Highlights
- Pubic hair removal is increasingly common among men and women worldwide
- Pubic hair groomers are more likely to develop an sexually transmitted infection (STI)
- Groomers were less likely to develop any lice infestations
1. Intensity (trimming or complete removal)
2. Frequency (from on a daily basis to annually)
3. Tools used for pubic hair grooming
4. Their sexual history (some 7470 had at least one sexual partner)
Study Results
- 74% (three out of four) respondents said they had groomed their pubic hair before; out of which the response from women (84%) was more compared to men (66%).
- 17% of the groomers were classified as ‘extreme’ (people who removed pubic hair more than 11 times a year) and 22% as ‘high frequency (people who trimmed their pubic hair daily or weekly)
- 1 in 10 people was classified as extreme and high frequency groomers
- Groomers were younger, sexually active and had more sexual partners than those who didn’t groom their pubic hair.
- Extreme groomers had the highest number of sexual partners.
- 42% men used electric razor; while 61% women used manual razor; 1 in 5 men and women used scissors
- 943 respondents (13%) said they had at least one of the following which include herpes; human papilloma virus (HPV); syphilis; molluscum; gonorrhoea; chlamydia; HIV; or pubic lice.
Low intensity grooming was linked with a doubling in risk of a lice infestation. This finding suggests that grooming might make it harder for the lice to breed successfully.
To explain their findings, the researchers suggest that grooming might be a proxy for higher levels of sexual activity and associated infection risk, or that it might cause tiny skin tears, through which bacteria and viruses can easily pass.
Reference
- E Charles Osterberg et.al. Correlation Between Pubic Hair Grooming And STIs: Results from a Nationally Representative Probability Sample; Sexually Transmitted Infections (2016); doi:10.1136/sextrans-2016-052687