Shave Or No Shave: Things About Pubic Hair I Wish Someone Had Told Me Sooner

I'd have given a million dollars (not that I had the money) if someone had notified me of pubic hair etiquette when I was a teenager.

Now that I have grown up I've come to realise that there is no correct way to have pubic hair. The million different opinions on pubic hair though had confused me during my adolescence. I wish I had some guidance to give me the right sort of advice.

I had very little advice coming from my mother. She mostly advised me to let it be. Some other girl acquaintances advised me that it is unhygienic to have grown pubic hair and that it should be trimmed at all times. Others suggested completely shaving it off.

Men too seem to have an opinion on how women should keep their pubic hair. All of these opinions collectively confused my young mind.

Suggested Read: Should I Shave or Wax My Pubic Hair?

What pubic hair etiquette should one maintain?

For the longest time, I had let my ">pubic hair grow and did not do anything about it. It impressed upon me that the pubic hair protects the vagina as it is sensitive without which bacteria and germs might find their way inside.

It was only when I reached out to wearing athletic wear that I realised that my overgrown pubic hair could be an inconvenience to me if it peeped outside of my short shorts.

That is when I decided to do something about it. By that point, my pubic hair was overgrown to a point where I did not think I could safely run a razor. Needless to say, I had never shaved there before and was scared of cutting myself.

After gaining some incentive from an acquaintance's Brazilian waxing experience, I decided to go in for it myself.

I started crying my first time during ">Brazilian waxing when the waxing was close to ending. It hurt. I wasn't accustomed to waxing pain down there before. It hurt me more because I had more hair down there.

My hairless vagina lasted me close to a month, after which I decided to go in for waxing again. It hurt less this time.

However, as time went by I realised that my hair growth was manageable enough for me to trim myself down there with fewer chances of hurting myself. I also started feeling that the point of meaninglessly putting myself through pain was futile because a painless method like shaving could give me the same result.

Sure, my hair would grow back sooner and I would need to shave more often but that would be a minor inconvenience. I would have control over my hair removal process and I'd no longer have to depend on someone else or shell out money every other month for painful waxing.

I will make one thing clear. I have come to realise that if someone says that having hair down there is unhygienic, they are wrong.

It is your body and the only person who should have a say in what to do with it, is you.

I only resort to shaving down there because I personally enjoy having less hair down there. I feel more air ventilation down there and feel like I sweat less. Additionally, now that I use insertable menstrual measures, having less hair down there makes it easier for me to navigate insertion each time.

By no means do I advocate going hairless down there as the only pubic hair etiquette. I have come to realise that your pubic hair etiquette can be anything you want it to be. So feel free to go hairless or hairy. When necessary and under the doctor's recommendation, use a vaginal wash should you feel the need to.

When other people impressed their unsolicited opinion on me, I wish I had more guidance to know better. I hope this write-up gives you the clarity you have been looking for. Let no one ever tell you that you don't look pretty down there, because hairy or hairless, you do.

Views expressed by the author are their own

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