It's inching toward swimsuit season, and many of us are wondering, „am I going to be able to fit in my bikini, or swimsuit or whatever skimpy beach thang that shows miles and miles of skin?‰

Immediately on the heels of that seasonal, angst-ridden biggie is another that will either fill you with resigned resignation or anxious trepidation: shave or wax?

But wait, you‚ve got more than two choices for bikini-line hair removal. The most recent hair begone star is the laser, but there‚s also electrolysis. Don‚t forget depilatories (think Nair) and ˆ ouch ˆ plucking.

Most women know all about the trials and tribulations of shaving for summer. The pluses: it‚s easy, you can get a disposable razor practically anywhere, and it‚s cheap.

The minuses: razor burn. Heat rash. Ingrown hairs. Nicks and cuts. And you have to do it almost every day.

Waxing is a stickier situation. Most of us wouldn‚t dare try it at home, and, at $25 (bikini line) to $50 (The Brazilian ˆ it‚s all gone) every three to four weeks, it‚s not all that cheap. And, hey, did anyone see The 40-Year Old Virgin? Even though it‚s over fast, it hurts like heck.

These days, if you want to get rid of hair forever ˆ you do the laser.

With wand in hand, the doctor, registered nurse, nurse practitioner, or trained technician waves the band of light across the area and the laser seeks out the hair follicles at the root and zaps them. It has to do with pigmentation, by „seeing‰ and honing in on the color of the hair ˆ and the darker the hair and lighter the skin, the better.

Another plus is, it‚s pretty darned fast: the bikini line takes about 10 minutes.

As good as that may sound, be forewarned: there are many different kinds of lasers out there (plain laser, candela laser, intense pulsed light, electro optical synergy, or elos, to name a few) and varying degrees of qualified technicians.