• Shobha

  595 Madison Ave., 212-223-2872
  594 Broadway, Ste. 403, 212-931-8363

  Face it. It’s going to hurt, which means a great bikini wax is about perfect technique, pampering, and cleanliness. Shobha excels at all three. The staff adheres to a strict no-double-dipping policy, so wax remains sterile and germ-free, and it’s all done while you recline on a comfortable bed (not a paper-lined table) with soothing Hindi music in the background. Every treatment ends with a spritz of antiseptic and an oh-so-nice cool compress to quell the sting, followed by threading (it’s gentler, and there are no tweezers here) to clean up strays. Though you will definitely return, you won’t need to for at least a month. Prices start at $30.

From the 2006 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine