Several Web sites are devoted to the joys -- and hassles -- of baldness below the belt, among them, Smoothnews.com. On all of them, razor shaving rules. Very few people even mention other options. Shaving is easy, convenient, cheap and can be done at home, usually in the shower.

One happily razor-shaved woman posted this: "I recently shaved my pussy as a surprise for my boyfriend. Our sex was incredible. I love the feeling of being shaved and enjoy touching my soft lips. Of course, to stay smooth, I have to shave almost every day and use a quality shaving cream and razor. I follow with a cold water rinse and then use baby oil or a good moisturizer. Those little red bumps stay away if you take the proper precautions. I intend to stay shaved. Sex has never been better.

Other people, however, aren't so enthusiastic. Another post: "I need to find a better way than shaving. For me, it's just too painful."

"Shaving can be a real hassle," Dodson explains. "Many women find that it irritates the vulva. Or that it gives them ugly red razor bumps. Or that the area itches unbearably as the hair grows back. Or that they get painful ingrown hairs."

Razor bumps are the most common complaint among pubic shavers. They're ugly and they itch. The bumps develop because razor shaving leaves hair with a thick blunt end, instead of the fine tapered end of unshaved hair. As pubic hair regrows, those blunt ends irritate hair follicle walls, causing inflammation and bumps. A few products claims to prevent razor bumps. The one with the most testimonial support is TendSkin. According to one post: "TendSkin after-shave works very well for me. It almost entirely eliminates razor bumps." The manufacturer claims the product lubricates the follicles, preventing blunt ends from snagging and causing inflammation.

Ex-porn star Nichols, who is now a Hollywood makeup artist, concurs: "TendSkin definitely helps with razor bumps."

"Personally, I think the women in porn probably wax their pubic hair," says Vena Blanchard, a Los Angeles sex therapist. "It's hard to get really smooth with a razor. Waxing can do it, but it can also be quite painful."

After razor shaving, waxing -- and sugaring, which is similar -- are the second most popular approaches to going smooth in the nether region. Recently, waxing has become something of a celebrity fad with such stars as Gwyneth Paltrow and Kirstie Alley opting for "Brazilian" wax jobs -- most of their pubic hair removed, with just a little tuft remaining as a surprise under a thong bikini. But few people who tout total pubic smoothness on the shaving Web sites recommend waxing or sugaring.

"Waxing is good for the occasional beach vacation," Nichols says. "One waxing and your bikini line or all your pubic hair is gone for the week you're away. But the problem with waxing is that you have to start with fairly long hair or there's not enough for the wax to grab on to. For best results, you have to let your hair grow out between waxings, and people committed to staying really smooth don't want to do that."

Waxing can be performed at home with kits available at pharmacies. Or it can be done by state-licensed aestheticians. Waxing involves applying a thin layer of warm wax to the target area, and then applying cloth strips. The wax dries, then you or the aesthetician yanks the cloth off -- and the hair with it. Waxed hair grows back after a few weeks. One San Francisco salon charges $50 for complete pubic waxing.

Sugaring is similar, except it uses a sugar solution instead of wax.

"Waxing was torture for me," says Cheryl Cohen-Greene, a clinical sexologist and surrogate in Berkeley, Calif. "I had my bikini line done once -- and once was enough. Never again. But my daughter gets her legs waxed regularly and has no problem."

"I've heard of aestheticians refusing to wax pubic hair," Klein says. "Some say it's illegal. I don't know if that's true or not. It may just be an excuse by those who don't feel comfortable removing pubic hair. You have to do a little dance with them. First you ask if they'll do a 'Brazilian.' If the answer is yes, then you can ask if they'll do a 'full wax,' meaning everything off."

The states regulate waxing. In California, it's done by the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). DCA spokesperson Tracy Weathersby says, "The California regulations declare no body part off limits for waxing. If an aesthetician says it's 'illegal' to wax a certain area, it means that person is not comfortable doing it." Outside California, check with your state's equivalent of the DCA.

What about electrolysis? "Some women in porn might use electrolysis," Cole-Weston speculates. "It removes the hair for good. I once chatted with an electrologist who told me that he'd done women's pubic hair."

Those women must have been very patient and well-off. Electrolysis kills one hair at a time. It can take months, even years to depilitate large areas, such as the pubis. A state-licensed electrologist inserts a fine needle into the hair follicle, zaps it with electricity, which kills the follicle, and then tweezes the hair out.

But electrolysis is not popular for pubic hair removal. Few people who post messages on bare-genitals Web sites use it.

Electrolysis is permanent -- but only when it works. Sometimes the first zap doesn't kill the follicle and hair regrows, necessitating repeat treatment. Electrolysis can also be painful, and it's expensive -- on the order of $50 per half hour -- which means that for a person who's furry between the legs, complete pubic hair removal could cost more than $1,000. Electrolysis is usually used to remove a small number of unsightly hairs, for example, on women's upper lips.

And our mothers' choices -- tweezing and depilatories -- are always options. Tweezing is commonly used to remove a small number of hairs, for example, in the eyebrows. Most people consider it too time-consuming for large areas such as pubic hair. On the Web sites devoted to pubic hair removal, tweezing is rarely mentioned, and never touted.

Depilatory creams dissolve hair. They work well for some people. But most find the chemical ingredients too irritating for sensitive genital skin. Few people who post on pubic-shaving Web sites use them.

Nichols says that for spot hair removal, professional make-up artists recommend Magic Shave, a depilatory developed for black men's beards. "It's strong, but for little problem areas, it works."