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First-time visitors to this tiny laser hair-removal clinic are often surprised when owner Erica Spilky buzzes them up from the front door, since rather than a brightly lit esthetician’s office, they find themselves entering Spilky’s comfy, red-curtained loft living room. Since 2004, when she left the East Village laser center where she’d been practicing for six years, Spilky has been treating clients in a small, immaculate room in her apartment; she says the homey atmosphere, combined with the personal attention— Spilky is a staff of one—helps put clients immediately at ease. The laser she uses for hair removal (it’s called the Soprano XL) doesn’t hurt, either: According to Spilky, it’s the only kind of laser that allows for almost completely pain-free treatments, even on sensitive areas like the upper lip or chin, the bikini line, and the thigh. How can she be sure her clients aren’t feeling a thing? “I know,” she says, “when they fall asleep on the table.” — Sarah Gold