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"\n\tAdvertisement - Continue Reading Below\n\t\n\n\n\nAhhh, the Brazilian wax. (More like \"AAAAH!\") Last time I went in for this torture, I only made it about halfway through the process before popping some Percocet, thanking the woman and waddling out the door. Too bad I didn't read these tips. (Fun fact: The futon thing I was lying on featured a bushel of decorative plastic holly berries right next to my head. Why?!)The uber-painful rite of passage for every woman who's watched Carrie accidentally \"go down to Brazil\" on \"Sex and The City\" has been lauded this winter for contributing to the extincton of crabs. Going bare is also known to spice up your sex life, which might just make the (let's face it, excruciating) pain worth it.However, a private health clinic in Nice, France, claims to have found an association between Brazilian waxes and an STD called Molluscum contagiosum. The condition's main symptom is raised, pearly spots on the bikini area that are most commonly found in children, but has been spreading through sexual contact in the last few years.Of the clinic's 30 patients who presented with the STD, 93 percent had removed their pubic hair via waxing, shaving or clipping. While they were unable to prove cause-and-effect, a researcher at Johns Hopkins concurs that the small cuts and nicks incurred during waxing can contribute to the spread of infectious sexually-transmitted diseases.Until larger samples of women are studied, particularly infection-free wax enthusiasts, this study will basically remain hogwash. But as it's not summer yet, those of you looking for a half-baked reason to go au naturel need look no further.Follow Anna on Twitter: @annabreslawImage: istockphoto"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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