It’s Time To Reconsider Your Brazilian Wax

I’m just as guilty as the next girl of loving a good gel polish manicure, and the evidence is out that they can pose a myriad of risks. The Brazilian wax is one such beauty procedure that has become a standard for many women, and an expectation in much of pop (and hook-up) culture.

It’s worth noting that women have been removing pubic hair in various forms since ancient times. And while it's completely well and good to have preferences for your nether region, there's evidence to suggest that Brazilian waxes might not be worth the risk. 

The History of the Brazilian Wax as We Know It

Though women have been tending to their bushes since ancient times, the Brazilian wax is an invention of the “J” sisters (from Brazil) in the 90’s. Their New York salon became incredibly popular for offering what is now known as the Brazilian wax. Famous celebrities, including Gweneth Paltrow, lauded the J sisters for their ingenuity, and Sex and the City even featured the Brazilian notably in an episode. 

One of the sisters (Janea Padilha) came up with this style of waxing several years before opening their salon after being at the beach and being disgusted by a beautiful woman who was wearing a tiny thong bikini but who had some visible pubic hair poking out the back of it. Janea was disturbed by this and went home and discovered that she too, had hair all the way back there. She was horrified by this discovery, so she waxed herself fully down there (after a salon told her there was no way they’d do it for her). She shared her new technique with her sisters, and eventually they convinced clients to try it as well once they had their own salon. It quickly rose in popularity. But now that we’re a few decades out, it’s wise to look at the evidence and see the potential reasons for caution. 

The Potential Health Risks Involved 

The potentially harmful side effects of waxing (pain, bleeding, rash, infection, ingrown hair, and vulvodynia, to name a few) are substantial enough that it's wise to go in with eyes-wide-open if you opt for this painful beauty treatment. There are other alternatives to stay well-groomed down there, such as shaving, sugar waxing, trimming, and laser hair removal.

Before I continue, let’s set the record straight: some of these other hair removal options pose some of the same risks. For instance, shaving can cause ingrown hairs, as can a typical bikini wax. However, we need to talk about a Brazilian wax specifically because it removes hair from even the delicate and sensitive labia and perineum, which can increase the risk of vulvodynia. 

While waxing in general can cause skin issues (amongst other problems), the risk of waxing the sensitive tissue around the labia, perineum, and anal areas causes significant risks that a bikini wax doesn’t. Obviously, nobody wants to have complications from a wax job, but at least with a Bikini wax, you’re not risking damage to your vulva’s sensitive skin. 

New Jersey even considered banning Brazilian waxes at one point in time because of the hospitalization of two women.

It's a very personal decision to choose the specific form your "down there" grooming takes. Whether it's trimming, shaving, sugaring, waxing, laser hair removal, etc., women should have the freedom to decide what's best for their bodies. That being said, women should also know the risks involved in waxing such a delicate part of the body. Again, while even a Bikini wax can have the same negative side effects, the less invasive nature makes it potentially less concerning.

There is a case to be made for simply trimming. Adult women have pubic hair for a reason, and many doctors advise a more natural approach to maintaining your private area. Dr. Holly Cummings notes in an article for the The American College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians that “The purpose of pubic hair is to protect us, just like the hair around your ears, nose, and eyes. It keeps the skin of your vulva warm and moisturized. It protects the delicate skin from friction during sexual activity. It keeps dust, dirt, and germs away from the vagina to prevent infection. Researchers even suspect pubic hair may play a role in sexual attraction and sexual pleasure.”

As DailyMail shares in an article on the topic, pubic hair helps the bacterial biome, reduces risk of UTIs and STDs, and since 1 in 4 women who shave or wax end up with some type of injury, women should take the risks into consideration before completely removing all pubic hair. 

Huffpost delves into the dangers of waxing (including bikini waxes—in fact, the article is about that specifically) and they interview various doctors on the subject. They note, “The truth is, no matter the aesthetic trend, pubic hair is there for a reason.”

One doctor comments: “‘That part of the body is meant by nature to have hair, and the hairs, though they may be currently out of fashion visually, are there for other reasons,’ says [Dr] Krant, who adds that they keep skin from running together and act as a cushion during sexual contact. ‘They are also there to maintain a bit of air flow and keep folded skin areas from sticking together and causing rashes and infections known as intertrigo.’” 

The article also notes that New Jersey even considered banning Brazilian waxes at one point in time because of the hospitalization of two women due to waxing-related infections. Regardless of your preferences, it’s worth noting that many of the experts do have an opinion on this—even if it’s not the popular one. 

Pornography: The Dark Force Behind the Popularity of The Brazilian 

Since I’m making the case against getting a Brazilian, I’d be remiss to simply leave it at the health risks involved. In addition to the famous J Sisters Salon, the Brazilian has a darker reason for its rise to fame: pornography. As we already noted, women throughout history have had various ways of dealing with pubic hair. There have been other times in history where being hairless was considered more beautiful and seemly. Though the entrance of the bikini wax and other preferences for pubic hair certainly existed in the United States in the 20th century, we can see the public perception of women’s grooming habits start to shift in America in the 1970’s. As Psychology Today notes “Major men’s magazines in the U.S. (Playboy, Penthouse) did not show centerfolds below the hips until the 1970s. For the next 30 years, most had full hair or modest trims. But after 2000, the majority showed little or no pubic hair.” (This article has a helpful and interesting breakdown of percentages of women who shave, wax, trim, etc. based on age demographics, which I found fascinating as well). An article from BBC notes, “The early '90s had seen a boom in online porn, which increasingly featured hairless actors and models.” Apparently, Playboy even called the J Sisters Salon and told them they were the original inventors of the Brazilian style wax “for the porno site” (the J Sisters obviously disagreed). 

We have opened our most intimate parts to unprecedented scrutiny, evaluation, commodification.

As VICE notes, in the 90’s “Sex became extremely accessible, and as a result pubic hair trends depicted in porn began having an influence on mainstream society. Women began to mirror what they saw in porn, and men began to encourage their girlfriends to follow suit: and thus the bush began to slowly but surely fade away.” To be fair to the porn industry (don’t worry, I’m rolling my eyes), the article also notes that in our present day, there is not one particular standard in porn and basically “anything goes.”  Though it’s despicable that anyone should have to care what the porn industry thinks is up to snuff, the “anything goes” mantra also means that there is more general cultural acceptance for variety, which could be taken as an encouragement to be more confident with your own personal choices in this area. 

Please don’t hear my saying that if you and your husband are fans of the results of a Brazilian wax, that you are succumbing to porn culture. That’s definitely not the point of this article. I’m certainly not saying that a husband who likes a good Brazilian is influenced by porn. But it is worth thinking about why this particular look is often seen as the sexiest. Our culture is over-sexualized and our private areas are more exposed than ever and we have come to idolize a certain appearance. An article from Mother Jones comments “We have opened our most intimate parts to unprecedented scrutiny, evaluation, commodification.”

In addition to pornography, hookup culture has influenced women’s decisions to be bare “down there.” While many girls simply wax or shave because it’s their preference and they aren’t worried about what a partner might think, many other girls feel shame if they aren’t meeting the cultural expectation for a certain appearance during a hookup. To strip our bodies of their natural protective barriers because we’re ashamed of what a partner might think is more pitiable than it is empowering. For religious and monogamous women, this motivation should be off the table. Yes, it’s obviously good to want to be desirable for your husband. Here’s the thing, though: if you’re already embracing your identity as a feminine and sexy woman, being well trimmed or completely bare isn’t going to make that much of a difference to him. That’s not to say you may not want to spice things up occasionally. I’d just suggest considering other alternatives to a full Brazilian. 

The good news is, individuals always have different preferences, and if you’re only sexually active in the context of marriage, you can talk to your husband about your preferences and his (hint: a lot of guys don’t care as much as we might assume they do. The thing most men care about is that their woman is confident).

This is a Call to Confidence, Not a Call to “Show Your Pubes” 

While I think we can all agree that the move to "show your pubes" in public should be a no-go, women who only shave or wax their bikini line or trim down there shouldn't feel as though they are less sexy or hygienic. Additionally, the risks involved with Brazilian waxing (vulvodynia specifically) are significant enough to weigh carefully. If you want to be totally smooth down there, alternatives such as laser hair removal, shaving, and sugar waxing are potentially safer and less irritating options (though, be careful of the potential for ingrown hairs that also comes with shaving). At the end of the day, while beauty standards might suggest it's sexiest to be bare down there, your preferences and your physical well-being should be the primary concerns.