When it comes to putting myself in uncomfortable or awkward positions in the pursuit of maintaining a modicum of attractiveness, I'm a trooper. I've had injections, lasers wielded at my face, hot wax smeared on places hot wax really doesn't belong and my body pummeled by a Brazilian deep tissue aficionado who is clearly a sadist.

But, for all of my bravery and willingness to experiment with cutting edge technologies, there's one thing I cannot bring myself to do: get a plain ol' facial (it's why I use DIY recipes like these).

The mere prospect of lying there as some Scandinavian woman (because, in my mind, aestheticians are all Slavic ice queens) with a porcelain complexion, picks and prods my sun damaged, broken-blood vesseled mess of a face while staring at it under a magnifying mirror (the horror!) and waxing on and on about the errors of my ways, makes me completely uncomfortable.

On the other hand, my friend Whitney is repulsed by the thought of getting a bikini wax. "Forget about the pain aspect," she always counters when I forge the subject for the umpteenth time. "It's just too embarrassing to lie there, spread eagle, as some woman seeks hairy patches to rip from my nether regions." Come to think of it, she has a point (Have you read these hair removal horror stories?!) ... but, I digress.

I guess we all have our deep-seeded fears and phobias -- even when it comes to the pursuit of beauty. And, like many things we dread, they're not always steeped in rational thought. It's cool though; I don't think anyone's ever ended up on the shrink's couch because of clogged pores or a less-than-pristine bikini line.

What seemingly benign beauty ritual freaks you out? C'mon, share. It's the first step toward recovery.