first (and last) time I attempted to wax my own bikini zone… well, I figure that since the cloth strips were long, you were supposed to put a long on line of wax to take up the whole thing. So I covered about 5 inches of my groin in molten wax, patted my little cloth strip on and then ripped it off. And I then cried. A lot. I was bruised for a week.

Charlsie – Hollins: Recently, I was at a water park and to my surprise, I left a few stray hairs. Mortified, I was obsessed with fixing my bathing suit non-stop the rest of the day, even though I’m sure no one would have noticed but me.

Mechelle – Florida State: I have only waxed once. The guy I was dating told me I looked like “a naked mole rat” and I vowed never again. In his defense, I was trying to distract him from his zoology final.

Kari- Florida State: My very first Brazlian, the woman told me I was “beautiful” while looking pointedly at my hoo-ha. Not sure if she was referencing my or my vadge, but it made the rest of the appointment WAY awk.

Mandy – Hofstra: I’ve never gotten my netherareas waxed and here’s why: In highschool, one of my good friends wanted to do it and asked me to go with her….as in IN the room and everything. So I did, to be supportive. I held her hand as they dripped the wax on her sensitive bikini line and, despite the fact that she had taking a couple Advils before, she screamed bloody murder when they ripped the first strip off. I turned my head and saw blood coming from the area her hair used to be and decided this might not be a good option for me.  No thanks, I’ll stick to shaving…

What did Yahoo readers have to say? Find out after the jump.

Thank you, Yahoo!

I had cold pizza for lunch. Alone. Barack Obama’s lunch was a little more exciting.

What does Brad Pitt have to say about Jennifer?

Uh oh. Another Salmonella outbreak…

Why do we love the bad boys?

Obama chooses Chief Performance Officer.

Biggest Loser Michelle is engaged. What? He didn’t love her before she lost all the weight?

Lily Vanderwoodson (Ok, Kelly Rutherford) is headed to Splitsville.

Better get the Nair ready – short shorts are coming!

Isla Fisher looking fantastic on cover of In Style.

Howard Stern vs. Jay Leno: The Battle is On.

I found shorts to ride up, leaving me constantly trying to pick a wedgie when no one was looking (yet someone always managed to see). And let’s face it- unless you have legs like Gisele Bundchen walking around on a summer day can be more than quite uncomfortable in a pair of short shorts.

But these past few season’s shorts have been unavoidable. They have been everywhere and they have been CUTE. With heels? Cute. With sandals? Also cute!

Much like that annoying tag-along friend of yours, shorts have found their way into every occasion. From bars to the beach shorts have become appropriate (and trendy) attire.

So it would only be appropriate that before it gets too cold (although I’m sure some freshman girl will be wearing them to the bar- in January- with no coat and you will obviously spend at least five mintues talking about how ridiculous she looks before you realize that you did that too) that I bring you:

Celebrity Chic on the Cheap: YOU Wear Short Shorts!

High Waisted jean shorts- High-waisted shorts make your legs look like they go on forever. Not to mention these are so super affordable! So ladies- start NAIR-ing! (Seriously when was the last time you thought about Nair?!)

White button down shirt from the Gap- this also comes in honeysuckle yellow, which I think could be adorable with the shade of the jean shorts. But nevertheless, a good button down is a wardrobe essential. Throw a cami under it and roll up those sleeves.

I know this isn’t in Rhianna’s look, but with September approaching you may need a cute sweater to throw on, in which case I propose this boyfriend cardigan. Leave it unbuttoned for a casual look or button it up and throw a belt around it to keep it more pulled together.

Tote bag- You love me ladies because I always have you in mind! Not only did I find this cute (and cheap!) distressed black tote, but I found another option that is great for all you class-going gals… a fabulous looking black tote that is made for dragging your computer along, too. Holl-er.

Navy Patent Flats. Navy is THE color to have. Okay I know I said last week that Purple is THE color to have. And it is… but so is navy. It’s all about navy’s and purple’s…and patent. And these patent flats are so fab I maaaay just have to order them in Navy. And in yellow. And in gray. (Which are also THE colors to have. Oops.)

Bangles. Throw on what you have or try these adorable enamel big bangles or these small ones from Old Navy. Mix and match- just throw a bunch on and get to class!

Sunglasses. Sure everyone says big sunglasses make you look like a bug, but who cares when they are so cute? Besides, you will need something to hide that hangover from when you decided to hit the bars instead of the books last night… I love these because they are two toned black and green. I also love them because they are cheap. Sold.

What’s so great about this shorts trend is that it’s so easy to take your look from work/class to the beach and then out… take off the button down and flats, throw on a ruffled tank and a pair of wedges and please don’t stop the music!!

We all know we don’t want hair down there, but red bumps; not really the look I am going for. Not to mention the in-grown hairs, the itchiness, or all the other problems that come with taking care of the situation. As if getting our bodies bikini-ready wasn’t challenging enough – now we are stuck with what is often times a force to be reckoned with: Bikini Hair Removal.

So in efforts to prepare you to grin and bare it this summer (hey, you didn’t spend all that time doing extra crunches for nothing, lady!) here are some pro/cons on the latest – as well as the tried and true – hair removal tips for your bikini line.

Shaving:

Pros: This method is great if you are in a pinch. It’s quick, easy and cheap.

Cons: Shaving only removes the hair above the surface, so hair can show up again the very same day (thank your foreign, hairy grandmother for inheriting her genes). Shaving often times leads to in-growns and those icky razor bumps. If you choose to go this route: hold skin taught while shaving, change the razor often, and trim before shaving, if needed. Also, shave in the direction that hair grows and wait to shave until after the shower when your skin has been softened by the warm water.

Waxing: While I personally do not recommend do-it-yourself waxing, there are people (crazy bitches) who do it. Waxing is best accomplished by a professional.

Pros: Since waxing removes hair from the root, it should last anywhere from 4-8 weeks, and the more often you do it, the slower the hair grows back.

Cons: No one ever said pain was cheap (though I constantly wonder why I spend so much to be abused)… bikini waxes can run from $30-100 dollars per wax, depending on how much you take off. Waxing can also cause in-growns, so it’s important to exfoliate. Other things to consider: Not only is it painful (take a pain reliever an hour before you go and avoid waxing a week before your period when you are the most sensitive, due to heightened levels of estrogen), it can be nerve wracking if you are a first-timer and relatively modest. What I tell my friends: your waxer has seen more vagina’s than she can even remember. So just put your dignity aside and (try to) relax.

Depilatory Creams: Depilatories use chemicals that react with the protein structure of the hair to literally melt the hair away. I am sure everyone remembers those lovely commercials, “Nair wears short shorts!”

Pros: Hair removal creams (like Nair) are inexpensive, easily accessible, quick and painless (you leave them on for 3-15 minutes and then wash off).

Cons: The awful smell. Seriously, it is like rotton eggs on your hoohah. Not sure it is worth the misery. Also, many people find that their skin becomes irritated from Depilatories, so make sure to do a skin test before using it.

Laser: How it works: the laser targets melanin, which is found in the hair, and breaks the follicle preventing further hair growth. Laser is said to work best on light skin/dark hair combination and is not recommended for those with darker skin tones.

Pros: An effective way to completely remove bikini hair once and for all. Relatively pain free (it’s said to feel like a small rubber band snapping your skin), and sessions are usually pretty quick.

Cons: Very expensive. Laser costs around $400 a session – and the average woman requires 5 sessions, plus once a year maintenance. You also can’t shave or be exposed to the sun in between sessions, which totally ruins your summer plans of sitting poolside. This would be a good option to consider starting in the winter, so that, come bikini season, you are already swimsuit ready.

Interested in laser? Visit the hair removal forum to get all the information you need before you go. Seriously, you don’t want any surprises. They even have a full list of local providers so you can find someone now and get that business taken care of.

Whatever option you choose, there is one must-have product for bikini zone happiness: Tend Skin. When that hair starts making a comeback, this is the best product for reducing and preventing those infamous in-grown hairs.

Got any other bikini zone tips to share? We can use all the help we can get…

[Photo courtesy of the Sydney Morning Herald]

It’s usually pretty easy to tell if a guy is single from his apartment. You’ve got the typical underwear out in the open, ring around the bathtub, week old stubble discard in the sink, that odd “shoe and old clothes smell”…I could go on, but it only gets grosser from here.

Most of us are well versed in the signs of The Bachelor Pad, but did you know you can tell if a girl is single and unlaid by her Bachelorette Pad?

Here are some of the signs (which I may or may not totally recognize):

• Piles of magazines everywhere, comprised of tons of pretentious ones that are clearly untouched and then severely thumbed-through Vogues and Luckys

• Slovenly heaps of little-used makeups in the bathroom

• Nair

• inspirational or thinspirational things on the fridge

And my personal favorite,

• Overflowing shoe rack and nothing in the fridge

Do you have your own Bachelorette Pad dead giveaways? How about underwear and bras hanging from the shower curtain? A vibrator within arm’s reach? Half-eaten ice cream cartons that are crumpled and melty because someone’s eaten them without the aid of a bowl?

Come on, girls, give us those dirty apartment secrets!

Being Italian, I’m blessed with lots of the stuff. It’s nice on my head, but anywhere else…a little less so. At least according to society.

The first time I realized nobody liked a hairy girl was in 6th grade. I was sitting in class in a t-shirt, trying to deal with early June heat and a new sensation I now know as “bra sweat”.

A kid, who I’m pretty sure was (and probably still is) named David, turned around and stared at me while the teaching wasn’t looking. “Yo, look at your arms!” he said as loudly as only a 12-year-old boy can, “who invited Harry and the Hendersons over?”

Harry and the Hendersons was a show based around Bigfoot.

That stinging comment has (obviously) stayed with me for years, and since then I have shaved everything—at least everything I could reach.

I often wish I could just chuck the razor in the drawer and never deal with balancing precariously in my shower again, but 6th grade David is always around, along with completely hairless movie stars, magazine models, and guys who continually obsess over girls being clean shaven “down there”.

This girl, on the other hand, is no slave to the razor. At least, she hasn’t been for a year. In a post on The F Word website about growing out both her leg and armpit hair, she explains how empowering and amazing it feels, and how she never plans to shave again.

“Eventually I grew to love my hairy armpits.” She writes, “I grew to love myself, to accept my grown woman’s body and, more than anything, to love the freedom I discovered when I no longer had to waste time and money preparing my supposedly unacceptable body for the outside world.”

Her liberated words and legs sound awesome, but I’m just not sure I’d ever be able to follow in her free footsteps. I’ve become so used to being sleek and smooth that going back to hair just doesn’t feel cool.

Society has convinced me that 6th grade David was right.

What about you? Why do you shave? Could you ever go for months without doing it?

That smelly white cream you put on your face for 3 minutes every couple of weeks to keep the girlstache away? That stuff that can burn your face off if you don’t wipe it in time? That stuff you hate?

Well, they’re coming after your little sisters.

In an all-new advertising campaign, Nair is targeting “first-time hair removers”—girls ages 10-15.

With a sparkly new bottle and two new scents, kiwi and peach (which, I’m assuming, smells exactly like every other Nair scent: sh*tty), “Nair Pretty” is all about enticing girls without much hair to take off every spare stub.

“I am a citizen of the world,” the bottle proudly states. “I am a dreamer. I am fresh. I am so not going to have stubs sticking out of my legs.”

While I’m not convinced there’s a direct correlation between hairy legs and having no dreams, the marketers behind “Nair Pretty” seem pretty sure that they’re doing a monumental good in the lives of little girls everywhere.

“When a girl removes hair for the first time, it’s a life-changing moment” claims the Vice President of marketing for the company that purchased the Nair franchise in 2001.

If she means life-changing as in realizing that society hates hairy girls and she’ll be chained to her razor for the rest of her life…than sure.

I’m all for personal style and taking fashion risks, but short shorts on men make a fashion statement that, frankly, I don’t want to see. From easter-colored to formal, this new trend of thigh-skimming shorts just looks inappropriate—more suitable for the bedroom than strutting down the street. Besides, how many men do you know that could actually pull off this shorter length with their board-short tan lines and carpet of leg hair?

Fashion forward? Maybe. But looking through Prada’s collection, each short-shorts look more nauseating than the last, I can’t help but think fashion is playing a big joke on us all—-as evidenced by the pairing of formal shorts, sandals, and what suspiciously looks like a pair of slouchy wool socks.

Until I see this fashion nightmare in person, I’ll just hold on to the hope that this eyesore will stay confined to the runway and away from my line of vision.

Short Shorts For Boys?