The body beautiful

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Adrienne Bianco lies still on the beauty bed, as though she were designed to complement the luxurious ambience of the spa. She appears like a model from the French Riviera as her grin and hot-pink toenails reveal her youth. Her skin, sun-kissed and wrinkle-free, also gives away her age -- 20.

To preserve the youthful appeal of taut, clear skin, Miss Bianco receives her first facial treatment of microdermabrasion. The junior at George Washington University concedes the deep-skin exfoliation isn't just a preventive measure, though -- it's also for the "ridiculously soft feel."

Whether for inner strength, medical reasons or sheer aesthetic pleasure, women have varying degrees of what they consider necessary beauty maintenance. While one woman can get away with a six-month hiatus between haircuts and leave fingernails, pores and a half-inch of silver roots au naturel, another, such as Miss Bianco, requires weekly pedicures to accommodate her obsession with feet.

On this particular day, Miss Bianco is also at the Hela Spa in Georgetown for a bikini wax and laser hair removal for the first time on her underarms. Laser removal is the premier treatment to rid her body of her second self-proclaimed obsession -- unwanted hair.

As the aesthetician moves the laser over the tender skin, Miss Bianco smiles, relieved that "it doesn't hurt at all" and confirms her desire to continue the laser removal on her leg hair after school starts, a treatment that is a big expense for a college student.

"I'm very minimalist in some things and more adventurous in others," she says, pulling her naturally brown hair over one shoulder. "Now I'm 20 years old, and for the rest of my life, my leg hair will be gone and I won't have that headache."

Permanent hair removal is a luxury, however, for other women, such as Elsy Sandoval. The 34-year-old Alexandria resident uses other, less permanent methods, such as plucking and waxing, to get rid of unwanted hair. With a young son occupying the time and energy that she otherwise would spend on beauty treatments, Miss Sandoval says her priorities change as she ages.

"I alter what is important and what can be sacrificed," says Miss Sandoval, whose long hair hangs in red-dyed waves. "Sometimes I need a 911 facial, and other times, I need a 911 pedicure."

For Isabel Hagbrink, a native of Sweden living in the District, a full-body massage every week is a priority.

"It may seem like a luxury to some people, but it's almost necessary to me because I'd be in so much pain," says the 35-year-old public information officer and event speaker as the Hela Spa masseuse works out the persistent knot on Miss Hagbrink's shoulder that she says is a result of sitting at her desk typing. "If I had a family, I probably wouldn't get massages. It's a typical single-life luxury."