Aside from the excruciated pain of a bikini wax there may be more disadvantages than you know. A new study found that a quarter of people who 'groom their public hair' have suffered an injury as a result. The study, carried out by JAMA Dermatology found that 26% of men and women who groom their pubic hair have been injured at least once, according to a JAMA Dermatology study published Wednesday. Of those 32% said that it had happened five or more times. Injuries ranged from minor ones like razor or wax burns, irritation and hair follicle infection to lacerations, burns and rashes. Medical attention was required in 1.4% of the cases.
Pubic grooming is apparently on the minds of millennials more than ever and the consequences of hair removal are more dangerous than you may think. As your laid out with hot wax smeared across your lady parts repeating the mantra ‘pain is beauty, pain is beauty’, your delicate areas are running the risk of getting burnt, scratched and lacerated, increasing the chances of infection. A recent study has shown that Women who opted to go Brazilian more than 11 times in their lifetime are about twice as likely to be injured as opposed to women who don’t.
There are so many types of hair removal it is difficult to choose which one is right for you. Here are a few ways to tame your lady garden and the injuries to watch out for...
Shaving: Shaving is undoubtable the most common way of removing pubic hair but also potentially the most harmful. It’s easy, portable, inexpensive and you can do it yourself. If you have sensitive skin it’s important to watch out for razor burns, nicks, ingrown hairs and folliculitis (infected hair follicles). It’s recommended that your shave in the direction of the hair as opposed to what most women do when shaving their legs against the grain.
Trimming: So, you don’t want to be a totally baldy but still need to tame the mane. Trimming is great for getting rid of stragglers, those longer hairs that protrude out of your bikini when you’re chatting to your crush. This method is definitely less damaging to your skin than shaving as the hair follicles aren’t being touched but skin injury is not uncommon since access and visualisation might be limited.
Waxing: If you have a low pain threshold this isn’t for you, the advantage is that the smooth aesthetic your after will last longer than shaving. DIY is always a risky manoeuvre as the wax can burn your skin if it’s too hot. If you have the muller to splash then I would recommend getting it done at a reputable salon.
Researchers looked at a representative sample of American men and women between the ages of 18 and 64 and found that over two-thirds of men and over 85 percent of women admit to grooming their pubic hair. Of the groomers, 1.4 percent experienced injuries so severe that they had to seek medical attention.
The injuries varied from cuts, which accounted for 61 percent of accidents, to burns from hair-removal creams, which took up 23 percent of the reported injuries. Of this injured bunch, 2.5 percent said they needed surgical intervention to drain abscesses or close sutures, for example. However, most abrasions were minor.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.