Don't Bother With Your Brazilian — Getting Rid of Pubic Hair May Cause STDs
Is it really the best idea to shave or wax down there? Or is a full bush the way to go?
That's the question on the minds of Canadian duo Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown, the brains behind ASAPScience, a YouTube page dedicated to making science less boring than it was in high school.
Read more: The Biggest Stereotype About Pubic Hair, Debunked
Their biggest argument in favor of going au naturel down there: Removing pubic hair can increase the chances of being infected by a sexually transmitted infection (STI).
How exactly? Through microscopic abrasions on the skin due to waxing or shaving. Researchers in a study entitled "Wax On, Wax Off: Pubic Hair Grooming and Potential Complications," found that waxing "causes deficits in the mucocutaneous barrier that may be sufficient for viral entry and transmission, potentially increasing the risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections."
This information, though perhaps unknown, is nothing new. Since 2011, doctors have been pro-pubes for these very reasons.
But obviously, it hasn't exactly caught on. In the video, Moffit and Brown quote a survey stating that out of 1,100 college students, 96% of females and 87% of males have "partially or completely removed pubic hairs within the past month."
Biologically, we're supposed to have hair down there: According to the video, humans lost most of their body hair, minus the pubes and armpit hair, about 70,000 to 120,000 years after the Ice Age. One theory hypothesizes that pubic hair endured because it was looked at as a "visual signal to potential partners that one is ready to mate," also offering protection from friction during sexual intercourse.
Read more: When Do The Symptoms of Common STDs Appear?
The other theory revolves around sweat. The apocrine gland, which is found in the armpit and crotch, secretes fluids and uses pubic hair to emit body odor. The body odor is what supposedly attracts potential lovers.
What's bad about shaving/waxing: The video suggests that researchers correlate the rise of gonorrhea, chlamydia, and HPV with the increase of pubic hair removal.
Still plan on shaving out of fear of looking like Bozo the Bush? As many people have experienced, removal also can cause itching, rashes and ingrown hairs. Irritation combined with the moist environment can also grow bacteria that causes infections.
So as the video states, there is "no harm in growing that bush the way that nature intended." Or not. Your body, your hair.
Watch the video here:
