How awesome would it be if you never had to think about shaving your pubes again? I know, it sounds like a dream world, but this dream is slowly but surely becoming the new reality. The bush hasn’t been in style since the ’70s, but now that it’s back, I couldn’t be more excited.
- Shaving sucks. Oof. You know how sometimes you shave your bikini line and everything is smooth and perfect and then other times it’s like a low-key case of herpes broke out on your crotch? Shaving is a delicate art and let’s face it, not many of us have perfected it. It’s the worst and not having to do it (or at least not as often) sounds like heaven.
- No more razor burn! If I know I need to be in a bikini by the weekend, I start shaving on Monday so I can be sure to do damage control in case it goes awry. The amount of times I’ve successfully shaved my nether regions without a nick or a scratch can be counted on one hand. It rarely ever happens and now that shaved pubes are out, I never have to worry about getting it right again.
- It’s particularly great news for girls with thick, curly hair. For all you girls out there of Jewish, Spanish, or Italian descent (lucky for me, I’m all three), I really do feel for you. Grooming down there requires its own budget and schedule. It’s a little crazy, not to mention having a much higher chance of getting ingrown hairs and razor burn due to thick and angled hair follicles. So, as a lady with crazy-thick hair, I feel pretty good about things right now.
- It’s better for your overall health to keep a bush down there. Shaving can cause things like skin irritation, vaginal infections, rashes, inflammation of the hair follicles and can even promote the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. We have pubic hair for a reason—it’s about time we embraced it for the sake of our health if nothing else.
- It makes you feel like a grown woman. Shaved pubes are… cute, I guess, but having a bush makes you feel so mature, like you’re not looking to impress anyone and totally comfortable with who you are. Having a bush means that you’re living for you and that’s so cool.
- A bush actually helps to maintain a man’s erection. So this is kinda crazy, but pubic hair actually enhances the sexual experience in that it decreases uncomfortable friction and promotes lubrication, thus helping the man maintain his erection. It also keeps the genitals warm which is important for staying hard.
- Pubic hair holds pheromones. Apparently pubic hair, with its thicker, more robust texture, is really good at holding onto pheromones, which is supposed to trigger sexual interest and excitement. Hmm…it’s all making sense now.
- Waxing hurts like a mother-effer. When you think about all of our options for hair removal, it’s actually pretty damn sad. There’s shaving, which we all know is chronically unreliable. Laser hair removal is crazy expensive. There’s just waxing left and it’s not that much better than the other two. A lot of girls swear by waxing, but in my experience, it hurts like a bitch and I get rashes because my skin is so sensitive. If I get waxed during my period, forget about it—I’ll be red down there for days.
- Think of all of the time and money you’ll save! It’s crazy to think how much money we spend on waxing, shaving and laser hair removal (which is well over $1000 a year) just so we can look “appropriate” in society’s opinion. The fact is there’s truly nothing wrong with our pubes, we’ve just been taught that it’s gross to have them showing. Meanwhile, men can be hairy from head to toe, even wear a Speedo and everything’s just fine and dandy. Ugh.
- No more judgment for being hairy. I remember really feeling the pressure in middle school to start shaving. It was something my girlfriends and I would actually have full conversations about, like what the best razor was, how to do it right, what kind of shaving cream to use, etc. I remember being legitimately afraid that I wasn’t doing it right and even got a comment from my mom one day at the beach that I missed a spot as she covered me up in embarrassment. It was a whole lot of stress and worrying for no good reason.
- It’s kinda like a power move on our part. The same way we’ve been demanding more respect in the workplace and on the streets, we’re now getting some for our vulvas too. They belong to us and if we wanna shave them bare, that’s totally fine. If we wanna grow a big, beautiful bush down there, that’s fine too.