Ever shaved your pubic hair and had it grow back stubbly and not-so-sexy? Shaving around your pelvic region can be quite a chore. But there is a better way…

Shaving is annoying, and some women have thrown it out the door all together (more power to you!). But for those of us that do choose hair removal, shaving legs and underarms isn’t as bad as the dreaded pubic hair. No, most of us don’t want the pre-pubescent look, but we still like to be trim and proper, right?

When shaving pubic hair become common?

In 1915, Gillette hit the market with the first razor targeted specifically at women, called the Milady Decolletée. Around the 1930s shaving one’s legs started to be a societal norm as hemlines began to rise. The custom became mainstream in the ’40s when factories stopped making women’s stockings because of wartime efforts.

So that explains shaving legs, but what about pubic hair? Turns out shaving “down there” didn’t start with a porn star or the Brazilians. In fact, removing pubic hair dates back hundreds of years in the Muslim culture. In the Middle East and Northern Africa, removal of all body hair was a ritual all females performed in preparation for their wedding night.

Modern options for removing pubic hair

We can only imagine what those early ladies had to use to get rid of body hair. Today we have a suite of options for removing hair–electrolosis, threading, waxing and shaving. So why is waxing better than shaving when it comes to your pubic hair?

Waxing removes the hair from the root, so the hair takes longer to grow back. And when it does grow back, it is thinner (thank goodness!).  Plus, waxing pubic hair helps avoid razor bumps and the itching sensation that’s typical when hair grows back after shaving. Some people might have a slight reaction to waxes, so I recommend waxes that are soy-based waxes rather than petroleum-based.

DIY Pubic Hair Sugar Wax Recipe

You can even make hair removal wax yourself! Here’s how:

1. Warm 2 cups of sugar, 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup vinegar or lemon juice in a shallow saucepan.

2. Heat on a medium flame, stirring often, until the mixture become golden brown.

3. Transfer to a microwave-safe container, and allow to cool just until it’s pliable and safe for skin.

4. Rub the sugar wax on your skin, let it cool and harden for a few seconds, then pull it off, taking the hair with it.

With this DIY recipe, you don’t need wax strips and you can save the unused wax for another time.

You might have to put up with a few wincing moments while the strips are removed. But come on, we are women–we can handle it, right?

Waxing Tip: Wait 3 weeks since after shaving, and 4-6 weeks after waxing to get another wax.

See Also:

Now & Then: The Bold Brow

Fashion History Mirror Feminism: From Corset to Casual, A Visual Tour Through Time

image: NuageDeNuit | Chiara Vitellozzi

The post Waxing vs Shaving: Which One Is Better For Pubic Hair Removal? appeared first on EcoSalon.

Is it just me, or is the bikini wax is getting kind of old?

On the list of perennial battles that human beings will never win—finding that lost sock in the dryer, having a business card when you really need one, remembering to bring your grocery list to the store—unwanted body hair is possibly the most vexing.

We wax it. We shave it. We laser it. But no matter what, it comes back.

Hair removal is expensive, it’s time consuming, and it isn’t even remotely enjoyable. Our fastidious compulsion to get rid of it fuels a $2.1 billion per year industry in the U.S., with the average American woman spending over $10,000 in her lifetime on various hair removal products.

And before you retort that having hair down there is, like, totally unsanitary, consider this. According to Emily Gibson, M.D., physician and director of the Western University Health Center in Washington State, repetitive hair removal in the pubic region has the potential to cause some serious health problems. Among those: increased susceptibility to genital herpes, staph boils, abscesses, and cellulitis. So. Not. Sexy.

Many a feminist has bemoaned the culturally sanctioned removal of body hair, lambasting the idea that women need to be smooth and hairless—as well as body fluid-less, angelic, and perfectly toned—in order to please our discerning male counterparts.  But you don’t have to be a hippie or feminist to concede that ripping all the hair off of one’s pubic bone with dripping hot wax is about as natural as formaldehyde. Those who have endured a bikini wax know the routine: the awkward feeling of exposure under fluorescent lighting, the intervals of bracing and wincing and sharp inhalations, accompanied all the way through by the overwhelming urge to flee the table.

There are a number of theories on why today’s beauty ideal includes vaginas that resemble those of a pre-pubescent girl. There’s the porn industry’s penchant for infantilizing women, the ever-diminishing amount of fabric used to make thongs and bikinis, Barbie’s plasticky sheen, and the preternatural creatures known as Victoria Secret and Sports Illustrated models.

It’s worth noting that, before ripping out our body hair was de rigeur, there was a very long period of human history where men found women wholly irresistible despite the presence of body hair. Compelling evidence of this can be found as recently as in a 1970s Playboy centerfold.

Unlike big breasts or a shapely backside—which, on a purely biological level, are both signs of fertility and thus fitness to survive—there is nothing about being hairless that should be inherently desirable to a man. Being hairless in no way enhances our ability to survive or thrive as humans. In fact, it does the contrary; pubic hair is meant to provide a buffer zone and serve as protection from unwanted pathogens. So, the male fixation on hairless women is a learned behavior that women themselves are perpetuating.

Of course, the fundamental tenets of Darwinism are no longer determinants of our behavior. It’s unlikely that modern women, myself included, are going to forgo the grooming ritual altogether. Understandably, many women feel that hair removal makes them feel more feminine and makes sexual experiences more enjoyable.

The moderate amount of grooming necessary to wear modern garments is one thing, but the hair-removal equivalent of “going for broke” is quite another. The pervasiveness of this latter practice has equated what’s natural with what’s unsexy, and therein lies the issue. Something tells me that if women put a stop to this no-holds-barred hair removal, the male species would quickly find a way to adjust. They’re pretty simple like that.

Women always have and always will have hair on their vaginas. Lest you have forgotten, you are, in fact, a woman. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.

Image: maralyn_cvitanic

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Only the bravest of us greenies go without hair removal. Sure, there’s some who can weave their armpit hair, and we applaud that. But the rest of us aren’t unknown to razors or organic shaving creams. (And for our best natural picks for creams and razors, click here.) And that means some of us dabble in even greater means of hair removal. And by that I mean – waxing.

The first time I heard about “organic waxing,” I was sitting in Nori’s Eco Salon in Sherman Oaks, California. Nunei Harrington, aka “the organic facialist,” uses a line called Nufree, which is a soy-based wax. This antimicrobial gel claims to be completely botanical and germ-free. However, it is only used by professionals, so you’d have to schedule an appointment with your closest organic esthetician.

Want to wax at home? It seems that one of your most readily-available options is the Shobha Sugaring Kit. It contains the Sugaring Gel itself, made with sugar and lemon juice combined with glycerin and water. It is also free of parabens, dyes, fragrances, resin, waxes and more. The Sugaring Kit also contains the Shobha talc-free powder for prep, and Shobha denim strips are made from recycled denim and are designed to be washed and reused. Topping off the kit are detail instructions and two plastic spatulas for application. This kit is vegan-friendly and claims to offer “hassle-free home hair removal system using signature, 100 percent natural, professional-grade formula.”

But how hassle-free is it? In my unprofessional hands, not very. I warmed up the Sugaring Gel as instructed and dabbed it on a small spot on my leg. Denim strips in place; I pulled and managed to rip up some hair on my leg. Approximately 60 seconds later, I had red welt on my leg – which quickly brought my at-home experiment to an end.

In defense of Shobha, they do make it very clear in their instructions that if you have sensitive skin, (as I do) you may experience irritation. And I’ve never had a professional eyebrow wax that didn’t leave my skin a little annoyed. While I think it’s a great product for professionals, I’d urge caution in the hands of the sensitive skinned.

FTC Compliance

Image: egor.gribanov

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