Shaving Your Pubic Hair Can Increase Risk Of STDs
A smooth playing field may increase your risk of getting a sexually transmitted infection, according to a new study from the University of California-San Francisco.
The report, published in Sexually Transmitted Infections, found that people who groom their pubic hair regularly were 75% more likely to develop a STI than those who left their hair untouched.
Researchers polled U.S. residents ages 18 to 65 about their grooming habits, sexual behaviors, and history of STIs.
One factor may be that shaving causes "epidermal microtears" that facilitate transmission of bacteria or viruses like HPV. Then again, removing pubic hair eliminates certain STIs like pubic lice.
There has been an increase in STIs in the U.S.: The number of cases of syphilis has spiked from 8,724 in 2005 to 16,663 in 2013, with the majority being men who have sex with other men.
Of course people who invest in grooming their nether regions may just be more sexually active. (You're not going to mow the lawn if there's no one to see it, right?)
But extreme groomers—those who removed all pubic hair at least once a month—were nearly 30% more likely to report STIs than high frequency groomers, who just trim daily or weekly.
“A better understanding of the relation between pubic hair grooming and STI risk could lead to improved STI-reduction strategies,” the paper posits.
Researchers also asked participants about how they groomed their pubic area: Men were more likely to use electric razors, it turns out, while a fairly equal number of men and women took scissors to the area.
Careful!