Should I groom my pubic hair?
Since puberty, we’ve been blessed with pubic hair – but what, if anything, should you do with it? Whether or not to style your pubic hair is a personal choice. Some people choose to groom their pubic hair for comfort, confidence, or hygiene, while others choose to leave their pubic hair untouched. Pubic hair is there for a reason: it protects our most sensitive areas from dirt, infection, and friction. However, as long as you maintain good hygiene, it’s perfectly safe to remove pubic hair. There are endless pubic haircuts for men and women to choose from. Let’s dive in and explore some of the most common pubic hairstyles out there.
Should I groom my pubic hair?
Pubic hairstyles for women
Natural
The lowest-maintenance pubic hairstyle, natural is exactly as the name suggests – your pubic hair, as nature intended. Also known as ‘the bush’, the natural pubic hairstyle for women is simple to achieve: just let it grow. You can also trim the hair a little if you prefer a neater look.
Pros:
The main pro of a natural pubic hairstyle is the lack of maintenance required. No shaving, waxing, epilating, or plucking needed – not to mention no ingrown hairs or skin irritation. Your pubic hair is free to do its job – protect your genital area.
Cons:
Some women find the feel of their pubic hair au naturel irritating. Also, natural pubic hair can be visible in swimwear, which some women don’t feel comfortable with.
Bikini line
One of the most popular pubic haircuts for women, the bikini line style removes any hair that would be visible in bikini bottoms. You can remove the hair from your bikini line in a number of ways. Shaving, waxing, depilatory creams, epilation – the choice is yours.
Pros:
The bikini line is a pretty low-maintenance pubic hairstyle, which is great for women with a busy lifestyle.
Cons:
It can be a little tricky removing hair along your bikini line. You need to get into the creases of your legs to remove all the necessary hair, and it also requires regular upkeep – especially in the summer.
Landing strip
The landing strip is the perfect female pubic hairstyle if you want some hair down there but not too much. To achieve this style – also known as the ‘the French’ – remove pubic hair at the front except for a strip down the middle. Hair beyond the bikini line is removed, too.
Pros:
A landing strip offers the best of both. Enjoy some smoothness without going completely hairless for a maintained but still natural look.
Cons:
This pubic haircut requires some accuracy during hair removal, which can make it more difficult and time-consuming to achieve.
Hollywood
If you’re not a fan of pubic hair, this style is for you. Go bare with a Hollywood. Every hair down there – yes, every single one – is removed, leaving your skin completely smooth.
Pros:
If you find your pubic hair irritating, a Hollywood solves the problem. It also doesn’t require any intricate shaping of hair, like a landing strip – everything must go.
Cons:
This pubic hairstyle is high-maintenance. To remove every hair, you need to get into all the nooks and crannies down there. And if you choose to remove hair from the root, it can be painful.
Brazilian
A Brazilian pubic haircut is like a Hollywood but not quite as extreme. All hair is removed from the pubic area, except for a small patch at the front. You could opt for a landing strip, triangle, square – whatever you like.
Pros:
Enjoy the smoothness of a Hollywood but with a patch of pubic hair to style at the front.
Cons:
Like a Hollywood, a Brazilian pubic hairstyle requires considerable effort to maintain. If you choose to wax, sugar, or epilate, it can also be painful to remove the hair from sensitive areas.
Other styles
If you’re feeling creative, less common pubic hairstyles for women include:
The Martini
The Lightening Bolt
The Postage Stamp
Pubic hairstyles for men
Natural
The simplest pubic haircut for men, a natural look entails doing absolutely nothing. Just let your pubic hair grow.
Pros:
There are many pros of a natural pubic hairstyle, but the main one is the lack of effort it requires.
Cons:
Some men find unruly pubic hair irritating – and some even think a bush makes their manhood look smaller.
Trimmed
Like the natural look, but neater. You can trim your pubic hair with scissors or an electric razor to achieve this common pubic hairstyle for men.
Pros:
Trimming men’s pubic hair is easy – plus it’s fairly low maintenance.
Cons:
A trimmed pubic haircut requires some upkeep, unlike an all-natural style.
Shaved
If you want to go hairless, shaved is a popular male pubic hairstyle. Shave as much or as little as you like. Some men opt to shave just the scrotum, some just shave the front and others prefer to go hairless all over.
Pros: Shaving gives a smooth, hair-free finish, so it’s a great choice if you find pubic hair irritating.
Cons: Shaved hairs will start growing back immediately after shaving, so expect stubble after two to three days. Shaving can also cause irritation and ingrown hair.
Sculpted
If you want to get more creative with your pubic haircut, try sculpting. This type of manscaping involves shaving your hair into specific shapes and styles, such as:
The Lightening Rod
The Boyzilian
The Bermuda Triangle
The Umbrella
Billiard Balls
Pros: You can get creative with your manscaping and express yourself through your public hairstyle.
Cons: It takes some skill to achieve the pubic haircut your want. It also requires regular maintenance, or your Lightening Rod might start to lose its shape!
Gender-neutral pubic hairstyles
Triangle
A triangle pubic haircut is – you guessed it – when a patch of hair at the front is shaped like a triangle.
Pros:
This style is quirky and not too intricate to cut.
Cons:
Achieving a perfectly symmetrical triangle shape can be a little challenging, and regular maintenance is needed to keep it neat.
Heart
Show some love down there with a heart-shaped pubic haircut. Like the triangle, this cute style leaves a patch of hair at the front.
Pros:
It’s a fun, playful way to style your pubic hair.
Cons:
It’s tricky to cut the top part of the heart shape (you may need tweezers to finish it off), and you need to repeat hair removal regularly to maintain the shape.
Arrow
If you’re feeling cheeky, try an arrow pubic haircut. Tricky to achieve but very effective when done right, you’ll have an arrow-shaped patch of hair pointing downwards.
Pros: This pubic hairstyle is certainly unique – top points for originality and playfulness.
Cons: The arrow shape takes some skill and patience to cut.
How to groom and style pubic hair
Before you start working on your pubic haircut, you need to prep first. Otherwise, you’re at risk of skin irritation, razor burn and those dreaded ingrown hairs. Gently exfoliate the front of your pubic area a few days before hair removal – but take care not to get too close to sensitive genital areas.
If your pubic hair is long, you might want to trim it down to a more manageable length before starting hair removal. To keep your pubic hair clean, you just need to wash it daily with water and soap.
Pubic haircut step-by-step guide
Choose your hair removal tool
Take a shower (to soften hair and open pores)
Pull the skin taut
Shave in the direction of hair growth with short, gentle strokes
You can refer to this How to trim and shave pubic hair for men for a more detailed set of instructions on how to prep for, remove, and take care of pubic hair. For women, here is a guide on how to epilate your bikini line, or how to use IPL hair removal for pubic hair.
Tools to style pubic hair
There are a range of tools you can use to trim, remove and style your pubic hair:
- Electric shavers
- Trimmers
Razors
Epilators
Recommended products for this job
Which pubic hairstyle should you choose?
There are endless ways to style your pubic hair. There’s no right or wrong style to choose – go for whatever makes you feel comfortable and confident.
Why stick to just one style? Experiment with different pubic haircuts to see which one you like the best. Or if you’ve had the same style for a while, you can mix it up and try something new.
