Pubic hair is becoming a thing of the past, according to new research on female grooming habits, as more women are opting for a bare nether region.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Dermatology, surveyed more than 3,300 American females, ages 18 to 65, about the subject.

Results show that nearly 85 percent had done some kind of pubic hair modification in their lifetime. Within that group, 62 percent had shaved entirely, at least once.

The study, conducted in January 2013, confirms a trend that gynecologists and other physicians have been privy to for years. But it also spurs a discussion about the external pressures on women’s self-image and the effect this has on a younger generation.


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“There’s a lot of pressure to look a certain way,” said Dr. Tami Rowen, an obstetrician-gynecologist and lead author of the study. “On TV, in magazines, women are shown in exposed clothing more now than they ever were before.”

Women ages 18 to 34 do the most such grooming, results show, and they’re more likely to be white and have some college education. White women in particular, are more likely to groom than women in any other racial and ethnic group. No association was found between grooming and income, relationship status or geographic location.

The survey also revealed that women were basing their shaving decisions on a common myth about pubic hair and cleanliness. Nearly 60 percent said they groom because it’s more “hygienic or cleaner,” when in reality, it’s not.


“There’s no medical basis for that,” Rowen said. “Grooming does not make you cleaner.”

In fact, going au naturel may have more pros than cons. Among other things, pubic hair acts as a form of protection, trapping dirt and debris, Rowen said. Shaving the protective layer may make the area more susceptible to bacterial contamination.

Some researchers speculate that micro-abrasions and tiny cuts from shaving may facilitate the spread of sexually transmitted infections, but no large studies have definitively made that connection.

Rowen, who’s an assistant professor at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, said there is some evidence that removing pubic hair reduces the chance of lice transmission but that’s about the only proven health advantage.


The study found that 21 percent of women said their partner’s preference was motivation to groom, and only about half listed sex as a reason. This, in particular, surprised researchers.

“They weren’t doing it for sex,” Rowen said. “That was definitely one of the biggest surprises.”

That finding differs from previous research, which found most grooming to be sexually motivated. The prior study also found that it was more common than not for women to have at least some pubic hair as well, with total removal typically associated with a younger age group.

The grooming habit hasn’t always been this popular. According to a 2009 study, the trend most likely erupted from an increased prevalence of pornography depicting bare genitalia, along with popular magazines and television promoting the complete pubic hair removal trend.


Doctors are now seeing the result of this in young women, Rowen said, who are most likely to be influenced by the mainstream media and chatter among peers, especially talk from the opposite sex.

“It’s something that’s been developing over the last 20 or 30 years but now we’re seeing a majority of women, young girls especially, removing all of their hair,” Rowen said. “And they’re doing it with permanent methods,” such as laser hair removal.

Grooming also comes with the risk of injury. A 2012 study found that 3 percent of emergency room visits for genital and urinary organ injuries were the result of grooming gone wrong.

According to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, a database of hospital emergency records, more than 230 people sought medical attention from 2014 to the end of last year for injuries in the pubic region caused by shaving or grooming products.


The data, which is managed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, show that more than 75 percent of patients were women, ages seven to 72, and nine required hospitalization.

The 7-year-old girl was taken to the emergency room in April 2015 and diagnosed with dermatitis, a skin irritation that usually involves an itchy rash on swollen, reddened skin, which may blister, ooze, develop a crust or flake off.

“Mom reports child has developed pubic hair so mother shaved her vagina with a razor,” records said.

Similar skin irritation was the most common female diagnosis. Nearly 30 of the 176 women suffered some type of contusion, abrasion or laceration of the pubic region.


“It’s not just the risk of injury,” Rowen said. “It’s how we view our bodies and the external pressures that cause us to do things to our bodies that are potentially painful or dangerous.”

Rowen said she hopes the study will increase awareness about grooming safety and encourage further discussion about self image.

“I think it’s touched a nerve among women in terms of how we view our bodies and the external pressures that cause us to feel ashamed or unattractive,” she said. “I hope we can use this to take a look back and maybe re-evaluate how we view women’s anatomy.”