Twelve-Year-Olds Are Getting Waxed Before Leaving for Camp

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According to the Times, New York City tweens are flocking to salons for pre-camp waxes and keratin hair-straightening treatments. The manager at J. Sisters tells the paper that about 40 percent of the salon's hair-removal services in late spring go to clients under 16. And Upper West Side publicist and mother Elizabeth Harrison explains that she took her twelve-year-old for a moderate bikini wax for the purposes of "grooming and cleanliness." At least the procedures for kids tend to be more mild than the ones for adults. Quoth the Style Section:

Salon representatives said that it's common for teenagers and tweens to wax just the lower legs, underarms and outer bikini line, rather than having a full-on Brazilian. Maxwax, with locations on the Upper East Side and Upper West Side, calls this more-modest option a Goody Two-Shoes, perhaps to the chagrin of some young ladies.

Which is more humiliating: being the uptown kid whose mother drags her off to a beauty salon for something called a "Goody Two-Shoes," or being the out-of-town kid who shows up at overnight camp with nary a clue that she's supposed to be professionally waxed?
· Off to Camp, but First ... a Wax? [NYT]