Many health and hygiene guides advise women, in particular, to avoid shaving or waxing all or most of their pubic hair to maintain their “natural barrier” against sexually transmitted infections. But is this a misconception?

Share on Pinterest Completely removing pubic hair most likely does not influence the risk of STIs, according to recent findings.

Many women, often for perceived aesthetic reasons, trim or shave part of their pubic hair, and some choose to go completely smooth.

But, until now, many specialists have advised against the more extreme forms of grooming, such as getting a so-called Hollywood wax, arguing that the complete removal of pubic hair could increase the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) by disrupting the natural bacterial balance of the vulva.

A 2017 review of the specialist literature addressing the topic of intimate hygiene practices warns that “[h]air removal may cause skin microtrauma and subsequent spread of infectious agents throughout the pubic area.”

“Severe consequences may include vulvovaginal irritation and infection and spread of sexually transmitted infections,” its authors note.

Now, however, a study from Ohio State University in Columbus contradicts previous beliefs, finding no connection between “extreme” intimate grooming practices and the presence of STIs.

The study — whose findings appeared yesterday in the journal PLOS One — aimed to see if the full removal of pubic hair at least weekly over the past year or at least six times over the past month would correlate with testing positive for one of two common STIs: chlamydia and gonorrhea.