Trimming and shaping the shrubbery down below can be dangerous business, according to a new study.
Combing through survey responses from a nationally representative group of 7,456 US adults, researchers at University of California, San Francisco, found that 76 percent (5,674) were pubic groomers. Of those, one in four reported injuring themselves at least once from the below-the-belt beautification. Minor lacerations were the most common type of injury, accounting for 61 percent of those reported, followed by burns and rashes. But 1.4 percent of groomers reported severe enough injuries to require medical attention. That includes antibiotics for infections or surgical interventions, such as stitches and incisions to drain an abscess.
With the data, published Wednesday in JAMA Dermatology, the researchers hope to draw attention to the hairy problem—and pluck out factors that may contribute to injuries.
Diving down into the data, they examined the specific bits most likely to get nicked during a grooming. Unsurprisingly, men who whittled around their willies were most likely to injure the scrotum and penis and less likely to injure the perineum, inner thigh, or anus. Women were most in danger of harming the pubis (the hairy region above the vagina), the inner thigh, and vagina. They were less likely to injure the perineum or anus.
Groomers reported using all manner of pruning tools—electric razors, nonelectric razors, wax, scissors, laser hair removal, electrolysis, or “other.” But this didn’t seem to matter much; no one method was linked to a higher risk of injuries. (That said, waxing seemed to be linked to a lower risk of repeat injuries.) Also inconsequential to injury risk was how hairy a person rated themselves—the hairiest didn’t endure more harm, the researchers found.
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What did seem to matter was the frequency and extent of grooming. Both men and women risked more injuries with more grooming sessions—moving from monthly to daily routines—and if they aimed to snip out all the hair down there.
In terms of what increases the chances for a serious groin gash, researchers found two factors: lying on your back, rather than squatting, standing, or sitting during grooming; and having someone else do the grooming.
Most groomers—94 percent—reported doing the handiwork themselves. But 8.5 percent reported having their partner groom them, 3.9 percent reported professional grooming, and an intriguing 0.5 percent were “groomed by a friend.”
The researchers note that their study has limitations, including relying on people’s admissions and memory. It’s possible that minor injuries are underreported based on faulty memories while some more severe situations were omitted out of embarrassment.
Still, the authors say, it’s clear that pubic primping is widespread and injuries are common. “Thus, injury-prevention efforts are necessary,” they conclude. They hope that the data helps clinicians tease out patients who are at high risk of injuries and come up with “clinical guidelines or recommendations for safe pubic hair removal.”
JAMA Dermatology, 2017. DOI:10.1001/jamadermatol.2017.2815 (About DOIs).
