MYTH: Pubic hair is unhygienic

FACT: It can be more hygienic to have it

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Firstly, a disclaimer: your pubic hair is your own business.

There is no judgement to anyone who chooses to groom or remove their pubic hair, if that is your personal choice. However, it is important that you do it for the right reasons and are properly informed.

Pubic hair protects the genitals from friction and infection, a natural barrier that has evolved to stop bacteria and other nasties from entering the vulva and vagina. Even so, humans have been grooming and removing pubic hair for centuries.

From Renaissance nudes to magazine centrefolds, free pornography to underwear ads, pubic hair is nowhere to be seen. This has led to the expectation that the vulva should be hair-free to be attractive and hygienic, which has impacted how we view and interact with our pubic hair.

Pubic hair isn’t unhygienic or dirty, much like the hair on the rest of your body. It can even be less hygienic to shave or wax your pubic hair as you can get cuts, grazes or ingrown hairs that may lead to inflammation and infection. The use of blunt razors or incorrect application of waxing products can also lead to skin infections and more serious damage to the hair follicles on and around the pubis or hyperpigmentation of the skin.

Due to the cost of hair removal and the products involved, many resort to home-made or DIY kits in order to achieve hair removal, which has led to injury and in some cases even hospitalisation. In 2012, the United States National Library of Medicine reported a 500% increase in ER admissions directly relating to pubic hair grooming and stated “...injuries relating to grooming products largely paralleled observations about cultural grooming trends in the United States”.

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Image: A woman clipping her pubic hair with shears. 12th century relief now in the Museum of Ancient Art in the Castello Sforzesco in Milan, Italy. Credit - Giovanni Dall'Orto.