Along with tanning lotion and a swimsuit, North Dakota women will soon be able to get a legal bikini wax when preparing for the poolside.

The Legislature has changed state law to include "waxing to remove hair" in the list of services a cosmetologist may provide. Before, the law confined a beautician's work to the upper part of the body.

Ginny Herberholz, a member of the state cosmetology board, said some practitioners were worried the law - which has been on the books since 1927 - barred them from doing bikini and leg waxes.

Many salons have been performing the waxes, and Herberholz isn't sure why state law did not include the lower body in the definition of cosmetology.

"Maybe people weren't thinking of waxing the legs and the bikini line," she said. "That wasn't always in fashion."

During a waxing, a cosmetologist pours hot wax on the skin, places strips of paper onto the wax and allows it to harden. The strips are then pulled off to remove hair.

The legislation, which takes effect Aug. 1, also includes license fee increases for cosmetologists and allows the board to establish new education requirements.

It was the waxing change, however, that raised a few unplucked eyebrows. When the Senate's Industry, Business and Labor Committee examined the bill, "there were a few laughs" about the waxing provision, said the committee's chairman, Sen. Duane Mutch, R-Larimore.

"I had never heard of that before," Mutch said. "I didn't do my homework on the subject."

Gov. John Hoeven, who signed the bill into law last week, said he recalled a provision that allows more than one graduate of the same school to serve on the cosmetology board at the same time.

"I don't remember the specific provision regarding (bikini waxes)," Hoeven said. "That's getting into an area where I don't have a lot of expertise."

Salon and spa workers say more women are opting for waxing instead of shaving, although the waxing procedure is often regarded as painful. Not so, says Lori Nestore, president of Eva's Esthetics in Oakland, Calif.

"Not if it's done correctly," she said. "The first time or two is the shocking one. And you're still talking about five to six minutes of brief little flashes of 'yow.'"

Workers at North Dakota spas said bikini waxes are catching on here, including a more intimate procedure often called the "Brazilian" or "thong" bikini wax.

"It's a Hollywood thing," said Kim Blotsky, a worker at Spa D'Athena in Bismarck. "People are starting to catch on to that, and are asking for it."

A bikini wax at the Bismarck spa costs $30, while the Brazilian wax goes for $50.

Anna Lavelle of Bismarck is one who has started having bikini waxes. "It's just so hassle-free," she said. "You don't have to worry about shaving all the time."

Lavelle, a 21-year-old University of Mary student, said she believes the procedure "will start to become more common in North Dakota."

Nestore was amused by the need to change North Dakota law. It is ridiculous, she said, "for the state to try and regulate a service that has been done forever, and it's female-based.

"It's a bunch of men out there saying, 'That's horrible,'" she said. "How dare they tell me where I can get waxed?"