By Marisa Loranger, News Editor.
Our relationship with pubic hair hasn’t always been so smooth.
Egyptians and Middle Eastern Cultures removed almost all of their body hair with sharp flints, pumice stones or with a waxing process. People from Turkey used hair creams. The Greeks plucked out their pubic hairs one by one or sometimes they would burn it off. Upper class women of ancient Rome also got rid of their pubic hair. In the Middle Ages, pubic hair was all the rage, until pubic lice plagued the times. People used a cream to remove the hair and then used a Merkin (a pubic hair wig) to keep up appearances of having a full bush.
In 1915, the first razor was released. Advertising for the product was marketed for underarm hair but after a nylon shortage during World War II, women used razors to shave their legs. In 1946 the bikini was invented, so women shaved more and more body hair. In the early 20th century, razor advertisements released pseudoscience declaring female underarm hair “unhygienic and unfeminine,” according to Bustle, an online women’s magazine.
The wild and sexually liberating ‘60s and ‘70s is when body hair like pubic hair came back into style. Women rocked large bushes without care.
The Brazilian Wax took the States by storm in the late ‘90s creating the culture of bare vaginas in America. This phenomenon left pubic lice extinct for the first time in 2013, according to the Journal of Medicine.
Now there are dyes to turn your pubic hair pink, stencils to shave your muff into hearts and stars and hundreds of ways to wax. But what is the purpose besides turning it into a fun way to spice up your life?
Humans have hair for warmth so pubic hair is to keep the sensitive pubic area warm. Because the pubic area is sensitive, the hair is also there to act as a barrier.
“During sexual intercourse, micro tears or abrasions can happen to the tender pubic area if there isn’t pubic hair. Bare skin on bare skin makes it easier for germs to transfer,” according to Mary Patnode, RN at the Saginaw County Health Department.
When women shave their pubic hair they may notice more discharge, and they think it isn’t normal or that they have an infection. But in all actuality, pubic hair is there to help collect vaginal fluids. When you go from having pubic hair to none, you will notice discharge that was always there.
“I tell patients here to treat your vagina like your eyeballs, you’re not putting soap in them you’re not soaking them, you’re not washing them out and you’re not shaving your eyelashes,” explains Patnode.
Some women shave their pubic hair because they think it will make their vagina smell different. The best thing you can do to make sure your pubic hair is clean, is to wash the upper part with a mild soap.
“Women need to make sure they don’t overdo it, especially the lips and the opening of the vaginal canal. The vaginal canal is a self-cleaning area so I strongly discourage feminine hygiene products. It throws the natural balance off and cause Bacterial Vaginosis. Any change in a woman’s balance can cause a fishy smell and a lot more discharge. With pregnant women, it can cause early delivery,” explains Patnode.
Pubic hair differs for everyone. It can go all the way down your thighs and go up your stomach. Pubic hair can be straight, it can be curly, it can be thin and it can be course. Pubic hair is thickest during child-bearing years. The pubic area needs more protection from the friction of being sexually active and it creates cushioning for sex. So as people age it’s not as necessary, so it begins to thin out.
Trends cycle, meaning pubic hair is on its way back after being out for at least 20 years. A British pharmacy called UKMedix did a study of 1,870 women in the UK and they found that 51 percent of women didn’t trim or wax. In America though, the Journal of Urology conducted a survey and found that more than 80 percent of female college students remove most of their pubic hair.
“Women just need to remember that smells are normal, most vaginas have a musky smell. Vaginas will never smell like a flower,” explains Patnode.
Whether you are dyeing, styling, shaving or wearing a Merkin make sure you are safe from chemical burns, bacteria and infections. No matter what trend you follow, do what makes you happy and do it for yourself, no one else.
