Pubic hair

Pubic hair is hair in the frontal genital area and in the crotch, and sometimes at the top of the inside of the legs; these areas form the pubic region. Pubic hair starts to grow during puberty (for boys it starts to grow earlier than facial hair); the time at which this happens is called pubarche. Patterns of pubic hair vary widely. On some people, it is thick and/or coarse, while on others it may be sparse and/or fine. Pubic hair and axillary (armpit) hair is much darker than the hair of the scalp, and is accurately comparable to the colour of the eyebrows, if not darker (in both sexes, with the exclusion of albino people). This is due to the lack of "sun bleaching" that the hair experiences. On most women, the pubic patch is triangular and lies over the mons veneris, or mound of Venus. On many men, the pubic patch tapers upwards to a line of hair pointing towards the navel. As with axillary (armpit) hair, pubic hair is associated with a concentration of sebaceous glands in the area.

Function of pubic hair

It is believed that the functions of pubic hair include the dissemination of pheromones, and protection from the friction of sexual intercourse.

Culture

Attitudes

In Japanese drawings pubic hair is often omitted for legal reasons (see hentai), as the display of pubic hair is not legal.

Modification

The following paragraphs are about females. For males, please see further down.

Trimming or completely removing pubic hair is a common practice in the Arab world.

Since the 1960s it has become popular to trim or completely remove pubic hair in the western world (Europe and North America). In some regions of India and surrounding countries, this practice has been popular since before the 1960s.

Different cultures have different shaving habits as well as different reasons for why they modify or remove pubic hair, which include:

hygiene, especially during menstruation
aesthetic
avoid unpleasantness during oral sex (hair in the mouth of your partner)
tradition
culture, e.g., India and BDSM cultures
possibly religion

For methods of how to remove hair, please see depilation.

Styles, Cultures, Norms and Taboos

As you can imagine, just about any style is possible, e.g., heart-shaped (to name just one). But these styles are very popular:

trim the sides of the triangle (bikini line), so that pubic hair cannot be seen while wearing swimwear
remove hair from both sides of labia majora, often seen with above trimming
remove all, but a small patch, line or triangle over the clitoris
remove all pubic hair

Today, social trends seems to lead to the removal of pubic hair.

Some women with coarse, rough-to-the-touch pubic hair tend to shave more frequently than those with soft textured pubic hair.
Some women who are single and actively dating tend to shave around the patch of pubic hair to keep it nicely groomed.
Some women choose to remain unshaved because their sexual partners are turned on by pubic hair.
Some women shave because some men do not like to see and feel pubic hair.
Some women shave because some men find it very erotic.
Some women keep their arm pit and pubic hair because they want to live and feel natural.

What you should know if you have to shave your pubic hair?

Electrical razors are a little safer and do not shave off skin along with the hair.
Some narrow electrical razors, like "clippers" or those intended for trimming side-burns or beards work well for trimming around the sensitive skin of the vulva.
Shaving can cause skin irritation and hair getting locked under the skin area.
Hair re-growth can sometimes be uncomfortable.
Cutting hair does nothing to the hair follicles. Hair above the skin is dead, it cannot communicate with the hair follicles in the skin.
Shaving in the same direction of the hair growth may remove less of the hair but it is less likely to get irritated.

What are the disadvantages of having lots of pubic hair?

Some women who have lots of pubic hair feel embarrassed by it and never let men fully see them naked in the light.
Some sexual activities can appear sloppy at best.
More time and care is required to keep the area relatively clean and dry, especially after using the washroom etc.
Low self esteem can cause some women to think that having lots of pubic hair is ugly.
Some women with lots of pubic hair will only have sex in the dark and will not readily participate in oral sex.
Some women shave because the pubic hair is just too much, too thick, too long and feels uncomfortable especially if they have to go to places like the gym or the beach.
For women who live in areas where pubic lice are prevalent shaving is an option.

What are the advantages of pubic hair?

For some women it is a natural way to capture and retain the lubrication from the vagina before and during sexual activity. More importantly this lubrication cantains powerful pheromones which play an important role in stimulating the male partner and thus providing the extra boost required to make the experience naturally satisfying.
Some people find pubic hair sexy.

Men

Since the 1990s more and more men also trim or remove their pubic hair. Altogether it is seen much more rarely than in females. It is fashionable in BDSM cultures (approx. 30% shaved) or nudist cultures (approx. 10% shaved). The trimming or removal of body hair by men is sometimes referred to as manscaping.

Regions and practices

Pubic hair shaving practice is not common around the world. In few countries it is common and in few countries it is weird. For few Muslim countries it is a cultural norm and in few other countries it is personal than cultural. For razor vendors, it is must to know cultures and practices.

Region	Men			Women
Region	not modified [%]	trimmed [%]	fully shaved [%]	not modified [%]	trimmed [%]	fully shaved [%]
USA/Canada				<10	60	30
Europe				> 75	< 15	< 10
South/Latin America	no information
Africa (w/o Arab countries)	no information
Arab world				<20	80
Australia	no information
South-East Asia				85	5	10
India	70	20	10	65	10	25
Chinas/Koreas				85	5	10
Japan				85	5	10
Nudists				25	10	65
BDSM cultures				15	5	>80

The above table is a rough approximation by few Wikipedians. If you know solid statistics, please feel free to edit this page or post your comments at the talk page

In Germany, almost 50% of the sauna-visiting females under the age 40 fully shave their pubic hairs. This seems to be the recent trend as in 2004. Anyway, the sauna-visiting population is not representative.
With regard to the people of the Amazon basin, such as the Yanomami, who are predominantly naked in their daily life: Most adults pluck out all body hair. This may be to discourage parasites, or because body hair is considered unsightly. Adults and children groom one another's head hair for lice and ticks, but such attention paid to the rest of the body may be problematic. Children often have their heads shaved during illness.

Trends

Many people of both genders are increasingly shaving, waxing, or otherwise removing their pubic hair. The primary reason for this trend is simply aesthetics, but hygiene is also a motivating factor.

In the 1990s, a permanent method of hair removal has evolved, and many people are opting to remove their pubic hair this way, once and for all. This method involves the use of focused, high power light. This type of epilation falls under two main categories: IPL (intense pulsed light) and laser epilation. IPL uses broad spectrum (white) light, and laser epilation uses a very specific wavelength (color) of light to destroy the hair-producing gland, the follicle. Using light epilation, one never needs worry about razor bumps, ingrown hairs or dermatitus caused by temporary methods.

For a more thorough description of light epilation, see Laser hair removal. Although that text primarily is geared towards laser epilation, the concepts and science are nearly identical to that of IPL epilation. It is still very controversial as to which method, IPL or laser, is the most effective.

Like other hair, pubic hair may be infested by lice: see pubic lice.