Bare or Bush

“Most times I write about embarrassing stuff, but If I don't write about them, who will?" 

Today's word from my health pulpit is Bare or Bush. I'm referring to removing (BARE) or keeping (BUSH) your pubic hair.

Way back in history, keeping your pubic hair( Bush) was a sure sign that you had a healthy reproductive system and was a badge of some sort. Because STI Treatment back then often involved getting a clean shave, so if you still had yours, it meant you did not just finish STI treatment. 

BARING:

In recent times, the more popular option is to 'completely' remove all traces of pubic hair. Methods in use include- 

1. Shaving (with a shaving stick or with Hair removal/ depilatory creams like Veet etc.) and

2. Hair Waxing (done by a professional or with a home kit). 

Between you and I, we know the average Nigerian only uses the shaving techniques, so if you've been curious or concerned about changing the foliage down there, let's have a healthy discussion about pubic hair.

Common reasons people give for baring-

Times have changed and with this change, is the shrinking of our underwear designs (I’m talking to the ladies, and male swim wear wearers) and so keeping your pubes is no longer popular. Reasons for baring your pubes range from:

1. Cleanliness

2. Sexiness

3. For fashion: ease of wearing bikinis, leotards, swim trunks or any tiny underwear. 

Debunking the cleanliness issue-

No, Going bare is not necessarily cleaner! Your personal hygiene practices will determine how clean you are whether you go bare or not. A shaved head versus a full head of hair doesn't immediately translate to cleanliness, you'll still have to keep your bald head clean-sweat, dust, oil and germ free. However, a shaved pubic hair may give you the additional confidence and sexual boost you desire. Additionally, on the health side of things, one big plus for going bare, is to prevent Pubic lice- a type of STI that is caused by lice clinging to your pubic hair and burrowing into the skin underneath to lay their eggs. So no hair can mean no lice!!!

Disadvantages of Baring:

1. The ITCH: One common post-shave reaction every male or female pubic hair shaver has experienced is the ITCH. This is that shameless, seemingly uncontrollable urge to scratch yourself raw and sore especially when you're in public. 

Honestly, if you've ever had a post-shave itch and survived without scratching in public, you now know the true definition of what it means to be a lady or a gentleman (lol)

2. Boils: This especially shows up when you use a shaving stick whether under your armpit or in your pubic area. Often times, cut hair tends to leave little bristles that bend back into your skin and cause a reaction. These boils can be painful (duh) and even give off the wrong impression that you’re not clean down there, effectively defeating one of your aims for shaving your pubes. Other soft tissue bacterial infections may also occur, so you get more than what you signed up for

3. Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI):  Shaving can leave very tiny-sized wounds on the surface  of your skin and open your pores making it easier to catch surface infections even with a condom on. Some STIs are easily transmitted by skin to skin contact especially if any open wounds are in view. Notable one is a virus called Herpes and genital warts which is one of the ugliest STIs to ever have. Also, while not defined as an STI-the now popular Ebola, can be transmitted if infected body fluids touch your bruised skin during sex.  Herpes, like HIV has no cure but its just less destructive on the immune system and unlikely to be fatal. 

4. Painful Friction during sex: More than a little friction, pain and discomfort can happen especially if both of you decided to shave at the same time. You might just find yourselves un-deciding to have intercourse after attempting to rub each other red and raw. Luckily, the Itching and friction issues are usually gone after a week of the shave as your hair follicles relax from the physical trauma. So post shaving with a stick, I advise you give yourself a sex holiday. 

5. Cuts and lacerations: An obvious disadvantage of shaving is that you may end up in the hospital with your privates undergoing repair. Stitches in your pubic region, bumps and scarring are not the aesthetic or sexy look you were aiming to get. 

BUSH:

If you choose to keep all your pubic hair, it should not be because you intend to take it to the hairdressers to weave into a long French braid, or wear a weave down there (just kidding, gross mental image alert). 

Advantages: A clean bushy pubic hair means you can avoid all the disadvantages of baring mentioned above.  Often, it is a healthier option than the skinned chicken (bare) look.

Disadvantages: However, if you prefer keeping the Pubic Bush style, cleanliness should be a priority as you can still catch pubic lice and other germs from an infected sexual partner or your dirty underwear. Your pubic hair is a trademark of maturity as you only grow them when you reach puberty, but it can collect sweat, moisture, vaginal fluids, semen, dirt, germs and lice. So in your best interest, don’t forget your personal hygiene- good old soap and water.

My advice? 

I advise you do a TRIM. Trimming ensures you leave the roots of your pubic hair intact to prevent any wounds of any size. You should consider trimming off enough hair (using a clean comb, a steady hand, a mirror and a small clean/new pair of scissors) to keep your hairs low enough so as to improve the appearance of your pubic area without going so completely bare that you're itching in a disgraceful manner and crossing your legs ever so often in public.

For the men, look at it this way, trimming helps you keep your pillar and the stones in main focus while full shaving can put you at the risk of looking like a teen yet to reach puberty? Finally, ladies ask yourselves, if women should continue to chase every aspect of fashion even when it may be uncomfortable, unhealthy, time-consuming, risky to your genitals and likely damaging to your self-perception. Shaving, because you want to meet your man's ideal which he discovered in the pages of playboy or on the internet, is shaving for the wrong reasons. A suggestion for ladies insistent on shaving is to leave the most sensitive skin on the lips(labia/the opening) of your privates unmauled by shaving so you can do a -shave-trim-routine- i.e. on the surrounding skin-shave and on the lips-trim. 

Since you know that Pornography biz, the g-string & c-string underwear industry and marketers of teeny-tiny bikinis helped make the 'bare' look sooo popular, then don't rush to join the war on pubic hair, pause, read this write-up and then clearly decide what's best for you. 

So which option do you like? Leave a comment for me below.