Best of New York 2014 • Health & Self

• Light Sheer Duet Laser at Rita Hazan

  720 Fifth Ave., at 56th St., 11th fl.; 212-586-4343

  For many, the promise of a permanently stubble-free bikini line simply isn’t worth the wrath of a laser that stings like a box jellyfish. That’s why the Rita Hazan hair salon introduced the Light Sheer Duet (from $150 for each of the recommended six to eight treatments). The laser’s vacuum-assisted technology reduces pain (the hand-piece feels like a suction against the skin, rather than a cauter) while increasing efficiency (it takes only one to five minutes, depending on the body part). A smaller, more traditional (read: unpleasant) attachment is required for certain crevices, but a patented cooling system minimizes irritation, and aesthetician Lele Gomes’s Soul Cycle–instructor–like encouragement—“You’re doing great!” “Almost done!”—gets you through it.

From the 2014 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine