Amanda Greever

“Feeling rough around the edges? It feels great to trim the hedges.”

No, that’s not referring to mowing your lawn although a British commercial for Schick Quattro bikini razors encourages you to do just that.

The racy commercial features young women singing a catchy tune about shaving the bikini area that will get stuck in your head. Trust me, lyrics like the ones in the commercial make it hard not to hum along afterward.

The commercial crosses so many lines, it’s amazing to me that it could be aired. There is a cat that goes from being nice and fluffy to hairless. Green, leafy bushes are not only sung about but trimmed throughout. Every euphemism you’ve heard people use before is referenced in this commercial.

It’s already circulating in the U.S. through the power of YouTube. BettyConfidential.com has its own article asking if the ad goes just a little too far. There IS a tamer version in the U.S., though that does feature leafy bushes of its own. However, there are no hot women singing about trimming them. The shrubs simply shrink down to nice and smooth shapes all on their own.

So does the ad go too far? Yes, it crosses the lines of good taste. Yes, it will offend some and make others blush. But does it succeed in its overall goal of getting people talking about this product? Maybe.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Being a woman can be a hairy experience. A woman’s personal maintenance isn’t just the topic of a raunchy commercial, but a possible ban as well.

A few weeks ago, I read an article on a potential ban on “Brazilian” waxes. The New Jersey Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling is considering banning genital waxes after two women reported injuries afterward.

This isn’t the first time I’ve mentioned “Brazilian” waxing, but I’ve never exactly clarified what it is. A bikini wax will remove the hair along your bikini line so that nothing will show when you head to the beach. A “Brazilian” wax, on the hand, cleans up the front, the back and everything in between. Some leave what is called a “landing strip” but that’s the only hair left. Comprendé?

No, there is nothing comfy about that, and complications can occur. That’s one of the most sensitive areas on a woman’s body, and using wax to rip the hair away can cause irritation, infections, etc. Logic dictates that a woman going in for such a procedure would be aware of any possible downsides to being smooth as a whistle.

But our two ladies in New Jersey were both hospitalized due to infection, and one has filed a lawsuit, thus the potential ban. Is it really the government’s business to define what a woman can or cannot do down there?

Also, the waxing can be banned but it’s not going to stop those women from trying. They might attempt it themselves or simply go across state lines to get it done. Really, I’m not sure it’s the brightest idea to hurt salons’ business when the economy is already in dire shape.

Each and every woman knows what makes her feel sexy. Whether it be shaving or waxing her bikini line or going one step further with the “Brazilian,” she knows what makes her feel good about her body. There is already so much crap thrown at us about how we should look, whether it be weight, clothes, make-up, etc. Does anyone really have the right to say that you can’t get a thorough waxing? What’s next? No tattoos or piercings? Or do away with tanning beds? How about saying no to eyebrow waxing? Or that hair can’t be dyed? If you start taking away some rights, even one as frivolous as genital waxing, the line is crossed.

So hey, New Jersey, let’s go ahead and say no to the ban. Otherwise, go ahead and broadcast a link to a certain British commercial because one way or another, women are going to get the job done.