Turns Out 84 Percent Of Women Groom Their Pubic Hair – SELF

A new study explains why women are waxing and shaving down there.

If you’ve ever wondered how other women are tending to their nether regions—or not, as the case may be—you’ll be interested in a new study published in JAMA Dermatology. After surveying just over 3,300 American women, its authors found some surprising statistics on the state of pubic hair. Eighty-four percent of respondents reported grooming theirs, while only 16 percent never do. Younger women are significantly more likely to groom than older women, and women who groom are more likely to be white. Oh, and women who groom also report having twice the number of lifetime partners as those who didn’t groom.

 Okay, so it’s not exactly shocking that many young women remove their pubic hair in some way, but the motivation behind the behavior is illuminating. “The goal of the study was not to pass judgment on what people do,” Tami S. Rowen, M.D., the lead author of the study and Assistant Professor at University of California, San Francisco, tells SELF. “It’s to explore why they’re doing it.”

Although partner preference plays a role in the decision, most women are trimming or removing their pubic hair because they think it’s “cleaner.” A whopping 59 percent of respondents said they groom for hygienic reasons. But, says Dr. Rowen, “It’s a misconception that pubic hair is unhygienic. “I’m a general ob/gyn, and many of my patients speak of their hair like it’s a cleanliness issue, and it’s not. Having pubic hair is not unhygienic.”

The idea that pubic hair is ‘dirty’ is a problem, says Autumn Whitefield-Madrano, author of Face Value: The Hidden Ways Beauty Shapes Women’s Lives. “Given that hygiene was the number-one reason cited by women who groomed, it’s clear that we still have a lot to learn about lady parts,” she says. “Certainly pubic hair can become unhygienic if you don’t clean yourself properly, and if you have particularly long pubic hair, you might personally feel more comfortable trimming it. But pubic hair is there for a reason, and it’s to wick away sweat and anything else that goes on ‘down there,’ which keeps you more hygienic than a bald mons pubis does.” 

Neither Dr. Rowen or Whitefield-Madrano is versus the idea of pubic grooming, but both have concerns about how the pressure to look a certain way makes women view their bodies. “The focus on grooming makes women more self-conscious about their appearance,” Dr. Rowen says. “I’ve been noticing how many times women apologize for what their genitals look like. I have patients come in and say, ‘My vulva doesn’t look normal. What’s wrong with it? And their genitals are totally healthy and normal.” For her part, Whitefield-Madrano thinks that women should groom themselves (or not) as they see fit, not to meet an external standard for what women “should” look like. “I’d like to see it go to a place of a true opting-in,” she says of removing pubic hair. “If a woman feels sexier or cleaner or whatever, then fine, go ahead. But I hate the thought of this becoming an inflexible standard. Given that the study found that grooming is cultural, what that says to me is that we can change it—if we want,” says Whitefield-Madrano. 

If you do groom…

Whether you wax your hair or remove it at home, a few guidelines can help you stay healthier. “No matter what method you choose, remember that hair removal also affects the skin,” dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, M.D., the Director of Cosmetic and Clinical Research in Dermatology at Mt. Sinai Hospital in NYC, tells SELF. “Make sure to keep the skin hydrated so that it doesn’t become inflamed during the hair removal process.” If you shave, he advises doing so after a warm shower, using a shave gel to improve razor glide, shaving in the direction of hair growth, and rinsing the razor to remove hair and debris. And use only a sharp blade, he says, to reduce the likelihood of complications such as folliculitis. “A dull blade means that you need to use multiple strokes to remove the hair, but it can cause skin irritation, with barrier disruption.”  

Hair removal isn’t just about aesthetics, says Dr. Rowen. Careless grooming can cause serious health issues. “I see folliculitis in my practice—even labial and vulvar abscesses,” she says. “Women who shave nick their skin, bacteria gets in, and it causes a reaction.” Improper waxing or laser treatments can cause burns, she adds. “If you are planning to groom, you need to do it in really safe ways. And if you have complications, talk to your health care provider right away.” And if you don’t want to groom at all, that’s okay, too—body hair is totally normal, after all.

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