Frequent pubic hair removal linked to STIs, study finds

By Caroline Winter

A US study has found that people who frequently wax or shave their pubic area report a greater history of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

The trend to be soft, supple and hair free, especially in more delicate areas, has grown massively over recent years.

But in a world where fashion, body image and grooming are king, there is a concern we could be doing some damage.

According to the research, those who frequently remove their pubic hair are associated with an 80 per cent higher risk of having an STI.

Charles Osterberg, from the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas, was the lead author on the study and said both men and women reported “alarming” rates of grooming.

“Over time our perceptions of what it means to be attractive and/or masculine and/or feminine have changed and what it means to be normal has shifted, largely thanks to our perceptions from the media,” he said.

“Eighty per cent of women report grooming and over 50 per cent of men report a history of grooming.

“After we adjusted for age and number of sexual partners, what we found is that those people who groom frequently, as well as those people who remove their pubic hair on average 11 times per year, these individuals are at a 3.5-to-4-fold increase risk of a history of sexually transmitted infections.”

The STIs included herpes and the human papilloma virus.

Waxing grows in popularity

In the study, 7,500 Americans answered questions in an online survey about the intensity, frequency and tools they used to groom their pubic hair.

“Extreme groomers” — around 17 per cent — removed all their pubic hair more than 11 times a year, while 11 per cent, deemed “high-frequency” groomers, trimmed daily or weekly.

Christine Ahern, a beauty salon manager in Sydney, said she is not surprised by those figures.

“We’ve got a lot of return clients, so… a lot of my clients have been coming to me over the last two years, I see them every four weeks religiously,” he said.

She said the popularity of Brazilian waxes has increased steadily over her time in the industry, and she now averages around 20 a day.

“I do know a lot of them come in for a quick touch up because they have a date, and they want to be nice and clean for their date, whether it’s a first date or a second date it doesn’t matter, they go for it,” she said.

Dr Ostenberg said there are a number of possible reasons for the link between grooming and STIs.

“Potentially grooming is a surrogate or preparatory act for sexual activity and that grooming in other words functions as a proxy for sexual activity,” he said.

“The second option is that grooming causes some micro-tears in the epidermis (skin) which could potentially allow viral and/or bacterial penetrants for transmission.”

Being an observational, self-reporting study the findings are not conclusive, but Dr Ostenberg said it shows the need for further research.

“We need a prospective study, whereby the STIs are confirmed with medical diagnosis rather than just a self-reporting of which, and even some basic science research into what goes on with using a razor blade on the epidermis and how that might impact bacterial and/or viral penetrants,” he said.

The report was published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections from the British Medical Journal.

This post originally appeared on ABC News.